Del. Rip Sullivan

Local green banks. Authorizes a locality,by ordinance, to establish a green bank to promote the investmentin clean energy technologies in its locality and provide financingfor clean energy technologies, defined in the bill. The bill establishescertain powers and functions of a green bank, including developingrules and procedures, financing and providing loans for clean energyprojects, and stimulating demand for renewable energy. The bill requiresthe green bank to be a public entity, quasi-public entity, or nonprofitentity and requires the locality to hold a hearing and publish noticein a newspaper of general circulation prior to establishing the greenbank.

Enslaved Ancestors College Access ScholarshipProgram established. Establishes the Enslaved Ancestors CollegeAccess Scholarship Program, whereby Longwood University, the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, the Virginia MilitaryInstitute, and The College of William and Mary in Virginia are requiredto annually provide, starting in the 2022-2023 academic year and with any source of funds other than state funds or tuition or fee increases,to at least one African American Virginia student who was born inthe Commonwealth and has a total household income that is not morethan 400 percent of the federal poverty guidelines a renewable scholarshipin an amount sufficient to cover tuition, mandatory fees, room andboard, books and other educational supplies, and tutoring at the institution. The bill requires the State Council of Higher Educationfor Virginia to collaborate with such institutions to establish guidelinesfor the implementation of the Program and to annually collect informationon the implementation of the Program from such institutions and reportsuch information to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations,the House Committee on Education, the Senate Committee on Educationand Health, the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations, and the Virginia African American Advisory Board.

Small renewable energy projects; energy storage.Includes in the definition of a "small renewable energy project"certain energy storage facilities and projects that include storagefacility components. Such facilities are eligible for special permitting,review, and inspection requirements. The bill directs the Departmentof Environmental Quality to promulgate initial regulations to implementthe provisions of the bill by January 1, 2022.

Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back (G3) Fundand Program established. Establishes the Get Skilled,Get a Job, Give Back (G3) Fund and requires the Virginia Community College System to establish the G3 Program for the purpose of providing financial assistance from the Fund to certain low-income and middle-income Virginia students who are enrolled in an educational program at an associate-degree-granting public institution of higher educationthat leads to an occupation in a certain high-demand field. The billcontains provisions for student eligibility, financial assistanceaward amounts, and data reporting.

Uniform Collaborative Law Act. Creates theUniform Collaborative Law Act, which provides a framework for thepractice of collaborative law, a process entered into voluntarilyby clients for the express purpose of reaching a settlement in afamily or domestic relations law matter, including (i) marriage,divorce, dissolution, annulment, and property distribution; (ii)child custody, visitation, and parenting time; (iii) alimony, spousalsupport, maintenance, and child support; (iv) adoption; (v) parentage;and (vi) negotiation or enforcement of premarital, marital, and separationagreements. The Act governs disclosure of information, privilege against disclosure of communications, and scope of representationby the attorneys in the proceeding.

Practice of certified nurse midwives. Eliminatesthe requirement that certified nurse midwives practice pursuant toa practice agreement and provides that certified nurse midwives shall practice in accordance with regulations of the Boards of Medicineand Nursing and consistent with the Standards for the Practice ofMidwifery set by the American College of Nurse-Midwives and shallconsult and collaborate with and refer patients to such other healthcare providers as may be appropriate for the care of the patient.

Abolition of the death penalty. Abolishes the death penalty, including for those persons currently under a death sentence. The bill incorporates HB 1779.

Transportation electrification; Virginia EnergyPlan. Amends the Virginia Energy Plan to include an analysisof electric vehicle charging infrastructure and other infrastructureneeded to support the 2045 net-zero carbon target in the transportationsector.

Lawyers; client accounts. Repeals the provision prohibiting the Supreme Court of Virginia from adopting a disciplinaryrule requiring that lawyers deposit client funds in an interest-bearingaccount.

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.