Transportation electrification; integrated resource planning; fast-charging stations; cost recovery by electric utilities. Permits Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power Company to file a proposed tariff with the State Corporation Commission (the Commission) to provide utility owned and operated electrical distribution infrastructure to support electric vehicle charging stations. The bill requires Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power Company to file transportation electrification plans with the Commission by February 1, 2028, and every three years thereafter, and includes requirements for information to include in such plans. Under the bill, Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power Company are required to seek recovery of necessary and appropriate expenditures for transportation electrification only through their rates for generation and distribution services.The bill prohibits Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power Company from petitioning for approval of expenditures to own and operate electric vehicle fast-charging stations unless such stations are located at or beyond a radial distance as determined by the Commission relative to the location of any privately owned fast charging station. The bill also directs the Commission to initiate a rulemaking proceeding to determine the appropriate radial distance for such utility-owned fast-charging stations from privately-owned fast charging stations, to enter its final rule in such proceeding no later than December 31, 2027, and to review such final rule by December 31, 2029. Provisions of the bill restricting the radial distance of utility owned and operated fast-charging stations expire on July 1, 2031. This bill is identical to HB 1225.
Transportation electrification; integrated resource planning; fast-charging stations; cost recovery by electric utilities. Permits Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power Company to file a proposed tariff with the State Corporation Commission (the Commission) to provide utility owned and operated electrical distribution infrastructure to support electric vehicle charging stations. The bill requires Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power Company to file transportation electrification plans with the Commission by February 1, 2028, and every three years thereafter, and includes requirements for information to include in such plans. Under the bill, Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power Company are required to seek recovery of necessary and appropriate expenditures for transportation electrification only through their rates for generation and distribution services.The bill prohibits Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power Company from petitioning for approval of expenditures to own and operate electric vehicle fast-charging stations unless such stations are located at or beyond a radial distance as determined by the Commission relative to the location of any privately owned fast charging station. The bill also directs the Commission to initiate a rulemaking proceeding to determine the appropriate radial distance for such utility-owned fast-charging stations from privately-owned fast charging stations, to enter its final rule in such proceeding no later than December 31, 2027, and to review such final rule by December 31, 2029. Provisions of the bill restricting the radial distance of utility owned and operated fast-charging stations expire on July 1, 2031. This bill is identical to SB 407.
Traffic regulation; bicycles, electric personal assistive mobility devices, electric power-assisted bicycles, and motorized skateboards or scooters. Authorizes any person operating a bicycle, electric personal assistive mobility device, electric power-assisted bicycle, or motorized skateboard or scooter to yield instead of stop at an intersection controlled by a stop sign if certain conditions are met. The bill also authorizes such a person to proceed through the intersection on a steady red light if the pedestrian control signal corresponding to the person's direction of travel and to the parallel crosswalk indicates "Walk" and if certain other conditions are met. The bill requires any such persons riding two abreast on roadways with only one travel lane in the direction of such persons and a posted speed limit of 35 miles per hour or more to not impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic. Under current law, such persons riding two abreast are required to not impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic and are required to move into a single-file formation when being overtaken from the rear by a faster moving vehicle, regardless of the type of road and posted speed limit.
Emergency vehicles; exempt from certain traffic regulations. Authorizes a law-enforcement vehicle, defined in current law, operated by or under the direction of a state or local law-enforcement officer to disregard parking and stopping provisions. The bill expands the situations in which such vehicles may disregard speed limits to include when establishing evidence of other violations of law and when responding to an emergency in which emergency lights and siren may pose a safety risk and removes such authorization for disregarding speed limits in certain situations provided under existing law for law-enforcement vehicles operated by or under the direction of a federal law-enforcement officer.
Driver improvement clinics; motorcycle driver improvement clinics; Motorcycle Driver Improvement Clinic Fund; created. Creates motorcycle driver improvement clinics, defined in the bill, as a subset of existing driver improvement clinics and provides requirements and parameters for the instruction and administration of the motorcycle driver improvement clinics. The bill authorizes courts to direct defendants who have committed violations while operating a motorcycle to attend a motorcycle driver improvement clinic and satisfy the requirements thereof. The bill also creates the Motorcycle Driver Improvement Clinic Fund for the operation and administration of motorcycle driver improvement clinics. The bill specifies that priority be given to the creation of motorcycle driver improvement clinics that operate as computer-based clinics.
Transportation funding; project prioritization; sidewalks. Authorizes the consideration of the use of sidewalks and new sidewalk projects for certain project prioritization processes that apply statewide and to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, for purposes of transportation funding, and expands the permissible use of certain revenues by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority for capital improvements that reduce congestion to new sidewalk projects.
Central Virginia Transportation Fund; distribution of funds; Bay Transit. Distributes two percent of certain funds from the Central Virginia Transportation Fund to Bay Transit of New Kent and Charles City (Bay Transit) and reduces from 15 to 13 percent the amount of such funds distributed to the Greater Richmond Transit Company. The bill prohibits the distribution of funds to Bay Transit unless the Central Virginia Transportation Authority first enters into an agreement with Bay Transit for the distribution of such funds. The bill also provides that, for any year in which no such agreement exists, such funds be distributed to the Greater Richmond Transit Company.
School access corridors; snow and ice removal; Planning District 8. Requires the Commissioner of Highways, when providing snow and ice removal services in Planning District 8, to prioritize the removal of snow and ice from certain state-maintained sidewalks and crosswalks defined in the bill as school access corridors.
State Trails Office; Statewide Trails Plan; Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail. Directs the State Trails Office within the Department of Transportation to include the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail in the Statewide Trails Plan.
Rappahannock Area Transportation Authority created; funding; recordation tax; sales and use tax; report. Creates the Rappahannock Area Transportation Authority, initially comprising the counties with a population in excess of 150,000 and cities located in Planning District 16. The bill authorizes any locality in Planning District 16 to join the Authority by resolution or ordinance of such governing body. The Authority will administer transportation funding generated through the imposition of (i) an additional regional 0.5 percent sales and use tax, (ii) an additional transportation improvement grantor's fee at a rate of $0.06 per $100 of the consideration for the conveyance, and (iii) a local transportation transient occupancy tax at a rate of one percent of the amount of the charge for the occupancy of any room or space occupied in any county or city in Planning District 16. The bill also increases the annual distribution of recordation tax revenues to cities and counties from $20 million to $55 million and dedicates $15 million of such annual distribution to the Rappahannock Area Transportation Fund, created by the bill.
