I strongly favor HB1054 and encourage you to pass it. It protects vulnerable Virginians from freezing or sweltering to death under extreme conditions, and makes it easier for them to pay reconnection or disconnection fees. People can't be productive, hard-working, taxpaying citizens if they're sick or dead. As legislators, you have a responsibility to protect Virginians from harm whenever and wherever you can. Please pass HB1054. I also strongly favor HB600. As we've seen in the pandemic, people can't always control when, why, or how they find themselves unemployed. And when they're suddenly thrown out of work, I feel that giving them a lifeline to help them get back on their feet is money well spent for all of us. And I strongly advocate for HB447. Elected officials make a lot of noise about broadband access for Virginians, but rarely do anything about it. In exchange for their monopoly control over large swaths of the state, broadband providers need to serve the public interest by offering affordable plans.

VEA supports this bill. Many education support staff, especially school bus drivers, we’re adversely affected when they were deemed eligible and received unemployment benefits and the VEC reversed eligibility and demanded repayment. This caused undue hardship on some of our lowest paid school personnel. The VEA is grateful to Delegate Hudson for sponsoring this bill.

I strongly favor HB1054 and encourage you to pass it. It protects vulnerable Virginians from freezing or sweltering to death under extreme conditions, and makes it easier for them to pay reconnection or disconnection fees. People can't be productive, hard-working, taxpaying citizens if they're sick or dead. As legislators, you have a responsibility to protect Virginians from harm whenever and wherever you can. Please pass HB1054. I also strongly favor HB600. As we've seen in the pandemic, people can't always control when, why, or how they find themselves unemployed. And when they're suddenly thrown out of work, I feel that giving them a lifeline to help them get back on their feet is money well spent for all of us. And I strongly advocate for HB447. Elected officials make a lot of noise about broadband access for Virginians, but rarely do anything about it. In exchange for their monopoly control over large swaths of the state, broadband providers need to serve the public interest by offering affordable plans.

Comments Document

Stop Abuse For Everyone (SAFE) is a non-profit human rights agency recognizing the importance of ensuring that all populations, including the underserved, are not impacted by discriminatory legislation, whether disparate or overt. We urge you to oppose HB757: Employment; anti-harassment training requirement. The anti-harassment training requirement of this bill states at 40.1-28.7:10 (C) "The training and education required by this section shall be presented by an educator or human resources professional with knowledge and expertise in the prevention of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation." This requirement will not work for Virginia's small employers that lack a Human Resource Department and those who would find it impractical to hire an educator with expertise in the prevention of harassment, discrimination and retaliation simply to satisfy the requirements of this bill. Furthermore, it is our view that the worst harassers aren't dissuaded by anti-harassment training. Please oppose HB757. This bill would create an undue burden for Virginia's small business employers. Respectfully, Susan Horning -- Susan Horning Co-Director, State Legislative Initiative Stop Abuse For Everyone 925-683-1641 shorning@stopabuseforeveryone.org https://www.stopabuseforeveryone.org/

This bill should be rejected in its current form, because it will burden tiny businesses and do nothing to prevent harassment. People of both political parties have pointed this out elsewhere, as this comment explains further below. The bill says that the "training required under the bill must be provided by an educator or human resources professional." But it applies to small businesses with as few as 5 employees. Those businesses are so small they probably won't have a "human resources professional." So it will be a burden to them. And why can't it be done by someone else, like a lawyer at a small law firm? My husband is a lawyer who once handled sexual harassment issues as a lawyer -- drafting rulings in sexual harassment lawsuits as a judge's clerk, and rulings on administrative complaints as an employee of federal agency. Why would he have to pay a human resources professional to do it for any employees he hires, rather than doing it himself? It probably won't reduce harassment, either. Creeps already know what they are doing is wrong and possibly against the law. They need to be fired, rather than their co-workers sitting through yet another training session. There is bipartisan agreement about this. The veteran Arlington civic activist Dave Schutz, a Democratic donor, agreed with a conservative blog about this -- the bill will achieve nothing: "Now retired, and I sat through many anti-harassment sessions in my time. They were generally mocked in the break room, and I think they were counterproductive - and expensive! Not just the presenter, but the lost staff time." https://www.baconsrebellion.com/wp/bacon-bits-bills-of-interest/#comment-5688413341 The liberal commenter Nancy Naive agreed: "The problem with sexual harassment training is it doesn't make the harasser any better at it, and it doesn't prevent it." https://www.baconsrebellion.com/wp/bacon-bits-bills-of-interest/#comment-5688498827 The former public employee Dick Hall-Sizemore, another Democrat who knows many legislators, also agreed this bill won't do much: "I have sat through annual mandated training sessions other subjects and they were basically a waste of time and everyone knew it. What needs to be done is exactly what you say: make it clear to all employees what the policy is and then enforce it. A couple of firings resulting from sexual harassment will get the message across." https://www.baconsrebellion.com/wp/bacon-bits-bills-of-interest/#comment-5689217995 In the blog post they were commenting on, James Bacon, the conservative former publisher of Virginia Business, said this bill was "bad" because many small businesses don't have human resource departments.

Comments Document

While NetChoice shares lawmakers' concerns about protecting consumers, we oppose HB 888 because it: (1) unfairly targets online marketplaces for burdens not imposed on similarly situated businesses; (2) unnecessarily targets and burdens small Virginian sellers and entrepreneurs; and (3) does nothing to actually mitigate or prevent ORC.

Comments Document

On behalf of the Consumer healthcare Products Association, please see the attached written comments supporting HB 888.

Comments Document

Greetings, My name is Montana Williams and I am the Director of State and Local Public Policy with the Chamber of Progress. Please find our letter in opposition to HB 888 attached to this forum submission. Thanks so much, Montana Williams Director of State & Local Public Policy montana@progresschamber.org 407-491-5960

Please gently PBI this bill. Right now, small businesses need a small break. Maybe another time would be better.

I strongly favor HB1054 and encourage you to pass it. It protects vulnerable Virginians from freezing or sweltering to death under extreme conditions, and makes it easier for them to pay reconnection or disconnection fees. People can't be productive, hard-working, taxpaying citizens if they're sick or dead. As legislators, you have a responsibility to protect Virginians from harm whenever and wherever you can. Please pass HB1054. I also strongly favor HB600. As we've seen in the pandemic, people can't always control when, why, or how they find themselves unemployed. And when they're suddenly thrown out of work, I feel that giving them a lifeline to help them get back on their feet is money well spent for all of us. And I strongly advocate for HB447. Elected officials make a lot of noise about broadband access for Virginians, but rarely do anything about it. In exchange for their monopoly control over large swaths of the state, broadband providers need to serve the public interest by offering affordable plans.

Thank you to the Chair for allowing me this opportunity. My name is Claudia and I am speaking as a concerned resident of Falls Church. I am expressing my support for HB 1054. I live and volunteer with working-class families in a community that neighbors the middle class Lake Barcroft community. The families I know are worried about affording next month’s rent, and this bill would mean that families are not forced to live without utilities due to non-payment during times of crisis. Access to utilities creates healthy home environments and helps prevent the spread of colds, the flu, and COVID. We can’t control weather, but we can expand access to water, gas, and electricity during extreme conditions. This will strengthen the health of VA’s neighborhoods. Finally, with this testimony, I ask the subcommittee to support HB 1054.

Some of our neighbors most impacted and financially burdened by utility bills and times of emergency are those in low-income families and communities of color. HB 1054 expands protections for families financially burdened by utility bills in times of crisis.

My name is Kidest Gebre and I am the Organizing Coordinator and Communicating Our Power Fellow for Virginia Interfaith Power & Light, we collaborate among people of faith and conscience to grow healthy communities by advancing climate and environmental justice. We urge you to support HB 1054. This legislation is important to many of our faith communities. Many faith communities in Virginia offer social services to help pay bills like food, rent, and utility bills (water, electricity, and gas) for families in need and offer life-saving support. As people of faith, this past Sunday, over 75 faith communities and households in Virginia stood in solidarity with the many vulnerable Virginians who are living in danger of utility disconnections this winter. We’ve had faith leaders, express that the members of their congregation “who live paycheck to paycheck lose their power due to late payments. That means their food spoils in the fridge and their kids can’t access the internet for school. Utilities are too vital for people who are already living on the edge to lose.” This bill gives folks the extra time and the proper time of delay from disconnections during times of public health emergency and extreme weather. Thank you!

Comments Document

Dear Members of the House Commerce and Energy - Subcommittee #3, on behalf of the Virginia Conservation Network I urge you to vote "no" on HB894 and HB1326, and to vote "yes" on HB1054. For your convince I am attaching combined talking points on each bill.

As the impacts of climate change worsen, extreme weather events are predicted to be more frequent and severe, likely affecting our most vulnerable neighbors. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that just last year deadly weather such as flooding events, extreme heat, tornadoes, and cyclones cost $145 billion, the third-highest cost on record, and killed more than 600 people.

Virginia’s climate is rapidly changing. The United States Environmental Protection Agency explains how Virginia’s sea level has risen from one to two inches every decade. With Higher water levels, Virginia residents are experiencing extreme weather conditions like eroding beaches, submerging lowlands, and exacerbating coastal flooding. Bill HB1054 is essential because it provides protections for our neighbors at higher risk of being affected by extreme weather events, ensures life-saving access to those who need gas, electric, and water services the most, and bans utilities from charging households for disconnecting and reconnecting their accounts. Hence, CCAN Action Fund supports this bill HB1054.

Thank you for your time and attention to this potentially lifesaving bill, HB 1160, Paid Sick Leave for Grocery Store Workers and Health care providers. My name is Kayla Mock, with the United Food and Commercial Worker’s Union, Local 400, representing over 40,000 members, 13,000 of which are members in Virginia as grocery, retail, health care, and food processing and distribution employees. We support this bill. This bill today is about keeping workers and our communities safe. I have seen grocery store workers go to work with fevers, cough, nausea, even once the chicken pox, witnessing a deli employee handling food, with the chicken pox, because they could not afford to take off work. I have seen health care workers struggling with caring for our sick, because they themselves can barely stand from their own illness. According to an article released by Yahoo Finance titled, “Just Wear a Mask and Don’t Tell Anyone,” “two-thirds of service workers surveyed in the months leading up to the Omicron surge said they did not stay home when they were feeling sick and went to work ill.” This affects part time workers as well, and they don’t have the safety net of full-time work. Part time hours can fluctuate wildly, from 0, 5, or 35 hours a week, excluding them from earning vacation time or personal days. The illusion of part time work is just that for some, an illusion, because they are working multiple jobs, part time to add up to full time work. In a New York Times article release just yesterday by Davis Leonhardt, it discusses part time workers, and, why, even in a labor shortage, so many who want full time work cannot find it. Companies view part time work as a means drive down labor costs, because it strips workers of the ability to earn retirement, vacation, access to insurance benefits. Being part time does not exclude a worker from getting sick – I’ve seen plenty of part time workers going to work ill because they too cannot afford to take off – so it should not exclude them from earning paid sick time. I'm sure you will hear that these past few years have been hard for the grocery industry. But as the Cincinnati Business Courier reported in 2021, "Food retailers’ same-store sales soared 15.8% last year, according to trade group FMI – the Food Industry Association’s “The Food Retailing Industry Speaks 2021” report. That’s exponentially higher than it had been in recent years, as customers began eating at home rather than dining out far more frequently than they had in the past. The national rate was 3.3% in 2019 and 2.5% in 2018." Businesses thrived, and the workers who served the communities, helped it happen. Frontline workers have served us, they have provided for us, and they have carried us during these challenging times. They are heroes, and they have earned paid sick time. For this, we support the bill without carve outs, and urge a favorable report on HB 1160.

The price of energy affects the poor and working man much more than it does any rich politician or or entitled class. The idiocy espoused by the Biden administration and the leftist politicians in America is it is not just laughable, it is anti-American and impacts impacts each one of us in a negative way. Stop the spread of communism in our country. Put America First. Let us together make America Great Again.

HB 1201 Unemployment benefits should be carefully controlled. We must avoid providing disincentives to work.

HB 118 Yes, include solar!

HB 1243 Mammography must be optional, based on the woman's choice. For a lot of thinking women it is wrong (does not make sense) to invade breasts with radiation in an effort to "detect" breast cancer.

HB 126 Yes, by all means.....Proton therapy works, I think.

HB 1288 Yes, by all means.....And rate reviews must allow for the power of solar to help us save the environment.

HB 153 Yes, by all means.....no state funds should be paid to workers illegally impaired.

HB 1160 I am in favor of this----a necessity nowadays to keep our communities healthy.

HB 263 If this bill will help to ensure that banks will be able to help people save money in virtual currency and add that to FDIC-like assurances for saving consumers......it has my blessing.

HB 225 -- It is a good idea to carefully define this disorder in the bill. Make sure NOT to simply repeat psychiatric jargon in the wording of the law, or it will be uninterpretable by the public that is being served. At a minimum, provide a clear definition of autism in plain English in the bill.

The price of energy affects the poor and working man much more than it does any rich politician or or entitled class. The idiocy espoused by the Biden administration and the leftist politicians in America is it is not just laughable, it is anti-American and impacts impacts each one of us in a negative way. Stop the spread of communism in our country. Put America First. Let us together make America Great Again.

The price of energy affects the poor and working man much more than it does any rich politician or or entitled class. The idiocy espoused by the Biden administration and the leftist politicians in America is it is not just laughable, it is anti-American and impacts impacts each one of us in a negative way. Stop the spread of communism in our country. Put America First. Let us together make America Great Again.