Net energy metering; solar interconnection; cost recovery. Provides that an electric distribution company shall pay $1 per kilowatt per day for the costs of lost electricity production for any and all delays beyond the regulatory notice period required by State Corporation Commission related to net energy metering. The bill requires that, for the purposes of net energy metering, an eligible customer-generator shall bear all reasonable costs of equipment required at the eligible customer-generator's side of the meter for the interconnection to the supplier's electric distribution system, including reasonable and prudent costs of additional controls, tests, or liability insurance. Additionally, the bill allows for cost recovery by Phase I and Phase II Utilities for electric distribution grid transformation projects that support the interconnection of generating facilities using energy derived from sunlight that are owned or contracted by eligible customer-generators, subject to the Commission finding those costs to be reasonable and prudent in accordance with existing law.

JLARC; Department of Human Resource Management; Grievance Procedure Manual; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to conduct a review of the Department of Human Resource Management's Grievance Procedure Manual as it relates to the Department of Corrections and Department of Juvenile Justice. The bill requires that JLARC evaluate the effectiveness of such procedures and report its findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology and the House Committee on General Laws by November 1, 2024.

Court fines and fees; indigent defendant; waiver of fees. Provides that in any criminal or traffic case, the court may waive the assessment of certain fees specified in the bill, either wholly or in part, if the court determines the defendant to be indigent pursuant to relevant law and is unable to pay such fee. The bill provides that the court may make such determination upon motion of the defendant at any time prior to the entry of order for which such fee is assessed or final order has been entered.

Vehicle inspections; new motor vehicles. Extends the timeframe following the first inspection of a new motor vehicle in which such vehicle must be inspected from 12 months after the first inspection to either 36 months after the first inspection or within such time as such new motor vehicle reaches a mileage of 36,000 miles. The bill provides that the inspection approval sticker provided by the Department of State Police for such new motor vehicle shall designate its validity period and directs the Department to develop, create, and distribute such new stickers.

Study; JLARC; scope and cost of penalizing possession of drugs as a felony. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study the scope and cost of the current laws in the Commonwealth penalizing possession of drugs as a felony.

Department of General Services; Office of Pharmaceutical Services; report. Establishes in the Department of General Services an Office of Pharmaceutical Services to develop and execute a plan to consolidate state agency prescription drug purchasing and pharmacy benefit management programs to increase efficiency in prescription drug purchasing and constrain spending on prescription drugs. The bill directs the Department to provide to the Governor and the General Assembly an interim report on the development of the plan by November 1, 2024, and a final report on the plan by November 1, 2025.

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 allows 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 may establish a civil penalty for failure to comply with the requirements set out in the ordinance.

Department of Health; emergency medical services personnel; career fatigue and wellness program; report. Directs the Department of Health to convene a work group to study the viability of establishing or contracting for a professional program for emergency medical services personnel, both professional and volunteer, that addresses career fatigue and wellness, including the costs of such program and recommendations for funding. The bill requires the Department to report its findings to the Governor and relevant committees of the General Assembly by October 1, 2024.

Vehicle exhaust systems; inspection and administrative fee. Prohibits passenger vehicle exhaust systems from emitting noise in excess of 95 decibels in Planning District 8 on a highway; any driveway or premises of a church, school, recreational facility, or business; any governmental property open to the public; any industrial establishment providing parking space for customers, patrons, or employees; and any highway under construction or not yet open to the public. The bill allows, in Planning District 8, a law-enforcement officer to stop a passenger vehicle he determines is emitting exhaust system noise in excess of such limit and issue a notice of an administrative fee of $250 to be assessed at the time of the vehicle's next registration renewal and establishes a process for inspecting such vehicle. The bill has a contingent effective date of January 1, 2025, provided that the Department of Environmental Quality has received the necessary funding to supply the necessary equipment for such vehicle exhaust system inspections to inspection stations. The bill sunsets on July 1, 2027.

Schools boards; pupil transportation; alternatives. Expands the availability of allowable alternatives to traditional school bus transportation services relating to the transportation of students to and from school or school-related activities, including permitting any school board of a school division for which providing transportation by school bus is not cost effective to use a portion of its transportation funding to provide a grant to any parent of a student who provides student transportation to and from school, subject to certain conditions enumerated in the bill.

Virginia local journalism sustainability tax credits. Creates a nonrefundable income tax credit for eligible local newspaper publishers, defined in the bill, for compensation paid to local news journalists. The credit is equal to (i) for the first taxable year in which the credit is claimed, the lesser of 10 percent of the actual amounts paid in wages to local news journalists during such taxable year or $5,000 and (ii) in subsequent taxable years, the lesser of five percent of the actual amounts paid in wages to local news journalists during such taxable year or $2,500. The credit includes an aggregate cap of $5 million per taxable year. The bill also creates a nonrefundable income tax credit for eligible small businesses with fewer than 50 employees for certain expenses incurred for local media advertising in a local newspaper or in a broadcast of a local radio or television station. The credit is equal to (i) for the first taxable year in which the credit is claimed, the lesser of 80 percent of the actual amounts paid or incurred for qualified local media advertising expenses or $4,000 and (ii) in subsequent taxable years, the lesser of 50 percent of the actual amounts paid or incurred for qualified local media advertising expenses during such taxable year or $2,000. The credit includes an aggregate cap of $10 million per taxable year. Each of the credits may be claimed in taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2029.

Maintenance of vegetative growth on certain property. Provides that a locality may require the owner of property that (i) was formerly used as a golf course but where such use has been discontinued and (ii) abuts an area zoned for residential purposes to maintain the vegetative growth on the former golf course property in a manner that (a) prevents such property from becoming a detriment to the health, safety, or welfare of the residents of the abutting residential area and (b) does not change the character of the former golf course property so as to be incompatible with the surrounding residential area. The bill further provides that whenever the locality deems it necessary, after reasonable notice as determined by the locality, the locality may have its agents or employees cut or maintain the vegetative growth, in which event the cost and expenses thereof shall be chargeable to and paid by the owner of such property and may be collected by the locality as taxes are collected. An enactment clause states that the provisions of the bill are declarative of existing law.

Virginia Retirement System; enhanced retirement benefits for 911 dispatchers. Allows local governments to provide enhanced retirement benefits for hazardous duty service to full-time salaried 911 dispatchers. The bill provides that such enhanced retirement benefits apply only to service earned as a full-time salaried 911 dispatcher on or after July 1, 2025, but allows an employer, as that term is defined in relevant law, to provide such enhanced retirement benefits for service earned as a full-time salaried 911 dispatcher before July 1, 2025, in addition to service earned on or after that date. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025.

Department of Education; Virginia Community College System; regional career and technical education program. Directs the Department of Education, in collaboration with the Virginia Community College System, the Virginia Board of Workforce Development, the Board of Education, the school board and division superintendent of Tazewell County Public Schools, and representatives of the governing boards of comprehensive community colleges located in Tazewell County and contiguous counties to study the feasibility of and make recommendations on developing a plan for establishing a regional career and technical education program for all students in grade levels six through 12 who reside in Planning District 2.

Companion Animal Surgical Sterilization Program and Fund established. Establishes the Companion Animal Surgical Sterilization Program and Fund to reimburse participating veterinarians for the surgical sterilizations they perform on eligible cats or dogs. The bill provides that a surcharge of $50 per ton of pet food distributed in the Commonwealth be deposited in the Fund and such pet food be exempted from the existing litter tax. An animal will be eligible for sterilization under the Program if it is a feral or free-roaming cat or is owned by a low-income individual or a releasing agency such as an animal shelter.