Del. Jeff Bourne

Campaign finance; prohibited personal use; child care exception. Prohibits any person from converting any moneys, securities, or like intangible personal property contributed to a candidate or a candidate's campaign committee to his personal use, the personal use of the candidate, or the personal use of a member of the candidate's immediate family. Current law prohibits such conversion of contributions to personal use specifically with regard to disbursement of surplus funds at the dissolution of a campaign or political committee. The bill provides that a contribution is considered to have been converted to personal use if the contribution, 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 excepts from "personal use" the ordinary and accepted expenses related to campaigning for or holding elective office, including the use of campaign funds to pay for the candidate's child care expenses that are incurred as a direct result of campaign activity. The bill directs the Attorney General to issue an advisory opinion explaining the provisions of the Campaign Finance Disclosure Act of 2006 (§ 24.2-945 et seq.) that prohibit the personal use of campaign funds. The bill directs the State Board of Elections to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill and to provide an updated summary of Virginia campaign finance law that reflects the Attorney General's opinion and any new regulations promulgated by the Board.

Environmental permits; community and environmentaljustice outreach. Requires the applicant for any (i) new or majormodified stationary air pollution source, (ii) new landfill or transfer station, (iii) certification of site approval for a hazardous wastefacility, (iv) new individual Virginia Pollutant Discharge EliminationSystem permit, (v) new individual Virginia Water Protection permit,(vi) new individual Virginia Stormwater Management Program permit,(vii) new individual Virginia Pollution Abatement permit, or (viii)individual ground water withdrawal permit for a new ground water withdrawal to complete certain public notice requirements, including(a) holding a public hearing; (b) publishing notices in English andSpanish in a newspaper, on social media, and on signage at the sitelocation at least 60 days prior to such public meeting; (c) mailingnotices to interested parties; (d) accepting written comments; (e)transcribing meeting information; and (f) responding to communityconcerns to the satisfaction of the Department of Environmental Quality. The bill removes an exemption for applicantsfor a permit to operate a new captive industrial landfill or a new construction-demolition-debris landfill from certain provisions relatingto new landfills or transfer stations. The bill also removes an exemptionfrom certain public notice requirements granted to local governmentor public authority applicants for a permit to operate a landfillor transfer station.

National Statuary Hall Collection at the United States Capitol; Barbara Rose Johns. Authorizes, and directs the submission to the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library, that the vacant spot of the Commonwealth in the National Statuary Hall Collection at the United States Capitol be filled with a statue to commemorate Barbara Rose Johns. The request is subject to written approval by the Governor and is made in accordance with the recommendation by the Commission for Historical Statues in the United States Capitol.

Racism; public health crisis. Recognizesthat racism is a public health crisis in Virginia.

Virginia Redistricting Commission; removal of commissioners; emergency. Provides for the removal of a commissioner from the Virginia Redistricting Commission for neglect of duty or gross misconduct. Removal would require affirmative votes of at least six of the eight legislative commissioners and at least six of the eight citizen commissioners. Such a vote is required to be recorded and taken in a public meeting. The bill contains an emergency clause.

Status offenders; willful and material violation of court order or terms of probation; notice; orders of disposition for violation. Removes the option for a court to order that a status offender be detained in a secure facility for a willful and material violation of a court order or term of probation.

Electric utility regulation; purchasing from competitive suppliers. Authorizes individual retail customers of electric energy to purchase electric energy provided 100 percent from renewable energy from any licensed competitive supplier of electric energy, including any incumbent electric utility. Currently, such customers may purchase electric power from such suppliers, other than an incumbent electric utility that is not the incumbent electric utility serving the exclusive territory in which the customer is located, only if their incumbent electric utility does not offer an approved tariff for electric energy provided 100 percent from renewable energy. The measure also provides that a cooperative utility customer eligible to take service under a tariff for electric energy provided 100 percent from renewable energy is prohibited from purchasing electric energy provided 100 percent from renewable energy from a licensed supplier, except such customer is authorized to continue purchasing renewable energy pursuant to the terms of a power purchase agreement in effect on the date the cooperative serving it filed with the Commission such tariff for electric energy provided 100 percent from renewable energy for the duration of such agreement. The measure requires that, within three months after the enactment of this act or within three months after beginning to offer a 100 percent renewable energy product to residential customers, whichever is later, licensed competitive suppliers that offers 100 percent renewable energy to residential customers in the service territory of Dominion Energy Virginia or Appalachian Power, to submit a proposal to the State Corporation Commission for consideration and approval to offer discounted service to low-income customers. The measure requires such proposal to include a 100 percent renewable product to be offered to a minimum number of low-income customers at a rate ten percent lower than the incumbent electric utility’s standard residential rate for non-renewable supply service for a minimum initial term of twelve months.

Electric utilities; triennial review; ratesof return. Provides that the State Corporation Commission, in any triennial review proceeding, including the first triennial review proceeding conducted after January 1, 2021, for Dominion EnergyVirginia, may use any methodology it finds consistent with the publicinterest to determine fair rates of return on common equity for the utility's generation and distribution services. In any such triennialreview, regardless of whether the utility earned above or below itsauthorized rate of return during the test period under review, theCommission also may order any increases or decreases to the utility'srates for generation and distribution that it deems necessary andappropriate, as long as the resulting rates provide the utility with the opportunity to (i) fully recover its costs of providing its servicesand (ii) earn an authorized rate of return.

Electric utilities; period costs. Provides that in a triennial review proceeding, certain utility generation and distribution costs that are not proposed for recovery under various cost recovery mechanisms, at the State Corporation Commission's discretion, may be attributed to the test periods under review and deemed fully recovered or, if the utility has earned below a certain threshold, may be deferred for recovery over future periods. Under current law, such attribution is required unless the utility has earned below a certain threshold, in which case deferred recovery of the costs is required. The bill also eliminates provisions that limit any rate reduction ordered by the State Corporation Commission in the first triennial review of Dominion Energy Virginia after January 1, 2021, to $50 million in annual revenues and provides that in any triennial review, regardless of whether the Commission has ordered bill credits, the utility earned above its authorized rate of return during the test period under review, or the utility has made a request regarding any customer credit reinvestment offsets, the Commission may order any rate reduction it deems necessary and appropriate unless it finds that the resulting rates will not provide the utility with the opportunity to (i) fully recover its costs of providing its services and (ii) earn not less than a fair combined rate of return on its generation and distribution services. The provisions of the bill apply to the first triennial review of Dominion Energy Virginia conducted after January 1, 2021. This bill incorporates HB 1835.