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
Sexual abuse of certain children; penalty. Raisesthe penalty for sexual abuse of a child 13 or 14 years old from aClass 1 misdemeanor to a Class 5 felony.
Bear hunting license; inclusion in license tohunt deer and turkey. Directs the Board of Game and Inland Fisheriesto include the ability to hunt bear in the existing license to huntdeer and turkey. Current law provides that the standard big gamelicense shall include only deer and turkey if the Board has exercisedits discretion to create a separate license for hunting bear alone.The bill contains technical amendments.
Income tax credit; existing business growth.Provides a nonrefundable income tax credit equal to five percentof total corporate income taxes owed by certain small businessesin existence for at least two years that reach new full-time employeehiring thresholds during two-year qualifying periods. The creditis available for taxable years 2020 through 2039 and is awarded forthe taxable year during which each qualifying period ends. Existingbusinesses qualify for the tax credit on the basis of their size duringthe qualifying period. The credit may be claimed only once in eachqualifying period. Businesses claiming the credit may carry overunused credit for the next five taxable years or until the total amountof the credit has been taken, whichever occurs first.
Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System; swornmembers of the Department of Motor Vehicles. Adds sworn membersof the enforcement division of the Department of Motor Vehicles tothe membership of the Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System.
State parks; discounted rental and service fees;military and veterans. Directs the Department of Conservationand Recreation to establish a policy that entitles any veteran orperson on active duty military service, and the accompanying spouseor child of such person, to a 50 percent discount on rental and servicefees.
Motion picture production tax credit; aggregatecap. Increases beginning in fiscal year 2020 the aggregate limiton the amount of motion picture production tax credits that may beissued from $6.5 million to $13 million annually. The bill providesthat the increase to the cap shall be reserved for productions filmedin economically distressed areas of Virginia.
Paid family and medical leave program. Requires the Virginia Employment Commission to establish and administera paid family and medical leave program with benefits beginning January 1, 2023. Under the program, benefits are paid to eligible employees for family and medical leave. Funding for the program isprovided through premiums assessed to employers and employees beginningin 2022. The amount of a benefit is 80 percent of the employee'saverage weekly wage, not to exceed 80 percent of the state weeklywage, which amount is required to be adjusted annually to reflectchanges in the statewide average weekly wage. The measure caps theduration of paid leave at 12 weeks in any application year. The billprovides self-employed individuals the option of participating inthe program.
Protective orders on behalf of incapacitatedpersons. Allows an employee of a local department of social services (local department) to petition a court on behalf of an incapacitated person for a preliminary protective order in cases of family abuseor non-family abuse. If the court finds by a preponderance of theevidence that the person is an incapacitated person and lacks thecapacity to file such petition for himself, the court shall granta guardian ad litem to represent the interests of the incapacitatedperson and may issue an order granting the preliminary protectiveorder if other conditions required for the issuance of a preliminaryprotective order are met. The bill allows the employee of a local department who filed the petition to testify on behalf of the incapacitated person at any hearing for the preliminary protective order and atthe full hearing on the petition. At the full hearing on the petition,the court may issue a protective order for a specified period oftime, up to a maximum of two years, if the court finds by a preponderanceof the evidence that the employee of a local department who filedthe petition has proven the allegation of abuse or that the incapacitatedperson has been subjected to an act of violence, force, or threat.
Protective orders on behalf of incapacitatedpersons. Allows an employee of a local department of social services(local department) to petition a court on behalf of an incapacitatedperson for a preliminary protective order in cases of family abuseor non-family abuse. If the court finds by a preponderance of theevidence that the person is an incapacitated person and lacks thecapacity to file such petition for himself, the court shall granta guardian ad litem to represent the interests of the incapacitatedperson and may issue an order granting the preliminary protectiveorder if other conditions required for the issuance of a preliminaryprotective order are met. The bill allows the employee of a localdepartment who filed the petition to testify on behalf of the incapacitatedperson at any hearing for the preliminary protective order and atthe full hearing on the petition. At the full hearing on the petition, the court may issue a protective order for a specified period oftime, up to a maximum of two years, if the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the employee of a local department who filedthe petition has proven the allegation of abuse or that the incapacitatedperson has been subjected to an act of violence, force, or threat.