Study; gold mining; prohibition on permitting;report. Directs the Secretary of Natural Resources, the Secretaryof Health and Human Resources, and the Secretary of Commerce andTrade to conduct a study of the mining of gold in the Commonwealth.The bill requires that the study be conducted in consultation withthe Virginia Council on Environmental Justice and appropriate stakeholders,including experts in mining, hydrology, toxicology, and other fields;environmental organizations; representatives of potentially affectedcommunities in localities with significant deposits of gold; and residentsof Native American communities in such counties. Thebill provides that the study shall evaluate the impacts of gold miningon public health, safety, and welfare; evaluate whether existing air and water quality regulations are sufficient; consider which processingand beneficiation techniques, including cyanide heap leaching andcyanide vat leaching, should be permitted; consider whether the dewateringof an open pit mine should be permitted; make a recommendation asto whether the issuance of any permit to operate a gold mine shouldbe prohibited; and report its findings to the General Assembly byJuly 1, 2023. The bill also prohibits the issuance of any permitby the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy to operate a goldmine of an area larger than 10 acres until July 1, 2024.
Sponsored bills
Governor's Secretaries; Secretary of Labor created. Creates in the Governor's Cabinet the position of Secretary of Labor. The bill transfers from the Secretary of Commerce and Trade to the Secretary of Labor responsibility for the Department of Labor and Industry, the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation, and the Virginia Employment Commission. The bill removes the position of Chief Workforce Development Advisor and reassigns its duties to the Secretary of Labor. The bill also adds the Secretary of Labor to the Governor's comprehensive economic development policy committee.
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; tenant remedies for exclusion from dwelling unit, interruption of services, or actions taken to make premises unsafe. Provides that a general district court shall enter an order upon petition by a tenant that his landlord has (i) removed or excluded the tenant from the dwelling unit unlawfully, (ii) interrupted or caused the interruption of an essential service to the tenant, or (iii) taken action to make the premises unsafe for habitation. The bill allows entry of a preliminary order ex parte to require the landlord to allow the tenant to recover possession of the dwelling unit, resume any such interrupted essential service, or fix any willful actions taken by the landlord or his agent to make the premises unsafe for habitation if there is good cause to do so and the tenant made reasonable efforts to notify the landlord of the hearing. The bill requires that any ex parte order entered shall further indicate a date for a full hearing on the petition that is no later than 10 days from the initial hearing date. Finally, the bill provides that, at a full hearing on such petition, the tenant shall recover actual damages, the greater of $5,000 or four months' rent, and reasonable attorney fees.
Electric Vehicle Grant Fund and Program; creation; workgroup report. Establishes the Electric Vehicle Grant Fund and Program for the purpose of (i) awarding grants on a competitive basis to public school divisions for (a) assisting with costs of replacing diesel school buses with electric school buses; (b) the implementation of recharging infrastructure or other infrastructure needed to charge or maintain such electric school buses; and (c) workforce development and training to support the maintenance, charging, and operation of such electric school buses and (ii) projects by public, private, and non-profit Virginia entities to assist with replacing diesel-fueled vehicles and machinery with electric vehicles. No allocation of funds shall be made to the Fund or the Program unless federal or nonstate funds are available to cover the entire cost of such allocation. The bill contains provisions relating to grant applications, priority, awards, and uses. The Department of Environmental Quality shall convene a stakeholder workgroup to develop recommendations for establishing and administering the Fund and Program and shall report the workgroup findings to the General Assembly.
Uniform Statewide Building Code; amendments;energy efficiency and conservation. Requires the Board of Housingand Community Development to adopt amendments to the Uniform StatewideBuilding Code within one year of publication of a new version ofthe International Code Council's International Energy ConservationCode (IECC) to address changes related to energy efficiency and conservation.The bill requires the Board to adopt Building Code standards thatare at least as stringent as those contained in the new version ofthe IECC.
Local green banks. Authorizes a locality,by ordinance, to establish a green bank to promote the investmentin clean energy technologies in its locality and provide financingfor clean energy technologies, defined in the bill. The bill establishescertain powers and functions of a green bank, including developingrules and procedures, financing and providing loans for clean energyprojects, and stimulating demand for renewable energy. The bill requiresthe green bank to be a public entity, quasi-public entity, or nonprofitentity and requires the locality to hold a hearing and publish noticein a newspaper of general circulation prior to establishing the greenbank.
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act;landlord charges for security deposits, insurance premiums for damageinsurance, and insurance premiums for renter's insurance; filingof information regarding resident agent appointed by nonresidentproperty owner. Prohibits a landlord from requiring a tenantto pay a security deposit, insurance premiums for damage insurance,and insurance premiums for renter's insurance prior to the commencementof the tenancy that exceed the amount of two months' periodic rent.The bill permits a landlord, however, to add a monthly amount asadditional rent to recover additional costs of such damage insuranceor renter's insurance premiums. The bill also removes provisions allowing a landlord to permit a tenant to provide damage insurance coveragein lieu of the payment of a security deposit. Finally, the bill requiresnonresident property owners to file the name and office address ofthe agent appointed by such nonresident property owner in the officeof the clerk of the State Corporation Commission. Under current law,such information must be filed in the office of the clerk of thecourt in which deeds are recorded in the county or city in whichthe property lies.
Enslaved Ancestors College Access ScholarshipProgram established. Establishes the Enslaved Ancestors CollegeAccess Scholarship Program, whereby Longwood University, the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, the Virginia MilitaryInstitute, and The College of William and Mary in Virginia are requiredto annually provide, starting in the 2022-2023 academic year and with any source of funds other than state funds or tuition or fee increases,to at least one African American Virginia student who was born inthe Commonwealth and has a total household income that is not morethan 400 percent of the federal poverty guidelines a renewable scholarshipin an amount sufficient to cover tuition, mandatory fees, room andboard, books and other educational supplies, and tutoring at the institution. The bill requires the State Council of Higher Educationfor Virginia to collaborate with such institutions to establish guidelinesfor the implementation of the Program and to annually collect informationon the implementation of the Program from such institutions and reportsuch information to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations,the House Committee on Education, the Senate Committee on Educationand Health, the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations, and the Virginia African American Advisory Board.
Revenue share for solar energy projects.Provides that every five years the maximum amount of the revenue share that a locality may impose on certain solar energy projectsshall be adjusted by the percentage by which the Consumer Price Indexfor All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), as published by the Bureau of LaborStatistics of the U.S. Department of Labor, for the most recent calendaryear exceeds the CPI-U published at the close of the 12-month periodending on December 31, 2020. The bill also provides that the localitymay substitute the Marshall and Swift Building Cost Index, or anysuccessor index, for the CPI-U in its calculation of the adjustment.
Paid sick leave. Requires employers to provide certain employees paid sick leave. An employee is eligible for paid sick leave under the bill if the employee is an essential worker and works on average at least 20 hours per week or 90 hours per month. The bill provides for an employee to earn at least one hour of paid sick leave benefit for every 30 hours worked. An employee shall not use more than 40 hours of earned paid sick leave in a year, unless the employer selects a higher limit. The bill provides that earned paid sick leave may be used for (i) an employee's mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; an employee's need for medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or an employee's need for preventive medical care or (ii) care of a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; care of a family member who needs medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or care of a family member who needs preventive medical care. The bill prohibits employers from taking certain retaliatory actions against employees related to leave. The bill provides for a hardship waiver for employers that demonstrate that providing paid sick leave threatens the financial viability of the employer, jeopardizes the ability of the employer to sustain operations, significantly degrades the quality of the employer's business operations, or creates a significant negative financial impact on the employer. The bill requires the Commissioner of Labor and Industry to promulgate regulations that (a) identify workers as essential based on the categories listed in the bill; (b) include reasonable requirements for recordkeeping, confidentiality, and notifying employees of their rights under provisions of the bill; (c) establish complaint, investigation, and enforcement procedures that include fines, not to exceed $500, for violations of provisions of the bill; (d) establish requirements for compensation and accrual of paid sick leave for employees employed and compensated on a fee-for-service basis; and (e) include procedures and requirements for an employer to qualify for a hardship waiver. The provisions of the bill do not apply to a retail business with fewer than 25 employees.