Del. Jackie Glass

Commission on Electric Utility Regulation; evaluation of infrastructure necessary for electric vehicle charging facilities. Directs the State Corporation Commission and the Department of Housing and Community Development to provide technical assistance to the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation (the Commission) if the Commission evaluates the design and deployment of the electrical distribution infrastructure necessary to support the installation of electric vehicle charging facilities in new developments consisting of single-family and multifamily residential units. The bill requires the Commission to engage representatives from the residential and commercial development industries, private sector utility consultants, and other stakeholders if it conducts such an evaluation.

Arrest, prosecution, and disciplinary proceduresand penalties for individuals experiencing or reporting overdoseswhile incarcerated. Provides that no individual incarceratedin a local, regional, or state correctional facility shall be subjectto arrest or prosecution for or disciplinary procedures or penaltiesrelated to the unlawful purchase, possession, or consumption of alcohol;possession of a controlled substance; possession of marijuana; intoxicationin public; or possession of controlled paraphernalia if (i) suchindividual seeks or obtains emergency medical attention for himselfor another individual experiencing an overdose or is experiencingan overdose and another individual seeks or obtains emergency medicalattention for him and (ii) the evidence for a prosecution or disciplinaryprocedures and penalties of one of the enumerated offenses would have been obtained only as a result of an individual seeking or obtaining emergency medical attention. The bill also provides that no correctional officer, deputy sheriff, or jail officer acting in a good faith shallbe found liable for false arrest if it is later determined that theperson arrested was immune from prosecution or disciplinary proceduresor penalties.

Voter registration; list maintenance activities; cancellation procedures; required record matches; required identification information; data standards. Requires certain, specified identification information to be included on the lists received by the Department of Elections for list maintenance purposes and requires the Department, upon receiving any such list, to do an initial comparison of the information included on such list with the list of registered voters to identify record matches. Depending on which identification information matches, the Department either transmits the information to the appropriate general registrar to initiate the cancellation process or notifies the appropriate general registrar who may then initiate the confirmation notification process. The bill prohibits the use of voter data received from another state or jurisdiction or through a list comparison for list maintenance purposes when the data file does not include a unique identifier for each individual whose information is contained in the data file. The bill requires the Department of Elections to annually audit all sources of data utilized for list maintenance activities for the purpose of determining the validity, completeness, accuracy, and reliability of the data received from each source, and to include the results of such audit in its annual report to the Committees on Privileges and Elections regarding its list maintenance activities. The bill requires the general registrars to send notice prior to cancelling a voter's record regardless of the reason for cancellation. Lastly, the bill clarifies that when a voter's registration is cancelled, a cancellation record must be created, and that such records are public in accordance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and the National Voter Registration Act. The bill includes numerous technical amendments for organizational purposes.

Firearm in unattended motor vehicle; civil penalty. Provides that no person shall leave, place, or store a handgun in an unattended motor vehicle, as defined in the bill, when such handgun is visible to any person who is outside such motor vehicle. The bill provides that any person violating such prohibition is subject to a civil penalty of no more than $500 and such unattended motor vehicle may be subject to removal for safekeeping. This bill is identical to SB 447.

Decreasing probation period; criteria for mandatory reduction; report. Establishes criteria for which a defendant's supervised probation period shall be reduced, including completing qualifying educational activities, maintaining verifiable employment, and complying with or completing any state-certified or state-approved mental health or substance abuse treatment program. The bill provides that a court may decrease a defendant's probation period if warranted by the defendant's conduct and in the interests of justice and may do so without a hearing. The bill also directs the Department of Corrections to meet with relevant stakeholders and provide to the General Assembly by November 1, 2024, a report regarding certain probation practices. The provisions of the bill, other than the requirement that the Department submit a report to the General Assembly, are subject to reenactment by the 2025 Session of the General Assembly. This bill is identical to SB 80.

Earned sentence credits; incarceration prior to entry of final order of conviction. Provides that a person's eligibility for earned sentence credits shall include any period of time actually spent in any state or local correctional facility, state hospital, or juvenile detention facility for the offense such person was held deducted from such person's term of incarceration or detention. The bill also provides that all time actually spent by a person in confinement or detention shall be used in calculating such person's earned sentence credits.The bill provides that the provisions shall apply retroactively to any person who is confined in any correctional facility on July 1, 2025, and if it is determined that, upon retroactive application of the provisions, the release date of any such person passed prior to the effective date of this act, the person shall be released upon approval of an appropriate release plan and within 60 days of such determination unless otherwise mandated by court order; however, no person shall have a claim for wrongful incarceration on the basis of such retroactive application. If a person is released prior to completion of any reentry programs deemed necessary by the Department of Corrections on the person's most recent annual review or prior to completion of any programs mandated by court order, the person shall be required to complete such programs under probation, provided probation is mandated by the court and current community resources are sufficient to facilitate completion of the aforementioned programs. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025.

Community service work in lieu of payment of fines and costs; work performed while incarcerated. Requires a court to establish a program and allow any person upon whom a fine and costs have been imposed to discharge all or part of the fine or costs by earning credits for the performance of community service work or work performed while incarcerated, defined in the bill as any work done on or after July 1, 2020, by a person confined in any penal or corrective institution of the Commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions who is paid a wage that is less than the Virginia minimum wage. The bill requires such program be available during imprisonment in a local, regional, or state correctional facility. The bill provides that a person who is performing work while incarcerated shall be credited at the same rate as the community service work rate less any wages received. Under current law, a court is required to establish a program for providing an option for community service work in lieu of payment of fines and costs but offering such option is not mandatory. The bill also requires the local, regional, or state correctional facility to provide confirmation of the hours worked and the credits earned for such work upon request of any person who has performed work while incarcerated or his representative.

Prescription Drug Affordability Board established; drug cost affordability review. Establishes the Prescription Drug Affordability Board for the purpose of protecting the citizens of the Commonwealth and other stakeholders within the health care system from the high costs of prescription drug products. The bill requires the Board to meet in open session at least four times annually, with certain exceptions and requirements enumerated in the bill. Members of the Board are required to disclose any conflicts of interest, as described in the bill. The bill also creates a stakeholder council for the purpose of assisting the Board in making decisions related to drug cost affordability. The bill tasks the Board with identifying prescription, generic, and other drugs, as defined in the bill, that are offered for sale in the Commonwealth and, at the Board's discretion, conducting an affordability review of any prescription drug product. The bill lists factors for the Board to consider that indicate an affordability challenge for the health care system in the Commonwealth or high out-of-pocket costs for patients. The bill also provides that any person aggrieved by a decision of the Board may request an appeal of the Board's decision and that the Attorney General has authority to enforce the provisions of the bill. The bill provides that the Board shall establish no more than 12 upper payment limit amounts annually between January 1, 2025, and January 1, 2028.The bill requires the Board to report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly twice annually, beginning on July 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025. Provisions of the bill shall apply to state-sponsored and state-regulated health plans and health programs and obligate such policies to limit drug payment amounts and reimbursements to an upper payment limit amount set by the Board, if applicable, following an affordability review. The bill specifies that Medicare Part D plans shall not be bound by such decisions of the Board.The bill also requires the nonprofit organization contracted by the Department of Health to provide prescription drug price transparency to provide the Board access to certain data reported by manufacturers. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025, and is identical to SB 274.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; enforcement by localities. Provides that if a condition exists in a rental dwelling unit that constitutes a material noncompliance by the landlord with the rental agreement or with any provision of law that, if not promptly corrected, constitutes a fire hazard or serious threat to the life, health, or safety of tenants or occupants of the premises, a locality may institute an action for injunction and damages to enforce the landlord's duty to maintain the rental dwelling unit in a fit and habitable condition, provided that (i) the property where the violation occurred is within the jurisdictional boundaries of the locality and (ii) the locality has notified the landlord who owns the property, either directly or through the managing agent, of the nature of the violation and the landlord has failed to remedy the violation to the satisfaction of the locality within a reasonable time after receiving such notice. This bill is identical to SB 479.

Department of Criminal Justice Services; law-enforcement officers; interrogation practices. Provides that the Department of Criminal Justice Services shall have the power and duty to establish a comprehensive framework for the custodial and noncustodial interrogation of adults and juveniles by law-enforcement officers within the Commonwealth, which shall include (i) developing policies and procedures for interrogation practices, including guidance on when the use of the following is considered lawful: (a) false promises of leniency, (b) misleading statements regarding evidence or statements of witnesses or co-conspirators, and (c) inauthentic replica documents or computer-generated audiovisual evidence; (ii) establishing and publishing a model policy for conducting such interrogations to serve as a guideline for criminal justice agencies in the Commonwealth, with the provision that criminal justice agencies may adopt additional policies beyond such model policy but shall not adopt policies that contradict such model policy; and (iii) establishing compulsory minimum training standards for basic training and recertification of law-enforcement officers on conducting such interrogations. The bill provides that the Department shall establish and publish such model policy by January 1, 2025, and that all criminal justice agencies shall adopt a policy consistent with such model policy by July 1, 2025. The bill requires any person employed as a law-enforcement officer prior to July 1, 2024, to complete the training required by the bill by July 1, 2025.