Del. Sam Rasoul

Department of Energy; State Corporation Commission;federal funding resources for electric utilities; report. Directsthe Department of Energy, in collaboration with the State CorporationCommission, to estimate and analyze total and discrete federal fundingresources available to electric utilities in the Commonwealth fortransmission, generation, distribution, or grid transformation projects.The bill directs the Department to develop a benchmarking and trackingsystem to encourage the maximum leveraging of federal funding resourcesby electric utilities no later than October 1, 2025. The bill requiresthe Department and the Commission to complete their meetings by November30, 2024, and to submit an executive summary and report of theirfindings to the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation.

Health insurance; coverage for therapeutic daytreatment services. Requires health insurers providing healthcare plans to provide coverage for therapeutic day treatment servicesfor children with serious emotional disturbances, defined in thein bill as children who have a mental illness diagnosis and haveexperienced functional limitations due to emotional disturbance,including experiencing a school shooting or the loss of a loved onein a school setting, over the past 12 months on a continuous or intermittentbasis. Under the bill, "therapeutic day treatment services" are treatmentprograms that combine psychotherapeutic interventions with education and mental health and may include evaluation; medication educationand management; opportunities to learn and use daily living skillsand to enhance social and interpersonal skills; and individual, group,and family counseling. The bill applies to plans delivered, issuedfor delivery, or renewed on and after January 1, 2025.

Commissioner of Health; work group to studythe occurrence of microplastics in the Commonwealth's public drinkingwater; report. Directs the Commissioner of Health to convene awork group to study the occurrence of microplastics in the Commonwealth'spublic drinking water and develop recommendations for the reduction of microplastics in the Commonwealth's public drinking water. Thebill requires the work group to report its findings and recommendationsto the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committees on Agriculture,Chesapeake and Natural Resources and Health, Welfare and Institutionsand the Senate Committees on Agriculture, Conservation and NaturalResources and Education and Health by December 1, 2024.

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

Department of Juvenile Justice; work group to study Length of Stay Guidelines and Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center; report. Directs the Department of Juvenile Justice to convene a work group to study issues related to the Department's Length of Stay Guidelines and the Department's direct care capacity in response to the Department's report on the 2023 Length of Stay Guidelines. The work group is directed to study (i) the evidence and research relied upon by the Department as identified in the Department's report, including adjusting for changes in risk profiles for committed juveniles over time; (ii) best practices on staffing ratios, the current actual staffing ratios at Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center (BAJCC), and the projected population forecast; (iii) the ability of BAJCC to operate the community treatment model without single coverage on units and maintain consistent staffing on each residential unit and unit population not to exceed 14 residents; (iv) the ability of BAJCC to maintain all therapeutic, vocational, and educational programming; (v) a detailed comparison of youth by age, risk level, and offense level and their projected length of stay under the 2015 Length of Stay Guidelines and the 2023 Length of Stay Guidelines; (vi) trends in determinate commitments, including the percentage of such commitments in circuit court and with an active Department of Corrections sentence; and (vii) how the Department will maintain current programming and the continuum of services for youth when direct care capacity exceeds actual capacity. The work group is also directed to study the rates of serious incidents and contributing factors at BAJCC since January 2022. The bill requires the work group to submit a report with its recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee for Courts of Justice and the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice by November 1, 2024. Such report shall include evidence or research relating to the 2023 changes to the Length of Stay Guidelines and whether such evidence or research supports the changes.

Study; joint committee of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health; challenges faced by and effective strategies for ensuring the sustainable, long-term success of the five historically black colleges and universities in the Commonwealth; report. Establishes a joint committee consisting of five members of the House Committee on Education and three members of the Senate Committee on Education and Health to study the challenges faced by and effective strategies for ensuring the sustainable, long-term success of the five historically black colleges and universities in the Commonwealth–Hampton University, Norfolk State University, Virginia State University, Virginia Union University, and Virginia University of Lynchburg–by discussing, adopting, and recommending to the Governor and the General Assembly for formal recognition and endorsement a comprehensive statewide HBCU Support Plan.

Virginia local journalism sustainability taxcredits. Creates a nonrefundable income tax credit for eligiblelocal newspaper publishers, defined in the bill, for compensationpaid to local news journalists. The credit is equal to (i) for thefirst taxable year in which the credit is claimed, the lesser of10 percent of the actual amounts paid in wages to local news journalistsduring such taxable year or $5,000 and (ii) in subsequent taxableyears, the lesser of five percent of the actual amounts paid in wagesto local news journalists during such taxable year or $2,500. Thecredit includes an aggregate cap of $5 million per taxable year. The bill also creates a nonrefundable incometax credit for eligible small businesses with fewer than 50 employeesfor certain expenses incurred for local media advertising in a localnewspaper or in a broadcast of a local radio or television station.The credit is equal to (i) for the first taxable year in which thecredit is claimed, the lesser of 80 percent of the actual amountspaid or incurred for qualified local media advertising expenses or$4,000 and (ii) in subsequent taxable years, the lesser of 50 percentof the actual amounts paid or incurred for qualified local mediaadvertising expenses during such taxable year or $2,000. The creditincludes an aggregate cap of $10 million per taxable year. Each of the credits may be claimed in taxableyears beginning on and after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2029.

Workers' compensation; injuries caused by repetitiveand sustained physical stressors. Provides that, for the purposesof the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act, "occupational disease"includes injuries or diseases from conditions resulting from repetitiveand sustained physical stressors, including repetitive and sustainedmotions, exertions, posture stresses, contact stresses, vibrations,or noises. The bill provides that such injuries or diseases are coveredunder the Act and that such coverage does not require that such repetitiveor sustained physical stress occurred over a particular time period,provided that the time period over which such physical stress occurredcan be reasonably identified.

Permit applications for natural gas pipelines; State Water Control Law. Requires applicants for federal licenses or permits for natural gas transmission pipelines with an inside diameter of at least 24 inches to submit a separate application, erosion and sediment control plan, and stormwater management plan to the Department of Environmental Quality concurrently with a Joint Permit Application. Current law requires such application standards for pipelines with an inside diameter of greater than 36 inches. The provisions of the bill apply to any natural gas transmission pipeline project of at least 24 inches in inside diameter that is subject to a certificate of public convenience and necessity under the federal Natural Gas Act and that has not commenced construction by July 1, 2024, notwithstanding any previous certification previously issued or waived by the Department of Environmental Quality or the State Water Control Board.

Board of Medicine; continuing education; implicitbias and cultural competency in health care. Requires the Boardof Medicine to adopt and implement policies that require each practitionerlicensed by the Board who has direct contact with persons who areor may become pregnant to complete two hours of continuing educationrelated to implicit bias, defined in the bill, and cultural competencyin health care at least once every other license renewal cycle.