Del. Betsy Carr

Requirement for appeals bond; indigent parties;appeal of unlawful detainer. Removes the requirement for an indigentdefendant in civil actions to post an appeal bond in any civil caseappealed from the general district court. The bill also removes provisionsof the Code allowing a plaintiff in an unlawful detainer case thathas been appealed to the circuit court to request the judge to ordera writ of eviction immediately upon entry of judgment for possession.

Department of General Services; adjustment ofboundary lines of surplus property. Provides that the Department of General Services may determine that a boundary line of surplus property is in need of adjustment and may work with property ownersto make such adjustment. The bill provides that the Department maydetermine that a grant or acceptance of an easement may facilitatesuch adjustment and may enter into such easement in a form approvedby the Attorney General and subject to the written approval of theGovernor. The bill also makes changes regarding the notice of saleof surplus property.

Virginia Employment Commission; administrative reforms; reporting requirements; electronic submissions; Unemployment Compensation Ombudsman established; emergency. Requires the Virginia Employment Commission to calculate and report the (i) average unemployment insurance benefit levels, (ii) average income replacement of unemployment insurance benefits, and (iii) recipiency rate for unemployment insurance benefits in the Commonwealth as part of the Commission's annual balance sheet. The bill also requires the Commission, as part of its biennial strategic plan submitted to the Department of Planning and Budget, to develop and maintain an unemployment insurance Resiliency Plan that describes the specific actions the agency would take, depending on the level of increase in unemployment insurance (UI) claims, to address staffing, communications, and other relevant aspects of operations to ensure continued efficient and effective administration of the UI program.The bill creates within the Commission on Unemployment Compensation a subcommittee that shall be responsible for monitoring the Virginia Employment Commission's management of the unemployment insurance program. The subcommittee shall meet at least once each quarter and shall report annually, beginning on December 1, 2022, to the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Commerce and Energy, the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor, and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations. The bill also directs the Commission to convene an advisory committee composed of stakeholders and subject matter experts to review information related to UI claims.The bill requires employers to submit claim-related forms and separation information electronically, as well as other information and electronic tax payments upon the Commission's request, unless the employer has received a waiver by the Commission. The bill provides that a claim for unemployment benefits that has been determined invalid by the Virginia Employment Commission as a result of the claimant's monetary ineligibility shall first be reviewed upon a request for redetermination prior to filing an appeal. The bill also creates an Unemployment Compensation Ombudsman position for the purpose of providing information and assistance to persons seeking assistance in the unemployment compensation process and exempts confidential case files of the Unemployment Compensation Ombudsman from the mandatory disclosure provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The bill directs the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management to lead a multiagency work group to discuss strategies for staffing assistance and support for agencies that might need staffing assistance during emergencies. Additionally, the Virginia Employment Commission is directed to task its internal audit division to review and revise documents and online resources related to unemployment compensation. The bill contains an emergency clause and is identical to SB 219.

Delinquent tax lands; disposition. Authorizes localities to petition the circuit court to appoint a special commissioner to, in lieu of a sale at public auction, convey certain real estate having delinquent taxes or liens to the locality's land bank entity or an existing nonprofit entity designated by the locality to carry out the functions of a land bank entity. Currently, such real estate may be conveyed only to the locality itself. The bill also allows real estate that contains a derelict building and has delinquent taxes and liens exceeding 10 percent of its assessed value to be conveyed via special commissioner, in lieu of a sale at public auction, to the locality, the locality's land bank entity, or such existing nonprofit entity. The bill requires a land bank entity or existing nonprofit entity that receives such parcels to pay any surplusage above the amount of unpaid taxes or liens to the former owners or other parties with an interest in the property.

Transit Ridership Incentive Program. Changes from a maximum of 25 percent to a minimum of 25 percent the percentage of Transit Ridership Incentive Program (TRIP) funds required to be used to support the establishment of programs to reduce the impact of fares on low-income individuals. This change expires on July 1, 2024. The bill also requires at least 25 percent of TRIP funds to be used to support regional transit initiatives and provides that the Commonwealth Transportation Board has the discretion to allocate the remaining funds available as authorized by law and based on the programs and initiatives submitted during the application process.

Catalytic converters; penalties. Makes it a Class 6 felony for a person to commit larceny of a catalytic converter or the parts thereof from a motor vehicle, regardless of the converter's value. The bill also makes it a Class 6 felony for a person to willfully break, injure, tamper with, or remove any part or parts of any vehicle, aircraft, boat, or vessel for the purpose of injuring, defacing, or destroying said vehicle, aircraft, boat, or vessel, or temporarily or permanently preventing its useful operation, or for any purpose against the will or without the consent of the owner, or to in any other manner willfully or maliciously interfere with or prevent the running or operation of such vehicle, aircraft, boat, or vessel, when such violation causes damage to such vehicle, aircraft, boat, or vessel of $1,000 or more. Current law makes such violation a Class 1 misdemeanor with no limit on the amount of damage. Under the bill, the penalty for damage of less than $1,000 remains a Class 1 misdemeanor.Additionally, the bill requires that the copies of the documentation that scrap metal purchasers are required to maintain for purchases of catalytic converters or the parts thereof (i) establish that the person from whom they purchased the catalytic converter or the parts thereof had lawful possession of it at the time of sale or delivery and (ii) detail the scrap metal purchaser's diligent inquiry into whether the person selling had a legal right to do so. The bill also requires that such documentation be maintained for at least two years after the purchase and that copies be made available upon request to any law-enforcement officer, conservator of the peace, or special conservator of the peace in the performance of his duties who presents his credentials at the scrap metal purchaser's normal business location during normal business hours.

Industrial Development and Revenue Bond Act; legislative intent; affordable housing grants. Authorizes an industrial development authority to make grants associated with the construction of affordable housing in order to promote safe and affordable housing in the Commonwealth and to benefit thereby the safety, health, welfare, and prosperity of the inhabitants of the Commonwealth.

Historical African American cemeteries. Changes the date of establishment that qualifies historical African American cemeteries for appropriated funds to care for such cemeteries from prior to January 1, 1900, to prior to January 1, 1948, and provides that the total number of graves in a qualifying cemetery shall be the number of markers of African Americans who were interred in such cemetery prior to January 1, 1948. Under current law, the total number of graves is the number of markers of African Americans who lived at any time between January 1, 1800, and January 1, 1900. This bill is identical to SB 477.

Department of Military Affairs; health care insurance premiums for members of Virginia National Guard or Virginia Defense Force. Provides that the Department of Military Affairs shall have the power to pay the employer portion of health care premiums for any member of the Virginia National Guard or Virginia Defense Force when certain circumstances are met. The bill requires the Department to establish policies, procedures, and protocols to implement and record such payments and to report annually to the Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs all such payments made. This bill is identical to SB 719.

Exhaust systems; excessive noise. Prohibitsany individual from operating a motor vehicle with a gross weightof 6,500 pounds or less with an exhaust system that emits noise in excess of 85 decibels. The bill also allows the governing body ofany county, city, or town located within the Northern Virginia Planning District or Richmond Regional Planning District to provide by ordinancethat no person shall operate any motor vehicle on a highway or onpublic or private property within 500 feet of any residential districtunless such motor vehicle is equipped with an exhaust system of atype installed as standard equipment, or comparable to that designedfor use on that particular vehicle or device as standard factoryequipment, in good working order and in constant operation to preventexcessive noise.