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2017 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor

Chairman: Frank W. Wagner

Clerk: John Garrett, Alex Elwood
Staff: Frank Munyan
Date of Meeting: January 16, 2017
Time and Place: 15 minutes after Adjournment Senate Room B

S.B. 785 Minimum wage; increases wage from its current level to $8.00 per hour effective July 1, 2017.

Patron: Marsden

Minimum wage. Increases the minimum wage from its current federally mandated level of $7.25 per hour to $8.00 per hour effective July 1, 2017, to $9.00 per hour effective July 1, 2018, to $10.10 per hour effective July 1, 2019, and to $11.25 per hour effective July 1, 2020, unless a higher minimum wage is required by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The measure also provides that the cash wage paid to a tipped employee shall not be less than 50 percent of the minimum wage and that the tip credit shall equal the difference between the cash wage required to be paid to a tipped employee and the minimum wage.

S.B. 813 Electric utility regulation; solar generation facilities.

Patron: Marsden

Electric utility regulation; solar generation facilities. Exempts investor-owned electric utilities from the requirement that in a proceeding for approval to construct a generating facility they demonstrate that they have considered and weighed alternative options, including third-party market alternatives, in their selection process, if the proposed generating facility is located in the Commonwealth, uses energy derived from sunlight, and has been declared by statute to be in the public interest. The measure also directs that (i) any cost incurred or projected to be incurred by a utility in connection with such a generation facility is reasonable and prudent if the costs of the generation facility do not exceed by more than 10 percent the cost that would be incurred in the construction and operation of a combined-cycle combustion turbine generation facility with the same capacity and (ii) any increase in rates paid by customers as a result of the construction and operation of such a generation facility is reasonable if the projected increase in rates resulting from the construction and operation of such facility does not exceed by more than two percent the projected increase in rates that would occur if the utility constructed and operated a combined-cycle combustion turbine generation facility with the same capacity.

S.B. 824 Sick leave for employees; private employers to give to each full-time employee paid sick days, etc.

Patron: Wexton

Paid sick days for employees; civil penalties. Requires private employers to give to each full-time employee paid sick days. Paid sick days would accrue at a rate of no less than one hour for every 50 hours worked in 2018 or, if an employer commences operations in 2018 or thereafter, in the employer's first year of operations.  In subsequent years, paid sick days would accrue at a rate of no less than one hour for every 30 hours worked. An employee would be entitled to use accrued sick days beginning on the ninetieth calendar day of employment. The bill would require an employer to provide paid sick days, upon the request of the employee, for diagnosis, care, or treatment of health conditions of the employee or the employee's family member. The bill would prohibit an employer from discriminating or retaliating against an employee who requests paid sick days. The bill would require employers to satisfy specified posting and notice and recordkeeping requirements and would require the Commissioner of Labor and Industry (the Commissioner) to administer and enforce these requirements and to investigate alleged violations of these requirements. The bill would authorize the Commissioner to impose specified civil penalties for violations. The Commissioner would be authorized to bring an action to recover specified civil penalties against an offender. The Commissioner may also recover attorney fees of one-third of the amount set forth in the final order or judgment. The measure would not apply to employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement that provides for paid sick days, nor would it lessen any other obligations of the employer to employees.

S.B. 847 Paid family leave; Commissioner of Labor and Industry to develop an implementation plan for program.

Patron: Favola

Paid family leave. Directs the Commissioner of Labor and Industry (the Commissioner), in conjunction with the relevant stakeholders, to develop an implementation plan for a paid family leave program for employees of any employer in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the Commissioner to complete the plan by December 1, 2017.

S.B. 917 Electric utility regulation; agricultural net energy metering.

Patron: Edwards

Electric utility regulation; agricultural net energy metering. Allows an otherwise eligible agricultural customer-generator to participate in an electric utility's net energy metering program if it is to be served by multiple meters located on one parcel or on multiple parcels. Currently, an agricultural customer-generator may be served by multiple meters that are located at separate but contiguous sites. The measure increases the generation capacity limit for agricultural net metering from 500 kilowatts to one megawatt and adds falling water as a type of generating facility that may be used in agricultural net metering.

S.B. 918 Renewable energy; third-party power purchase agreements.

Patron: Edwards

Renewable energy; third-party power purchase agreements. Replaces the pilot program enacted in 2013 that authorized certain third-party power purchase agreements providing financing of certain renewable generation facilities. The measure requires the State Corporation Commission to establish third-party power purchase agreement programs for each electric utility. The existing pilot program applies only to Dominion Virginia Power and sets the maximum size of a renewable generation facility at one megawatt; the programs authorized by this measure apply to all electric utilities and do not set limits on the size of facilities. The measure also exempts sellers under third-party power purchase agreements from being defined as a public utility, public service corporation, public service company, or electric utility solely because of the sale of electricity or ownership or operation of a renewable generation facility.

S.B. 978 Minimum wage.

Patron: Dance

Minimum wage. Increases the minimum wage from its current federally mandated level of $7.25 per hour to $10.00 per hour effective July 1, 2017, to $13 per hour effective July 1, 2018, and to $15 per hour effective July 1, 2019, unless a higher minimum wage is required by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The measure also provides that the Virginia minimum wage applies to persons whose employment is covered by the FLSA.

S.B. 988 Virginia Employment Commission; population projections.

Patron: Dance

Virginia Employment Commission; population projections. Eliminates the requirement that the Virginia Employment Commission prepare population projections for the Commonwealth for use by the General Assembly and certain state agencies.

S.B. 994 Insurance assessments; refunds of overpayments.

Patron: Dance

Insurance assessments; refunds of overpayments. Authorizes the State Corporation Commission to refund assessment overpayments to insurers and surplus line brokers without issuing a refund order. The measure conforms these procedures to other refunding provisions administered by the Bureau of Insurance.

S.B. 1003 Wireless E-911 Fund; distribution percentages.

Patron: Ebbin

Wireless E-911 Fund; distribution percentages. Postpones from July 1, 2017, to July 1, 2018, the date by which the Department of Taxation is required to conduct its first recalculation of the percentage of funds in the Wireless E-911 Fund that is required to be distributed to each public safety answering point (PSAP). The recalculation is required to be based on the cost and call load data of each PSAP for the previous five fiscal years.

S.B. 1038 Open-end credit plans.

Patron: Locke

Open-end credit plans. Prohibits any person licensed to make motor vehicle title loans from engaging in the extension of credit under an open-end credit plan. The measure also prohibits a third party from engaging in the extension of credit under an open-end credit plan at any office, suite, room, or place of business where a person licensed to make payday loans or motor vehicle title loans conducts the business of making payday loans or motor vehicle title loans. Currently, licensed payday lenders are prohibited from extending credit under an open-end credit plan, and a third party is prohibited from extending credit under an open-end credit plan at a location where a licensed payday lender makes payday loans.

S.B. 1080 Equal pay irrespective of sex.

Patron: Wexton

Equal pay irrespective of sex. Amends the existing law requiring equal pay for equal work irrespective of sex to (i) prohibit unequal provision of benefits and privileges; (ii) prohibit employers from punishing employees for sharing salary information with their coworkers; and (iii) authorize a court to award reasonable attorney fees and costs to an employee who substantially prevails on the merits in an action for wrongful withholding of wages, benefits, or privileges. The measure also deletes the exemption for employers covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act from the Commonwealth's prohibition on discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis of sex.

S.B. 1095 Electric utility regulation; suspension of reviews of earnings; Transitional Rate Period.

Patron: Petersen

Electric utility regulation; suspension of reviews of earnings; Transitional Rate Period. Provides that the Transitional Rate Period will conclude on the date the carbon emission guidelines for existing electric power generation facilities that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued pursuant to § 111(d) of the federal Clean Air Act are withdrawn, repealed, found to be invalid or unenforceable, or otherwise barred from being implemented, if that date precedes the date when the Transitional Rate Period is scheduled to conclude under existing law. Pursuant to legislation enacted in 2015, the State Corporation Commission (SCC) is barred from conducting a biennial review of the rates, terms, and conditions for any service of these electric utilities during the Transitional Rate Period. Under existing law, the Transitional Rate Period is scheduled to conclude on December 31, 2017, for Appalachian Power and on December 31, 2019, for Dominion Virginia Power.

S.B. 1125 Virginia Consumer Protection Act; open-end credit plans.

Patron: Surovell

Virginia Consumer Protection Act; open-end credit plans. Makes a violation of the requirements applicable to open-end credit plan lending a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.

S.B. 1126 Consumer finance companies; Internet loans.

Patron: Surovell

Consumer finance companies; Internet loans. Provides that the laws regulating consumer finance companies apply to persons making loans to individuals for personal, family, household, or other nonbusiness purposes over the Internet to Virginia residents or any individuals in Virginia, whether or not the person making the loans maintains a physical presence in the Commonwealth.

S.B. 1197 Small renewable energy projects; State Corporation Commission jurisdiction.

Patron: Deeds

Small renewable energy projects; State Corporation Commission jurisdiction. Restores the requirement for State Corporation Commission (SCC) review of the construction and operation of certain small renewable energy projects. In 2009, the General Assembly removed the requirement that the owner or operator of a small renewable energy project, defined as (i) an electrical generation facility with a rated capacity not exceeding 100 megawatts that generates electricity only from sunlight, wind, falling water, wave motion, tides, or geothermal power or (ii) an electrical generation facility with a rated capacity not exceeding 20 megawatts that generates electricity only from biomass or certain waste, obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity approval for the project from the SCC. This measure restores the requirement for those small renewable energy projects that either will disturb an area of 100 acres or more or are located within five miles of a boundary between the political subdivision in which such project is located and another locality.

S.B. 1208 Electric utilities; community renewable projects.

Patron: Wexton

Electric utilities; community renewable projects. Requires the State Corporation Commission to adopt rules under which community renewable projects are authorized to operate. A community renewable project is solar or wind-powered electric generation facility with a capacity of not more than 20 megawatts that is operated subject to requirements that the electricity generated by the facility belongs to the project's subscribers. The facility may be owned either by the investor-owned electric utility or distribution cooperative in whose service territory the facility is located or a for-profit or nonprofit entity, which may be an entity entirely owned by or consisting of subscribers, that contracts to sell the electricity generated by the facility to the retail utility. The measure provides that neither the owner of a project nor its subscribers are public utilities and that prices paid for subscriptions in projects shall not be subject to regulation by the Commission. The measure also requires the retail utility to purchase all of the electricity generated by the project and that the purchase of the electricity by the utility shall take the form of a credit against the utility's electric bill to each of the project's subscribers. Finally, the measure requires the Commission to formulate and implement policies that simultaneously encourage the ownership by customers of subscriptions in projects and of other forms of distributed generation to the extent the Commission finds there to be demand for such ownership; the development of projects with attributes that the Commission finds result in lower overall total costs for the retail utility's customers; and successful financing and operation of subscriber-owned projects.

S.B. 1209 Virginia Highway Corporation Act of 1988.

Patron: Wexton

Virginia Highway Corporation Act of 1988. Gives the State Corporation Commission discretion to approve any request to increase tolls on the Dulles Greenway by a specified annual percentage increase. The measure also gives the Commission discretion to approve an additional increase in such tolls based on increases in local property taxes when requested by the operator. Currently the Commission is required to approve such requests for toll increases.

S.B. 1309 Transacting business under assumed name; filing certificate.

Patron: Norment

Transacting business under assumed name; filing certificate. Eliminates the requirement that an individual or entity conducting business under an assumed or fictitious name file a certificate with the clerk of the circuit court where the business is to be conducted. The measure requires that such certificates be filed with the clerk of the State Corporation Commission. The measure has an effective date of October 1, 2017.

S.B. 1328 Enterprise zone grants and tax credits; qualified real property improvement expenditures.

Patron: Carrico


Enterprise zone grants and tax credits; qualified real property improvement expenditures. Provides that an expenditure for an improvement to real property may qualify for a grant or tax credit regardless of whether it is capitalized or deducted as a business expense under federal Treasury Regulations.

S.B. 1372 Consumer finance loans; rate of interest.

Patron: Saslaw

Consumer finance loans; rate of interest. Increases, from $2,500 to $4,000, the threshold under which consumer finance loans are subject to a maximum interest rate of 36 percent per year. Under this measure, a licensed consumer finance lender may charge interest (i) of not more than 36 percent on loans of $4,000 or less and (ii) at such rate as is stated in the loan contract on loans of more than $4,000.

S.B. 1388 Electric utilities; margin on solar energy power purchase agreements.

Patron: Wagner


Electric utilities; margin on solar energy power purchase agreements. Authorizes any investor-owned incumbent electric utility to enter into, recover the costs of, and earn a margin on power purchase agreements that (i) are executed between July 1, 2017, and July 1, 2018, and (ii) are for power generated by solar energy systems located in the Commonwealth and not constructed, owned, or operated by the utility (a) each of which systems has a capacity equal to or greater than two megawatts and (b) which systems in the aggregate have a capacity that is not more than one percent of the utility's adjusted Virginia peak-load forecast for the previous year. The costs and margin are recoverable through the utility's fuel factor proceeding. The measure provides that such agreements are in the public interest and that in reviewing the costs and the level of costs to be recovered, the State Corporation Commission shall liberally construe the provisions of this measure and shall presume that the costs associated with such agreements are reasonably and prudently incurred.

S.B. 1393 Electric utilities; community solar pilot programs.

Patron: Wagner


Electric utilities; community solar pilot programs. Requires Dominion Virginia Power and Appalachian Power to conduct a community solar pilot program for retail customers. A pilot program will authorize the participating utility to sell electric power to subscribing customers under a voluntary companion rate schedule, and the utility will generate or purchase the electric power from eligible generation facilities selected for inclusion in the pilot program. An eligible generation facility is an electrical generation facility that (i) exclusively uses energy derived from sunlight; (ii) is placed in service on or after July 1, 2017; (iii) is not constructed by an investor-owned utility but is acquired by an investor-owned utility through an asset purchase agreement or is subject to a power purchase agreement under which the utility purchases the facility's output from a third party; and (iv) has a generating capacity not exceeding two megawatts, subject to an exception. Pilot programs will have a three-year duration unless renewed or made permanent. The measure requires an investor-owned utility to select eligible generating facilities for dedication to its pilot program through a request for proposal (RFP) process. The minimum generating capacity of the eligible generating facilities in Appalachian Power's pilot program shall not be less than four MW and in Dominion's pilot program shall not be less than 25 MW. The maximum generating capacity of the eligible generating facilities in Appalachian Power's pilot program shall not be more than 10 MW and in Dominion's pilot program shall not be more than 40 MW. The measure establishes a procedure through which an investor-owned utility may increase the generating capacity of facilities in its pilot program above the amount most recently approved by the State Corporation Commission. The measure authorizes an investor-owned utility to recover pilot program costs that are not recovered through the voluntary companion rate schedule through the utility's annual fuel factor proceeding or rate adjustment clause proceeding. A subscribing customer's usage above the amount subscribed for the voluntary companion rate schedule shall be billed under the customer's applicable standard rate. The measure authorizes a utility consumer services cooperative to conduct a pilot program and gives the cooperative flexibility in designing its program and voluntary companion rate schedule. The measure declares that the participation of retail customers in a pilot program is in the public interest and that the voluntary companion rate schedules approved are necessary in order to acquire information which is in furtherance of the public interest. The measure requires the Commission to approve the recovery of pilot program costs that it deems to be reasonable and prudent, the pilot program design, the voluntary companion rate schedule, and the portfolio of participating generating facilities. Commission review or approval is not required for individual participating generating facilities, agreements, sites, or RFPs. The measure provides that an approved voluntary companion rate schedule shall not be considered a tariff for electric energy provided 100 percent from renewable energy. Finally, an enactment clause directs investor-owned utilities, prior to submitting a proposal for a pilot program, to examine, in cooperation with representatives of relevant governmental, nonprofit, and for-profit entities, options to facilitate the subscribing by low-income customers to the utility's pilot program.

S.B. 1394 Small agricultural generators.

Patron: Wagner


Small agricultural generators. Establishes the parameters of a program under which small agricultural generators may sell the electricity generated from a small agricultural generating facility to its utility. The program will end enrollment by eligible agricultural customer-generators in the existing net energy metering program effective July 1, 2018, while allowing eligible agricultural customer-generators to remain in the net metering program for not more than 20 years. A small agricultural generator is defined in this measure as a customer who operates an electrical generating facility as part of an agricultural business, which generating facility, among other conditions, has a capacity of not more than 1.5 megawatts, uses renewable energy as its total source of fuel, has a capacity that does not exceed 150 percent of the customer's expected annual energy consumption based on the previous 12 months of billing history, and is a qualifying small power production facility. The program for small agricultural generators requires the generator to enter into a power purchase agreement with its supplier to sell all of the electricity generated at a rate not less than the supplier's State Corporation Commission-approved avoided cost tariff for energy and capacity. The program also provides for utilities to recover distribution service costs and costs incurred to purchase electricity, capacity, and renewable energy certificates from the small agricultural generator through its Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS) rate adjustment clause if the utility has a Commission-approved RPS plan and rate adjustment clause or, if the utility does not have a Commission-approved RPS rate adjustment clause, then the costs shall be recoverable through the supplier's fuel adjustment clause or through the utility's cost of purchased power. Finally, the measure directs the Commission to conduct a single docketed proceeding to implement the provisions of this measure.

S.B. 1418 Electric utilities; costs of pumped hydroelectricity generation and storage facilities.

Patron: Chafin


Electric utilities; costs of pumped hydroelectricity generation and storage facilities. Authorizes an investor-owned electric utility to petition the State Corporation Commission for approval of a rate adjustment clause for recovery of the costs of one or more pumped hydroelectricity generation and storage facilities that utilize renewable energy as all or a portion of their power source and are located in the coalfield region of the Commonwealth. The measure provides that the requirement that a utility demonstrate that it has considered and weighed alternative options, including third-party market alternatives, in its selection process does not apply to these generation and storage facilities. The construction of these generation and storage facilities is declared to be in the public interest, and in determining whether to approve such facility, the Commission is directed to liberally construe the provisions of Title 56.

S.B. 1433 Regulation sale of consumer fireworks; Brd of Housing and Comm Dev; criminal and civil penalties.

Patron: Reeves

Regulation of the sale of consumer fireworks; Board of Housing and Community Development; criminal and civil penalties. Authorizes a person to sell consumer fireworks if he possesses a federal permit to sell fireworks, a permit issued by the Board of Housing and Community Development, and a local permit, if and as required by the locality where the sales facility is located. The measure directs the Board to establish requirements and establish a process for the issuance and renewal of permits for the sale of consumer fireworks. A permittee is required to carry, with respect to each permitted facility, public liability and product liability insurance with minimum limits of $5 million to cover the losses, damages, or injuries that might ensue to persons or property as a result of the sales of consumer fireworks. The measure specifies certain requirements for facilities at which consumer fireworks are permitted to be sold, including prohibitions on an individual under 18 years of age (i) being admitted into any consumer fireworks retail sales facility unless accompanied by a parent, guardian, or responsible adult or (ii) working in any consumer fireworks retail sales facility. The measure prohibits a person from, among other acts, (a) selling consumer fireworks within the Commonwealth unless he is a permittee or an employee or agent of a permittee; (b) selling consumer fireworks from a place other than a permanent consumer fireworks retail sales facility; (c) selling consumer fireworks to an individual who appears to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs; (d) knowingly selling or otherwise furnishing consumer fireworks to an individual under 18 years of age; (e) purchasing, using, or possessing consumer fireworks if the individual is under 18 years of age; or (f) selling or storing fireworks that are not consumer fireworks as defined in a standard established by the American Pyrotechnics Association. Certain violations are punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor. A person violating restrictions on the hours during which, or places where, consumer fireworks may be used is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $150 per violation.