Sen. Emmett Hanger

Income tax refunds for individuals or married persons filing a joint return. Provides an income tax refund for individuals and for married persons filing a joint return for taxable year 2021 in an amount specifically set forth in the general appropriation act passed during the 2022 Session of the General Assembly. The bill provides that the refund shall not exceed the taxpayer's tax liability.

Removal of county courthouse; Augusta County; authorization by electorate. Allows Augusta County to hold a referendum on the courthouse removal in 2022, despite the 10-year waiting requirement, if plans are developed for (i) relocating to a newly constructed courthouse in Augusta County and (ii) either (a) the renovation and expansion of the current courthouse in the City of Staunton or (b) the construction of a new courthouse in the City of Staunton. The bill specifies that both plans are to be schematic, prepared by a licensed architect, include good faith estimates of the costs of construction, including necessary acquisition of property, and be made available to the public at least two months before the planned referendum. The result of the referendum shall be binding. The bill also directs the architect preparing the plans to consider options for reducing record storage space requirements and for shared use of facilities within Staunton and to develop a plan for the preservation of the existing courthouse regardless of which plan is chosen. This bill is identical to HB 902.

Marijuana; shape prohibitions; definitions of marijuana and tetrahydrocannabinol. Modifies the definition of "marijuana" in several Code sections to (i) include any substance containing a total tetrahydrocannabinol concentration that exceeds 0.3 percent or more than 0.25 milligram of tetrahydrocannabinol per serving or more than one milligram per package and (ii) exclude industrial hemp that is possessed by a person who holds a hemp producer license issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture or his agent; an industrial hemp extract that contains a tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of no greater than 0.3 percent and no more than 0.25 milligram of tetrahydrocannabinol per serving or more than one milligram per package at the time such industrial hemp extract is offered for retail sale and is derived from industrial hemp grown, dealt, or processed in compliance with state or federal law; and any drug product containing tetrahydrocannabinol that is approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and scheduled in the Drug Control Act by the Board of Pharmacy. The bill defines "tetrahydrocannabinol" to include any naturally occurring or synthetic tetrahydrocannabinol, including its salts, isomers, or salts of isomers. The bill removes references in the Code to delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol and amends numerous sections to accommodate for the definitional changes described above. The bill requires the Board of Directors of the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority to promulgate regulations that prohibit the production and sale of retail marijuana and retail marijuana products that depict or are in the shape of a human, animal, vehicle, or fruit. The bill has staggered effective dates.

Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services licensed programs; cardiopulmonary resuscitation for program participants. Allows employees of programs licensed by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services who are certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation to comply with a program participant's valid written order not to resuscitate in the event of cardiac and respiratory arrest if the valid written order not to resuscitate is included in the program participant's individualized service plan. The bill directs the Department to develop and distribute to providers guidance regarding compliance with a program participant's valid written order not to resuscitate by program employees certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.  

Virginia Land Conservation Foundation and Fund.Directs the Governor to include a $40 million recommended appropriationto the Virginia Land Conservation Fund in the budget bill or amendmentsthereto each year. Currently, the Governor is directed to includean amount based on a formula set forth in the Code. The bill makesvarious changes to the allocation and use of funds for grants fromthe Virginia Land Conservation Fund, including allowing grants tobe made to state-recognized and federally recognized Virginia IndianTribes, and requires that at least one nonlegislative citizen memberof the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation Board of Trustees bea member of a state-recognized or federally recognized Virginia Indian Tribe.

Charter; City of Waynesboro; elections and appointments; council, city manager, and school board. Changes the composition of the council of the City of Waynesboro to have one member from each of the four wards, who must reside in that ward and be elected by the voters of that ward, and one member at large, who can reside in any ward and is elected by the voters at large. The bill changes the position of chairman to that of mayor and creates a vice mayor position. The bill extends from one year to two years the term of other city officers, including city manager and city clerk. The bill changes dates to reflect the change of elections from May to November and the start of terms from July to January. This bill is identical to HB 1311.

Juvenile law-enforcement records; disclosuresto school principals. Changes from discretionary to mandatorythat the chief of police of a city or chief of police or sheriffof a county disclose to a school principal all instances where ajuvenile at the principal's school has been charged with a violentjuvenile felony, an arson offense, or a concealed weapon offenseand adds an offense that requires a juvenile intake officer to makea report with the school division superintendent to the list of suchinstances that must be disclosed to a school principal for the protectionof the juvenile, his fellow students, and school personnel.

Shared solar programs for electric cooperatives;pilot. Creates a pilot program for participation by electric cooperativesto the shared solar programs that allow customers of investor-ownedutilities to purchase electric power through a subscription in a sharedsolar facility. The bill provides that, for each electric cooperative,the State Corporation Commission shall approve a shared solar facilityprogram and the Commission may, after notice and opportunity for hearing,establish a maximum amount of shared solar permissible in each electriccooperative's territory. Such maximum amount shall not be lower thanthe lesser of 15 megawatts or one percent of the electric cooperative'sprevious year peak load, with a minimum requirement that 30 percentof each cooperative's shared solar program is reserved for low-incomecustomers. The bill permits electric cooperatives to recover interconnectioncosts through rate proceedings with the Commission, although fiber-opticupgrades are rebuttably presumed as not cost-justified for the purposesof rate recovery. The bill also includes instructions and a timelinefor submission of an interconnection request by an owner of a sharedsolar project to an electric cooperative. The bill directs the Commissionto review the pilot program every two years, beginning July 1, 2025.

Retail sales and use tax; media-related exemptions. Extends from 2022 to 2027 the expiration of the retail sales anduse tax exemption for printing purchased by an advertising businessfrom a printer in the Commonwealth, so long as such material is distributedoutside of the Commonwealth.