Sen. Adam Ebbin

Sales tax; exemption for food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products. Provides a state sales and use tax exemption beginning January 1, 2023, for food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products. The bill also provides, beginning February 1, 2023, an allocation of state revenues to fund the distribution to localities for educational funding that would have been distributed to them absent the exemption created by the bill. Under current law, such products are taxed at a reduced state sales and use tax rate of 1.5 percent and the standard local rate of one percent. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2023.

Electric utilities; local reliability data; report. Directs Dominion Energy Virginia to provide local reliability data within 30 days upon request by a locality located within the service territory of the utility. The State Corporation Commission shall include industry standard reliability metrics for Dominion Energy Virginia and a description of any infrastructure investments made by Dominion Energy Virginia to improve electric service reliability as part of its report on electric generation, transmission, and distribution submitted annually to the General Assembly. This bill is identical to HB 414.

Correctional facilities; use of restorative housing; report. Directs the Department of Corrections to convene a work group to study the use of restorative housing within state correctional facilities and juvenile correctional centers. The bill directs the Department to facilitate confidential interviews between work group members and at least 25 persons currently incarcerated in a state correctional facility who are currently or who have within the past 12 months been placed in restorative housing, provided that such persons are not the subject of or involved in pending litigation with the Department, and confidential interviews with existing staff and facility officials as requested by the work group. The bill requires the work group to submit its findings and recommendations, including how to safely reduce or end the use of restorative housing that lasts longer than 14 days, to the General Assembly by December 1, 2022.

Virginia Employment Commission; administrative reforms; reporting requirements; electronic submissions; Unemployment Compensation Ombudsman established; emergency. Requires the Virginia Employment Commission to calculate and report the (i) average unemployment insurance benefit levels, (ii) average income replacement of unemployment insurance benefits, and (iii) recipiency rate for unemployment insurance benefits in the Commonwealth as part of the Commission's annual balance sheet. The bill also requires the Commission, as part of its biennial strategic plan submitted to the Department of Planning and Budget, to develop and maintain an unemployment insurance Resiliency Plan that describes the specific actions the agency would take, depending on the level of increase in unemployment insurance (UI) claims, to address staffing, communications, and other relevant aspects of operations to ensure continued efficient and effective administration of the UI program.The bill creates within the Commission on Unemployment Compensation a subcommittee that shall be responsible for monitoring the Virginia Employment Commission's management of the unemployment insurance program. The subcommittee shall meet at least once each quarter and shall report annually, beginning on December 1, 2022, to the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Commerce and Energy, the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor, and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations. The bill also directs the Commission to convene an advisory committee composed of stakeholders and subject matter experts to review information related to UI claims.The bill requires employers to submit claim-related forms and separation information electronically, as well as other information and electronic tax payments upon the Commission's request, unless the employer has received a waiver by the Commission.The bill provides that a claim for unemployment benefits that has been determined invalid by the Virginia Employment Commission as a result of the claimant's monetary ineligibility shall first be reviewed upon a request for redetermination prior to filing an appeal. The bill also creates an Unemployment Compensation Ombudsman position for the purpose of providing information and assistance to persons seeking assistance in the unemployment compensation process and exempts confidential case files of the Unemployment Compensation Ombudsman from the mandatory disclosure provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.The bill directs the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management to lead a multiagency work group to discuss strategies for staffing assistance and support for agencies that might need staffing assistance during emergencies. Additionally, the Virginia Employment Commission is directed to task its internal audit division to review and revise documents and online resources related to unemployment compensation. The bill contains an emergency clause and is identical to HB 270.

Living organ donors; discrimination prohibited; unpaid leave; civil penalty. Prohibits any person from refusing to insure, refusing to continue to insure, or limiting the amount or extent of life insurance, disability insurance, or long-term care insurance coverage available to an individual or to charge an individual a different rate for the same coverage based solely and without any additional actuarial risks upon the status of such individual as a living organ donor. The bill requires that an employer that employs 15 or more employees provide eligible employees with (i) up to 60 business days of unpaid organ donation leave in any 12-month period to serve as an organ donor and (ii) up to 30 business days of unpaid organ donation leave in any 12-month period to serve as a bone marrow donor. The bill requires the employer to restore the employee's position following the leave, to continue to provide coverage for the employee under any health benefit plan, and to pay the employee any commission earned prior to the leave. The bill prohibits the employer from taking retaliatory action against the employee for taking organ donation leave. The bill requires the Commissioner of Labor and Industry to enforce its provisions and provides for civil penalties for violations of its requirements. This bill incorporates SB 242 and SB 244.

Unemployment compensation; program integrity. Requires the Virginia Employment Commission (the Commission) (i) to conduct all mandatory and recommended program integrity activities as identified by the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, (ii) perform a full eligibility review of suspicious or potentially improper unemployment claims, and (iii) recover any improper overpayment of benefits to the fullest extent authorized by state and federal law. The bill requires the Department of Social Services, the Department of Medical Assistance Services, and the Department of Housing and Community Development to notify the Virginia Employment Commission if an individual enrolled in public assistance programs has become employed. The bill also authorizes the Commission to enter into a memorandum of understanding with any state agency necessary to implement the provisions of the bill and requires the Commission to report by December 1 of each year to the Commission on Unemployment Compensation, addressing the implementation and enforcement of the provisions of the bill. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2023.