Del. Katrina Callsen

Local anti-rent gouging authority; civil penalty. Provides that any locality may by ordinance adopt anti-rent gougingprovisions. The bill provides for notice and a public hearing priorto the adoption of such ordinance and specifies that all landlordswho are under the ordinance may be required to give at least two months'written notice of a rent increase and cannot increase the rent bymore than the locality's calculated allowance, described in the billas the maximum amount a landlord can increase a tenant's rent duringany 12-month period, in effect at the time of the increase. The bill sets such allowance as equal to the annual increase in the ConsumerPrice Index or seven percent, whichever is less, states that suchallowance is effective for a 12-month period beginning July 1 each year, and requires the locality to publish such allowance on itswebsite by June 1 of each year. Certain facilities, as outlined inthe bill, are exempt from such ordinance. The bill also allows alocality to establish an anti-rent gouging board that will developand implement rules and procedures by which landlords may apply forand be granted exemptions from the rent increase limits set by theordinance. Finally, the bill provides that a locality may establisha civil penalty for failure to comply with the requirements set outin the ordinance.

Department of Housing and Community Development;Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; Manufactured Home LotRental Act; notice of tenant screening criteria. Requires landlordsgoverned by the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act or ManufacturedHome Lot Rental Act to provide applicants for tenancy with (i) theamount and purpose of fees to be charged to such applicant, (ii) information that will be used to assess such applicant's eligibilityfor tenancy, and (iii) any criteria that may result in automatic denialof an application. The bill requires such landlords to notify applicantsof certain rights protected by the federal Fair Credit ReportingAct prior to performing any background, credit, or other pre-occupancycheck on such applicants. Finally, the bill requires the Directorof the Department of Housing and Community Development to developa sample notice of tenant screening criteria and a standardized statementregarding an applicant's rights protected by the federal Fair CreditReporting Act and to make such sample notice and statement availableon the Department's website.

Commending Dr. Willis L. Lonzer III.

Celebrating the life of Janet Marie Brooking.

Commending Peter A. Blake.

Commending Scott McGeary.

Commending the S. Delois Mayes Scholarship Foundation.

Virginia Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant Program and Fund; firearm and ammunition tax. Establishes the Virginia Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant Program (the Program) and redirects funds from the Virginia Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention Fund (the Fund) to support such program. The bill requires the Program be administered by the Department of Criminal Justice Services (the Department) to distribute grants to localities and organizations for the purpose of improving public health and safety by supporting effective violence reduction initiatives in communities that are disproportionately impacted by violence, particularly homicides, shootings, and aggravated assaults. The bill provides that funds may also be used to finance the hiring of counselors in public elementary and secondary schools and research initiatives that have the objective of reducing gun violence.The bill provides that the Department shall issue grants on a competitive basis. As a condition of receiving a grant, a locality or organization must commit a cash or in-kind contribution equivalent to the amount of the grant, with waivers allowed for good cause, and report on its progress toward achieving the grant's objectives. The bill requires the Department to provide public access to such reports.The bill imposes a five percent tax on the sale of any firearm or ammunition, with all revenue from the tax accruing to the Fund. Under the bill, firearm and ammunition sales to state or local agencies or law-enforcement officers are exempt from such tax.

Weapons; possession or transportation; facility that provides mental health services or developmental services; penalty. Makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person to possess in or transport into any facility that provides mental health services or developmental services in the Commonwealth, including a hospital or an emergency department or other facility rendering emergency medical care, any (i) firearm or other weapon designed or intended to propel a missile or projectile of any kind; (ii) knife, except a pocket knife having a folding metal blade of less than three inches; or (iii) other dangerous weapon, including explosives and stun weapons. The bill provides that any such firearm, knife, explosive, or weapon is subject to seizure by a law-enforcement officer and specifies exceptions to the prohibition.

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.