Photo speed monitoring devices; civil penalty. Authorizes law-enforcement agencies and localities to operate photo speed monitoring devices, defined in the bill, in or around school crossing zones and highway work zones for the purpose of recording images of vehicles that are traveling at speeds of at least 10 miles per hour above the posted school crossing zone or highway work zone speed limit within such school crossing zone or highway work zone when such highway work zone is indicated by conspicuously placed signs displaying the maximum speed limit and that such photo speed monitoring devices are used in the area. The bill provides that the operator of a vehicle shall be liable for a monetary civil penalty, not to exceed $125, if such vehicle is found to be traveling at speeds of at least 10 miles per hour above the posted highway work zone or school crossing zone speed limit by the photo speed monitoring device. The bill provides that if the summons for a violation is issued by mail, the violation shall not be reported on the driver's operating record or to the driver's insurance agency, but if the violation is personally issued by an officer at the time of the violation, such violation shall be part of the driver's record and used for insurance purposes. The bill provides that the civil penalty will be paid to the locality in which the violation occurred if the summons is issued by a local law-enforcement officer and paid to the Department of State Police if the summons is issued by a law-enforcement officer employed by the Department of State Police. This bill incorporates HB 621 and HB1721.
Sponsored bills
Solar and wind energy projects on previously developed project sites. Declares that the construction or purchase by a public utility prior to January 1, 2024, of one or more solar or wind generation facilities located on a previously developed project site in the Commonwealth having in the aggregate a rated capacity that does not exceed 200 megawatts, or the purchase by a public utility of energy, capacity, and environmental attributes from such solar facilities owned by persons other than a public utility, is in the public interest.
Transportation. Amends numerous laws related to transportation funds, revenue sources, construction, and safety programs.The bill adopts numerous structural changes to the transportation funding system in the Commonwealth. Most transportation revenues are directed to a new Commonwealth Transportation Fund and the existing Highway Maintenance and Operating Fund. Funds are then disbursed, based on codified formulas, to subfunds established to meet the varying transportation needs of different modes of transportation. The bill contains transitional provisions phasing in the new funding structure over a period of four years.The existing gas tax based on a percentage of the wholesale price of gasoline and diesel fuel is converted to a cents-per-gallon tax. A rate of $0.282 per gallon of gasoline will be phased in over three years, and then indexed every year thereafter. The regional gas tax will be converted to a rate of $0.076 per gallon of gasoline.Registration fees for motor vehicles will be lowered. The Department of Motor Vehicles will implement a Highway Use Fee for alternative fuel and fuel-efficient vehicles. Alternatively, a person whose vehicles would be subject to this new fee may elect to instead enroll in a mileage-based user fee program to be developed by the Department.In Northern Virginia, the regional transportation improvement fee, used to support the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), is lowered to $0.10 per $100 for the recordation of conveyance of a deed. A new regional congestion fee is imposed at a rate of $0.15 per $100 for the recordation of conveyance of a deed. The regional transient occupancy tax is raised from $2 to $3.The bill authorizes the use of transportation bonds to complete the final section of Corridor Q of the Appalachian Development Highway System, and authorizes a bond issuance for improvements in the Interstate 81 and Interstate 66 corridors.The bill establishes a new Virginia Passenger Rail Authority.The bill adopts several safety initiatives, including: (i) making it illegal to possess an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle; (ii) requiring all passengers in a vehicle to wear safety belts and making failure to wear a safety belt a primary offense; (iii) prohibiting the use of handheld personal communication devices; (iv) establishing a speed monitoring program in highway safety corridors that uses a vehicle sensor to take a picture of a vehicle traveling more than 10 miles over the speed limit, subjecting the driver to a monetary fine; and (v) allowing localities to lower the speed limit below 25 miles per hour in business and residential districts. The Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles will establish an advisory committee to oversee education and enforcement of policies such as the seatbelt and hands-free provisions. The bill changes the requirement for a vehicle inspection from once every 12 months to once every 24 months.The bill also creates numerous new transportation safety programs, including an Interstate Operations and Enhancement Program, a Virginia Highway Safety Improvement Program, the Statewide Special Structures Program, and a Transit Incentive Program.This bill incorporates HB 16 and HB 1538.
Landlord and tenant; charge for late payment of rent; restrictions. Provides that a landlord shall not charge a tenant for late payment of rent unless such charge is provided for in the written rental agreement, and that no such late charge shall exceed the lesser of 10 percent of the periodic rent or 10 percent of the remaining balance due and owed by the tenant. This bill contains an emergency clause and incorporates HB 1669.
Solar energy projects; revenue share assessment. Authorizes any locality by ordinance to assess a revenue share of up to $1,400 per megawatt on any solar photovoltaic (electric energy) project with certain exceptions and expands an existing tax exemption for such projects under certain conditions. The bill authorizes such revenue share to apply to existing projects only if certain conditions are met. This bill is identical to SB 762.
Distributed renewable energy. Promotes the establishment of distributed renewable solar and other renewable energy. The measure (i) requires the State Corporation Commission to establish by regulation a shared solar program that allows multifamily customers of investor-owned utilities, other than American Electric Power, to purchase electric power through a subscription in a shared solar facility; (ii) raises the cap on the total amount of renewable energy that can be net metered in a utility's service territory from one percent to six percent, five percent of which is available to all customers and one percent of which is available only to low-income utility customers; (iii) raises the cap for net-metered nonresidential generation facilities from one megawatt to three megawatts; (iv) allows certain localities to install solar or wind facilities of up to five megawatts on government-owned property and use the electricity for government-owned buildings; (v) increases the cap on the capacity of generation from facilities from the customer's expected annual energy consumption to 150 percent of such amount for customers in Dominion Energy Virginia's service territory; (vi) prohibits standby charges for any residential customer-generator or agricultural customer-generator of an investor-owned utility other than Dominion Energy Virginia; and (vii) increases the cap on third party power purchase agreements to 500 megawatts for jurisdictional customers and 500 megawatts for nonjurisdictional customers of Dominion Energy Virginia and to 40 megawatts for customers of American Electric Power. The measure also amends the Commonwealth Energy Policy to include provisions supporting distributed generation of renewable energy. This bill is identical to HB 572, HB 1184, and SB 710.
Hampton Roads Regional Transit Program. Creates the Hampton Roads Regional Transit Program to develop, maintain, and improve a regional network of transit routes and related infrastructure, rolling stock, and support facilities. The program would be funded by an additional (i) regional grantor's tax at a rate of $0.06 per $100 of the consideration for the conveyance and (ii) regional transient occupancy tax at a rate of one percent of the charge for the occupancy, both imposed in localities in the Hampton Roads Transportation District. The bill also dedicates $20 million of revenues from existing recordation taxes to funding the program. The moneys would be deposited into the Hampton Roads Regional Transit Fund, created by the bill. The moneys would be deposited into the Hampton Roads Regional Transit Fund, created by the bill. Use of the funds would require a two-thirds vote of the localities in which the new taxes were imposed. The bill also includes a local maintenance of effort of public transportation funding. This bill is identical to SB 1038.
Labor and employment; collective bargaining; employees of counties, cities, and towns. Permits counties, cities, and towns to adopt local ordinances authorizing them to (i) recognize any labor union or other employee association as a bargaining agent of any public officers or employees, except for Constitutional officers and their employees, and including public school employees and (ii) collectively bargain or enter into any collective bargaining contract with any such union or association or its agents with respect to any matter relating to them or their employment. The bill provides that for any governing body of a county, city, or town that has not adopted an ordinance or resolution providing for collective bargaining, such governing body is required, within 120 days of receiving certification from a majority of public employees in a unit considered by such employees to be appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, to take a vote to adopt or not adopt an ordinance or resolution to provide for collective bargaining by such public employees and any other public employees deemed appropriate by the governing body. The bill provides that the prohibition against striking for public employees applies, irrespective of any such local ordinance. The bill has a delayed effective date of May 1, 2021. This bill is identical to SB 939.
Shared solar programs. Requires the State Corporation Commission to establish by regulation a shared solar program that allows customers of Dominion Virginia to purchase electric power through a subscription in a shared solar facility, which is defined in the bill as a facility that, among other criteria, generates electricity by means of a solar photovoltaic device with a nameplate capacity rating that does not exceed 5,000 kilowatts. Under the program, a subscriber receives a bill credit for the proportional output of a share solar facility attributable to that subscriber. Subscribers are required to pay a minimum bill, established by the Commission, that includes the costs of infrastructure and related services. The bill provides that the Commission shall approve a shared solar program of 150 megawatts with a minimum requirement of 30 percent of low-income customers and that the Commission will approve an additional 50 megawatts upon determining that at least 45 megawatts of the shared solar capacity have been subscribed to by low-income customers. This bill is identical to SB 629.
Prohibited discrimination; public accommodations, employment, credit, and housing: causes of action; sexual orientation and gender identity. Creates causes of action for unlawful discrimination in public accommodations and employment in the Virginia Human Rights Act. Currently, under the Act there is no cause of action for discrimination in public accommodations, and the only causes of action for discrimination in employment are for (i) unlawful discharge on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, or childbirth or related medical conditions including lactation by employers employing more than five but fewer than 15 persons and (ii) unlawful discharge on the basis of age by employers employing more than five but fewer than 20 persons. The bill allows the causes of action to be pursued privately by the aggrieved person or, in certain circumstances, by the Attorney General. Before a civil cause of action may be brought in a court of the Commonwealth, an aggrieved individual must file a complaint with the Division of Human Rights of the Department of Law, participate in an administrative process, and receive a notice of his right to commence a civil action. The bill prohibits discrimination in public and private employment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill also codifies for state and local government employment the current prohibitions on discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, or status as a veteran. Additionally, the bill (a) prohibits discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or status as a veteran; (b) prohibits discrimination in credit on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, disability, and status as a veteran; and (c) adds discrimination on the basis of an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or status as a veteran as an unlawful housing practice. The bill makes technical amendments. This bill incorporates SB 66 and SB 159.