Legislators are also recommitting to our lands and waters. Virginia is poised to enact landmark legislation (HB 2129 — Del. Alfonso Lopez and SB 1354— Sen. Emmett Hanger) that will require and direct significant upgrades to many older wastewater treatment plants along the James and York Rivers and other waterways. This work — continuing an effort that has seen great success in earlier phases — will lead to substantial reductions in the pollution that reaches the Chesapeake Bay over the next several years. But funding this effort will require help from the state.

Fortunately, state revenue forecasts are better than had been feared. The budget amendments proposed last week by committees in the House of Delegates and the Senate reflect legislators’ recognition of the importance of this work. Notably, the House Appropriations Committee proposed $150 million in bond funding to help upgrade these plants. A conference committee of legislators, including committee chairs Sen. Janet Howell and Del. Luke Torian, is now negotiating a final state budget for Gov. Ralph Northam’s approval.

Accelerating investments in other effective clean water programs will also be necessary to achieve the goals. The Stormwater Local Assistance Fund reduces polluted runoff, the noxious brew that, during rainstorms, flows off pavement and buildings and into local streams. This money has helped cities and counties across Virginia pay for effective runoff-reducing projects by providing grants for up to half the project’s cost. These investments can also reduce localized flooding issues, which is essential as we see increased precipitation as a result of climate change.

Establishes the Virginia Brownfield and Coal Mine Renewable Energy Grant Fund and Program (the Fund and Program). The bill provides that no allocation of funds shall be made to the Fund or Program unless federal funds are available to cover the cost of such allocation. The Fund and Program shall be administered by the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy for the purpose of awarding grants to renewable energy projects that are located on brownfields or previously coal mined lands, both defined in the bill. Grants are to be awarded on a basis of $500 per kilowatt of nameplate capacity from renewable energy sources that are located on previously coal mined lands and $100 per kilowatt of nameplate capacity from renewable energy sources that are located on brownfields.

No more than $10 million shall be awarded to any previously coal mined lands project and no more than $5 million to any single brownfield project. No more than $35 million shall be allocated per year by the grant program. Of the $35 million, $20 million shall be reserved for previously coal mined lands projects. If less than $20 million is distributed to such projects, the remaining funds may be reallocated to brownfield projects. The bill also provides that the Department shall, in consultation with stakeholders, develop a handbook for renewable energy and energy storage development on brownfields and previously coal mined lands. Finally, the bill requires the Department to submit an annual report regarding the administration of the Fund and Program to the General Assembly. However, the annual report shall not be required if the Fund and Program are not funded.

Provides that the Department of Juvenile Justice is no longer required to apply for child support from, and the parent of a juvenile is no longer responsible to pay child support to, the Department of Social Services for a juvenile who is in the temporary custody of or committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice. Bill passes both the House and Senate

Establishes a presumption that COVID-19 causing the death or disability of firefighters, emergency medical services personnel, law-enforcement officers, and correctional officers is an occupational disease compensable under the Workers’ Compensation Act. The bill provides that the COVID-19 virus is established by a positive diagnostic test for COVID-19, an incubation period consistent with COVID-19, and signs and symptoms of COVID-19 that require medical treatment. The bill provides that such presumption applies to any death or disability occurring on or after March 12, 2020, caused by infection from the COVID-19 virus, provided that for any such death or disability that occurred on or after March 12, 2020, and prior to December 31, 2021, the claimant received a diagnosis of COVID-19 from a licensed physician, after either a presumptive positive test or a laboratory-confirmed test for COVID-19, and presented with signs and symptoms of COVID-19 that required medical treatment. Senate is insisting on a substitute and has requested for a conference committee

According to independent research conducted by the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis, the budget proposed by the Virginia House Appropriations Committee last week would disproportionately cut funding to school districts with the highest share of students of color.

School divisions with the highest proportion of Asian, Black, Hispanic, and other ethnic minorities on average are seeing cuts of $65 per pupil on average under the proposed house budget. That’s almost two times the $34 per pupil reduction to predominantly White school districts.

In Culpeper County, where roughly 47% of the school-age population are people of color, schools will lose $106 per pupil — one of the largest per-student cuts in the state.

RICHMOND, VA—Today the Virginia House of Delegates passed the amended 2020-2022 biennial budget (HB 1800) by a vote of 68-30.

The House’s package of budget amendments will fund policies that support the House Democratic Caucus’s 2021 agenda aimed at building a better Virginia. This fiscally responsible budget will also protect the Commonwealth’s “AAA” bond rating by placing an additional $130 million into Virginia’s revenue reserves.

The House Appropriations Committee released its recommended amendments to the FY 2020-2022 budget on February 10.