Del. Rod Willett

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.

Public defender offices; County of Chesterfield. Establishes a public defender office for the County of Chesterfield. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.

Prescription drug price transparency. Requires every health carrier, pharmacy benefits manager, wholesale drug distributer, and drug manufacturer to report information about prescription drug prices to the Department of Health and requires the Department to make such information available on its website. The bill also provides that, beginning January 1, 2022, a health plan enrollee's defined cost sharing for each prescription drug shall be calculated at the point of sale based on a price that is reduced by an amount equal to at least 80 percent of all rebates received, or to be received, in connection with the dispensing or administration of the prescription drug. The bill also requires the Bureau of Insurance to (i) identify all statutory and regulatory provisions from which health plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) are exempted and (ii) determine the financial impact, if any, of application of such statutory and regulatory provisions such health plans, and to report its finding to the Chairman of the House Committees on Health, Welfare and Institutions and Labor and Commerce and the Chairmen of the Senate Committees on Commerce and Labor and Education and Health by October 1, 2021

Virginia Agriculture Food Assistance Programand Fund; established. Requires the Commissioner of Agricultureand Consumer Services (the Commissioner) to establish the VirginiaAgriculture Food Assistance Program (VAFA Program) for Virginia farmersand food producers to donate, sell, or otherwise provide agricultureproducts to charitable food assistance organizations. The bill also creates the Virginia Agriculture Food Assistance Fund to disbursemoneys to such charitable food assistance organizations to reimbursefarmers or food producers for any costs associated with harvesting,processing, packaging, or transporting agriculture products donatedto such charitable food assistance organizations. The bill authorizesthe Commissioner to adopt guidelines and regulations to carry outthe VAFA Program.

Department of Veterans Services; Military Spouse Liaison; position created. Establishes the position of Military Spouse Liaison (the Liaison) in the Department of Veterans Services to conduct outreach and advocate on behalf of military spouses in the Commonwealth. The bill directs the Liaison to report by December 1 of each year through the Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Services to the Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs, the Governor, and the General Assembly on the work of the Liaison and any legislative recommendations. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.

Local Food and Farming Infrastructure Grant Program. Establishes the Local Food and Farming Infrastructure Grant Program and authorizes the Governor to award grants to political subdivisions from the Governor's Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Fund as part of the Program. Such grants, in amounts up to $25,000, shall be awarded on a competitive basis to support infrastructure development projects that support local food production and sustainable farming. The bill directs the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry to develop guidelines for the Program that favor projects that establish or maintain farmers markets; businesses or organizations that manage the aggregation, distribution, and marketing of food products primarily from local and regional producers; and primarily locally owned processing facilities.

Community services boards; contracts with privateproviders. Clarifies that community services boards may enter into contracts with private providers for delivery of mental health, developmental, and substance abuse services.

Alcoholic beverage control; sale and deliveryof mixed beverages and pre-mixed wine for off-premises consumption.Allows distillers that have been appointed as agents of the Board of Directors (the Board) of the Virginia Alcoholic BeverageControl Authority (the Authority), mixed beverage restaurant licensees,and limited mixed beverage restaurant licensees to sell mixed beveragesfor off-premises consumption and deliver such mixed beverages toconsumers subject to requirements set forth in the bill. The billallows the Board to summarily revoke a licensee's privileges to selland deliver mixed beverages for off-premises consumption for noncompliancewith the requirements set forth in the bill or applicable provisionsof current law. The bill also allows farm winery licensees to sellpre-mixed wine for off-premises consumption. The bill directs theAuthority to convene a work group to study the sale and delivery of mixed beverages and pre-mixed wine for off-premises consumption andreport its findings to the Chairmen of the House Committee on GeneralLaws and the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Servicesby November 1, 2021. The provisions of the bill sunset on July 1,2022.

Absentee voting; early in person; availabilityon Sundays. Permits the electoral board or general registrarof a county or city to provide absentee voting in person in the officeof the general registrar or voter satellite office on Sundays.

Voter registration; failure of online voter registration system; deadline extension. Provides that in the event that a failure of the Virginia online voter registration system occurs prior to the close of registration records, the Governor has the authority to order the online voter registration system to be available for registration activities after the date for closing the registration records for a period of time equal to the amount of time during which the online voter registration system was unavailable for registration activities, rounded up to the nearest whole day, plus an additional day to allow for voter education efforts. The extension of registration activities shall apply to in-person registration and mail voter registration applications.