Del. Sam Rasoul

Paid sick leave; health care providers and grocery store workers. Requires employers to provide paid sick leave to health care providers, grocery store workers, and home health workers who provide agency-directed services. Under current law, employers are only required to provide paid sick leave to home health workers who provide consumer-directed services. The bill removes requirements that workers work on average at least 20 hours per week or 90 hours per month to be eligible for paid sick leave. Additionally, the bill provides that certain health care providers may waive their right to accrue and use paid sick leave and provides an exemption for certain other health care providers.

Broadband providers; affordable monthly plan.Requires each broadband provider operating in the Commonwealthto offer an affordable monthly plan for broadband services that (i)does not exceed $50 per month and (ii) meets the faster of either(a) the standards for advanced service as defined by the Federal Communications Commission or (b) a minimum broadband speed level of50 megabits per second for download speed and 25 megabits per secondfor upload speed.

Court appearance of a person not free on bail.Makes various changes to provisions regarding bail hearings, including(i) the appointment of counsel for the accused, (ii) the informationprovided to counsel for the accused, (iii) a requirement that counselfor the accused be provided with adequate time to confer with theaccused prior to any bail hearing, and (iv) the compensation of counselfor the accused. Effective in due course, the bill provides thatthe chief judge in each circuit shall create a plan to be completedby October 1, 2022, that establishes the means by which the jurisdictionwill meet these requirements. The remainder of the bill has a delayedeffective date of January 1, 2023.

Electric utilities; clean energy mandates; transitioning workers; New Virginia Economy Act. Establishes a moratorium, effective January 1, 2023, on approval by any state agency or political subdivision of any approval required for (i) electric generating facilities that generate fossil fuel energy through the combustion of a fossil fuel resource; (ii) import or export terminals for fossil fuel resources; (iii) certain maintenance activities relating to an import or export terminal for a fossil fuel resource; (iv) gathering lines or pipelines for the transport of any fossil fuel resource that require the use of eminent domain on private property; (v) certain maintenance activities relating to such gathering lines or pipelines; (vi) refineries of a fossil fuel resource; and (vii) exploration for any type of fossil fuel, unless preempted by applicable federal law. The measure also requires that at least 80 percent of the electricity sold by a retail electric supplier in calendar years 2030 through 2034 be generated from clean energy resources. In calendar year 2035 and every calendar year thereafter, 100 percent of the electricity sold by a retail electric supplier is required to be generated from clean energy resources. The clean energy mandates apply to a public utility or other person that sells not less than 1,000 megawatt hours of electric energy to retail customers or generates not less than 1,000 megawatt hours of electric energy for use by the person. The Director of the Department of Energy (the Department) is authorized to bring actions for injunctions to enforce these requirements. The measure requires the Department to adopt a Climate Action Plan that addresses all aspects of climate change, including mitigation, adaptation, resiliency, and assistance in the transition from current energy sources to clean renewable energy. The measure provides that any retail electric supplier that fails to meet any goal or benchmark is liable for a civil penalty equal to twice the cost of the financial investment necessary to meet such goal or mandate that was not achieved, or three times the cost of the financial investment necessary to meet such goal or benchmark that was not achieved if not met in an environmental justice community. The measure further states that the Department shall appoint and convene a state Environmental and Climate Justice Task Force (the Task Force) to provide recommendations about the implementation of the Climate Action Plan. The measure provides that it is the goal of the Commonwealth to achieve a 36 percent reduction in electric energy consumption in buildings by 2036. The measure requires the Department, in coordination with the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice (the Council) to establish performance benchmarks for environmental justice communities and to establish programs for jobs for people in environmental justice communities. The measure requires the Council to develop and make available to each state agency training modules designed to facilitate the promotion of environmental justice. The measure requires the Department to establish the Just Transition Fund (the Fund) to be used for state programs, grants and loans, job training and placement programs that support renewable and clean energy development and energy efficiency, and for funding the Transitioning Workers Program, which provides support for workers in the fossil fuel industry and affected communities and provides such workers with job training, relocation support, income and benefit support, and early retirement benefits. The measure prohibits the State Corporation Commission from approving construction of any new utility-owned generating facilities that emit carbon dioxide as a by-product of combusting fuel to generate electricity. The measure requires that all utility costs associated with the construction of, acquisition of, or agreements to purchase the energy, capacity, and environmental attributes of certain required generation and storage facilities be recovered through the utility's rates for generation and distribution services. The measure requires that under the renewable energy portfolio standard program, Dominion Energy Virginia and American Electric Power be required to produce their electricity from 80 percent renewable sources by 2030 and 100 percent by 2035. The measure increases the incremental energy efficiency savings that each investor-owned incumbent electric utility is required to achieve that start in 2023 at 2.4 percent for American Electric Power and Dominion Energy Virginia of the average annual energy retail sales by that utility in 2021 and increases those savings annually.

Elections; absentee voting; ballots to be sortedand results to be reported by precinct. Provides that absentee ballots processed at a central absentee precinct must be sorted bythe precinct to which the voter who cast the absentee ballot is assignedand that the resulting vote totals from such ballots must be reportedseparately for each voter precinct.

Health carriers; denial of coverage; quarterlyreport. Requires each health carrier in the Commonwealth to submitto the State Corporation Commission on a quarterly basis a reportof all first-time denials of coverage, including denials based onpreexisting conditions and experimental or investigational treatments.The bill states that a health carrier must inform a covered personof his right to an internal appeal or, if applicable, an externalreview, upon issuing a denial of coverage. The bill has an expirationdate of July 1, 2024.

Workers' compensation; domestic service employees.Provides that individuals who are engaged in providing domesticservice, defined in the bill, are not excluded from the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act.

Juvenile justice; human trafficking screening.Requires the Department of Juvenile Justice to use trauma-informedscreening measures to identify whether any child committed to theDepartment has been a victim of human trafficking and determine appropriate treatment and service options. The bill also requires that, in casesin which a juvenile and domestic relations district court or circuitcourt orders that a juvenile within its jurisdiction be physicallyexamined and treated by a physician or local mental health center,such examination include trauma-informed screening measures to identifywhether the juvenile has been a victim of human trafficking and determineappropriate treatment and service options.

State parks; free entry for veterans. Establishesa Veteran's Passport program for veterans of the Armed Forces of theUnited States or members of the Virginia National Guard that entitlesthe bearer to enter state parks in the Commonwealth without the paymentof a parking or admission fee.

Additional local sales and use tax to support schools. Authorizes all counties and cities to impose an additional local sales and use tax at a rate not to exceed one percent, with the revenue used only for capital projects for the construction or renovation of schools. Under the bill, the tax can only be imposed if it is initiated by a resolution of the local governing body and approved by the voters in a referendum. The bill requires the governing body to specify in the enacting ordinance the time period, not to exceed 20 years, for which the tax would be imposed, and revenue from the tax is required to be used solely for capital projects for new construction or major renovation of schools in the locality enacting the tax. Under current law, only Charlotte County, Gloucester County, Halifax County, Henry County, Mecklenburg County, Northampton County, Patrick County, Pittsylvania County, and the City of Danville are authorized to impose such a tax.