Motion picture production tax credit. Increases the aggregate cap on the motion picture production tax credit allocated in each fiscal year from $6.5 million to $8.5 million beginning in fiscal year 2025.
Local anti-rent gouging authority; civil penalty. Provides that any locality may by ordinance adopt anti-rent gouging provisions. The bill provides for notice and a public hearing prior to the adoption of such ordinance and specifies that all landlords who are under the ordinance may be required to give at least two months' written notice of a rent increase and cannot increase the rent by more than the locality's calculated allowance, described in the bill as the maximum amount a landlord can increase a tenant's rent during any 12-month period, in effect at the time of the increase. The bill sets such allowance as equal to the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index or seven percent, whichever is less, states that such allowance is effective for a 12-month period beginning July 1 each year, and requires the locality to publish such allowance on its website by June 1 of each year. Certain facilities, as outlined in the bill, are exempt from such ordinance. The bill also requires a locality to establish an anti-rent gouging board that will develop and implement rules and procedures by which landlords may apply for and be granted exemptions from the rent increase limits set by the ordinance. Finally, the bill provides that a locality shall establish a civil penalty for failure to comply with the requirements set out in its ordinance.
Collective bargaining by firefighters and emergency medical services providers. Authorizes firefighters and emergency medical services providers employed by a political subdivision of the Commonwealth to engage in collective bargaining through labor organizations or other designated representatives. The bill provides for the appointment of a three-member board of arbitration regarding any dispute arising between an employer and firefighters or emergency medical services providers. Under the bill, determinations made by such board of arbitration are final on a disputed issue and are binding on the parties involved.
Recognition of the Wolf Creek Cherokee Tribe of Virginia. Extends state recognition to the Wolf Creek Cherokee Tribe of Virginia within the Commonwealth.
Absentee voting in person; voter satellite offices; days and hours of operation. Authorizes the governing body of any county or city establishing voter satellite offices for absentee voting in person to prescribe, by ordinance, the dates and hours of operation for such offices. The bill prohibits any reduction in the dates or hours of operation of such offices to be enacted within 60 days of any general election.
Department of General Services; Office of Pharmaceutical Services; report. Establishes in the Department of General Services an Office of Pharmaceutical Services to develop and execute a plan to consolidate state agency prescription drug purchasing and pharmacy benefit management programs to increase efficiency in prescription drug purchasing and constrain spending on prescription drugs. The bill directs the Department to provide to the Governor and the General Assembly an interim report on the development of the plan by November 1, 2024, and a final report on the plan by November 1, 2025.
Public institutions of higher education; tuition and financial aid; dependency override application form. Requires each public institution of higher education to develop, maintain, and post publicly on the financial aid page of such institution's website informational materials relating to the dependency override application process and to review and update such materials as necessary to reflect current federal law and guidance on such process. The bill requires such informational materials to include, in a language and format accessible to students enrolled at and potential applicants for admission to such institution, (i) an explanation of the purpose of and eligibility requirements for a dependency override, (ii) an explicit list of the circumstances on which a student may base a dependency override application, (iii) an explanation of the dependency override application process at such institution, and (iv) links to relevant federal guidance on the dependency override process.
Task Force on Maternal Health Data and Quality Measures; report. Directs the State Health Commissioner to reestablish the Task Force on Maternal Health Data and Quality Measures for the purpose of evaluating maternal health data collection processes to guide policies in the Commonwealth to improve maternal care, quality, and outcomes for all birthing people in the Commonwealth. The bill directs the Task Force to report its findings and conclusions to the Governor and General Assembly by December 1 of each year regarding its activities. This bill reestablishes the Task Force on Maternal Health Data and Quality Measures that concluded on December 1, 2023.
Workers' compensation; presumption of compensability of infertility for firefighters. Provides that firefighters who suffer from infertility are presumed to have developed infertility during the course and scope of employment as a firefighter in certain instances. The bill provides that such infertility is compensable under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act if diagnosed by a medical professional and that such compensation may include medical treatment, temporary total incapacity benefits, and temporary partial incapacity benefits for a maximum period of 52 weeks from the date of diagnosis. The bill also requires each employer of firefighters to refer a firefighter seeking infertility health care services to a licensed medical professional after January 1, 2025.
Workers' compensation benefits; post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, or depressive disorder incurred by law-enforcement officers and firefighters. Removes the provision in the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act requiring that benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, or depressive disorder incurred by law-enforcement officers and firefighters acting in the line of duty be provided for a maximum of 52 weeks from the date of diagnosis.
