Summary: Drug manufacturers; permitting and registration;certain conditions related to 340B-covered drugs. Requires adrug manufacturer, as a condition of obtaining a permit or as a conditionof registration or renewal of registration, to certify that it doesnot limit the number of contract pharmacies or covered entities,as defined in relevant law, to which it ships 340B-covered drugsand that it does not impose requirements, exclusions, reimbursementterms, or other conditions on a contract pharmacy or covered entitythat differ from those applied to pharmacies or entities that arenot contract pharmacies or covered entities on the basis that thepharmacy or entity is a contract pharmacy or covered entity or thatthe pharmacy or entity dispenses 340B-covered drugs.

Summary: Department of Energy; building standards for certain local buildings. Requires the Department of Energy, upon request, to provide technical assistance to localities, subject to available budgetary resources, as localities implement mandates related to onsite renewable energy generation, energy storage, and resilience standards for construction or renovation of certain public buildings. The bill also makes several technical and clarifying changes to the existing statute, in part by defining or redefining existing terms found in the statute. This bill is identical to HB 151.

Summary: Minimum wage. Increases the minimum wage from the current rate of $12.00 per hour to $13.50 per hour effective January 1, 2025, and to $15.00 per hour effective January 1, 2026. The bill satisfies a reenactment clause included in Chapters 1204 and 1242 of the Acts of Assembly of 2020. This bill is identical to HB 1.

Summary: Health insurance; coverage for doula care services. Requires health insurers, corporations providing health care subscription contracts, and health maintenance organizations whose policy, contract, or plan includes coverage for obstetrical services to provide coverage for doula care services provided by a state-certified doula. The bill requires such coverage to include coverage for at least eight visits during the antepartum or postpartum period and support during labor and delivery. The bill provides that health insurance carriers are (i) not required to pay for duplicate services actually rendered by both a state-certified doula and another health care provider and (ii) prohibited from requiring supervision, signature, or referral by any other health care provider as a condition of reimbursement for doula care services, except when those requirements are also applicable to other categories of health care providers. Such provisions of the bill are subject to a reenactment clause. The bill also requires the Health Insurance Reform Commission to consider coverage for doula care services in its review of the essential health benefits benchmark plan and to include such coverage in its recommendation to the General Assembly unless a compelling reason for excluding such coverage is identified. This bill is identical to HB 935.

Summary: Shared solar programs; Dominion Energy Virginia; minimum bill; capacity. Amends existing shared solar program provisions applicable to Dominion Energy Virginia. The bill provides that a customer's net bill for participation in the shared solar program means the resulting amount a customer must pay the utility after the bill credit, defined in relevant law, is deducted from the customer's monthly gross utility bill. The bill divides the shared solar program into two parts, the first of which has an aggregate capacity of 200 megawatts. The bill provides that upon a determination that at least 90 percent of the megawatts of the aggregate capacity of part one of such program has been subscribed, as defined in the bill, and that project construction is substantially complete, the State Corporation Commission shall approve up to an additional 150 megawatts of capacity as part two of such program, 75 megawatts of which shall serve no more than 51 percent low-income customers, as defined in relevant law. The bill directs the Commission to initiate a proceeding to recalculate the minimum bill within 30 days of a final order in a proceeding establishing the value of a solar renewable energy certificate as required by relevant law. The bill specifies that the Commission shall update its shared solar program consistent with the requirements of the bill by March 1, 2025, and shall require each utility to file any associated tariffs, agreements, or forms necessary for implementing the program by December 1, 2025. Additionally, the bill requires the Department of Energy to convene a stakeholder work group to determine the amounts and forms of certain project incentives and to submit a written report to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Labor and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor no later than November 30, 2024. This bill is identical to HB 106.

Summary: Prescription Drug Affordability Board established; drug cost affordability review. Establishes the Prescription Drug Affordability Board for the purpose of protecting the citizens of the Commonwealth and other stakeholders within the health care system from the high costs of prescription drug products. The bill requires the Board to meet in open session at least four times annually, with certain exceptions and requirements enumerated in the bill. Members of the Board are required to disclose any conflicts of interest, as described in the bill. The bill also creates a stakeholder council for the purpose of assisting the Board in making decisions related to drug cost affordability. The bill tasks the Board with identifying prescription, generic, and other drugs, as defined in the bill, that are offered for sale in the Commonwealth and, at the Board's discretion, conducting an affordability review of any prescription drug product. The bill lists factors for the Board to consider that indicate an affordability challenge for the health care system in the Commonwealth or high out-of-pocket costs for patients. The bill also provides that any person aggrieved by a decision of the Board may request an appeal of the Board's decision and that the Attorney General has authority to enforce the provisions of the bill. The bill provides that the Board shall establish no more than 12 upper payment limit amounts annually between January 1, 2025, and January 1, 2028.The bill requires the Board to report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly twice annually, beginning on July 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025. Provisions of the bill shall apply to state-sponsored and state-regulated health plans and health programs and obligate such policies to limit drug payment amounts and reimbursements to an upper payment limit amount set by the Board, if applicable, following an affordability review. The bill specifies that Medicare Part D plans shall not be bound by such decisions of the Board.The bill also requires the nonprofit organization contracted by the Department of Health to provide prescription drug price transparency to provide the Board access to certain data reported by manufacturers. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025, and is identical to HB 570.

Summary: Department of Workforce Development and Advancement; Director. Changes the title of the Director of the Department of Workforce Development and Advancement to the Commissioner of Workforce Development and Advancement. The bill makes the Department, in consultation with the Governor, responsible for developing the formula for providing for 30 percent of WIOA Adult and Dislocated Worker funds. Current law provides that the Virginia Community College System develops such formula in consultation with the Governor. The bill also makes the Office of Education and Labor Market Alignment, in consultation with the Virginia Board of Workforce Development, responsible for establishing the high-demand fields for which noncredit workforce training programs may be offered by eligible educational institutions.

Summary: Energy efficiency programs; incremental annual savings. Provides that for the 2029 program year and all subsequent years, "in the public interest" for the purpose of assessing energy efficiency programs means that the State Corporation Commission determines that the program is cost-effective. The bill directs the Commission to promulgate regulations no later than September 30, 2025, establishing a single, consistent cost-effectiveness test for use in evaluating proposed energy efficiency programs. The bill requires Dominion Energy Virginia and Appalachian Power Company to track, quantify, and report to the Commission the incremental annual savings, as defined in the bill, achieved by such utility's energy efficiency programs. This bill is identical to HB 746.

Summary: Department of Environmental Quality; review and authorization of projects; hearing and appeal. Allows any person aggrieved by the final decision of the Department of Environmental Quality regarding the authorization of a project and who has participated in a proceeding for a permit to construct or operate a small renewable energy project under procedures adopted by the Department to seek judicial review of such action in accordance with the Administrative Process Act in the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond within 30 days of such decision. The bill requires the court to hear and decide such action as soon as practicable after the date of filing. This bill is identical to HB 122.

Summary: Public service companies; pole attachments;cable television systems and telecommunications service providers. Requires a public utility, as defined in the bill, to establish and adhere to pole attachment practices and procedures that comply with certain requirements, including determining whether an attachment request is complete before reviewing such request on its merits, complying with certain timelines, and providing notice of a rearrangement to affected existing attachers. The bill provides that a public utility shall not apportion to a telecommunications service provider or cable television system the cost of replacing a red-tagged pole, as defined in the bill, provided that such utility may apportion to such provider or system the incremental cost of a taller or stronger pole that is necessitated solely by the new facilities of such provider or system. The bill authorizes the State Corporation Commission to enforce its provisions and requires the Commission to resolve disputes involving pole access within 90 days and concerning certain other matters within 120 days. This bill is identical to HB 800.

Summary: Health insurance; prior authorization. Requires that any provider contract between a carrier and a participating health care provider contain specific provisions that require that if a prior authorization request is approved for prescription drugs and such prescription drugs have been scheduled, provided, or delivered to the patient consistent with the authorization, the carrier shall not revoke, limit, condition, modify, or restrict that authorization unless (i) there is evidence that the authorization was obtained based on fraud or misrepresentation; (ii) final actions by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, other regulatory agencies, or the manufacturer remove the drug from the market, limit its use in a manner that affects the authorization, or communicate a patient safety issue that would affect the authorization alone or in combination with other authorizations; (iii) a combination of drugs prescribed would cause a drug interaction; or (iv) a generic or biosimilar is added to the prescription drug formulary. The bill provides that such provisions do not require a carrier to cover any benefit not otherwise covered or cover a prescription drug if the enrollee is no longer covered by a health plan on the date the prescription drug was scheduled, provided, or delivered. This bill is identical to HB 1134.

Summary: Financial institutions; reporting financial exploitation of elderly or vulnerable adults. Permits a financial institution to allow an elderly or vulnerable adult, as defined in the bill, to submit and periodically update a list of trusted persons whom such financial institution or financial institution staff, as defined in the bill, may contact in the case of the suspected financial exploitation of such adult. The bill also permits a financial institution to conduct a training to instruct its staff on how to identify and report the suspected financial exploitation of an elderly or vulnerable adult internally at such financial institution, to a designated trusted contact, and to various other authorities. The bill directs the Bureau of Financial Institutions of the State Corporation Commission to develop and publish guidelines for such training by January 1, 2026. The bill provides that no financial institution staff that have received such training shall be liable in any civil or administrative proceeding for disclosing the suspected financial exploitation of an elderly or vulnerable adult pursuant to the bill's provisions if such disclosure was made in good faith and with reasonable care. The bill provides that no financial institution that has provided such training shall be liable for any such disclosure by financial institution staff. This bill is identical to HB 692.

Summary: Health insurance; coverage for contraceptive drugs and devices. Requires health insurance carriers to provide coverage, under any health insurance contract, policy, or plan that includes coverage for prescription drugs on an outpatient basis, for contraceptive drugs and contraceptive devices, as defined in the bill, including those available over-the-counter. The bill prohibits a health insurance carrier from imposing upon any person receiving contraceptive benefits pursuant to the provisions of the bill any copayment, coinsurance payment, or fee, except in certain circumstances. This bill is identical to HB 819.

Summary: Virginia Petroleum Products Franchise Act; agreements between jobber/distributors and dealers; market valuation study. Provides that a term of an initial agreement between a jobber/distributor and a dealer relating to specific marketing premises shall not be less than one year and that the term of all subsequent agreements between the jobber/distributor and the dealer relating to the same marketing premises shall not be for less than three years. The bill provides that rental provisions in any such agreement or franchise shall be based on commercially fair and reasonable standards at a fair market value of the leased marketing premises under an objectively reasonable analysis, uniformly applied to all similarly situated dealers of the same jobber/distributor in the same geographic area. If a dealer believes the terms of the agreement offered do not meet a fair market value, such dealer may hire, at his expense, an independent third-party appraisal company from a list of appraisal companies provided by the jobber/distributor to provide a market valuation study. The bill provides that such study shall (i) be for informational purposes only, (ii) not require either party to disclose confidential business information, and (iii) not bind either party. The provisions of the bill apply to Planning District 8 and to initial franchise agreements and renewals of franchise agreements entered into after July 1, 2024. This bill is identical to HB 392.

Summary: Shared solar programs; American Electric Power; minimum bill; capacity. Requires the State Corporation Commission to establish by regulation a shared solar program, as defined in the bill, through which customers of American Electric Power may purchase electric power through a subscription in a shared solar facility, as defined in the bill. The bill requires the Commission to establish a minimum bill, which shall include the costs of all utility infrastructure and services used to provide electric service and administrative costs of the shared solar program, taking into account certain considerations. The bill directs the Commission to initiate a proceeding to recalculate such minimum bill within 30 days of its final order in a proceeding establishing the value of a solar renewable energy certificate as required by relevant law. The bill specifies that the Commission shall establish the shared solar program consistent with the requirements of the bill by January 1, 2025, and shall require each utility to file any associated tariffs, agreements, or forms necessary for implementing the program by July 1, 2025. Additionally, the bill requires the Department of Energy to convene a stakeholder work group to determine the amounts and forms of certain project incentives and to submit a written report to the Chairs of the House Committee on Labor and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor no later than November 30, 2024. This bill is identical to HB 108.

Summary: Insurance; dental carriers; annual report. Requires each dental carrier, beginning in 2025, to annually, on or before April 30, file with the State Corporation Commission a report that includes the actual loss ratio, defined in the bill, for the preceding calendar year and any such other information as the Commission may require. The bill requires the Commission to post such reports on its website. The bill requires the Bureau of Insurance to evaluate the effectiveness of informing the public on the information being reported and to make recommendations, if any, on the continuation or modification of the obligation of dental carriers to report such information. The bill also requires the Commission to convene a work group of interested stakeholders to determine if any revisions are necessary to the Code of Virginia regarding ethics and fairness in dental carrier business practices and of health care providers of dental services. The work group is required to report its recommendations to the Chairs of the House Committee on Labor and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor on or before October 1, 2024. This bill is identical to HB 1132.

Summary: Net energy metering; eligible customer-generators and eligible agricultural customer-generators. Provides that no contract, lease, or arrangement by which a third party owns, maintains, or operates an electrical generating facility on an eligible customer-generator's property shall constitute the sale of electricity or cause the customer-generator or the third party to be considered an electric utility by virtue of participating in net energy metering. The bill prohibits an eligible customer-generator or eligible agricultural customer-generator from being required to provide proof of liability insurance or to purchase additional liability insurance as a condition of interconnection. The bill exempts eligible customer-generators and eligible agricultural customer-generators that operate a battery storage device of capacity commensurate with and equal to or greater than that of the electrical generating facility and in conjunction with the electrical generating facility from standby charges. The bill provides that any eligible customer-generator or eligible agricultural customer-generator may participate in demand response, energy efficiency, or peak reduction from dispatch of onsite battery service, provided that the compensation received is in exchange for a distinct service that is not already compensated by net metering credits for electricity exported to the electric distribution system or compensated by any other utility program or tariff. This bill is identical to HB 1062.

Summary: Prohibiting employer seeking wage or salary history of prospective employees; wage or salary range transparency; cause of action. Prohibits a prospective employer from (i) seeking the wage or salary history of a prospective employee; (ii) relying on the wage or salary history of a prospective employee in determining the wages or salary the prospective employee is to be paid upon hire; (iii) relying on the wage or salary history of a prospective employee in considering the prospective employee for employment; (iv) refusing to interview, hire, employ, or promote a prospective employee or otherwise retaliating against a prospective employee for not providing wage or salary history; and (v) failing or refusing to disclose in each public and internal posting for each job, promotion, transfer, or other employment opportunity the wage, salary, or wage or salary range. The bill establishes a cause of action for an aggrieved prospective employee or employee and provides that an employer that violates such prohibitions is liable to the aggrieved prospective employee or employee for statutory damages between $1,000 and $10,000 or actual damages, whichever is greater, reasonable attorney fees and costs, and any other legal and equitable relief as may be appropriate. This bill is identical to HB 990.

Summary: Paid family and medical leave insurance program; notice requirements; civil action. Requires the Virginia Employment Commission to establish and administer a paid family and medical leave insurance program with benefits beginning January 1, 2027. Under the program, benefits are paid to covered individuals, as defined in the bill, for family and medical leave. The bill specifies that covered individuals shall not include state employees, constitutional and other local officers, and employees of local school divisions and that funding for the program is provided through premiums assessed to employers and employees beginning January 1, 2026. The bill provides that the amount of a benefit is 80 percent of the employee's average weekly wage, not to exceed 80 percent of the state weekly wage, which amount is required to be adjusted annually to reflect changes in the statewide average weekly wage. The bill caps the duration of paid leave at 12 weeks in any application year and provides self-employed individuals the option of participating in the program. Finally, the bill requires the Commission to update its 2021 Paid Family and Medical Leave study to include an assessment of the budgetary impacts of extending the benefits of the program to exempt individuals.

Summary: Unemployment compensation; employer failure to respond to requests for information; claim determination; notice requirements. Provides that an employer's account shall not be relieved of charges relating to an erroneous payment if the Virginia Employment Commission determines that (i) the employer has failed to respond timely or adequately to a written request for information related to the claim and (ii) the employer has established a pattern of failing to respond timely or adequately to such requests, as described in the bill. The bill requires the Commission to provide written notice for each instance of untimely or inadequate employer response to such requests. The bill provides that upon the Commission's third determination, and for each subsequent determination, within the applicable review period that an employer failed to respond timely or adequately to such a request, the employer shall be considered to have waived all rights in connection with the claim, including participation and appeal rights. The bill requires a deputy examining a claim to provide the reasoning behind the decision, as described in the bill, and a short statement of case-specific facts material to the determination together with any notice of determination upon a claim. The provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Commission on Unemployment Compensation. This bill is identical to HB 14.

Summary: Employee protections; medicinal use of cannabis oil. Amends the provision that prohibits an employer from discriminating against an employee for such employee's lawful use of medical cannabis oil, with certain exceptions, by specifying that such use must conform to the laws of the Commonwealth and by including the employees, other than law-enforcement officers, of the Commonwealth and other public bodies in such protections. This bill is identical to HB 149.

Summary: MEI Project Approval Commission; board-level gender and diversity requirements. Requires the MEI Project Approval Commission to consider, prior to recommending approval of any major employment and investment (MEI) project, a board diversity disclosure statement submitted by the business seeking incentives. The Commission is required to consider (i) whether such statement specifies the number and percentage of diverse directors who identify as female or as representing a national, racial, ethnic, indigenous, or cultural minority in the country of the business's principal executive offices and (ii) whether the business commits to annually updating and submitting such statement. This bill is identical to HB 212.

Summary: Public utilities; municipal utilities; disconnection of service; limitations; report; consumer protections. Suspends electric, gas, water, and wastewater utilities subject to the regulation of the State Corporation Commission from disconnecting service to a residential customer for nonpayment of bills or fees during a state of emergency declared by the Governor and provides that such suspension lasts for 30 days after such declaration of the state of emergency. The bill suspends such electric and gas utilities from disconnecting service to a residential customer for nonpayment of bills or fees when the forecasted temperature low is at or below 32 degrees Fahrenheit and suspends electric utilities from disconnecting any such customer from service when the forecasted temperature is at or above 92 degrees Fahrenheit within the 24 hours following the scheduled disconnection. The bill further suspends electric, gas, water, and wastewater utilities from disconnecting residential customers from service on Fridays, weekends, state holidays, and the day immediately preceding a state holiday. The bill requires each such utility to notify its residential customers of such utility's disconnection for nonpayment policy and to deliver notice of nonpayment of bills or fees to such customers prior to disconnection. This bill is identical to HB 906.

Summary: Unemployment compensation; continuation of benefits; repayment of overpayments. Reinstates provisions of the Code that expired on July 1, 2022, relating to unemployment compensation. The bill provides that when a claimant has had a determination of initial eligibility for unemployment benefits, as determined by the issuance of compensation or waiting-week credit, payments shall continue, subject to a presumption of continued eligibility, until a determination is made that provides the claimant notice and an opportunity to be heard. The bill requires the Virginia Employment Commission to waive the obligation to repay any overpayment if (i) the overpayment was made without fault on the part of the individual receiving benefits and (ii) requiring repayment would be contrary to equity and good conscience. Conditions for when overpayments are considered "without fault on the part of the individual" are outlined in the bill. The bill further provides that the Commission shall notify each person with an unpaid overpayment of benefits that he may be entitled to a waiver of repayment and provide 30 days to request such a waiver. This applies to outstanding overpayments established for claim weeks commencing on or after March 15, 2020. Finally, the bill adds overpayments that the Commission has waived the requirement to repay to the list of situations where specific employers are not responsible for benefit charges. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2028. This bill is identical to HB 1261.

Summary: Health insurance; emergency services; mobile crisis response services. Provides that emergency services, with respect to an emergency medical condition, include, as it relates to any mental health services or substance abuse services rendered at a behavioral health crisis service provider, (i) a behavioral health assessment that is within the capability of a behavioral health crisis service provider, including ancillary services routinely available to evaluate such emergency medical condition, and (ii) such further examination and treatment, to the extent that they are within the capabilities of the staff and facilities available at the behavioral health crisis service provider, as are required so that the patient's condition does not deteriorate. This bill is identical to HB 601.

Summary: Workers' compensation benefits; post-traumaticstress disorder, anxiety disorder, or depressive disorder incurredby law-enforcement officers and firefighters. Increases from 52 weeks to 104 weeks the maximum duration after the date of diagnosis that workers' compensation benefits are payable for post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, or depressive disorder incurred by law-enforcement officers and firefighters acting in the line of duty.

Summary: Unemployment compensation; collection of overpayments; limitations. Provides that collection activities for an overpayment, provided that such overpayment was not caused by fraud on the part of the claimant, shall be suspended and that the Virginia Employment Commission shall determine as uncollectable and discharge the overpayment if it remains unpaid after the earliest of the following: (i) after the expiration of five years from the last day of the benefit year in which the overpayment was made, (ii) immediately upon the death of the claimant, (iii) upon the claimant's discharge in bankruptcy occurring subsequently to the determination of payment, or (iv) at any time where the Commission finds such overpayment to be uncollectible or the recovery of such overpayment to be administratively impracticable. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Commission on Unemployment Compensation.