Del. Delores McQuinn

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act;terms and conditions of rental agreement; automatic renewal; noticeof rent increase. Requires a landlord that owns more than fourrental dwelling units to, in the case of any rental agreement thatprovides for automatic renewal of such agreement, provide separatewritten notice to the tenant notifying the tenant of any increasein rent. The bill provides that such notice shall be provided tothe tenant no less than 30 days before the automatic renewal takeseffect.

Retail Small Business Grant Program and Fund.Establishes the Retail Small Business Grant Program and Fund to supportexisting Virginia small businesses, attract new businesses, increasethe Commonwealth's tax base, create new job opportunities for Virginiaresidents, and enhance commercial activity in Virginia. The billprovides that an eligible Virginia small business, defined in thebill, is eligible for grants of up to $50,000. The total amount ofgrants awarded in a fiscal year is capped at $10 million.

Constitutional amendment (second reference); qualifications of voters and the right to vote; persons not entitled to vote. Provides that every person who meets the qualifications of voters set forth in the Constitution shall have the fundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth and that such right shall not be abridged by law, except for persons who have been convicted of a felony and persons who have been adjudicated to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting. A person who has been convicted of a felony shall not be entitled to vote during any period of incarceration for such felony conviction but upon release from incarceration for that felony conviction and without further action required of him, such person shall be invested with all political rights, including the right to vote. Currently, in order to be qualified to vote a person convicted of a felony must have his civil rights restored by the Governor or other appropriate authority. The amendment also provides that a person adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction as lacking the capacity to understand the act of voting shall not be entitled to vote during this period of incapacity until his capacity has been reestablished as prescribed by law. Currently, the Constitution provides that a person who has been adjudicated to be mentally incompetent is not qualified to vote until his competency is reestablished.

Public institutions of higher education; admission, in-state tuition, and tuition waivers; members of certain AmericanIndian tribes. Requires each public institution of higher educationto establish and implement an admissions policy whereby a certainnumber of annual offers of student admission is reserved for individualswho are members of a state-recognized or federally recognized American Indian tribe that is headquartered in the Commonwealth. The billdeclares eligible for in-state tuition charges regardless of domicileany non-Virginia student who is a member of a state-recognized or federally recognized American Indian tribe that is headquarteredin the Commonwealth. The bill also provides that any student whois a member of a state-recognized or federally recognized AmericanIndian tribe headquartered in the Commonwealth and who has been admittedto a public institution of higher education is eligible for a tuitionwaiver up to the amount necessary to cover the last-dollar cost ofthe institution's in-state tuition and mandatory fees after all other federal and state financial aid to which the student is entitledis taken into account.

Family caregiver tax credit. Creates a nonrefundableincome tax credit for taxable years 2022 through 2026 for expensesincurred by an individual in caring for an eligible family member,defined in the bill, who requires assistance with one or more activitiesof daily living, also defined in the bill. The credit equals 50 percentof eligible expenditures incurred by the caregiver up to $1,000. Inorder to qualify for the credit, the family caregiver must (i) notreceive any compensation or reimbursement for the eligible expendituresand (ii) have federal adjusted gross income that is no greater than$100,000 for an individual or $200,000 for married persons. The billrequires the Tax Commissioner to establish guidelines for claimingthe credit and provides that any unused credit may be carried forwardby the taxpayer for five taxable years following the taxable yearfor which the credit was issued. The bill is a recommendation ofthe Joint Commission on Health Care.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act;landlord remedies; noncompliance with rental agreement. Increasesfrom five days to 14 days the mandatory waiting period after a landlordserves written notice on a tenant notifying the tenant of his nonpaymentof rent and of the landlord's intention to terminate the rental agreementif rent is not paid before the landlord may pursue remedies for terminationof the rental agreement.

Fines, costs, forfeitures, penalties, and restitution; collection fees; assessment against incarcerated individuals. Providesthat notwithstanding any other provision of law, no collection fees,including the fees of any private attorneys or collection agencies,administrative fees, or any other fees related to collection activities,shall be assessed for the collection of any fines, costs, forfeitures,penalties, or restitution imposed in a criminal case or in a caseinvolving a traffic infraction (i) for any period during which thedefendant is incarcerated and (ii) for a period of 90 days followingthe date of the defendant's release from incarceration if the sentenceincludes an active term of incarceration.

Tribal nations; acknowledging harmful historyand policies in the Commonwealth. Expresses the sense of theHouse of Delegates in acknowledging with profound regret the existence, acceptance, and perpetuation of the dispossession of lands and theracist and assimilationist policies designed to erase the identity,culture, and sovereignty of tribal nations in the Commonwealth.

Conduct of law-enforcement officers; establishmentof an Early Identification System. Requires the Department ofCriminal Justice Services (the Department) to establish a best practicesmodel for the implementation, training, and management of an EarlyIdentification System (EIS). The bill defines an EIS as a systemthrough which a law-enforcement agency collects and manages datato identify and assess patterns of behavior, including misconductand high-risk behavior, or performance of law-enforcement officersand law-enforcement agency employees. The bill directs each sheriffor chief of police to implement an EIS by July 1, 2024, and requiresthat law-enforcement officers receive training prior to implementationof the EIS and annually thereafter. The bill also directs the Departmentto establish and administer written policies and procedures for law-enforcementagencies to report to the Office of the Attorney General all judgmentsor settlements in cases relating to negligence or misconduct of a law-enforcement officer.

Local tax; solar facility exemption.