Virginia Minimum Wage Act; domestic service. Eliminates the exclusion in the Virginia Minimum Wage Act for persons employed in domestic service. The bill requires the Secretary of Commerce and Trade to convene a work group consisting of representatives from the Department of Labor and Industry, the Virginia Employment Commission, the Workers' Compensation Commission, organizations representing domestic workers, and such other stakeholders as the Secretary of Commerce and Trade deems appropriate to make recommendations, including any necessary statutory and regulatory changes, with regard to protecting domestic service employees from workplace harassment and discrimination, providing remedies for such employees for the nonpayment of wages, ensuring the safety and health of such employees in the workplace, and protecting such employees from loss of income as a result of unemployment or employment-related injury by including coverage of such employees in the Virginia Unemployment Compensation Act and the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act.
Sponsored bills
Electric utility regulation; environmental goals. Establishes a schedule by which Dominion Energy Virginia and American Electric Power are required to retire electric generating units located in the Commonwealth that emit carbon as a by-product of combusting fuel to generate electricity and by which they are required to construct, acquire, or enter into agreements to purchase generating capacity located in the Commonwealth using energy derived from sunlight or onshore wind. The measure replaces the existing voluntary renewable energy portfolio system program (RPS Program) with a mandatory RPS that applies to electric utilities and licensed competitive suppliers. Under the mandatory RPS, utilities and suppliers are required to produce their electricity from 100 percent renewable sources by 2045 for Dominion Energy Virginia and any retail supplier operating in the service territory of Dominion Energy Virginia and by 2050 for American Electric Power and any retail supplier operating in the service territory of American Electric Power. A utility or supplier that does not meet its targets is required to pay a specific deficiency payment or purchase renewable energy certificates. The proceeds from the deficiency payments are to be deposited into an account administered by the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, which is directed to distribute specific percentages of the moneys to job training and renewable energy programs in historically economically disadvantaged communities, energy efficiency measures, and administrative costs. The measure directs the Department of Environmental Quality to incorporate into regulations previously adopted by the State Air Pollution Control Board certain provisions establishing a carbon dioxide cap and trade program to reduce emissions released by electric generation facilities. Such provisions are required to comply with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative model rule. The measure authorizes the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality to establish, implement, and manage an auction program to sell allowances into a market-based trading program. The measure requires revenues from the sale of carbon allowances, to the extent permitted by Article X, Section 7 of the Constitution of Virginia, to be deposited in an interest-bearing account and to be distributed without further appropriation to the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund, to the Department of Housing and Community Development for low-income energy efficiency programs, for administrative expenses, and for statewide climate change planning and mitigation activities. The measure continues the Virginia Shoreline Resiliency Fund as the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund for the purpose of creating a low-interest loan program to help inland and coastal communities that are subject to recurrent flooding. Among other things, the measure also (i) requires, by 2035, American Electric Power and Dominion Energy Virginia to construct or acquire 400 and 2,700 megawatts of energy storage capacity, respectively; (ii) establishes an energy efficiency standard under which each investor-owned incumbent electric utility is required to achieve incremental annual energy efficiency savings that start in 2022 at 0.25 percent of the average annual energy retail sales by that utility in 2019 and increase annually. Beginning in 2026 and every three years thereafter, the Commission is required to adjust the required energy efficiency goals for the successive three years. and thereafter when energy efficiency savings of at least two percent of the average annual energy retail sales by that utility in the three preceding calendar years are required; (iii) exempts large general service customers from energy savings requirements; (iv) revises the incentive for electric utility energy efficiency programs; (v) provides that if the Commission finds in any triennial review that revenue reductions related to energy efficiency measures or programs approved and deployed since the utility's previous triennial review have caused the utility to earn more than 50 basis points below a fair combined rate of return on its generation and distribution services or, for any test period commencing after December 31, 2012, for Dominion Energy Virginia and after December 31, 2013, for American Electric Power, more than 70 basis points below a fair combined rate of return on its generation and distribution services, the Commission shall order increases to the utility's rates for generation and distribution services necessary to recover such revenue reductions; (vi) establishes requirements regarding the development by Dominion Energy Virginia of qualified offshore wind projects having an aggregate rated capacity of not less than 5,200 megawatts by January 1, 2034, and provides that in constructing any such facility, the utility shall (a) identify options for utilizing local workers; (b) identify the economic development benefits of the project for the Commonwealth, including capital investments and job creation; (c) consult with relevant governmental entities, including the Commonwealth's Chief Workforce Development Officer and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, on opportunities to advance the Commonwealth's workforce and economic development goals, including furtherance of apprenticeship and other workforce training programs; and (d) give priority to the hiring of local workers, including workers from historically economically disadvantaged communities: (vii) requires each utility to include, and the Commission to consider, in any application to construct a new generating facility the social cost of carbon, as determined by the Commission, as a benefit or cost, whichever is appropriate; (viii) removes provisions that authorize nuclear and offshore wind generating facilities to continue to be eligible for an enhanced rate of return on common equity during the construction phase of the facility and the approved first portion of its service life of between 12 and 25 years in the case of a facility utilizing nuclear power and for a service life of between five and 15 years in the case of a facility utilizing energy derived from offshore wind; (ix) removes a provision that declares that planning and development activities for new nuclear generation facilities are in the public interest; (x) increases the limit from 5,000 megawatts to 16,100 megawatts on those solar and onshore wind generation facilities that are declared to be in the public interest and increases the limit from 16 megawatts to 5,000 megawatts on those offshore wind generation facilities that are declared to be in the public interest; (xi) amends the net energy metering program by increasing the maximum capacity of renewable generation facilities of participating nonresidential eligible customer-generators from one to three megawatts, increases the cap on the capacity of generation from facilities from the customer's expected annual energy consumption to 150 percent of such amount, increases each utility's systemwide cap from one percent of its adjusted Virginia peak-load forecast for the previous year to six percent of such amount, five percent of which is available to all customers and one percent of which is available only to low-income customers; (xii) establishes the Percentage of Income Payment Program (PIPP), which caps the monthly electric utility payment of low-income participants at six percent, or, if the participant's home uses electric heat, 10 percent, of the participant's household income and sets forth eligibility criteria for participation in PIPP, establishes the PIPP Fund to pay electric utility providers the balance of low-income participants' accounts and to fund energy efficiency and weatherization initiatives, and provides directives to the Department of Housing and Community Development regarding the administration of PIPP; (xiii) requires each investor-owned utility to consult with the Clean Energy Advisory Board in how best to inform low-income customers of opportunities to lower electric bills through access to solar energy (xiv) requires the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy to prepare a report to the House and Senate Committees on Commerce and Labor and to the Governor's Advisory Council on Environmental Justice that ensures that the implementation of this act does not impose a disproportionate burden on minority or historically economically disadvantaged communities (xv) requires the Secretary of Natural Resources and the Secretary of Commerce and Trade, in consultation with the State Corporation Commission and the Council on Environmental Justice and appropriate stakeholders, shall report to the General Assembly by January 1, 2022, any recommendations on how to achieve 100 percent carbon-free electric energy generation by 2050 at least cost for ratepayers; and (xvi) provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealth that the State Corporation Commission, Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, Virginia Council on Environmental Justice, and other applicable state agencies, in the development of energy programs, job training programs, and placement of renewable energy facilities, shall consider those facilities and programs being to the benefit of low-income geographic areas and historically economically disadvantaged communities that are located near previously and presently permitted fossil fuel facilities or coal mines.
Institutional racial segregation and discrimination. Repeals several Acts of Assembly from 1901 to 1960 that contain provisions that implemented and enforced racial segregation and discrimination in public facilities and common carriers, on public documents, and within the office of the State Registrar. This bill is identical to HB 1638.
Department of Social Services; Office of NewAmericans created. Establishes the Office of New Americans withinthe Department of Social Services, as well as an advisory board,to assist immigrant integration within the Commonwealth on an economic,social, and cultural level. The Office shall provide (i) advice andassistance regarding the citizenship application process; (ii) assistancewith securing employment, housing, and services for which such personsmay be eligible; (iii) information to localities and immigrationservice organizations about state programs that help such personsfind and secure employment, housing, and services for which they may be eligible; and (iv) information to localities and immigrationservice organizations regarding health epidemics and unlawful predatoryactions, such as human trafficking, gang recruitment, and fraudulentfinancial and other schemes, to which communities of such personsmay be especially vulnerable. The Advisory Board shall report tothe Director of the Office, who will submit to the Governor and theGeneral Assembly an annual executive summary of the interim activityand work of the Board no later than the first day of each regularsession of the General Assembly. The bill renames the Office of NewcomerServices as the Division of Newcomer Services and establishes thedivision as a subdivision of the Office of New Americans.
Standards of Quality; state funding; ratiosof teachers to English language learners. Requires state funding, pursuant to the general appropriation act, to be provided pursuantto Standard 2 of the Standards of Quality to support divisionwideratios of English language learner students in average daily membershipto full-time equivalent teaching positions as follows: (i) for eachEnglish language learner identified as proficiency level one, oneposition per 25 students; (ii) for each English language learneridentified as proficiency level two, one position per 30 students;(iii) for each English language learner identified as proficiencylevel three, one position per 40 students; and (iv) for all other English language learners, one position per 58 students. Currentlaw requires 17 full-time equivalent instructional positions for each1,000 students identified as having limited English proficiency.
Health insurance; short-term limited-durationmedical plans. Prohibits carriers from issuing in the Commonwealthany short-term limited-duration medical plan with a duration that exceeds three months or that can be renewed or extended, or if theplan's issuance would result in a covered person being covered bya short-term limited-duration medical plan for more than three monthsin any 12-month period. The measure prohibits a carrier from issuing a short-term limited-duration medical plan during an annual openenrollment period. The measure also requires carriers to rebate premiumsfrom short-term limited-duration medical plans when the medical loss ratio for such plans is less than 85 percent.
Appeal from district court; civil cases; noticeof docketing. Provides that the clerk of the appellate courtto which a civil case is appealed shall provide notice of the docketingof such case to the appellee by certified mail and to the counselfor the parties by regular mail. The bill removes language allowingthe clerk to provide such notice by posting it on the front doorof the courtroom and instead states that notice shall be made inconformity with provisions for notice for service of process in allcivil cases.
American Revolution 250 Commission; report. Establishes the American Revolution 250 Commission to plan, develop, and perform programs and activities to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, the Revolutionary War, and the independence of the United States. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2027, incorporates SB 714, and is identical to HB 1424.
Suspension of driver's license for nonpayment of fines or costs. Repeals the requirement that the driver's license of a person convicted of any violation of the law who fails or refuses to provide for immediate payment of fines or costs be suspended. The bill also removes a provision allowing the court to require a defendant to present a summary prepared by the Department of Motor Vehicles of the other courts in which the defendant also owes fines and costs. The bill requires the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles to return or reinstate any person's driver's license that was suspended prior to July 1, 2019, solely for nonpayment of fines or costs. Such person does not have to pay a reinstatement fee. The bill contains an emergency clause and incorporates SB 10, SB 514, and SB 814.
Funeral directors and embalmers; Board to promulgate regulations for licensure. Directs the Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers to promulgate regulations that establish requirements of licensure for funeral directors and embalmers.