Del. Rod Willett

Emergency laws; civil relief; citizens of the Commonwealth furloughed or otherwise not receiving wages or payments due to closure of the federal government or declaration of Emergency by the Governor. Provides a 60-day stay of an unlawful detainer for nonpayment of rent for tenants and a 30-day stay of foreclosure proceedings for homeowners of, and owners who rent to a tenant, a one-family to four-family residential dwelling unit who request a stay and provide written proof, defined in the bill, that they are (i) an employee of the United States government, (ii) an independent contractor for the United States government, or (iii) an employee of a company under contract with the United States government who was furloughed or was or is otherwise not receiving wages or payments as a result of a closure of the United States government, defined in the bill. The bill requires homeowners and owners who rent to a tenant a one-family to four-family residential dwelling unit to request such stay of foreclosure proceedings within 90 days of a closure of the United States government or 90 days following the end of such closure, whichever is later. The bill also expands the available relief to any tenant, homeowner, or owner affected by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic public health crisis during the period for which the Governor has declared a state of emergency (the Emergency). The bill contains an emergency clause and provides that the expanded relief provisions shall expire 90 days following the end of the Emergency.

Labor and employment; collective bargaining; employees of counties, cities, and towns. Permits counties, cities, and towns to adopt local ordinances authorizing them to (i) recognize any labor union or other employee association as a bargaining agent of any public officers or employees, except for Constitutional officers and their employees, and including public school employees and (ii) collectively bargain or enter into any collective bargaining contract with any such union or association or its agents with respect to any matter relating to them or their employment. The bill provides that for any governing body of a county, city, or town that has not adopted an ordinance or resolution providing for collective bargaining, such governing body is required, within 120 days of receiving certification from a majority of public employees in a unit considered by such employees to be appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, to take a vote to adopt or not adopt an ordinance or resolution to provide for collective bargaining by such public employees and any other public employees deemed appropriate by the governing body. The bill provides that the prohibition against striking for public employees applies, irrespective of any such local ordinance. The bill has a delayed effective date of May 1, 2021. This bill is identical to SB 939.

Workers' compensation; post-traumatic stress disorder;law-enforcement officers and firefighters. Provides that post-traumaticstress disorder incurred by a law-enforcement officer or firefighter iscompensable under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act if a mental healthprofessional examines a law-enforcement officer or firefighter and diagnosesthe individual as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result ofthe individual's undergoing a qualifying event, which includes an event occurringin the line of duty on or after July 1, 2020, in which a law-enforcementofficer or firefighter views a deceased minor, witnesses the death of a personor an incident involving the death of a person, witnesses an injury to a personwho subsequently dies, has physical contact with and treats an injured personwho subsequently dies, transports an injured person who subsequently dies, orwitnesses a traumatic physical injury that results in the loss of a vital bodypart or a vital body function that results in permanent disfigurement of thevictim. Other conditions for compensability include (i) if the post-traumaticstress disorder resulted from the law-enforcement officer or firefighter actingin the line of duty and, in the case of a firefighter, such firefightercomplied with certain federal Occupational Safety and Health Act standards;(ii) if the law-enforcement officer's or firefighter's undergoing a qualifyingevent was a substantial factor in causing his post-traumatic stress disorder;(iii) if such qualifying event, and not another event or source of stress, wasthe primary cause of the post-traumatic stress disorder; and (iv) if thepost-traumatic stress disorder did not result from any disciplinary action,work evaluation, job transfer, layoff, demotion, promotion, termination,retirement, or similar action of the officer or firefighter. The measureestablishes procedural requirements on employers that contest a claim for suchbenefits. The measure also establishes requirements for resilience and self-caretechnique training.

Elections; same-day registration; in-personabsentee and election day voting. Provides an exception to theclosing of registration records for any person who (i) is qualifiedto register to vote, (ii) is unregistered or registered in a localityin which the person no longer resides but is otherwise entitledto vote by absentee ballot, (iii) desires to vote absentee in personat the time that they present themselves to be registered, and (iv) provides proof of residency. The bill also permits same-day registrantsto vote absentee and provides an excuse for election day absentee voting for such voters. The bill requires all voters who registerto vote under the provisions of this bill to fill out an absenteeapplication, including the required oath, in order to vote. Thisbill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2022.

Minimum wage; tipped employees; classification. Prohibits an employer from classifying an individual as a tippedemployee if the individual is prohibited by applicable federal orstate law or regulation from soliciting tips.

Absentee voting; no excuse required. Permits any registered voter to vote by absentee ballot in any election in which he is qualified to vote. The bill removes the current list of statutory reasons under which a person may be entitled to vote by absentee ballot and removes references to those reasons from other sections of the Code. This bill incorporates HB 25, HB 208, and HB 209.

Postsecondary schools; enrollment agreements; disputes; arbitration. Prohibits any postsecondary school that is required to be certified by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia from conditioning the enrollment of a student who receives state funds pursuant to this title on (i) entering into an agreement that requires the student to arbitrate any dispute between the student and the school, regardless of whether the agreement permits the student to opt out of the requirement to arbitrate any such dispute in the future; or (ii) entering into an agreement that requires the student to resolve a dispute on an individual basis and waive the right to class or group actions. The bill requires each postsecondary school that does not receive state funds pursuant to this title and requires any student to submit to arbitration to resolve disputes with the school pursuant to the student's enrollment agreement to (a) permit the student to report the dispute to any other individual or entity before the arbitration proceeding is initiated or completed; (b) report each student dispute to the Council before the arbitration proceeding is initiated; (c) report to the Council certain information about each arbitration proceeding that results from a student dispute, including the nature of the dispute, any defense or counterclaim by the school, and the disposition of the dispute; (d) report to the Council annual aggregated data on arbitration proceedings that result from student disputes, including the number, nature, and disposition of such proceedings; and (e) disclose to students, upon enrollment, data on the frequency and nature of arbitration proceedings at the postsecondary school as previously reported to the Council, in a format determined by the Council.

Electric utility regulation; environmental goals. Establishes a schedule by which Dominion Energy Virginia and American Electric Power are required to retire electric generating units located in the Commonwealth that emit carbon as a by-product of combusting fuel to generate electricity and by which they are required to construct, acquire, or enter into agreements to purchase generating capacity located in the Commonwealth using energy derived from sunlight or onshore wind. The measure replaces the existing voluntary renewable energy portfolio standard program (RPS Program) with a mandatory RPS Program that applies to electric utilities and licensed competitive suppliers. Under the mandatory RPS Program, utilities and suppliers are required to produce their electricity from 100 percent renewable sources by 2045 for Dominion Energy Virginia and any retail supplier operating in the service territory of Dominion Energy Virginia and by 2050 for American Electric Power and any retail supplier operating in the service territory of American Electric Power. A utility or supplier that does not meet its targets is required to pay a specific deficiency payment or purchase renewable energy certificates. The proceeds from the deficiency payments are to be deposited into an account administered by the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, which is directed to distribute specific percentages of the moneys to job training and renewable energy programs in historically economically disadvantaged communities, energy efficiency measures, and administrative costs. The measure directs the Department of Environmental Quality to incorporate into regulations previously adopted by the State Air Pollution Control Board certain provisions establishing a carbon dioxide cap and trade program to reduce emissions released by electric generation facilities. Such provisions are required to comply with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative model rule. The measure authorizes the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality to establish, implement, and manage an auction program to sell allowances into a market-based trading program. The measure requires revenues from the sale of carbon allowances, to the extent permitted by Article X, Section 7 of the Constitution of Virginia, to be deposited in an interest-bearing account and to be distributed without further appropriation to the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund, to the Department of Housing and Community Development for low-income energy efficiency programs, for administrative expenses, and for statewide climate change planning and mitigation activities. The measure continues the Virginia Shoreline Resiliency Fund as the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund for the purpose of creating a low-interest loan program to help inland and coastal communities that are subject to recurrent flooding. Among other things, the measure also (i) requires, by 2035, American Electric Power and Dominion Energy Virginia to construct or acquire 400 and 2,700 megawatts of energy storage capacity, respectively; (ii) establishes an energy efficiency standard under which each investor-owned incumbent electric utility is required to achieve incremental annual energy efficiency savings that start in 2022 at 0.25 percent of the average annual energy retail sales by that utility in 2019 and increase those savings annually. Beginning in 2026 and every three years thereafter, the Commission is required to adjust the required energy efficiency goals for the successive three years. and thereafter when energy efficiency savings of at least two percent of the average annual energy retail sales by that utility in the three preceding calendar years are required; (iii) exempts large general service customers from energy savings requirements; (iv) revises the incentive for electric utility energy efficiency programs; (v) provides that if the Commission finds in any triennial review that revenue reductions related to energy efficiency measures or programs approved and deployed since the utility's previous triennial review have caused the utility to earn more than 50 basis points below a fair combined rate of return on its generation and distribution services or, for any test period commencing after December 31, 2012, for Dominion Energy Virginia and after December 31, 2013, for American Electric Power, more than 70 basis points below a fair combined rate of return on its generation and distribution services, the Commission shall order increases to the utility's rates for generation and distribution services necessary to recover such revenue reductions; (vi) establishes requirements regarding the development by Dominion Energy Virginia of qualified offshore wind projects having an aggregate rated capacity of not less than 5,200 megawatts by January 1, 2034, and provides that in constructing any such facility, the utility shall (a) identify options for utilizing local workers; (b) identify the economic development benefits of the project for the Commonwealth, including capital investments and job creation; (c) consult with relevant governmental entities, including the Commonwealth's Chief Workforce Development Officer and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, on opportunities to advance the Commonwealth's workforce and economic development goals, including furtherance of apprenticeship and other workforce training programs; and (d) give priority to the hiring of local workers, including workers from historically economically disadvantaged communities: (vii) requires each utility to include, and the Commission to consider, in any application to construct a new generating facility the social cost of carbon, as determined by the Commission, as a benefit or cost, whichever is appropriate; (viii) removes provisions that authorize nuclear and offshore wind generating facilities to continue to be eligible for an enhanced rate of return on common equity during the construction phase of the facility and the approved first portion of its service life of between 12 and 25 years in the case of a facility utilizing nuclear power and for a service life of between five and 15 years in the case of a facility utilizing energy derived from offshore wind; (ix) removes a provision that declares that planning and development activities for new nuclear generation facilities are in the public interest; (x) increases the limit from 5,000 megawatts to 16,100 megawatts on those solar and onshore wind generation facilities that are declared to be in the public interest and increases the limit from 16 megawatts to 5,000 megawatts on those offshore wind generation facilities that are declared to be in the public interest; (xi) amends the net energy metering program by increasing the maximum capacity of renewable generation facilities of participating nonresidential eligible customer-generators from one to three megawatts, increases the cap on the capacity of generation from facilities from the customer's expected annual energy consumption to 150 percent of such amount, increases each utility's systemwide cap from one percent of its adjusted Virginia peak-load forecast for the previous year to six percent of such amount, five percent of which is available to all customers and one percent of which is available only to low-income customers; (xii) establishes the Percentage of Income Payment Program (PIPP), which caps the monthly electric utility payment of low-income participants at six percent, or, if the participant's home uses electric heat, 10 percent, of the participant's household income and sets forth eligibility criteria for participation in PIPP, establishes the PIPP Fund to pay electric utility providers the balance of low-income participants' accounts and to fund energy efficiency and weatherization initiatives, and provides directives to the Department of Housing and Community Development regarding the administration of PIPP; (xiii) requires each investor-owned utility to consult with the Clean Energy Advisory Board in how best to inform low-income customers of opportunities to lower electric bills through access to solar energy (xiv) requires the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy to prepare a report to the House and Senate Committees on Commerce and Labor and to the Governor's Advisory Council on Environmental Justice that ensures that the implementation of this act does not impose a disproportionate burden on minority or historically economically disadvantaged communities (xv) requires the Secretary of Natural Resources and the Secretary of Commerce and Trade, in consultation with the State Corporation Commission and the Council on Environmental Justice and appropriate stakeholders, shall report to the General Assembly by January 1, 2022, any recommendations on how to achieve 100 percent carbon free electric energy generation by 2050 at least cost for ratepayers; and (xvi) provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealth that the State Corporation Commission, Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, Virginia Council on Environmental Justice, and other applicable state agencies, in the development of energy programs, job training programs, and placement of renewable energy facilities, shall consider those facilities and programs being to the benefit of low-income geographic areas and historically economically disadvantaged communities that are located near previously and presently permitted fossil fuel facilities or coal mines.

Research and development in the Commonwealth. Creates the Commonwealth of Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority (the Authority) to oversee and support research, development, and commercialization, as well as related investment and seed-stage funding, in the Commonwealth. The Authority is governed by an 11-member Board, consisting of the Secretary of Commerce and Trade, six nonlegislative citizen members appointed by the Governor, and four nonlegislative citizen members appointed by the Joint Rules Committee. Existing grant, loan, and investment funds currently administered by the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Investment Authority and the Virginia Research Investment Committee, repealed under the bill, would be consolidated under the Authority, and the Authority would be responsible for developing an Innovation Index for the Commonwealth. The bill contains technical amendments. This bill is identical to SB 576.

Health insurance; payment to out-of-network providers. Provides that when an enrollee receives emergency services from an out-of-network health care provider or receives out-of-network surgical or ancillary services at an in-network facility, the enrollee is not required to pay the out-of-network provider any amount other than the applicable cost-sharing requirement and such cost-sharing requirement cannot exceed the cost-sharing requirement that would apply if the services were provided in-network. The measure also provides that the health carrier's required payment to the out-of-network provider of the services is a commercially reasonable amount based on payments for the same or similar services provided in a similar geographic area. If such provider disputes the amount to be paid by the health carrier, the measure requires the provider and the health carrier to make a good faith effort to reach a resolution on the amount of the reimbursement. If the health carrier and the provider do not agree to a commercially reasonable payment and either party wants to take further action to resolve the dispute, then the measure requires the dispute will be resolved by arbitration. The measure establishes a framework for arbitration of such disputes that includes (i) a timeline for the proceedings, (ii) a method for choosing an arbitrator, (iii) required and optional factors for the arbitrator to consider, (iv) non-disclosure agreements, (v) reporting requirements, and (vi) an appeals process for appeals on certain procedural grounds. The measure requires the State Corporation Commission to contract with Virginia Health Information (VHI) to establish a data set and business protocols to provide health carriers, providers, and arbitrators with data to assist in determining commercially reasonable payments and resolving disputes. The measure requires the Commission, in consultation with health carriers, providers, and consumers, to develop standard language for a notice of consumer rights regarding balance billing. The measure authorizes the Commission, the Board of Medicine, and the Commissioner of Health to levy fines and take action against a health carrier, health care practitioner, or medical care facility, respectively, for a pattern of violations of the prohibition against balance billing. Additionally, the measure prohibits a carrier or provider from initiating arbitration with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice. The measure provides that such provisions do not apply to an entity that provides or administers self-insured or self-funded plans; however, such entities may elect to be subject such provisions. The measure authorizes the Commission to adopt rules and regulations governing the arbitration process. The measure has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2021. This bill incorporates HB 58, HB 189, HB 901, HB 1494, and HB 1546 and is identical to SB 172.