Local anti-rent gouging authority; civil penalty. Provides that any locality may by ordinance adopt anti-rent gougingprovisions. The bill provides for notice and a public hearing priorto the adoption of such ordinance and specifies that all landlordswho are under the ordinance may be required to give at least two months'written notice of a rent increase and cannot increase the rent bymore than the locality's calculated allowance, described in the billas the maximum amount a landlord can increase a tenant's rent duringany 12-month period, in effect at the time of the increase. The bill sets such allowance as equal to the annual increase in the ConsumerPrice Index or seven percent, whichever is less, states that suchallowance is effective for a 12-month period beginning July 1 each year, and requires the locality to publish such allowance on itswebsite by June 1 of each year. Certain facilities, as outlined inthe bill, are exempt from such ordinance. The bill also allows alocality to establish an anti-rent gouging board that will developand implement rules and procedures by which landlords may apply forand be granted exemptions from the rent increase limits set by theordinance. Finally, the bill provides that a locality may establisha civil penalty for failure to comply with the requirements set outin the ordinance.
Sponsored bills
Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services;Office of the Independent Living Community Ombudsman established.Establishes the Office of the Independent Living Community Ombudsman,with the purpose of receiving, recording, and responding to concernsrelated to independent living communities. The bill directs the Officeto operate a complaint line to receive, record, and respond to suchconcerns.
Local prohibition or regulation of gas-poweredleaf blowers; civil penalty. Provides that any locality may byordinance prohibit or regulate the use of gas-powered leaf blowers.The bill provides that the ordinance may include provisions for acivil penalty and that the funds from such civil penalties may beused by the locality to assist with the purchase of nonprohibitedleaf blowers by residents and local businesses.
Virginia Retirement System; enhanced retirementbenefits for 911 dispatchers. Allows local governments to provideenhanced retirement benefits for hazardous duty service to full-time salaried 911 dispatchers. The bill provides that such enhanced retirementbenefits apply only to service earned as a full-time salaried 911dispatcher on or after July 1, 2025, but allows an employer, as thatterm is defined in relevant law, to provide such enhanced retirement benefits for service earned as a full-time salaried 911 dispatcherbefore July 1, 2025, in addition to service earned on or after thatdate. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025.
Commending the Culpeper County Volunteer FireDepartment.
Electric utilities; data center demand; allocationof costs among customer classes. Directs the State CorporationCommission to ensure that any plan, petition, or proposal from autility to meet demand associated with data centers considers generation,transmission, and distribution system costs so as to meet such demandat the lowest aggregate reasonable cost. The bill also directs theCommission to initiate a proceeding, on or before December 31, 2024,(i) to determine if the current allocation of costs among customersand the different classifications of customers of electric utilitiesresults in customers that are data centers receiving unreasonablesubsidies from other customers or classifications of customers and (ii) if it determines unreasonable subsidies exist, to amend suchallocation of costs.
Celebrating the life of Ben Judson Honaker,Jr.
Commending Sandra Gioia Treadway.
Celebrating the life of Janet Marie Brooking.
Commending Peter A. Blake.