Charter; City of Chesapeake; operating budget; reserves. Removes the requirement that a minimum of six percent of the total general fund revenue be reserved for emergency use and cash flow needs upon the adoption of the City of Chesapeake's annual operating budget.

Solar-ready roofs for certain government buildings; net-zero energy consumption building design for schools. Requires any executive branch agency or institution and any locality entering the design phase for the construction of a new building greater than 5,000 gross square feet in size, or the renovation of a building where the cost of the renovation exceeds 50 percent of the value of the building, to ensure that such building includes a solar-ready, cool, or energy-efficient roof, defined in the bill. However, the provisions of the bill do not apply to localities with a population of less than 100,000 until July 1, 2023. The bill also requires new public school buildings and facilities and improvements and renovations to existing public school buildings and facilities where the cost of the renovation exceeds 50 percent of the value of the building to, after notice is given to the governing body, be designed, constructed, maintained, and operated to generate more electricity than consumed. The provisions of this bill only apply to projects entering the design phase on or after January 1, 2023. Solar-ready roofs for certain government buildings; net-zero energy consumption building design for schools. Requires any executive branch agency or institution and any locality entering the design phase for the construction of a new building greater than 5,000 gross square feet in size, or the renovation of a building where the cost of the renovation exceeds 50 percent of the value of the building, to ensure that such building includes a solar-ready, cool, or energy-efficient roof, defined in the bill. However, the provisions of the bill do not apply to localities with a population of less than 100,000 until July 1, 2023. The bill also requires new public school buildings and facilities and improvements and renovations to existing public school buildings and facilities where the cost of the renovation exceeds 50 percent of the value of the building to, after notice is given to the governing body, be designed, constructed, maintained, and operated to generate more electricity than consumed. The provisions of this bill only apply to projects entering the design phase on or after January 1, 2023.

Telephone systems within correctional facilities. Provides that no records of communications made by inmates from telephone systems within correctional facilities shall be disclosed without a search warrant, except upon the request of an inmate for the inmate's own records to be disclosed to him or his attorney. The bill requires that each correctional facility create and maintain an audit log for each inmate that shall (i) identify each disclosed record and (ii) include a copy of the search warrant issued to obtain such record. The bill provides that any records of communications obtained unlawfully shall not be admissible as evidence in a prosecution or civil action. The bill also removes provisions regarding allowable forms of payment and payment rates for calls to numbers on an approved call list using such telephone systems.

Refundable income tax credit for low-income taxpayers. Allows low-income individuals and married persons to claim either (i) a nonrefundable income tax credit equal to $300 for each individual, his spouse, and any dependents or (ii) a refundable income tax credit equal to 20 percent of the federal earned income tax credit claimed that year by the individual or married persons for the same taxable year. Under current law, low-income individuals and married persons may elect either of these amounts; however, both options for claiming the credit are nonrefundable. The provisions of the bill apply to taxable years 2022 through 2028.

Sales and use tax exemption; aircraft components. Extends the sunset date for the sales and use tax exemption for parts, engines, and supplies used for maintaining, repairing, or reconditioning aircraft or any aircraft's avionics system, engine, or component parts from July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2025. The bill also restricts the exemption for manned systems to aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of at least 2,400 pounds.

Unemployment insurance; Resiliency Plan. Requires the Virginia Employment 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.

Wetland and stream mitigation credits; dam removal credits. Provides the Department of Environmental Quality the authority to allow applicants for permits with stream mitigation requirements to satisfy all or part of the requirements through dam removal credits generated in the same or adjacent stream or watershed basin. A dam removal credit is defined in the bill as a credit generated through the removal of a significant obstruction, which is also defined in the bill. The bill includes certain requirements with which the applicant must comply in order to use dam removal credits from an adjacent river watershed.

Local government hiring; people with disabilities. Requires any locality to take into consideration or give preference to an individual's status as a person with a disability in its employment hiring policies and practices, provided that such person with a disability meets all of the knowledge, skills, and eligibility requirements for the available position.

Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to establish a work group to study and make recommendations regarding appropriate investigations of the deaths of individuals who die while receiving services from a licensed program. Directs the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (the Department) to establish a work group to study and make recommendations regarding appropriate investigations, including recommendations regarding when autopsies may be appropriate, of the deaths of individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities who are residents of the Commonwealth and who die while receiving services from a program licensed by the Department. The bill requires the work group to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by November 1, 2022. Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to establish a work group to study and make recommendations regarding appropriate investigations of the deaths of individuals who die while receiving services from a licensed program. Directs the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (the Department) to establish a work group to study and make recommendations regarding appropriate investigations, including recommendations regarding when autopsies may be appropriate, of the deaths of individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities who are residents of the Commonwealth and who die while receiving services from a program licensed by the Department. The bill requires the work group to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by November 1, 2022.

Prohibiting loitering; curfew for minors; age restrictions on trick-or-treating. Prohibits localities from imposing age restrictions on trick-or-treating that exceed current loitering and curfew provisions.

Energy benchmarking; access to data on energy usage in certain buildings; civil penalty. Authorizes a locality to adopt an ordinance requiring utilities, upon request by the owner of a covered building, defined in the bill as any building with one or more utility accounts and a gross floor area of not less than 30,000 square feet, to provide the owner with aggregated measured energy usage data for multiple utility accounts of customers receiving service in the covered building. The bill makes such energy benchmarking mandatory for a covered building with three or more active utility accounts in which no single utility account amounts to at least 85 percent of the aggregated energy usage and optional for other covered buildings. The bill provides that the building owner shall only provide aggregated data received via the benchmarking tool subject to ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager guidelines unless the Department of Energy gives other guidelines. Violators of the ordinance are subject to a civil penalty of not more than $2,500 to be paid into the state treasury for the general fund. The bill requires the Department to develop uniform guidelines for energy benchmarking with input from stakeholders, with such guidelines finalized no later than December 1, 2022.

Department of Medical Assistance Services; amend waivers providing services for individuals with developmental disabilities; greater financial flexibility for certain services; report. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services (the Department) to take steps to amend the Family and Individual Supports, Community Living, Building Independence, and Commonwealth Coordinated Plus waivers. The bill requires the Department to report on its progress to the Governor and the General Assembly by December 1, 2022. Department of Medical Assistance Services; amend waivers providing services for individuals with developmental disabilities; greater financial flexibility for certain services; report. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services (the Department) to take steps to amend the Family and Individual Supports, Community Living, Building Independence, and Commonwealth Coordinated Plus waivers. The bill requires the Department to report on its progress to the Governor and the General Assembly by December 1, 2022.

Department of Motor Vehicles; mileage-based user fee program; protection of data. Prohibits the disclosure of certain data necessary for the administration of the mileage-based user fee program and authorizes participants in the mileage-based user fee program to participate without location tracking. Department of Motor Vehicles; mileage-based user fee program; protection of data. Prohibits the disclosure of certain data necessary for the administration of the mileage-based user fee program and authorizes participants in the mileage-based user fee program to participate without location tracking.

Health insurance; tobacco surcharge. Eliminates the authority of a health carrier to vary its premium rates based on tobacco use. Under current law, a health carrier may charge premium rates up to 1.5 times higher for a tobacco user than for a nonuser. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Health Care, and the provisions of the bill shall apply to health benefit plans providing individual or small group health insurance coverage beginning on January 1, 2023.

Stormwater management service districts; rate of taxation. Provides that if a locality located within a stormwater management service district requires, by ordinance, that certain property owners maintain private stormwater management facilities, the rate of tax imposed by such service district on such property owners shall be half of the amount imposed on property owners not required to maintain private stormwater management facilities.