Summary: Data governance; Office of Data Governance and Analytics; Chief Data Officer; Virginia Data Commission; report. Creates the Office of Data Governance (the Office) in the Office of the Secretary of Administration, to be directed by the existing Chief Data Officer of the Commonwealth. The Office is charged with overseeing general data governance in the Commonwealth, as well as developing and managing the Commonwealth Data Trust, a multi-stakeholder data exchange and analytics platform. A multi-level governance structure is established to govern the Trust. The provisions of the bill establishing the Office expire on July 1, 2023. The bill also establishes the Virginia Data Commission to advise the Office on issues relating to data sharing. The Commission is directed to review and evaluate the Office and provide recommendations regarding its permanent structure and long-term funding options. The provisions related to the Commission expire on July 1, 2024.

Summary: Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity; Small Business Procurement Enhancement Program, and Women-owned and Minority-owned Business Procurement Enhancement Program established; report. Establishes the Small Business Procurement Enhancement Program with a statewide goal of 42 percent of certified small business utilization in all discretionary spending by state agencies and covered institutions in procurement orders, prime contracts, and subcontracts, as well as a target goal of 50 percent subcontracting to certified small businesses in instances where the prime contractor is not a small business for all new capital outlay construction solicitations that are issued. In addition, the bill provides for a small business set-aside for state agency and covered institution purchases of goods, services, and construction, requiring that purchases up to $100,000 be set aside for award to certified small businesses and that purchases up to $10,000 be set aside for award to microbusinesses. The bill also establishes the Women-owned and Minority-owned Business Procurement Enhancement Program with a statewide goal of 23.1 percent of certified women-owned and minority-owned business utilization in all discretionary spending by state agencies and covered institutions in procurement orders, prime contracts, and subcontracts. The bill creates the Division of Procurement Enhancement within the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity for purposes of collaborating with the Department of General Services, the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, the Department of Transportation, and covered institutions to further the Commonwealth's efforts to meet the goals established under the Small Business Procurement Enhancement Program and the Women-owned and Minority-owned Business Procurement Enhancement Program, as well as implementing initiatives to enhance the development of small businesses, microbusinesses, women-owned businesses, and minority-owned businesses in the Commonwealth. Finally, the bill amends the Virginia Public Procurement Act to permit public bodies to establish purchase procedures, if adopted in writing, not requiring competitive sealed bids or competitive negotiation for single or term contracts for the purchase or lease of goods, or for the purchase of services, insurance, or construction, if the aggregate or the sum of all phases is not expected to exceed $200,000. Under current law, such purchase procedures may only be established for (i) goods and services other than professional services and non-transportation-related construction, if the aggregate or the sum of all phases is not expected to exceed $200,000; (ii) transportation-related construction, if the aggregate or sum of all phases is not expected to exceed $25,000; and (iii) professional services, provided that the aggregate or the sum of all phases is not expected to exceed $80,000. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2023, for certain university hospitals and medical centers. The provisions of the bill creating the Women-owned and Minority-owned Business Procurement Enhancement Program sunset on July 1, 2028.

Summary: Solar projects; erosion and sediment control plan review. Requires any locality that does not operate a regulated municipal separate storm sewer system and for which the Department of Environmental Quality did not administer a Virginia Stormwater Management Program as of July 1, 2020, to notify the Department if it decides to have the Department provide the locality with (i) review of a required erosion and sediment control plan and (ii) a recommendation on the plan's compliance with the requirements of the Erosion and Sediment Control Law and the State Water Control Board's regulations for any solar project and its associated infrastructure with a rated electrical generation capacity exceeding five megawatts. The bill provides certain procedural steps for the Department and the Virginia Erosion and Sediment Control Program authority for a locality to take in reviewing the plan and making recommendations and decisions. The Department shall adopt a fee schedule and charge fees for conducting such reviews.

Summary: Waste Diversion and Recycling Task Force. Requests the Department of Environmental Quality to continue and expand the scope and membership of the The bill directs the Task Force to hold its first meeting of the 2021 interim no later than October 15, 2021, and to publish an executive summary and a report of its findings and recommendations no later than November 1, 2022.

Summary: Sewage; Onsite Sewage Indemnification Fund; Wastewater Infrastructure Policy Working Group; report. Authorizes the State Board of Health to use the Onsite Sewage Indemnification Fund to provide grants and loans to property owners with income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines to repair failing onsite sewage systems or install onsite sewage systems on properties that lack adequate sewage disposal. The bill provides that no expenses shall be paid from the Fund to support the program for training and recognition of onsite soil evaluators, or to provide grants or loans to repair failing onsite sewage systems or install onsite sewage systems on properties that lack adequate sewage disposal in lieu of payment to any owner or owners qualified to receive payment from the Fund. The bill also directs the Board to adopt regulations that include consideration of the impacts of climate change on proposed treatment works.The bill sets out the policy of the Commonwealth regarding wastewater infrastructure and establishes the four-member Wastewater Infrastructure Policy Working Group as an advisory board in the executive branch of state government to continually assess wastewater infrastructure needs and develop policy recommendations. The bill provides that the Working Group shall expire in 2030. The bill also directs the Department of Environmental Quality, in partnership with the Virginia Department of Health and in consultation with stakeholders, to estimate and report every four years the amount of wastewater infrastructure funding that is necessary to meet policy goals but is not eligible to be covered by grant funding pursuant to the Virginia Water Quality Improvement Act of 1997.

Summary: Law-enforcement agencies; body-worn camera systems. Creates a special nonreverting fund to be known as the Body-Worn Camera System Fund to assist state or local law-enforcement agencies with the costs of purchasing, operating, and maintaining body-worn camera systems. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2023.

Summary: Department of Veterans Services; Military Spouse Liaison; position created. Establishes the position of Military Spouse Liaison (the Liaison) in the Department of Veterans Services to conduct outreach and advocate on behalf of military spouses in the Commonwealth. The bill directs the Liaison to report by December 1 of each year through the Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Services to the Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs, the Governor, and the General Assembly on the work of the Liaison and any legislative recommendations.

Summary: Court of Appeals; jurisdiction; number of judges. Expands the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals of Virginia by providing for an appeal of right in every civil case and provides that the granting of further appeal to the Supreme Court of Virginia shall be within the discretion of the Supreme Court. The bill provides for an appeal of right in criminal cases by a defendant, but leaves unchanged the current requirement that in criminal cases the Commonwealth must petition the Court of Appeals for granting of an appeal. The bill increases from 11 to 17 the number of judges on the Court of Appeals. The bill also (i) provides jurisdiction to the Court of Appeals over interlocutory appeals and petitions for review of injunctions; (ii) allows for oral arguments to be dispensed with if the panel of judges makes a unanimous decision that the appeal is wholly without merit or that the dispositive issues on appeal have already been authoritatively decided and the appellant has not argued that the case law should be overturned, extended, or reversed; (iii) provides that the Attorney General shall represent the Commonwealth in criminal appeals unless, and with the consent of the Attorney General, the attorney for the Commonwealth who prosecuted the case files a notice of appearance; (iv) eliminates the requirement for an appeal bond in criminal appeals; (v) requires all criminal cases in a court of record to be recorded and requires the clerk of the circuit court to prepare a transcript of any trial for which an appeal is noticed to him; and (vi) requires an expedited review of appeals of permanent protective orders and of bond validation proceedings. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2022, which is applicable to all provisions of the bill except for those increasing the number of judges on the Court of Appeals.

Summary: Sealing of criminal records; penalties. Establishes a process for the automatic sealing of police and court records, defined in the bill, for certain convictions, deferred dispositions, and acquittals and for offenses that have been nolle prossed or otherwise dismissed. The bill also allows a person to petition for the sealing of police and court records relating to certain convictions. The bill has staggered delayed effective dates in order to develop systems for implementing the provisions of the bill. This bill incorporates SB 1283 and SB 1372 and is identical to HB 2113.

Summary: Alcoholic beverage control; operation of government stores; sale of low alcohol beverage coolers. Prohibits the Board of Directors (the Board) of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority from selling in government stores low alcohol beverage coolers not manufactured by licensed distillers. Under current law, the Board may sell any low alcohol beverage coolers in government stores. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2022.

Summary: Public defender offices; County of Chesterfield. Establishes a public defender office for the County of Chesterfield.

Summary: Elimination of mandatory minimum sentences; modification of sentence to mandatory minimum term of confinement for felony offenses. Eliminates all mandatory minimum sentences of confinement from the Code of Virginia. The bill directs the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to establish a work group to evaluate the feasibility of resentencing persons previously convicted of a felony offense that was punishable by a mandatory minimum term of confinement. The work group would report on its findings by November 1, 2021. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Virginia State Crime Commission.