Sen. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker

Requirement for appeals bond; indigent parties;appeal of unlawful detainer. Removes the requirement for an indigentdefendant in civil actions to post an appeal bond in any civil caseappealed from the general district court. The bill also removes provisionsof the Code allowing a plaintiff in an unlawful detainer case thathas been appealed to the circuit court to request the judge to ordera writ of eviction immediately upon entry of judgment for possession.

Statute of limitations; medical debt; judgmententered for medical debt. Provides that the statute of limitationsfor an action on any contract, written or unwritten, to collect medicaldebt, including actions brought by the Commonwealth, is three years.The bill further provides that no execution shall be issued and noaction brought on a judgment, including a judgment in favor of theCommonwealth, rendered on medical debt after seven years from thedate of such judgment; where the medical debt incurred was for life-sustainingtreatment, no execution shall be issued and no action brought onsuch judgment more than three years from the date of such judgment.Under current law, the period within which such execution or actionshall be brought is 20 years in circuit court and 10 years in generaldistrict court.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; enforcement by localities. Provides that if a condition exists in a rental dwelling unit that constitutes a material noncompliance by the landlord with the rental agreement or with any provision of law that, if not promptly corrected, constitutes a fire hazard or serious threat to the life, health, or safety of tenants or occupants of the premises, a locality may bring an action to enforce the landlord's duty to maintain the rental dwelling in a fit and habitable condition, provided that (i) the property where the violations occurred is within the jurisdictional boundaries of the locality; (ii) the locality has notified the landlord who owns the property directly or through the managing agent of the nature of the violations and the landlord has not remedied the violations within a reasonable time after receiving such notice to the satisfaction of the locality; and (iii) such enforcement action may include seeking an injunction, damages, or both.

County manager plan of government; independent policing auditor. Allows the governing body of any county with the county manager plan of government (Arlington County) to appoint an independent policing auditor. The independent policing auditor shall support any law-enforcement civilian oversight body created by the governing body and shall have all the powers of the law-enforcement civilian oversight body, to the extent that such powers are delegated to the independent policing auditor by the oversight body. The independent policing auditor shall serve at the pleasure of the governing body.

Certain student-athletes; compensation forname, image, or likeness. The bill prohibits any (i) high school student-athlete who participates in interscholastic athletic competitionfrom entering into any contract to receive compensation in exchangefor the use of such student's name, image, or likeness and (ii) student-athleteenrolled at an institution of higher education in the Commonwealthwho participates in intercollegiate athletic competition from enteringinto any contract to receive compensation in exchange for the useof such student's name, image, or likeness, the duration of whichextends beyond the student's enrollment at such institution.

SNAP benefits program; inmates of state or local correctional facilities. Requires the Department of Social Services(the Department) to establish a process that (i) allows inmatesof state or local correctional facilities to submit within 45 daysof the inmate's expected release date an application to participatein the SNAP benefits program and (ii) enables eligible inmates toreceive SNAP benefits immediately upon release. The bill requiresthe Department to distribute to the Department of Corrections andthe Board of Local and Regional Jails information regarding suchprocess and certain other information described in the bill. Thebill has a delayed effective date of October 1, 2023.

Parking of vehicles; electric vehicle chargingspots; civil penalties. Prohibits a person from parking a vehiclenot capable of receiving an electric charge in a space reserved forcharging electric vehicles. A violation is subject to a civil penaltyof not less than $100 nor more than $250, and the vehicle may betowed or impounded.

Transit Ridership Incentive Program. Changes from a maximum of 25 percent to a minimum of 25 percent the percentage of Transit Ridership Incentive Program (TRIP) funds required to be used to support the establishment of programs to reduce the impact of fares on low-income individuals. This change expires on July 1, 2024. The bill also requires at least 25 percent of TRIP funds to be used to support regional transit initiatives and provides that the Commonwealth Transportation Board has the discretion to allocate the remaining funds available as authorized by law and based on the programs and initiatives submitted during the application process.

Pediatric survivors of sexual assault; Task Force on Services for Survivors of Sexual Assault. Expands from under 13 years of age to under 18 years of age the age range of the pediatric survivors of sexual assault for whom each hospital must develop a plan for providing either pediatric sexual assault survivor treatment services or transfer services to an approved pediatric health care facility. The bill also allows for transfer of a survivor of sexual assault to a clinic that provides treatment services for survivors of sexual assault that are comparable to those provided by treatment hospitals, and adds a representative of a forensic clinic to the existing Task Force on Services for Survivors of Sexual Assault.

Virginia Freedom of Information Act; meetings conducted through electronic communication means. Amends existing provisions concerning electronic meetings by keeping the provisions for electronic meetings held in response to declared states of emergency, repealing the provisions that are specific to regional and state public bodies, and allowing certain public bodies to conduct all-virtual public meetings where all of the members who participate do so remotely and that the public may access through electronic communications means. The bill excepts local governing bodies, local school boards, planning commissions, architectural review boards, zoning appeals boards, and any board with the authority to deny, revoke, or suspend a professional or occupational license from the provisions that allow public bodies to conduct all-virtual public meetings. Definitions, procedural requirements, and limitations for all-virtual public meetings are set forth in the bill, along with technical amendments. The bill has a delayed effective date of September 1, 2022.