Advertisement of legal notices; website. Allows a locality to advertise legal notices on its website rather than in a newspaper having a general circulation in the locality.
Local anti-rent gouging authority; civil penalty. Provides that any locality may by ordinance adopt anti-rent gouging provisions. The bill provides for notice and a public hearing prior to the adoption of such ordinance and specifies that all landlords who are under the ordinance may be required to give at least two months' written notice of a rent increase and cannot increase the rent by more than the locality's calculated allowance, described in the bill as the maximum amount a landlord can increase a tenant's rent during any 12-month period, in effect at the time of the increase. The bill sets such allowance as equal to the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index or seven percent, whichever is less, states that such allowance is effective for a 12-month period beginning July 1 each year, and requires the locality to publish such allowance on its website by June 1 of each year. Certain facilities, as outlined in the bill, are exempt from such ordinance. The bill also requires a locality to establish an anti-rent gouging board that will develop and implement rules and procedures by which landlords may apply for and be granted exemptions from the rent increase limits set by the ordinance. Finally, the bill provides that a locality shall establish a civil penalty for failure to comply with the requirements set out in its ordinance.
Toll relief; maximum charges. Limits to $200 per month the tolls charged to residents of the Commonwealth via electronic toll collection devices for the use of toll bridges, toll ferries, toll tunnels, or toll roads in the Commonwealth. The bill prohibits misusing, sharing, or transferring an electronic toll collection device for the purpose of (i) generating tolls to reach the toll charges limit or (ii) obtaining toll-free use of toll facilities in the Commonwealth. The bill authorizes the free use of all toll bridges, toll roads, and other toll facilities in the Commonwealth for drivers who are recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits.
Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority; Virginia Nursing Workforce Center established; reporting and monitoring of health care workforce programs; residency slots; work group; report. Establishes the Virginia Nursing Workforce Center under the auspices of the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority (the Authority) for the purpose of working toward ensuring a quality nursing workforce for all Virginians. The bill also changes the name of the Virginia Health Care Career and Technical Training and Education Fund to the Virginia Health Workforce Innovation Fund and directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to amend its regulations to increase supplemental payments for qualifying residency slots from $100,000 to $160,000. The bill directs the Authority to convene work groups for the purpose of developing a long-term vision for the health workforce and to develop a plan to increase capacity for reporting and monitoring of health care workforce programs.
Campaign finance; campaign required tax-exempt organization disclosure; work group; report; civil penalties. Establishes campaign finance reporting requirements for tax-exempt organizations making contributions or independent expenditures for the purpose of advocating for the election or defeat of a clearly identified Virginia candidate. Committees are prohibited from accepting contributions from tax-exempt organizations that do not file required campaign finance disclosure reports. Civil penalties for violations of the limits established by the bill may equal up to four times the excess contribution amounts. The bill also requires electronically filed independent expenditure reports to be made publicly available within 48 hours of being filed and to be entered into a publicly available campaign finance database accessible through the Internet. Finally, the bill requires that the Chair of the House Privileges and Elections Committee and the Chair of the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee convene a work group to evaluate campaign finance contribution limits and disclosure requirements among the various states and at the federal level and to report their findings by November 30, 2025.
Possession of retail tobacco products and hemp products intended for smoking by a person younger than 21 years of age prohibited; penalty. Prohibits any person younger than 21 years of age from possessing any retail tobacco product or hemp product intended for smoking, as those terms are defined in relevant law. Any person who violates such prohibition is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 58.1-416, as it is currently effective and as it may become effective, 58.1-419, 58.1-422.4, and 58.1-422.5 of the Code of Virginia; to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 58.1-416.1; and to repeal the third enactments of Chapters 256 and 257 of the Acts of Assembly of 2022, relating to sourcing of certain sales.
Drinking water; maximum contaminant levels; water treatment or filtration systems; Residential Well Water Testing and Treatment Program and Program Fund established. Directs the State Board of Health to adopt regulations to utilize point-of-use or point-of-entry drinking water treatment or filtration systems to remove or significantly reduce concentrations of contaminants of concern that meet or exceed any maximum contaminant level or health advisory for the same contaminant adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The bill also establishes the Residential Well Water Testing and Treatment Program and Program Fund to allow the Department of Health's Office of Drinking Water to test and treat contaminated drinking water through grants for the use of eligible treatment or filtration systems in private residential wells.
Department of Veterans Services; powers and duties of Commissioner; identification of incarcerated veterans. Provides that the Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Services shall utilize, in consultation with the Department of Corrections, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Veterans Re-Entry Search Services system to identify veterans incarcerated in state, local, or community correctional facilities to prepare such veterans for release and reentry, reduce recidivism and homelessness, provide behavioral health resources, and refer eligible veterans to behavioral health dockets. This bill was incorporated into HB 2071.
Regional emergency medical services councils. Provides that 55 percent of certain funds distributed to the Department of Health from motor vehicle registration fees shall be distributed to the designated regional emergency medical services councils for their operational support. The bill also specifies that there shall be 11 designated regional emergency medical services councils. Under current law, there is no specified number.
Wildlife corridors or crossings; action plan and programs; Virginia Flood Protection Master Plan; Wildlife Corridor Action Plan; wildlife carcass removal tracking; report. Requires the Wildlife Corridor Action Plan created by the Department of Wildlife Resources to address the financial needs of the Plan and implement certain additional initiatives. The bill directs the Department of Conservation and Recreation to include in the Virginia Flood Protection Master Plan a directive to encourage opportunities to incorporate wildlife-friendly design in flood resilience infrastructure where flood risk priorities align with priorities of the Wildlife Corridor Action Plan. The bill requires the Department of Transportation to (i) establish and administer a program for the implementation of wildlife crossings of highways in the Commonwealth, (ii) incorporate the recommendations of the Wildlife Corridor Action Plan established by the Department of Wildlife Resources pursuant to existing law in the policies and procedures of the Department, and (iii) submit a report to the General Assembly in each even-numbered year regarding such program. The bill requires the Department of Transportation and the Commonwealth Transportation Board to include in all highway maintenance contracts a requirement for such contractor to identify certain data related to wildlife carcass removal and provides that such requirement may be accomplished by using the Department of Transportation's Wildlife Carcass Removal Tracking application.
Public institutions of higher education; certain transfer credit policy prohibited. Prohibits any public institution of higher education from adopting or implementing any policy that denies credit to transfer students based solely on the sending institution's accreditor, as long as such accreditor is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
