Litter tax; penalty for failure to timely pay. Prohibits the Department of Taxation from imposing any penalty or interest for failure to pay the litter tax without first notifying the taxpayer at least 30 days prior to the date that a return must be filed.

Clean Energy and Community Flood Preparedness Act; repeal. Repeals the Clean Energy and Community Flood Preparedness Act and directs the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality to take all steps necessary to suspend the Commonwealth's participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative market-based trading program.

Virginia Electric Utility Regulation Act; regulation of rates. Provides, that in any proceeding to establish base rates for Appalachian Electric Power or Dominion Energy Virginia conducted by the State Corporation Commission (the Commission), if the Commission determines in its sole discretion that the utility's existing base rates will, on a going-forward basis, either produce (i) revenues in excess of the utility's authorized rate of return or (ii) revenues below the utility's authorized rate of return, then the Commission is required to order any reductions or increases, as applicable and necessary, to such base rates that it deems appropriate to ensure the resulting base rates (a) are just and reasonable and (b) provide the utility an opportunity to recover its costs of providing services over the rate period and earn a fair rate of return.

Virginia Electric Utility Regulation Act. Authorizes Dominion Energy Virginia, on or before July 1, 2024, to petition the State Corporation Commission (the Commission) for a financing order for deferred fuel costs. The bill sets forth specific transaction terms and other provisions related to the financing order. Before granting a financing order, the Commission is required to find that (i) the proposed issuance of deferred fuel cost bonds is in the public interest and the associated deferred fuel cost charges are just and reasonable and (ii) the structuring and pricing of the deferred fuel cost bonds are reasonably expected to result in reasonable deferred fuel cost charges consistent with market conditions at the time the deferred fuel cost bonds are priced and the terms set forth in such financing order. The bill requires the financing order to include, among other things: (a) the amount of deferred fuel costs to be financed using deferred fuel cost bonds; (b) a requirement that deferred fuel cost charges authorized under a financing order are non-bypassable and paid by all retail customers of the electric utility, irrespective of the generation supplier of such customer, except for certain exempt customers; (c) a formula-based true-up mechanism for making annual adjustments to the deferred fuel cost charges; and (d) a method of tracing funds collected as deferred fuel cost charges. The bill requires the utility to permit certain retail customers to opt out of financing the customer's pro rata obligation for the deferred fuel cost charges through deferred fuel cost bonds. Under the bill, the financing order is irrevocable. Virginia Electric Utility Regulation Act. Authorizes Dominion Energy Virginia, on or before July 1, 2024, to petition the State Corporation Commission (the Commission) for a financing order for deferred fuel costs. The bill sets forth specific transaction terms and other provisions related to the financing order. Before granting a financing order, the Commission is required to find that (i) the proposed issuance of deferred fuel cost bonds is in the public interest and the associated deferred fuel cost charges are just and reasonable and (ii) the structuring and pricing of the deferred fuel cost bonds are reasonably expected to result in reasonable deferred fuel cost charges consistent with market conditions at the time the deferred fuel cost bonds are priced and the terms set forth in such financing order. The bill requires the financing order to include, among other things: (a) the amount of deferred fuel costs to be financed using deferred fuel cost bonds; (b) a requirement that deferred fuel cost charges authorized under a financing order are non-bypassable and paid by all retail customers of the electric utility, irrespective of the generation supplier of such customer, except for certain exempt customers; (c) a formula-based true-up mechanism for making annual adjustments to the deferred fuel cost charges; and (d) a method of tracing funds collected as deferred fuel cost charges. The bill requires the utility to permit certain retail customers to opt out of financing the customer's pro rata obligation for the deferred fuel cost charges through deferred fuel cost bonds. Under the bill, the financing order is irrevocable. The bill creates the deferred fuel cost charge and provides that the revenues generated by this charge, known as deferred fuel cost property, is a property right that can be transferred and pledged as security for the deferred fuel cost bonds. The bill establishes the procedures for creating, perfecting, and enforcing the security interest in deferred fuel cost property. The bill includes a state non-impairment obligation. Under the bill if the deferred fuel cost bonds are issued, the Commonwealth and its agencies, including the Commission, agree not to take any action that would limit or alter the deferred fuel cost charges until the deferred fuel cost bonds have been paid and performed in full. The bill makes various changes to procedures under which the Commission reviews the earnings and sets the rates of investor-owned incumbent electric utilities. The bill provides that, in lieu of the triennial review proceedings required under current law, Dominion Energy Virginia, beginning in 2023, will be subject to biennial reviews of their rates, terms, and conditions for generation, distribution, and transmission services. The bill requires that if, during a biennial review filed on or before December 31, 2023, the Commission determines that the utility has earned more than 70 basis points above its fair combined rate of return on its generation and distribution services, the Commission will direct that 85 percent of the amount of such overearnings be credited to customers' bills. For a biennial review filed after December 31, 2023, the bill requires that if the Commission determines that the utility has earned above its fair combined rate of return on its generation and distribution services, the Commission will direct that 85 percent of the amount of such overearnings be credited to customers' bills and that all of any such overearnings that were more than 150 basis points above the utility's fair combined rate of return on its generation and distribution services be credited to customers' bills. The bill requires that the Commission, in determining a fair rate of return on common equity for an investor-owned electric utility in any biennial review initiated prior to December 31, 2023, set such rate at 9.70 percent, which is based on the simple average of the authorized returns for vertically integrated electric utilities by the applicable regulatory commissions in the peer group jurisdictions of Florida, Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, West Virginia, Kentucky, and North Carolina. The bill provides that for any review after December 31, 2023, the Commission may use any methodology to determine such return it finds consistent with the public interest. The bill provides that the Commission may increase or decrease an electric utility's combined rate of return for generation and distribution services by up to 50 basis points based on factors that may include reliability, generating plant performance, customer service, operating efficiency of a utility, and load forecasting. The bill requires the Commission, before December 31, 2023, to direct the initiation of a proceeding to review and determine the appropriate protocols and standards applicable to implementing any such performance-based adjustments. The bill provides that in any proceeding to establish base rates for Appalachian Electric Power or Dominion Energy Virginia conducted by the Commission, if the Commission determines in its sole discretion that the utility's existing base rates will, on a going-forward basis, either produce (1) revenues in excess of the utility's authorized rate of return or (2) revenues below the utility's authorized rate of return, then the Commission is required to order any reductions or increases, as applicable and necessary, to such base rates that it deems appropriate to ensure the resulting base rates (A) are just and reasonable and (B) provide the utility an opportunity to recover its costs of providing services over the rate period and earn a fair rate of return. The bill requires Dominion Energy Virginia, in its 2023 biennial review, to combine certain rate adjustment clauses having a combined annual revenue requirement of at least $350 million with the utility's base rates. The bill provides that the combination of such rate adjustment clauses is subject to audit by the Commission in the utility's 2023 biennial review filing. The bill authorizes the Commission to, in its discretion, direct the consolidation of any previously implemented rate adjustment clauses in the interest of judicial economy, customer transparency, or other factors the Commission determines to be appropriate. The bill requires the Commission to include in its report to the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation and the Governor any information concerning the reliability impacts of generation unit additions and retirement determinations by Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy Virginia, along with the potential impact on the purchase of power from generation assets outside the Virginia jurisdiction used to serve the utility's native load. The bill requires Dominion Energy Virginia, through December 31, 2024, to undertake reasonable efforts to maintain, subject to audit by the Commission, its common equity capitalization to total capitalization ratio at a level equal to 52.10 percent.

Passing stopped school buses; rebuttable presumption. Extends from 10 days to 30 business days the deadline for issuing a summons for an alleged violation of passing a stopped school bus in order for proof that the motor vehicle passed a stopped school bus and that the defendant was the registered owner of the vehicle to give rise to a rebuttable presumption that the owner of the vehicle was the operator during the violation.

Obsolescence of 2011 district descriptions; legal boundaries. Repeals Code provisions related to the 2011 decennial redistricting, including descriptions of the districts enacted in that cycle, that are obsolete as a result of the 2021 decennial redistricting of the Commonwealth and provides that the legal and controlling congressional and state legislative district boundaries are those designated in the block equivalency file and resulting shapefile that are the electronic versions of the districts established pursuant to relevant law. The bill requires the block equivalency files and shapefiles to be maintained and available to the public on the website for the Virginia Redistricting Commission. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Code Commission. Obsolescence of 2011 district descriptions; legal boundaries. Repeals Code provisions related to the 2011 decennial redistricting, including descriptions of the districts enacted in that cycle, that are obsolete as a result of the 2021 decennial redistricting of the Commonwealth and provides that the legal and controlling congressional and state legislative district boundaries are those designated in the block equivalency file and resulting shapefile that are the electronic versions of the districts established pursuant to relevant law. The bill requires the block equivalency files and shapefiles to be maintained and available to the public on the website for the Virginia Redistricting Commission. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Code Commission.

Eastern Virginia Medical School; establishment of Eastern Virginia Health Sciences Center at Old Dominion University. Repeals provisions establishing and relating to Eastern Virginia Medical School and designates the schools and divisions previously existing as Eastern Virginia Medical School and such other academic units of Old Dominion University related to the health sciences as may be identified by the Old Dominion University Board of Visitors as the Eastern Virginia Health Sciences Center at Old Dominion University (the Health Sciences Center). The bill permits Old Dominion University to provide medical and health sciences education and related research through the teaching hospitals and related health care and health maintenance facilities at the Health Sciences Center and contains provisions relating to the operations of the Health Sciences Center, including provisions relating to cooperative arrangements and joint ventures.

Regulating video gaming terminals; Virginia Video Gaming Terminal Education Support Fund established; penalties. Authorizes and specifies the licensing requirements for the manufacture, distribution, operation, servicing, hosting, and playing of video gaming terminals (VGTs). The bill provides that VGTs are regulated by the Virginia Lottery Board, which the bill renames as the Virginia Lottery and Gaming Oversight Board. The bill requires employees of such licensees to be registered with the Virginia Lottery, which the bill renames as the Virginia Lottery and Gaming Department. The bill imposes criminal and civil penalties for violations of the law and regulations related to VGTs. The bill imposes a 34 percent tax on all gross profits from the play of VGTs and provides for how the tax proceeds are used; most are deposited into the Virginia Video Gaming Terminal Education Support Fund, created by the bill.

Financial exploitation of vulnerable adults; venue. Provides that, in addition to the county or city in which any act was performed in furtherance of the offense or the accused resided at the time of the offense, venue for the trial of an accused charged with financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult may be in any county or city in which (i) the vulnerable adult resides or resided at the time of the offense or (ii) the vulnerable adult sustained a financial loss as a result of the offense. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Criminal Justice Conference. Financial exploitation of vulnerable adults; venue. Provides that, in addition to the county or city in which any act was performed in furtherance of the offense or the accused resided at the time of the offense, venue for the trial of an accused charged with financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult may be in any county or city in which (i) the vulnerable adult resides or resided at the time of the offense or (ii) the vulnerable adult sustained a financial loss as a result of the offense. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Criminal Justice Conference.

Charter; City of Newport News; certain advertising requirements. Alters certain advertising requirements related to the disposal of real property of the city's waterworks system by reducing the requirement from four to two weeks, thereby conforming to other city advertising requirements.

Care of companion animals; adequate water. Amends the definition of "adequate water" as it relates to the care of companion animals to align with the federal Animal Welfare Act by specifying that water be provided in receptacles that are cleaned and sanitized before being used to provide water to a different dog or cat or a different social grouping of dogs or cats and to specify the intervals at which dogs and cats must be provided clean, fresh, potable water unless restricted by a veterinarian.

Dangers and victims of communism; recognition; Standards of Learning and programs of instruction. Requires the Governor to annually issue a proclamation setting the seventh day of November as Victims of Communism Day and requiring such day to be suitably observed in each public elementary and secondary school in the Commonwealth as a day honoring the approximately 100 million individuals who have fallen victim to communist regimes around the world and to be suitably observed by a public exercise in the Capitol and elsewhere as the Governor may designate in such proclamation. The bill also requires the Board of Education to include in the history and social science Standards of Learning and each school board to emphasize in its Standards-aligned program of instruction the study of the dangers of communism.

Minimum wage; employees with disabilities. Provides that individuals with disabilities that are paid at subminimum wage pursuant to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and currently excluded from the Virginia Minimum Wage Act shall be excluded from the Virginia Minimum Wage Act only if those individuals are paid subminimum wage prior to July 1, 2023 by an employer that was authorized to pay a subminimum wage prior to July 1, 2023. This exclusion is in effect until July 1, 2030 when the exclusion is eliminated entirely. The bill also requires the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to (i) prioritize efforts to support individuals with disabilities who desire to transition from subminimum wage employment to competitive integrated employment and (ii) submit a report by May 1, 2024 to the Governor and the General Assembly on the number of individuals with disabilities employed in subminimum wage employment and the movement of individuals from subminimum wage employment to competitive integrated employment.

Study; Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers; creation, operation, and duties of natural organic reduction, or human composting, facilities as cemetery corporations. Directs the Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers to study the creation, operation, and duties of natural organic reduction, also known as green burial or human composting, facilities as cemetery corporations; to develop recommendations for establishing natural organic reduction facilities in the Commonwealth; and to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly by November 30, 2023.

Pharmacies; reporting of processing delays impacting patient safety; centralized or remote processing of prescriptions. Requires a pharmacy that, on average, during any one-week period is unable to process a prescription within two days of receipt of such prescription to report the prescription backlog to the Board of Pharmacy. The bill requires any pharmacy making such report to submit a corrective action plan detailing its staffing, workflow, technology, and patient communication strategies to address the prescription backlog. The bill permits the Board to (i) investigate any reported or suspected backlog; (ii) accept, amend, or reject a corrective action plan; and (iii) impose disciplinary action against the pharmacy permit for failure to comply with the bill. Additionally, the bill allows pharmacies to perform centralized or remote processing of prescriptions in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Board. The bill directs the Board to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill. Pharmacies; reporting of processing delays impacting patient safety; centralized or remote processing of prescriptions. Requires a pharmacy that, on average, during any one-week period is unable to process a prescription within two days of receipt of such prescription to report the prescription backlog to the Board of Pharmacy. The bill requires any pharmacy making such report to submit a corrective action plan detailing its staffing, workflow, technology, and patient communication strategies to address the prescription backlog. The bill permits the Board to (i) investigate any reported or suspected backlog; (ii) accept, amend, or reject a corrective action plan; and (iii) impose disciplinary action against the pharmacy permit for failure to comply with the bill. Additionally, the bill allows pharmacies to perform centralized or remote processing of prescriptions in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Board. The bill directs the Board to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill.