Virginia Brownfield and Coal Mine Renewable Energy Grant Fund and Program; handbook. Establishes the Virginia Brownfield Renewable Energy and Coal Mine Grant Fund and Program. The fund and program shall be administered by the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy for the purpose of awarding grants to renewable energy projects that are located on brownfields or previously coal mined lands. Grants are to be awarded on a basis of $500 per kilowatt of nameplate capacity from renewable energy sources that are located on previously coal mined lands and $100 per kilowatt of nameplate capacity from renewable energy sources that are located on brownfields.No more than $10 million shall be awarded to any previously coal mined lands project and no more than $5 million to any single brownfield project. No more than $35 million shall be allocated per year by the grant program. Of the $35 million, $20 million shall be reserved for previously coal mined lands projects. If less than $20 million is distributed to such projects, the remaining funds may be reallocated to brownfield projects. The bill also provides that, subject to appropriation, the Department shall, in consultation with stakeholders, develop a guidebook for renewable energy and energy storage development on brownfields and previously coal mined lands.
Sponsored bills
Department of Housing and Community Development;barriers to use of state and federal housing funds; report. Requiresthe Director of the Department of Housing and Community Developmentto prepare an annual report to the Governor and the General Assemblydescribing the efforts of the Department, and other institutionsof the Commonwealth responsible for carrying out housing policy,to reduce administrative and regulatory burdens on obtaining andusing federal and state housing funds.
Board of Education; certain English languagelearner students; removal from certain non-academic school performanceindicator calculations. Requires the Board of Education to permit any English language learner student who enters high school withan English language proficiency level of 1 or 2, has been enrolledin public schools in the Commonwealth for fewer than four semesters,and has a final four-year cohort status of dropout or unconfirmedto be removed from the calculation of the dropout rate and graduationand completion index non-academic school performance indicators forEnglish language learner students under the Standards of Accreditation.
Killing or injuring police animals; penalty.Provides that the punishment for any person who maliciously killsor injures an animal owned, used, or trained by a law-enforcementagency, regional jail, or the Department of Corrections, while suchanimal is performing its lawful duties or is being kept in a kennel,pen, or stable while off duty, shall be separate and apart from,and shall be made to run consecutively with, any other sentence.
Possession of ammunition on school property;penalty. Provides that a person is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanorif he knowingly possesses ammunition for a firearm upon (i) the propertyof any public, private, or religious elementary, middle, or highschool, including buildings and grounds; (ii) that portion of any property open to the public and then exclusively used for school-sponsored functions or extracurricular activities while such functions or activitiesare taking place; or (iii) any school bus owned or operated by anysuch school.
Grand larceny; threshold. Increases from$500 to $1,500 the threshold amount of money taken or value of goodsor chattel taken at which the crime rises from petit larceny to grandlarceny. The bill increases the threshold by the same amount forthe classification of certain property crimes.
Family caregiver tax credit. Creates a nonrefundable income tax credit beginning in taxable year 2020 for expenses incurred by an individual in caring for an eligible family member, defined in the bill, who requires assistance with one or more activities of daily living, also defined in the bill. The credit equals 50 percent of eligible expenditures incurred by the caregiver, but shall not exceed $1,000. In order to qualify for the credit, the family caregiver must (i) not receive any compensation or reimbursement for the eligible expenditures and (ii) have federal adjusted gross income that is no greater than $75,000 for an individual or $150,000 for married persons. Both the caregiver and the eligible family member must be residents of Virginia. The bill requires the Tax Commissioner to establish guidelines for claiming the credit and provides that any unused credit may be carried forward by the taxpayer for five taxable years following the taxable year for which the credit was issued. The credit expires beginning with taxable year 2025.
Study; JLARC; effects of gun violence on communities;report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commissionto study the social, physical, emotional, and economic effects ofgun violence on communities across the Commonwealth.
Housing authorities; housing research and studies.Requires the Virginia Housing Development Authority and localhousing development authorities to undertake and carry out studiesand analyses of housing needs and the meeting of such needs and tomake the results of such studies and analyses available to the publicand the building, housing, and supply industries. The bill also allowsthe Virginia Housing Development Authority to engage in researchand disseminate information on the subject of housing.
Student assessments; language translation. Requires each school board to establish a process for the translation of certainstatutorily required student assessments and any accompanying assessmentinstructions into the native language of each student who will participatein such assessments.