Eminent domain; lost access and lost profits.Redefines "lost access" and "lost profits" for the purposes of determiningjust compensation in eminent domain cases.
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 that the association (a) has at the outset a minimum of 25,000 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 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) 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 a policy that meets certain requirements of the bill is considered to be compliant with the large group market insurance regulations under the federal Public Health Service Act and, as such, the Commonwealth is considered to be substantially enforcing the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act with regard to such policy. The bill requires the State Corporation Commission to regulate the policy in a manner that is consistent with such provisions. The bill provides that, in any case in which a federal agency renders a decision that is contrary to such provisions, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Attorney General may resolve any difference between federal law and the laws of the Commonwealth. This bill incorporates SB 397 and is identical to HB 768.
Department of Housing and Community Development;broadband affordability plan. Directs the Department of Housingand Community Development to develop the Commonwealth Digital Affordabilityand Cost-Effectiveness to address broadband affordability and equity.The bill requires that the Plan include (i) an overview of wherein the Commonwealth broadband and other digital connectivity is unaffordable;(ii) recommendations on how best to leverage federal grants addressingbroadband affordability to best execute the Plan; (iii) best practicesfor establishing a grant program or its equivalent to address digital affordability, taking into account existing federal funds and programs;(iv) a strategy to expand the affordability of broadband by retrofittingall affordable housing projects with broadband installations andother necessary infrastructure improvements; and (v) recommendations,including recommendations for a public outreach plan, on how to takeadvantage of the $14 billion Affordability Connectivity Program ofthe federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to support a permanent$30-a-month broadband subsidy for low-income households, NationalTelecommunications and Information Administration programs, and theU.S. Department of Agriculture Reconnect program. The bill requiresthe Department to report the Plan to the Governor and the General Assembly by December 1, 2022.
Income taxation; pass-through entities. Permits a qualifying pass-through entity, defined in the bill, to make an annual election in taxable years 2021 through 2025 to pay an elective income tax at a rate of 5.75 percent, created by the bill, at the entity level for the taxable period covered by the return. The bill also (i) creates a corresponding refundable income tax credit for taxable years 2021 through 2025 for any amount of income derived from a pass-through entity having Virginia taxable income if such pass-through entity makes such election and pays the elective income tax imposed at the entity level and (ii) allows an individual to claim a credit for similar taxes paid to other states for taxable years 2021 through 2025. This bill is identical to HB 1121.
Valluvar Highway. Designates Brentwall Drive in Fairfax County as "Valluvar Highway."
Injunctions; review by the Supreme Court of Virginia. Restores the Supreme Court of Virginia's jurisdiction over appeals of injunctions and orders granting or denying pleas of immunity. Under current law, injunctions must first be appealed to the Court of Appeals.
Charter; Town of Vienna; elections; dates and terms. Changes the date of elections for the mayor and all councilmen from May 2022 to November 2023, with the accompanying start date changed to the first day of January 2024 and end date changed to the last day of December 2025. Starting in 2025, the bill changes the date for all subsequent elections to November, with the start date as the first day of January of the next year, and sets the term length for each councilman and mayor to two years. This bill is identical to HB 700.
Purchase of service handguns or other weapons by retired sworn law-enforcement officers. Removes the requirement that a sworn law-enforcement officer be employed in a full-time capacity at the time of his retirement to purchase his service handgun. This bill is identical to HB 1130.
Common interest communities; notice of final adverse decision; allowing audio and video recordings; report. Directs the Common Interest Community Board (the Board) to review the feasibility of allowing audio and video recordings to be submitted with a notice of final adverse decision. The bill requires the Board to reports its findings and any legislative, regulatory, policy, or budgetary recommendations to the Secretary of Labor and the Chairmen of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology on or before November 1, 2022.
Virginia Public Procurement Act; public institutions of higher education; disclosure required by certain offerors; civil penalty. Requires every offeror who is awarded a contract by a public institution of higher education for any construction project that has a total cost of $5 million or more to disclose any contributions the offeror has made within the previous five-year period totaling $25,000 or more to the public institution of higher education or any private foundation that exists solely to support the public institution of higher education. The bill provides that no protest of an award shall lie for a claim that the selected offeror was awarded a contract solely based on such offeror's contribution to the public institution of higher education. The bill imposes a $500 civil penalty on any offeror that knowingly fails to submit the required disclosure. The provisions of the bill relating to such disclosure of gifts made by an offeror to a public institution of higher education or any private foundation that exists solely to support the public institution of higher education expire on June 30, 2027. This bill is identical to HB 19.
