Summary: Virginia Recycling Development Center established; report. Establishes the Virginia Recycling Development Center for the purposes of furthering the development of markets and processing for recycled commodities and products, to be run by a Director appointed and supervised by the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources. The bill creates the Virginia Recycling Development Center Advisory Committee, establishes reporting requirements, and creates the Recycling Market Development Fund to be used to fund the Center. The bill requires the Advisory Committee to make recommendations on the sources of potential funding for and detailed qualifying uses of the Fund and report its recommendations to the Secretary no later than October 1, 2024. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2038.

Summary: Virginia Creative Economy Grant Program. Establishes the Virginia Creative Economy Grant Program, to be administered by the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation, for the purpose of awarding grants to independent content creators and creative economy entrepreneurs, as those terms are defined in the bill, for the purpose of developing and expanding the creative economy, as defined in the bill, in the Commonwealth. The bill provides for the award of grants of no more than $20,000 to any recipient.

Summary: Content manufacturing tax credit. Removes the sunset for the motion picture tax credit, which currently is set to expire after taxable year 2026, and expands and redesignates the tax credit as the content manufacturing tax credit. The bill increases the total amount of credits that can be allocated to taxpayers to $46.5 million beginning in fiscal year 2024; however, should less than $100 million worth of certain new investments, as described by the bill, occur in Virginia by January 1, 2027, the cap will be reduced to $10 million per fiscal year. The bill also amends the definition of the "qualifying expenses" eligible for the content manufacturing tax credit to mean certain amounts spent in connection with the production of an eligible project filmed in the Commonwealth. The bill defines "eligible project" to be the production of a motion picture or an episodic television series.

Summary: Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; Department of Forestry; Office of Farmland Preservation transferred. Transfers from the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to the Department of Forestry the Office of Farmland Preservation and its powers and duties and reporting requirements, the Virginia Farm Link Program, the Century Farm Program, and the Virginia Farmland and Forestland Preservation Fund. The bill renames the Office as the Office of Working Lands Preservation. The bill makes technical amendments to effectuate the transfer and requires the Department of Environmental Quality to report to the Department of Forestry by July 1 of each year certain enumerated information about nonpoint source nutrient credits certified in the previous year that involve land use conversion. This bill is identical to SB 616.

Summary: Hazardous Substance Facility Response Plans; civil penalties. Requires any person that is required to submit a facility response plan under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Water Act Hazardous Substance Worst Case Discharge Planning Regulations to submit evidence of an EPA-approved facility response plan to the Department of Environmental Quality within a certain time period and to comply with such plan. The bill provides certain requirements for reporting, recordkeeping, and inspection and authorizes the Department to initiate a civil action to obtain certain equitable relief for violations of the bill's provisions. The bill imposes civil penalties for any person that negligently, willfully, or knowingly (i) discharges or causes to discharge a hazardous substance from a facility or (ii) fails to implement or comply with an EPA-approved facility response plan. Finally, the bill provides a delayed effective date of the next fiscal year immediately following the effective date of the EPA's final rule on Clean Water Act Hazardous Substance Worst Case Discharge Planning and requires the Department to develop guidance to implement the provisions of the bill in the six months preceding such effective date.

Summary: Virginia Green Infrastructure Bank; created.Creates the Virginia Green Infrastructure Bank, an authorityto promote and catalyze investment in qualified projects that reducegreenhouse gas emissions, assist climate-impacted communities, andpromote environmental justice. The bill requires the Bank to be governedby a board of directors with the authority to hire a president and create a nonstock corporation to carry out the powers and dutiesof the bank.

Summary: Virginia Business Ready Expedited Permitting Program established; report. Establishes the Virginia Business Ready Expedited Permitting Program and directs the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority to designate up to two sites and four projects for participation in the Program. Sites and projects eligible for the Program shall include only (i) sites eligible for a site development grant under the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program or (ii) projects with significant local, regional, or statewide economic impact that the governing body of the locality in which the project is located has either (a) approved following a public meeting or hearing or (b) submitted, by resolution, for consideration to be included in the Program. No more than two eligible sites or projects shall be designated as part of the Program within any locality annually. The Authority shall complete a review process within 45 days of designating a site to reduce permitting conflicts and provide relevant guidance to applicants. The bill also provides that no project shall be considered eligible to enter the Program after December 31, 2027, and requires annual reporting from the Authority. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025, and expires on June 30, 2028. This bill is identical to SB 217.

Summary: Department of Conservation and Recreation; two-year pilot program; all-terrain power wheelchairs in state parks. Provides that the Department of Conservation and Recreation shall establish a two-year pilot program beginning October 1, 2024, and ending October 30, 2026, to enhance accessibility for individuals with limited mobility in Virginia's state parks by providing all-terrain power wheelchairs that may be used by such persons during their visits. The bill permits the Department to choose the locations for the pilot program and enter into a contract for the purchase of all-terrain power wheelchairs to be used in the pilot program. The bill allows the Department to adopt guidelines to administer the pilot program and requires the Department to make a report available to the public regarding the outcome of the pilot program on its website by November 1, 2026.

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 SB 536.

Summary: Virginia Verified Meat certification. Prohibits any person from labeling any product as Virginia Verified Meat if it does not meet the definition of that term in the bill and allows any person not employed by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to be eligible to certify Virginia Verified Meat claims if approved by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services.