Del. Destiny LeVere Bolling

Maddy summaryHR 853 is a ceremonial resolution commending Khadijeh Aslankhani for her contributions, with no substantive policy changes or direct impact on legislation. It serves solely as a formal expression of appreciation from the House of Representatives. The bill was passed by voice vote and engrossed without debate, reflecting standard procedural steps for such resolutions. As a commemorative measure, it does not allocate funds, alter laws, or affect any specific group or policy.

Incapacitated persons; finding of lack of capacity to understand act of voting. Provides that a finding that a person is incapacitated in a proceeding for guardianship or conservatorship shall not be synonymous with a finding that such person is "mentally incompetent," as such term is used in relevant law, and therefore not qualified to vote in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of Virginia. The bill provides that no person shall be deemed disqualified to vote due to a lack of capacity for the purposes of the Constitution of Virginia unless a court makes a specific finding by clear and convincing evidence that such person lacks the capacity to understand the act of voting.

Department of Health; waterworks; mandatory reporting. Requires owners of waterworks to report any critical equipment failure or malfunction or contaminant release to the Department of Health's Office of Drinking Water as soon as practicable but no more than two hours after discovery. The bill also requires owners of waterworks that are required to submit a monthly operating report to the Office to include any noncritical equipment failure or malfunction that could adversely affect water quality, public health, or service continuity in such report. This bill incorporates HB 2407 and is identical to SB 1408.

Department of Housing and Community Development; Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; affordable housing; criminal record screening model policy. Requires the Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development, with input from a stakeholder group convened by the Department of Housing and Community Development, to develop a criminal record screening model policy for admitting or denying an applicant for affordable housing covered under the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's guidance on the application of the federal Fair Housing Act and maintain such model policy on its website. The bill prohibits a landlord of an affordable housing unit from basing an adverse action, in whole or in part, on an applicant's criminal or arrest record unless the landlord does so in accordance with the criminal record screening model policy developed by the Department of Housing and Community Development and posted on its website and provides the applicant with a written copy of such policy. The provisions of the bill other than the creation of the stakeholder group have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2026.

Department of Energy; workforce development in offshore wind industry. Directs the Director of the Department of Energy to identify and develop training resources to advance workforce development in the offshore wind industry in the Commonwealth.

Minimum wage; farm laborers or farm employees; temporary foreign workers. Eliminates the exemptions from Virginia's minimum wage requirements for (i) persons employed as farm laborers or farm employees and (ii) certain temporary foreign workers.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; material noncompliance by landlord; rent escrow; relief. Removes the requirement that, prior to the granting of any relief, a tenant shall pay into escrow any amount of rent called for under the rental agreement. The bill requires the tenant, during the pendency of the action, to pay into escrow the amount of rent that becomes due within five days of the date due under the rental agreement, unless or until such amount is modified by a subsequent order of the court. The bill also provides that a failure of the tenant to make timely payments into escrow shall not be grounds for dismissal of the underlying action but may be considered by the court when issuing an order.

Affordable housing; assisted living facilities. Allows localities that have adopted an affordable housing program to negotiate that in an application for a special exception or special use permit affordable rental units be included for any proposed development of an assisted living facility. Such ordinance shall apply to applications approved on or after January 1, 2026.

Department of Motor Vehicles; driver communication improvement program. Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to develop and implement a program for the promotion, printing, and distribution of envelopes for use by drivers diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, as that term is defined in relevant law, to provide to a law-enforcement officer for the purpose of easing communication during a traffic stop or upon such law-enforcement officer's arrival at the scene of a traffic accident.

Department of Housing and Community Development; Income-Qualified Energy Efficiency and Weatherization Task Force established; report. Directs the Department of Housing and Community Development to establish, in collaboration with the Department of Energy, and with assistance from the Department of Social Services, the Income-Qualified Energy Efficiency and Weatherization Task Force to determine barriers to access and enrollment in the current energy efficiency programs for income-qualified energy customers and to evaluate and develop a plan to address any necessary improvements regarding coordination among state and federal government agencies for utility services and resources to more effectively deliver energy-efficient housing, weatherization resources, and energy efficiency upgrades for income-qualified individuals and households in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the Task Force to meet at least six times between July 1, 2025, and September 30, 2026, and to submit a report of its findings and recommendations no later than September 30, 2026. The bill specifies that such report shall include policy recommendations and a plan to ensure that weatherization-ready repairs and whole-home energy efficiency retrofits are provided to all eligible income-qualified individuals and households in the Commonwealth residing in multifamily buildings, single-family dwellings, and manufactured homes by December 31, 2033. This bill is identical to SB 777.