Requires Dominion Virginia Power and Appalachian Power to conduct a community solar pilot program for retail customers. A pilot program will authorize the participating utility to sell electric power to subscribing customers under a voluntary companion rate schedule, and the utility will generate or purchase the electric power from eligible generation facilities selected for inclusion in the pilot program. An eligible generation facility is an electrical generation facility that (i) exclusively uses energy derived from sunlight; (ii) is placed in service on or after July 1, 2017; (iii) is not constructed by an investor-owned utility but is acquired by an investor-owned utility through an asset purchase agreement or is subject to a power purchase agreement under which the utility purchases the facility's output from a third party; and (iv) has a generating capacity not exceeding two megawatts, subject to an exception. Pilot programs will have a three-year duration unless renewed or made permanent by appropriate legislation. The measure requires an investor-owned utility to select eligible generating facilities for dedication to its pilot program through a request for proposal (RFP) process. The minimum generating capacity of the eligible generating facilities in Appalachian Power's pilot program is 0.5 MW and in Dominion's pilot program is 10 MW. The maximum generating capacity of the eligible generating facilities in Appalachian Power's pilot program is 10 MW and in Dominion's pilot program is 40 MW. The measure establishes a procedure through which an investor-owned utility may increase the generating capacity of facilities in its pilot program above the amount most recently approved by the State Corporation Commission. The measure provides that an investor-owned utility may recover pilot program costs that are not recovered through the voluntary companion rate schedule through variable-output contracts with participating third parties. A subscribing customer's usage above the amount subscribed for the voluntary companion rate schedule shall be billed under the customer's applicable standard rate. The measure authorizes a utility consumer services cooperative to conduct a pilot program and gives the cooperative flexibility in designing its program and voluntary companion rate schedule. The measure declares that the participation of retail customers in a pilot program is in the public interest and that the voluntary companion rate schedules approved are necessary in order to acquire information that is in furtherance of the public interest. The measure requires the Commission to approve the recovery of pilot program costs that it deems to be reasonable and prudent, the pilot program design, the voluntary companion rate schedule, and the portfolio of participating generating facilities. Commission review or approval is not required for individual participating generating facilities, agreements, sites, or RFPs. The measure provides that an approved voluntary companion rate schedule shall not be considered a tariff for electric energy provided 100 percent from renewable energy. An enactment clause directs investor-owned utilities, prior to submitting a proposal for a pilot program, to examine, in cooperation with representatives of relevant governmental, nonprofit, and for-profit entities, options to facilitate the subscribing by low-income customers to the utility's pilot program. Another enactment clause requires participating utilities to disclose to subscribing customers the cost difference between the voluntary companion rate schedule and rate the customer would pay if it was not a subscriber.
Sponsored bills
Requires a prescription for any controlled substance containing an opiate to be issued as an electronic prescription and prohibits a pharmacist from dispensing a controlled substance that contains an opiate unless the prescription is issued as an electronic prescription, beginning July 1, 2020. The bill defines electronic prescription as a written prescription that is generated on an electronic application in accordance with federal regulations and is transmitted to a pharmacy as an electronic data file. The bill requires the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to convene a work group of interested stakeholders to review actions necessary for the implementation of the bill's provisions, to evaluate hardships on prescribers and the inability of prescribers to comply with the deadline for electronic prescribing, and to make recommendations for any extension or exemption processes relative to compliance or disruptions due to natural or manmade disasters or technology gaps, failures, or interruptions of services. The work group shall report on the work group's progress to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by November 1, 2017, and a final report to such Chairmen by November 1, 2018.
Requires the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to include in its annual report on the New Economy Workforce Credential Grant Program information on the wages of students who have completed noncredit workforce training programs, organized by credential name and relevant industry sector and including average wage and other relevant information.
Requires local departments of social services to collect from every applicant for public assistance alternative contact information, such as the applicant's email address and cell phone number, and the applicant's preferred method of contact, including direct mail, email, text message, or phone call. Under current law, local departments of social services are required to obtain only the applicant's best available address and telephone number.
Clarifies that all cases involving suspected financial exploitation of an adult shall be immediately referred to a local law-enforcement agency for investigation. The bill directs local law-enforcement agencies to provide a preferred point of contact for referrals. This bill is identical to
Directs local departments of social services to ensure that any individual who was in foster care on his eighteenth birthday is enrolled, unless the individual objects, in the Commonwealth's program of medical assistance, provided that such individual is eligible to receive such health care services and was enrolled in such program on his eighteenth birthday. The bill requires local departments to provide basic information about such health care services and inform such individuals that, if eligible, they will be enrolled in the Commonwealth's program of medical assistance unless they object. The bill directs the State Board of Social Services to promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of the bill.