Del. Terry Kilgore

Electric utilities; broadband capacity pilotprogram. Expands an existing pilot program under which DominionEnergy and Appalachian Power are authorized to provide or make availablebroadband capacity to Internet service providers in areas of theCommonwealth that are unserved by broadband to include municipalInternet service providers. The current program is restricted tonongovernmental Internet service providers.

Sales and use tax exemption for data centers. Reduces to four new jobs, for purposes of qualifying for the sales and use tax exemption for data centers, the job creation requirement for a data center in a distressed locality. Under current law, such data centers must create at least 25 new jobs. The bill lowers the amount of investment needed to qualify for the exemption from $150 million to $1.9 million for data centers that qualify for the reduced jobs requirement. The bill also redefines what criteria are used to identify a distressed locality such that a locality qualifies as distressed if it has an unemployment rate that is greater than the statewide unemployment rate and it also has a poverty rate that exceeds the statewide poverty rate. The bill requires all data centers claiming the exemption to submit an annual report detailing certain information to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority (the Authority). Finally, the requires the Department of Taxation (the Department), in collaboration with the Authority to publish a biennial report on the exemption. Such report by the Department shall not include any unaggregated or other information that could be used to identify a business or individual.

Telemedicine. Clarifies that nothing shallpreclude coverage of telehealth services by an insurer proposing to issue individual or group accident and sickness insurance policiesproviding hospital, medical and surgical, or major medical coverageon an expense-incurred basis; a corporation providing individualor group accident and sickness subscription contracts; or a healthmaintenance organization providing a health care plan for healthcare services. The bill requires the Board of Medical AssistanceServices to amend the state plan for medical assistance to providefor payment of medical assistance for remote patient monitoring servicesprovided via telemedicine for certain high-risk patients, and providesfor the establishment of a practitioner-patient relationship viatelemedicine for the prescribing of Schedule II through VI controlledsubstances.

Health maintenance organizations; insolvency.Updates provisions of the Code of Virginia related to insolvencyprocedures for health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that were inconsistent with the method to address insolvencies provided for members of theVirginia Life, Accident and Sickness Insurance Guaranty Association.HMOs became members of the Association following legislation passedduring the 2018 Session.

Virginia Brownfield and Coal Mine Renewable Energy Grant Fund and Program; handbook. Establishes the Virginia Brownfield and Coal Mine Renewable Energy Grant Fund and Program (the Fund and Program). The bill provides that no allocation of funds shall be made to the Fund or Program unless federal funds are available to cover the cost of such allocation. 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, both defined in the bill. 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 the Department shall, in consultation with stakeholders, develop a handbook for renewable energy and energy storage development on brownfields and previously coal mined lands. Finally, the bill requires the Department to submit an annual report regarding administration of the Fund and Program to the General Assembly. However, the annual report shall not be required if the Fund and Program are not funded.

State Corporation Commission; access to localland records. Adds the State Corporation Commission to the listof agencies that are exempt from paying fees for remote access tolocal land records.

Suspension or modification of sentence; transferto the Department of Corrections. Provides that if a motion tosuspend or otherwise modify a person's sentence is filed with thecourt that heard the case at any time before the person is transferred to the Department of Corrections (the Department), the court mayenter an order to retain jurisdiction over the matter for up to 60days in order to consider and rule on such motion. If the court enterssuch order, the transfer of the person to the Department shall notaffect the jurisdiction of the court under the terms of the order.Upon entry of an order to retain jurisdiction, the clerk of the courtshall forthwith forward an attested copy of the order to the Department.

Sales tax; exemption for personal protectiveequipment; emergency. Establishes a retail sales and use taxexemption for personal protective equipment, defined in the bill.The exemption would be available to any business that has in placea COVID-19 safety protocol that complies with the Emergency TemporaryStandard promulgated by the Virginia Department of Labor and Industryand that meets other criteria. The exemption would sunset one dayafter the first day following the expiration of the last executiveorder issued by the Governor related to the COVID-19 pandemic andthe termination of the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard andany permanent COVID-19 regulations adopted by the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board. The bill contains an emergency clause.

Sales and use tax exemption for data centers.Expands the sales and use tax exemption for data centers by allowinga qualifying data center to use the exemption for purchases for itsfacilities located in the same locality as the data center. The billprovides that if a data center operator qualifies for the exemptionin one locality and seeks to qualify in another, it shall not berequired to meet the job creation requirement for purposes of qualifyingin the other locality. The bill requires all data centers claimingthe exemption to report certain information to be published annuallyby the Department of Taxation.

Standards of Learning assessments; reduction; report. Reduces the total number and type of required Standardsof Learning assessments to the minimum requirements established by the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, asamended. The bill requires the Department of Education to annuallyreport on the estimated projected and actual savings from the implementationof the bill and report the amount of such savings to the Governorand the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations and theSenate Committee on Finance and Appropriations no later than the first day of each Regular Session of the General Assembly. The billalso requires that such amount be included in the total for DirectAid to Public Education in any general appropriation act.