Del. Nadarius Clark

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 allows 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 may establish a civil penalty for failure to comply with the requirements set out in the ordinance.

Recognition of the Wolf Creek Cherokee Tribe of Virginia. Extends state recognition to the Wolf Creek Cherokee Tribe of Virginia within the Commonwealth.

Affordable dwelling unit ordinances; accessible units. Provides that any locality that has adopted an affordable dwelling unit ordinance may require under such ordinance that a set percentage of the units built by a developer are compliant with the appropriate requirements of the American National Standards for Building and Facilities for Type A units or with any other standards adopted as part of regulations promulgated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development providing accessibility and usability for persons with a physical disability.

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.

Faith in Housing for the Commonwealth Act. Permits a religious organization, defined in the bill, to construct affordable housing on real estate owned by such religious organization (i) on or before January 1, 2024, or for a period of not less than five years, and (ii) for which the religious organization retains a majority ownership interest.

JLARC; Department of Human Resource Management; Grievance Procedure Manual; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to conduct a review of the Department of Human Resource Management's Grievance Procedure Manual as it relates to the Department of Corrections and Department of Juvenile Justice. The bill requires that JLARC evaluate the effectiveness of such procedures and report its findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology and the House Committee on General Laws by November 1, 2024.

Study; joint committee of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health; challenges faced by and effective strategies for ensuring the sustainable, long-term success of the five historically black colleges and universities in the Commonwealth; report. Establishes a joint committee consisting of five members of the House Committee on Education and three members of the Senate Committee on Education and Health to study the challenges faced by and effective strategies for ensuring the sustainable, long-term success of the five historically black colleges and universities in the Commonwealth–Hampton University, Norfolk State University, Virginia State University, Virginia Union University, and Virginia University of Lynchburg–by discussing, adopting, and recommending to the Governor and the General Assembly for formal recognition and endorsement a comprehensive statewide HBCU Support Plan.

Study; State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; public institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth; guaranteed first-year admission; report. Requests the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to study the feasibility of implementing a guaranteed first-year admission policy at each public institution of higher education for certain high school graduates in the Commonwealth and report its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

Health insurance; coverage for therapeutic day treatment services. Requires health insurers providing health care plans to provide coverage for therapeutic day treatment services for children with serious emotional disturbances, defined in the in bill as children who have a mental illness diagnosis and have experienced functional limitations due to emotional disturbance, including experiencing a school shooting or the loss of a loved one in a school setting, over the past 12 months on a continuous or intermittent basis. Under the bill, "therapeutic day treatment services" are treatment programs that combine psychotherapeutic interventions with education and mental health and may include evaluation; medication education and management; opportunities to learn and use daily living skills and to enhance social and interpersonal skills; and individual, group, and family counseling. The bill applies to plans delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed on and after January 1, 2025.

Commission on Legislature Modernization; report. Establishes the Commission on Legislature Modernization in the legislative branch for the purpose of studying the operation and functionality of the General Assembly and identifying ways to make the legislature more effective, efficient, responsive, reflective, and transparent on behalf of all Virginians. The Commission will consist of 17 members, which shall include 9 legislators, 6 nonlegislative citizen members, and 2 ex officio members. The Commission shall be convened for a period of two years, every 10 years in the year ending in four, and shall terminate after the submission of its final report to the General Assembly at the end of its second year.