Del. Sam Rasoul

Earned income tax credit. Allows eligible low-income taxpayers to claim a refundable income tax credit equal to 20 percent of the federal earned income tax credit claimed that year by the taxpayer for the same taxable year. The bill also states that individuals who would have been entitled to the federal equivalent of this credit but for the fact that the individual, the individual's spouse, or one or more of the individual's children does not have a valid social security number are eligible to claim this credit. Under current law, taxpayers may choose to claim either a nonrefundable tax credit equal to 20 percent of the federal earned income tax credit claimed that year or a refundable tax credit equal to 15 percent of the federal earned income tax credit claimed that year.

Maddy summaryHB 1843 would replace Columbus Day, observed on the second Monday in October, with Indigenous Peoples' Day as an official state holiday. This change directly affects state employees, public schools, and government offices that observe the holiday, altering the designated day for closures and observances. The bill maintains the same date (the second Monday in October) but changes the holiday's name and historical reference. It does not alter other holiday schedules or create new state obligations beyond the holiday designation.

State plan for medical assistance services; recovery residences; work group; report. Directs the Board of Medical Assistance Services to amend the state plan for medical assistance services to include a provision for payment of care provided at certain recovery residences for individuals diagnosed with a substance use disorder. The bill also directs the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to (i) convene a work group of relevant stakeholders to (a) establish a monitoring and evaluation framework to assess the effectiveness and impact of recovery residences on long-term recovery outcomes and (b) study the economic impact of recovery residences on the Commonwealth and (ii) in consultation with such work group, promulgate regulations to ensure recovery residences are operating in compliance with American Society of Addiction Medicine standards. The bill directs the work group to report its findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the House Committee on Health and Human Services and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by November 1, 2025.

Gift certificates; international transactions; fraud reports. Amends the definition of "gift certificate" and prohibits merchants from selling a gift certificate as part of an international transaction without first implementing a 24-hour hold on the activation of such gift certificate. The bill also requires local law enforcement to communicate reports of gift certificate fraud to the Internet Crime Complaint Center of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Line of Duty Act; payments to beneficiaries. Provides that if a deceased person, as that term is defined in the Line of Duty Act, died as a result of certain cancers within 10 years from his date of retirement, his beneficiary shall be entitled to the payment of certain benefits. Under current law, such beneficiary shall be entitled to such payment if the deceased person's death (i) arose out of and in the course of his employment or (ii) was within five years from his date of retirement.

Recognition of the Wolf Creek Cherokee Tribe of Virginia. Extends state recognition to the Wolf Creek Cherokee Tribe of Virginia within the Commonwealth.

Regulation of discharging preproduction plastic; requirements. Requires the Department of Environmental Quality to establish a program to ensure zero discharge or release from point and nonpoint source at certain facilities that discharge to (i) a surface water under a Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issued by the Department or (ii) a publicly owned treatment works under an industrial pretreatment program permit or other written authorization issued by a local permit control authority and to require the prompt and environmentally responsible containment and cleanup of discharged or released preproduction plastic. The bill requires the Department to adopt and implement certain requirements in order to reduce and control the discharge or release of preproduction plastic from such facilities. The bill allows the Department to exempt a facility from the requirements of the program if a facility satisfies the criteria for a no exposure certification and complies with inspection requirements administered by the Department. The bill also allows the Department to establish additional requirements regarding the regulation of discharges and releases of preproduction plastic from certain facilities into water or onto land in the Commonwealth.

Local anti-rent gouging authority; civil penalty. Provides that any locality may by ordinance adopt anti-rent gouging provisions. The bill provides for notice and a public hearing prior to the adoption of such ordinance and specifies that all landlords who are under the ordinance may be required to give at least two months' written notice of a rent increase and cannot increase the rent by more than the locality's calculated allowance, described in the bill as the maximum amount a landlord can increase a tenant's rent during any 12-month period, in effect at the time of the increase. The bill sets such allowance as equal to the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index or seven percent, whichever is less, states that such allowance is effective for a 12-month period beginning July 1 each year, and requires the locality to publish such allowance on its website by June 1 of each year. Certain facilities, as outlined in the bill, are exempt from such ordinance. The bill also requires a locality to establish an anti-rent gouging board that will develop and implement rules and procedures by which landlords may apply for and be granted exemptions from the rent increase limits set by the ordinance. Finally, the bill provides that a locality shall establish a civil penalty for failure to comply with the requirements set out in its ordinance.

Toll relief; maximum charges. Limits to $200 per month the tolls charged to residents of the Commonwealth via electronic toll collection devices for the use of toll bridges, toll ferries, toll tunnels, or toll roads in the Commonwealth. The bill prohibits misusing, sharing, or transferring an electronic toll collection device for the purpose of (i) generating tolls to reach the toll charges limit or (ii) obtaining toll-free use of toll facilities in the Commonwealth. The bill authorizes the free use of all toll bridges, toll roads, and other toll facilities in the Commonwealth for drivers who are recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits.

Drinking water; maximum contaminant levels; water treatment or filtration systems; Residential Well Water Testing and Treatment Program and Program Fund established. Directs the State Board of Health to adopt regulations to utilize point-of-use or point-of-entry drinking water treatment or filtration systems to remove or significantly reduce concentrations of contaminants of concern that meet or exceed any maximum contaminant level or health advisory for the same contaminant adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The bill also establishes the Residential Well Water Testing and Treatment Program and Program Fund to allow the Department of Health's Office of Drinking Water to test and treat contaminated drinking water through grants for the use of eligible treatment or filtration systems in private residential wells.