Del. Shelly Simonds

Parking Lot Solar Development Program and Fund; report. Directs the Department of Energy, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Quality, to establish by January 1, 2025, a Parking Lot Solar Development Program for the purpose of encouraging development of distributed parking lot solar projects up to one megawatt in size in the Commonwealth. The bill also creates the Parking Lot Solar Development Fund for the purposes of (i) funding solar renewable energy credit values at an updated 10-year levelized incentive level through the renewable energy certificate market using a solar financing model as described in the bill, (ii) implementing and administering the Parking Lot Solar Development Program, and (iii) implementing and administering an alternative auction site that sets a fixed price for solar renewable energy credits not sold in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the Department, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Quality, to engage in a stakeholder consultation to evaluate the current costs of solar installations and incentive levels across market segments and study benefits to grid security and reliability, ratepayers, and environmental goals of the Commonwealth by December 1, 2024, and every five years thereafter. The bill also directs the Commission to consult with agencies and stakeholders to develop an online mapping database of potential parking lot solar sites for development in the Commonwealth by December 1, 2024. Finally, the bill requires the Department, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Quality, to submit an annual report to the General Assembly regarding the implementation of the Parking Lot Solar Development Program for the preceding fiscal year by November 1, 2025.

Virginia Green Infrastructure Bank; created.Creates the Virginia Green Infrastructure Bank, an authorityto promote and catalyze investment in qualified projects that reducegreenhouse gas emissions, assist climate-impacted communities, andpromote environmental justice. The bill requires the Bank to be governedby a board of directors with the authority to hire a president and create a nonstock corporation to carry out the powers and dutiesof the bank.

National Teacher Certification Incentive RewardProgram and Fund; eligibility; incentive grant awards. Renamesthe National Teacher Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fundas the National Board Certification Incentive Reward Program andFund, expands eligibility for incentive grant awards from such Fundpursuant to such Program from solely teachers who have obtained nationalcertification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standardsto (i) all public school staff who are candidates for initial nationalcertification or maintenance of national certification to cover certaincosts of obtaining or maintaining such certification and (ii) allpublic school staff who have successfully obtained or maintainedsuch certification. The bill also declares as eligible for an annualincentive grant award in the amount of $7,500 all public school staffwho have obtained or maintained such certification. Current law declaresas eligible for an annual incentive grant award of $5,000 in thefirst year and $2,500 in each subsequent year all teachers who haveobtained or maintained such certification.

Casino gaming; cruise ships. Authorizesthe conduct of cruise ship casino gaming in the offshore waters ofthe Commonwealth by a cruise ship operator that applies for and receivesa permit from the Virginia Lottery. The bill sets an annual permitfee of $50,000 for any cruise ship that uses a port or other pointof anchorage in the offshore waters of the Commonwealth for the purpose of embarkation or disembarkation of cruise ship passengers and anannual permit fee of $125,000 for any cruise ship that transits theoffshore waters of the Commonwealth without making a stop in theCommonwealth and conducts casino gaming activities while in suchwaters.

Restrictions on the sale of nicotine vapor products containing liquid nicotine and hemp products intended for smoking;civil penalties. Provides restrictions and prohibitions on certainretail sales that include (i) restrictions on the number of nicotinevapor products containing liquid nicotine, liquid nicotine containers,and hemp products intended for smoking, as such terms are defined in the bill, that may be sold in one transaction to a consumer; (ii)packaging, labeling, and signage requirements for those selling anynicotine vapor products containing liquid nicotine or hemp productsintended for smoking; (iii) advertising and marketing requirementsfor those selling any nicotine vapor products containing liquid nicotineor hemp products intended for smoking; (iv) education requirementsfor employees at retail establishments selling nicotine vapor productscontaining liquid nicotine or hemp products intended for smoking;and (v) online delivery sale requirements of nicotine vapor productscontaining liquid nicotine or hemp products intended for smoking.The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority and the VirginiaDepartment of Agriculture and Consumer Services, as applicable, shallenforce such requirements and restrictions and shall impose civilpenalties on violations thereof.

Campaign finance; prohibited personal use of campaignfunds; complaints, hearings, civil penalty, and advisory opinions.Prohibits any person from converting contributions to a candidate or hiscampaign committee to personal use. Current law only prohibits such conversionof contributions with regard to disbursement of surplus funds at thedissolution of a campaign or political committee. The bill provides that acontribution is considered to have been converted to personal use if thecontribution, in whole or in part, is used to fulfill any commitment,obligation, or expense that would exist irrespective of the person's seeking,holding, or maintaining public office but allows a contribution to be used forthe ordinary and accepted expenses related to campaigning for or holdingelective office, including the use of campaign funds to pay for the candidate'schild care expenses that are incurred as a direct result of campaign activity.The bill provides that any person subject to the personal use ban may requestan advisory opinion from the State Board of Elections on such matters. The billdirects the State Board of Elections to adopt emergency regulations similar tothose promulgated by the Federal Election Commission to implement theprovisions of the bill and to publish an updated summary of Virginia campaignfinance law that reflects the State Board of Elections' and Attorney General'sguidance on the provisions of such law that prohibit the personal use ofcampaign funds and any new regulations promulgated by the State Board ofElections.

Teachers for Tomorrow Grant Program established. Requires the Department of Education, with such funds as may be appropriatefor such purpose pursuant to the general appropriation act, to establishand administer the Teachers for Tomorrow Grant Program whereby anyschool board may apply for a grant in an amount up to $250,000, tobe awarded on a competitive basis, with which to expose and attracthigh school students in the local school division to careers in teachingthrough curricula, courses, and hands-on experiential learning opportunities,which may include early opportunities to earn course credit at aninstitution of higher education or take and pass assessments requiredfor licensure as a teacher in the Commonwealth.

Home Visiting Program established; report. Establishes the Home Visiting Program within the Department of Social Services to support pregnant people and parents with young children who face greater risks and barriers to achieving positive maternal and child health outcomes. The bill directs the Department to operate in accordance with the Virginia Plan for Home Visiting established by Early Impact Virginia, a consortium of government and private entities. The purpose of the Program is to (i) promote the health and well-being of pregnant people and parents, (ii) improve infant and child health and development, (iii) strengthen family functioning, (iv) promote school readiness, (v) reduce child maltreatment, (vi) promote economic mobility, and (vii) cultivate strong communities. The bill requires the Department to report biennially to the Governor and the General Assembly on outcomes for Program participants.

Elections; conduct of election; ranked choice voting; locally elected offices; report. Allows elections for any local or constitutional office to be conducted by ranked choice voting. Under current law, only elections of members of a county board of supervisors or a city council are allowed to be conducted by ranked choice voting. The bill also clarifies requirements for conducting elections using ranked choice voting and requires results for elections conducted by ranked choice voting to be reported along with other results reported on election night, except that such results must clearly be identified as preliminary and based on the first rankings in a ranked choice voting election. The bill provides that final tabulation for an election for a local or constitutional office that is not shared by more than one county or city is required to be conducted on the same day as other results are canvassed by the local electoral board and that final tabulation for and election for a local or constitutional office that is shared by more than one county or city is required to be conducted at a centralized facility under the supervision of the Department of Elections. The bill specifies that ranking data is required to be made publicly available by the Department and requires the State Board of Elections to provide standards and to approve vote tabulating software for use with existing voting systems in elections conducted by ranked choice voting. The bill also limits a risk-limiting audit of an election conducted using ranked choice voting to the first choice rankings reported on voting systems. Finally, the bill directs the Department to review the testing and approval framework for voting equipment in the Commonwealth and submit a report of such review no later than the first day of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

School meals; availability at no cost to students. Provides that each school board shall require each public elementary and secondary school in the local school division to participate in the federal National School Lunch Program and the federal School Breakfast Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture or in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) as provided in relevant law, if applicable, and to make lunch and breakfast available to any student who requests such a meal at no cost to the student, unless the student's parent has provided written permission to the school board to withhold such a meal from the student. The bill also requires the Department of Education to reimburse each public elementary and secondary school for each school breakfast and lunch served to a student, with a maximum of one breakfast and one lunch per student per school day, and provides the formula for determining the state reimbursement rate for such meals. The bill contains provisions directing each school board to adopt policies and procedures aimed at maximizing access to federal funds available for the cost of participating in school breakfast and lunch programs and maximizing determinations of student eligibility for federal free or reduced cost meal reimbursements rates and participation in CEP. The bill also lowers the minimum identified student percentage for a school to be eligible to participate in CEP from 40 to 25 percent in accordance with the updated federal CEP regulations (7 C.F.R. § 245.9(f)(3)(i)). The bill also requires the Secretary of Education, in coordination with the Secretary of Finance, to convene a stakeholder work group to study and make recommendations on ways to avoid or mitigate the impact of offering statewide free school breakfast and lunches on other state-funded programs and to submit a report on such findings and recommendations by January 15, 2025, to the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Education. The bill also repeals provisions of law relating to the federal School Breakfast Program and to school meal debt that are rendered obsolete by the provisions of the bill.