Del. Rip Sullivan

Virginia African Diaspora Advisory Board. Establishes the Virginia African Diaspora Advisory Board to advise the Governor on ways to improve economic and cultural links between the Commonwealth and African nations, with a focus on the areas of commerce and trade, agriculture, art, education, and government. The Board is composed of 18 nonlegislative citizen members, of whom at least 15 must be persons who identify as part of the African diaspora, to be appointed by the Governor. The Secretaries of Agriculture and Forestry, Commerce and Trade, and Education or their designees serve as ex officio members.

Parenting Coordinator Act. Creates the Parenting Coordinator Act, which provides a framework for the use of a parenting coordinator in actions for divorce, separate maintenance, or annulmentin which custody or visitation is in issue, petitions for custodyor visitation, and written agreements between parties and parentingcoordinators. The Act governs the qualifications, scope of authority,appointment and removal, confidentiality, communication, recordsmaintenance, and fees of such parenting coordinators.

Virginia taxable income; deductions; EnergyStar certified water heater. Provides a deduction for the purchaseof any water heater for residential use that is Energy Star certified equal to the lesser of 20 percent of the actual price paid or $500,beginning in taxable year 2022. The bill limits to taxable years beginning before January 1, 2022, the current provisions allowingindividuals to deduct from their taxable personal income an amountequal to 20 percent of the sales taxes paid, up to $500, for an electricheat pump hot water heater that yields an energy factor of at least1.7 and an advanced gas or oil water heater that has an energy factorof at least 0.65.

Fair Labor Standards Act waiver; employeeswith disabilities. Removes the provision of the Code stating that any person who is paid pursuant to Section 14(c) of the Fair LaborStandards Act is not considered an employee for the purposes of theVirginia Minimum Wage Act.

Retail Small Business Grant Program and Fund.Establishes the Retail Small Business Grant Program and Fund to supportexisting Virginia small businesses, attract new businesses, increasethe Commonwealth's tax base, create new job opportunities for Virginiaresidents, and enhance commercial activity in Virginia. The billprovides that an eligible Virginia small business, defined in thebill, is eligible for grants of up to $50,000. The total amount ofgrants awarded in a fiscal year is capped at $10 million.

Family caregiver tax credit. Creates a nonrefundableincome tax credit for taxable years 2022 through 2026 for expensesincurred by an individual in caring for an eligible family member,defined in the bill, who requires assistance with one or more activitiesof daily living, also defined in the bill. The credit equals 50 percentof eligible expenditures incurred by the caregiver up to $1,000. Inorder to qualify for the credit, the family caregiver must (i) notreceive any compensation or reimbursement for the eligible expendituresand (ii) have federal adjusted gross income that is no greater than$100,000 for an individual or $200,000 for married persons. The billrequires the Tax Commissioner to establish guidelines for claimingthe credit and provides that any unused credit may be carried forwardby the taxpayer for five taxable years following the taxable yearfor which the credit was issued. The bill is a recommendation ofthe Joint Commission on Health Care.

Energy benchmarking; access to data on energyusage in certain buildings; civil penalty. Authorizes a localityto adopt an ordinance requiring utilities, upon request by the ownerof a covered building, defined in the bill as any building with oneor more utility accounts and a gross floor area of not less than30,000 square feet, to provide the owner with aggregated measuredenergy usage data for multiple utility accounts of customers receivingservice in the covered building. The bill makes such energy benchmarkingmandatory for a covered building with three or more active utility accounts in which no single utility account amounts to at least85 percent of the aggregated energy usage and optional for other covered buildings. The bill provides that the building owner shallonly provide aggregated data received via the benchmarking tool subject to ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager guidelines unless the Departmentof Energy gives other guidelines. Violators of the ordinance aresubject to a civil penalty of not more than $2,500 to be paid intothe state treasury for the general fund. The bill requires the Departmentto develop uniform guidelines for energy benchmarking with inputfrom stakeholders, with such guidelines finalized no later than December1, 2022.

Driving Decarbonization Program and Fund. Establishes the Driving Decarbonization Program and Fund to assist developers with non-utility costs associated with the installation of electric vehicle charging stations. A developer is eligible to receive grants of 50 to 70 percent of the non-utility costs, depending on where the charging station is located in the Commonwealth. The total amount of grants awarded in a fiscal year is capped at $20 million, with at least $5 million in grants reserved for charging stations located in historically economically distressed communities.

Celebrating the life of the Honorable LinwoodA. Holton, Jr.

Commending John H. Foote.