Del. Cia Price

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act;landlord charges for security deposits, insurance premiums for damageinsurance, and insurance premiums for renter's insurance; filingof information regarding resident agent appointed by nonresidentproperty owner. Prohibits a landlord from requiring a tenantto pay a security deposit, insurance premiums for damage insurance,and insurance premiums for renter's insurance prior to the commencementof the tenancy that exceed the amount of two months' periodic rent.The bill permits a landlord, however, to add a monthly amount asadditional rent to recover additional costs of such damage insuranceor renter's insurance premiums. The bill also removes provisions allowing a landlord to permit a tenant to provide damage insurance coveragein lieu of the payment of a security deposit. Finally, the bill requiresnonresident property owners to file the name and office address ofthe agent appointed by such nonresident property owner in the officeof the clerk of the State Corporation Commission. Under current law,such information must be filed in the office of the clerk of thecourt in which deeds are recorded in the county or city in whichthe property lies.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act;access to dwelling unit during certain declared states of emergency;emergency. Provides that a tenant shall be deemed to have reasonablejustification for declining to permit a landlord or managing agentto exhibit the tenant's dwelling unit for sale or lease if the tenanthas reasonable concern for his own health, or the health of any authorizedoccupant, during a state of emergency declared by the Governor inresponse to a communicable disease of public health threat and thetenant has provided written notice to the landlord informing thelandlord of such concern. The bill requires the tenant in such circumstancesto provide to the landlord or managing agent a video tour of the dwelling unit or other acceptable substitute for exhibiting the dwellingunit for sale or lease. The bill also provides that during a stateof emergency declared by the Governor in response to a communicabledisease of public health threat a tenant may provide written noticeto the landlord requesting that one or more nonemergency propertyconditions in the dwelling unit not be addressed in the normal courseof business of the landlord due to such communicable disease of publichealth threat. The bill provides that in such case, the tenant shallbe deemed to have waived any and all claims and rights under theVirginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act against the landlordfor failure to address such nonemergency property conditions. Thebill contains an emergency clause.

Paid sick leave. Requires employers to provide certain employees paid sick leave. An employee is eligible for paid sick leave under the bill if the employee is an essential worker and works on average at least 20 hours per week or 90 hours per month. The bill provides for an employee to earn at least one hour of paid sick leave benefit for every 30 hours worked. An employee shall not use more than 40 hours of earned paid sick leave in a year, unless the employer selects a higher limit. The bill provides that earned paid sick leave may be used for (i) an employee's mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; an employee's need for medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or an employee's need for preventive medical care or (ii) care of a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; care of a family member who needs medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or care of a family member who needs preventive medical care. The bill prohibits employers from taking certain retaliatory actions against employees related to leave. The bill provides for a hardship waiver for employers that demonstrate that providing paid sick leave threatens the financial viability of the employer, jeopardizes the ability of the employer to sustain operations, significantly degrades the quality of the employer's business operations, or creates a significant negative financial impact on the employer. The bill requires the Commissioner of Labor and Industry to promulgate regulations that (a) identify workers as essential based on the categories listed in the bill; (b) include reasonable requirements for recordkeeping, confidentiality, and notifying employees of their rights under provisions of the bill; (c) establish complaint, investigation, and enforcement procedures that include fines, not to exceed $500, for violations of provisions of the bill; (d) establish requirements for compensation and accrual of paid sick leave for employees employed and compensated on a fee-for-service basis; and (e) include procedures and requirements for an employer to qualify for a hardship waiver. The provisions of the bill do not apply to a retail business with fewer than 25 employees.

Fines and costs; accrual of interest; deferralor installment payment agreements. Provides that no interestshall accrue on any fine or costs imposed in a criminal case or ina case involving a traffic infraction (i) for a period of 180 daysfollowing the date of the final judgment imposing such fine or costs;(ii) during any period the defendant is incarcerated; and (iii) fora period of 180 days following the date of the defendant's releasefrom incarceration if the sentence includes an active term of incarceration.Current law prohibits interest from accruing on such fines or costsfor a period of 40 days from the date of the final judgement imposing such fine or costs or during any period the defendant is incarcerated. The bill also removes the requirement thata defendant be unable to make payment of a fine, restitution, forfeiture, or penalty and costs within 30 days of sentencing in order to beeligible to enter into a deferred or installment payment agreementand allows any defendant to enter such payment agreements. The billremoves the one-time fee not to exceed $10 that a court may assesswhen a defendant is unable to make payment within 90 days of sentencingand provides that no fee shall be assessed in connection with a defendant'sparticipation in a deferred or installment payment agreement. Thebill removes the requirement that a defendant make a down paymentupon entering a deferred, modified deferred, or installment paymentagreement.

Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act; required disclosures; repetitive risk loss structure; flood risk information form. Requires the Real Estate Board (the Board) to make available on its website a flood risk information form, the details of which are outlined in the bill. The bill also provides that an owner of residential real property located in the Commonwealth who has actual knowledge that the dwelling unit is a repetitive risk loss structure, as defined in the bill, shall disclose such fact to the purchaser on a form provided by the Real Estate Board on its website. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2022.

Abolition of the death penalty. Abolishes the death penalty, including for those persons currently under a death sentence. The bill incorporates HB 1779.

Prescription drug price transparency. Requires every health carrier, pharmacy benefits manager, wholesale drug distributer, and drug manufacturer to report information about prescription drug prices to the Department of Health and requires the Department to make such information available on its website. The bill also provides that, beginning January 1, 2022, a health plan enrollee's defined cost sharing for each prescription drug shall be calculated at the point of sale based on a price that is reduced by an amount equal to at least 80 percent of all rebates received, or to be received, in connection with the dispensing or administration of the prescription drug. The bill also requires the Bureau of Insurance to (i) identify all statutory and regulatory provisions from which health plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) are exempted and (ii) determine the financial impact, if any, of application of such statutory and regulatory provisions such health plans, and to report its finding to the Chairman of the House Committees on Health, Welfare and Institutions and Labor and Commerce and the Chairmen of the Senate Committees on Commerce and Labor and Education and Health by October 1, 2021

Aging services; economic and social need. Provides that, in providing aging services, the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services shall prioritize providing services to older persons with the greatest economic or social need. The bill defines "economic need" as need resulting from an income level at or below the poverty line and "social need" as need caused by noneconomic factors, including (i) physical and mental disabilities, which may include developmental disabilities and human immunodeficiency virus; (ii) language barriers; and (iii) cultural, social, or geographic isolation, including that caused by racial or ethnic status, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation that restricts an individual's ability to perform normal daily tasks or threatens such individual's capacity to live independently.

Behavioral Health Commission created. Createsthe Behavioral Health Commission in the legislative branch of stategovernment for the purpose of (i) studying and making recommendationsfor the improvement of behavioral health services and the behavioralhealth service system in the Commonwealth to encourage the adoptionof policies to increase the quality and availability of and ensureaccess to the full continuum of high-quality, effective, and efficientbehavioral health services for all persons in the Commonwealth and(ii) providing ongoing oversight of behavioral health services andthe behavioral health service system in the Commonwealth, includingmonitoring and evaluation of established programs, services, anddelivery and payment structures and implementation of new servicesand initiatives in the Commonwealth and development of recommendations for improving such programs, services, structures, and implementation.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; food stamp program; eligibility; postsecondary education. Adds participation in educational activities that lead to a post-secondary credential from an accredited institution of higher education or other postsecondary school licensed or certified by the Board of Education or the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to the list of activities to which a participant in the Virginia Initiative for Education and Work may be enrolled and directs the Board of Social Services to amend the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP benefits program) to (i) establish broad-based categorical eligibility, (ii) set the gross income eligibility standard at 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, (iii) not impose an asset limit for eligibility, and (iv) increase opportunities for self-sufficiency through postsecondary education by allowing SNAP benefits program participants to satisfy applicable employment and training requirements through enrollment in an accredited public institution of higher education or other postsecondary school licensed or certified by the Board of Education or the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.