Sen. Monty Mason

State Corporation Commission; issuance or renewal of insurance licenses or registrations during an emergency. Authorizes the State Corporation Commission to temporarily suspend, authorize extensions of time, or waive requirements for the issuance or renewal of licenses or registrations related to insurance in the event of an emergency.

Housing Bill of Rights; housing protections; foreclosures; manufactured housing. Provides for various protections for homeowners and tenants of manufactured home parks, including (i) restricting the circumstances under which a court may order a person's primary residence to be sold to enforce a judgment lien; (ii) requiring localities to incorporate into their comprehensive plans strategies to promote manufactured housing as a source of affordable housing; (iii) requiring the Director of Housing and Community Development to develop a statement of tenant rights and responsibilities explaining in plain language the rights and responsibilities of tenants under the Virginia Manufactured Home Lot Rental Act; (iv) prohibiting a trustee from selling a property in a foreclosure sale without receiving an affidavit signed by the party that provided the notice confirming the notice was sent to the owner, with a copy of such notice attached to the affidavit; (v) increasing the notice period for a foreclosure sale from 14 to 60 days and requiring such notice to provide the grantor with information regarding housing counseling; and (vi) requiring the landlord of a manufactured home park to provide tenants who own their manufactured home information about housing assistance and legal aid organizations. The bill also requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to convene a stakeholder group to assist in the development of the statement of tenant rights and responsibilities. The provisions of the bill related to the specifics of the notice that is required before a trustee can sell a property in a foreclosure sale has a delayed effective date of October 1, 2021.

Virginia Water Protection Permit; withdrawalof surface water or ground water; plans for water auditing and leakdetection and repair. Requires that any application for a permitto withdraw surface water or ground water include a water auditingplan and a leak detection and repair plan that comply with regulationsadopted by the State Water Control Board pursuant to the provisionsof the bill. The provisions of the bill shall not become effectiveuntil 30 days after the adoption by the Board of such regulations.

ConserveVirginia program; established. Establishes in the Department of Conservation and Recreation a data-driven Geographical Information Systems model to prioritize potential conservation areas across the Commonwealth that would provide quantifiable benefits to the citizens of Virginia, known as ConserveVirginia. Aspects of the program include (i) the synthesis of multiple mapped data inputs, divided into categories, each representing a different overarching conservation value, and periodic revision of such values; (ii) access to the model by the public and all state and federal agencies; and (iii) incorporation of the model into acquisition or grant decisions when appropriate. The bill requires the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation to report on the success of the program and incorporate the program into needs assessments for expenditures from the Virginia Land Conservation Fund.

Department of Education; guidelines on excused student absences; civic engagement. Requires, subject to guidelines established by the Department of Education, each local school board to permit at least one school day-long excused absence per school year for any middle school or high school student in the local school division who is absent from school to engage in a civic event. The bill allows local school boards to require that a student provide advance notice of the intended absence and documentation of participation in a civic event to be granted an excused absence.

Tax credit; agricultural best management practices. Creates an enhanced individual and corporate income tax credit for taxable years 2021 through 2024 for the implementation of certain agricultural best management practices by the taxpayer that are required as part of a certified resource management plan. The enhanced tax credit is equal to 50 percent of the first $100,000 expended in implementing certain agricultural best management practices, and each amount shall be consistent with the rate offered for each eligible practice under the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program. The bill retains a tax credit for 25 percent of expenses made for all other agricultural best management practices that are not eligible for the enhanced credit rate, but increases the maximum amount of expenses to which one can apply the 25 percent credit from $70,000 to $100,000. A taxpayer may not claim credit for the same practice in the same management area under both the 25 percent and enhanced 75 percent credits. The aggregate amount of credit claimed per taxpayer shall not exceed $75,000 per year, and the aggregate amount of individual and corporate credits claimed among all taxpayers and credits shall not exceed $2 million per year. The bill sunsets the existing agricultural best management practices tax credits after taxable year 2024.

Children's Services Act; special education programs. Requires that funds expended for private special education services under the Children's Services Act only be expended on educational programs that are licensed by the Board of Education or an equivalent out-of-state licensing agency. The bill also provides that as of July 1, 2022, such funds may only be expended for programs that the Office of Children's Services certify as having reported their tuition rates.The bill adds children and youth previously placed in approved private school educational programs for at least six months who will receive transitional services in a public school setting to the target population for eligibility for the state pool of funds. The bill provides that state funds shall be allocated for no longer than 12 months for transitional services.The bill requires the Secretaries of Education and Health and Human Resources, in conjunction with the Office of Children's Services and the Department of Education, to establish a work group (the Work Group) with appropriate stakeholders to develop a detailed plan to direct the transfer of Children's Services Act funds currently reserved for children requiring an educational placement in a private special education day school or residential facility to the Department of Education, as well as several other topics. The bill requires that the Work Group submit its plan and recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations and Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations by November 1, 2021, as well as a final plan and recommendations by November 1, 2022.

Disposition of property previously used by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services as the Southwestern Virginia Mental Health Institute. Authorizes the Governor to lease a portion of property previously used by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services as the Southwestern Virginia Mental Health Institute to Smyth County for a term of three years. The bill also corrects tax map references contained in Chapter 678 of the Acts of Assembly of 2019, which also involved conveyances of property in Smyth County.

Board of Local and Regional Jails; powers and duties. Restores the authority of the State Board of Local and Regional Jails (the Board) to (i) ensure the development of long-range policies, programs, and plans for corrections services provided at the state and local levels; (ii) review and comment on all budgets and requests for appropriations for the Department of Corrections (the Department) prior to submission to the Governor and on all applications for federal funds; and (iii) monitor the activities of the Department and its effectiveness in implementing the standards and goals of the Board. Chapter 375 of the Acts of Assembly of 2011 repealed the Board's authority to perform these functions. The bill also provides to the Board the power and duty to (a) develop and establish operational and fiscal standards governing the operation of state correctional facilities; (b) make, adopt, and promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the laws of the Commonwealth pertaining to state correctional facilities; (c) develop and implement policies and procedures for the review of the death of any inmate that the Board determines warrants review that occurs in any state correctional facility; (d) establish minimum standards for health care services, including medical, dental, pharmaceutical, and behavioral health services, in state correctional facilities and procedures for enforcing such minimum standards; (e) review and approve the content and frequency of correctional officer training programs provided by the Department; and (f) collect and review information on disciplinary practices and trends in state, local, regional, and community correctional facilities and, as appropriate, adopt rules and regulations to improve disciplinary practices. The bill also increases from nine to 14 the number of members to be appointed to the Board and modifies the eligibility requirements for such members. The bill allows, despite such modifications to Board membership eligibility requirements, current members of the Board to continue serving for the remainder of the members' current, unexpired term. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.

Health insurance; association health plan for real estate salespersons. Provides that a licensed insurer may issue a policy of group accident and sickness insurance to an association of real estate salespersons (association), which association shall be deemed the policyholder, and that such association health plan is not considered to be insurance and is not subject to the existing requirements for insurance if certain requirements are met. The bill requires that (i) all members of the association be eligible for coverage and membership, including employer members with at least one employee that is domiciled in the Commonwealth or self-employed individuals; (ii) membership in the association not be conditioned on any health status–related factor; (iii) the coverage offered through the association be available to all members regardless of any health status–related factor; (iv) the association not make health insurance coverage offered through the association available other than in connection with a member of the association; and (v) premiums for the policy be paid from funds contributed by the association or associations, or by employer members, or by both, or from funds contributed by the covered persons or from both the covered persons and the association, associations, or employer members. The bill also requires the association (a) has at the outset a minimum of 100 members; (b) has been organized and maintained in good faith for purposes other than that of obtaining insurance; (c) has been in active existence for at least five years; and (d) has a constitution and bylaws that provide that the association hold regular meetings not less than annually to further purposes of the members, that the the association collects dues or solicits contributions from members, and that the members have voting privileges and representation on the governing board and committees.The bill provides that any such policy shall (1) be considered a large group market plan subject to all coverage mandates applicable to a large group market plan, (2) be subject to the group health plan coverage requirements under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, (3) be prohibited from denying coverage under the policy on the basis of a pre-existing condition, (4) shall be guaranteed issue and guaranteed renewable, (5) provide essential health benefits and cost-sharing requirements, and (6) offer a minimum level of coverage designed to provide benefits that are actuarially equivalent to 60 percent of the full actuarial value of the benefits provided under the plan.The bill requires an insurer issuing such policy to an association to (A) treat all of the members and employees of employer members who are enrolled in coverage under the policy as a single risk pool; (B) set premiums on the basis of the collective group experience of the members and employees of employer members who are enrolled in coverage under the policy; (C) not vary premiums by age, except that the rate shall not vary by more than four to one for adults; (D) not vary premiums on the basis of gender; (E) not vary premiums on the basis of the health status of an individual employee of an employer member or a self-employed individual member; and (F) not establish discriminatory rules based on the health status of an employer member, an individual employee of an employer member, or a self-employed individual for eligibility or contribution.Finally, the bill provides that the State Corporation Commission retains its regulatory authority over any such association health plan and may impose insurance requirements, as it deems appropriate.