Bills & Legislation

Underground transmission lines; qualifying projects, pilot program.

Pilot program for underground transmission lines; qualifying projects. Increases the maximum capacity of qualifying electrical transmission lines, for purposes of the pilot project for underground transmission lines, from 230 kilovolts to 500 kilovolts. The bill provides that the State Corporation Commission shall approve additional qualifying projects as part of the pilot program that traverse along highways in developed areas where the route of proposed transmission lines and towers traverse areas protected by a scenic easement, view shed easement, areas of registered historic designation, or areas of conservation easements. Under the bill, existing requirements for qualifying projects shall continue to apply to such new category of qualifying projects.

Russet PerryDemocrat

Taxation; secrecy of information, taxpayer waiver.

Taxation; secrecy of information; taxpayer waiver. Allows a taxpayer to waive confidentiality and secrecy of information provisions of Virginia law with respect to tax information upon executing a written acknowledgement waiver.

Bill DeStephRepublican

Vehicle exhaust systems; inspection and administrative fee.

Vehicle exhaust systems; inspection and administrative fee. Prohibits passenger vehicle exhaust systems from emitting noise in excess of 95 decibels in Planning District 8 on a highway; any driveway or premises of a church, school, recreational facility, or business; any governmental property open to the public; any industrial establishment providing parking space for customers, patrons, or employees; and any highway under construction or not yet open to the public. The bill allows, in Planning District 8, a law-enforcement officer to stop a passenger vehicle he determines is emitting exhaust system noise in excess of such limit and issue a notice of an administrative fee of $250 to be assessed at the time of the vehicle's next registration renewal and establishes a process for inspecting such vehicle. The bill has a contingent effective date of January 1, 2025, provided that the Department of Environmental Quality has received the necessary funding to supply the necessary equipment for such vehicle exhaust system inspections to inspection stations. The bill sunsets on July 1, 2027.

David W. MarsdenDemocrat

Higher educational institutions, public; duties of governing boards, acceptance & use of donations.

Public institutions of higher education; duties of governing boards; acceptance and use of donations. Provides that the governing board of each public institution of higher education may receive, take, hold, and enjoy any donation or gift made to such institution or governing board and may use and administer any such donation or gift for the uses and purposes designated by the donor or, if no such specific designation is made, for the general purposes of the institution. The bill provides that in the event that a donor specifically designates any particular use or purpose for a donation or gift, each governing board is required to appropriate such donation or gift and any resulting interest, income, and profits only to such specifically designated use or purpose, provided, however, that if such specifically designated use or purpose fails by any means such that the specifically designated use or purpose is permanently frustrated, the whole donation or gift, including unexpended principal and interest, will revert to and be vested in the donor or his legal representatives.

Ryan T. McDougleRepublican

Local government actions related to comprehensive plans, etc.; approval process.

Local government actions related to comprehensive plans, local planning commissions, subdivision plats and site plans, and zoning ordinances; approval process. Makes several changes to local government land use approval processes, including (i) prohibiting use of the comprehensive plan as the basis, in whole or in part, for the disapproval of a site plan that is otherwise in conformity with duly adopted standards, ordinances, and statutes and (ii) allowing automatic approval of certain land use applications rather than a right to petition the circuit court, as provided under current law, if a locality does not approve or disapprove the application within the required timeframe. The bill also reduces from 12 months to four months the time within which a locality must initially act upon certain proposed zoning ordinance amendments and requires a locality to act on all such proposed amendments to the zoning ordinance or map that it has previously disapproved within 45 days after an amended proposal has been resubmitted for approval.

Tammy Brankley MulchiRepublican

Nonliving shoreline stabilization structures; regulations.

Nonliving shoreline stabilization structures; regulations; Marine Resources Commission. Directs the Marine Resources Commission to promulgate regulations regarding the types of repairs or maintenance to nonliving shoreline stabilization structures in existence prior to July 1, 2020, that are exempt from or require permits.

Scott A. SurovellDemocrat

Chief Resilience Officer of the Commonwealth; moves position under the Governor.

Chief Resilience Officer of the Commonwealth; Office of Commonwealth Resilience; Interagency Resilience Working Group; Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund; Resilient Virginia Revolving Fund; Advisory Review Committee. Moves the position of Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) from under the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources to under the Governor and creates an Office of Commonwealth Resilience to support the CRO in his functions and duties. The bill requires the CRO to convene an Interagency Resilience Working Group to support the coordination of planning and implementation of resilience efforts, eliminates the position of Special Assistant to the Governor for Coastal Adaptation and Protection, and requires the Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation to convene an Advisory Review Committee to assist in the distribution of loans and grants from the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund. The bill also requires the Director to convene an Advisory Review Committee to assist in the distribution of loans and grants from the Resilient Virginia Revolving Fund and adds the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources and the CRO to the list of those with whom the Virginia Resources Authority is required to consult in directing the distribution of loans or grants from the Fund. The bill requires the Department to make available for public inspection at the office of the Department and on a publicly accessible website records of each application for grants and loans from the two Funds and the actions taken thereon. The Virginia Flood Resilience Advisory Committee replaces the Virginia Coastal Resilience Technical Advisory Committee effective February 1, 2025.

David W. MarsdenDemocrat

Health insurance; denial of referral by direct primary care provider prohibited.

Health insurance; denial of referral by direct primary care provider prohibited. Prohibits a health insurance carrier from (i) denying payment for any health care service covered under an enrollee's health benefit plan based solely on the basis that such enrollee's referral was made by a direct primary care provider or (ii) imposing a cost-sharing requirement greater than the applicable cost-sharing requirement that would apply to the same health care service if the service was referred by a participating provider. The bill provides that a health insurance carrier may require a direct primary care provider to provide information demonstrating that such provider has entered into a direct primary care agreement with the enrollee.

Glen H. Sturtevant, Jr.Republican

Gas-powered leaf blowers; local prohibition or regulation, civil penalty.

Local prohibition or regulation of gas-powered leaf blowers; civil penalty. Provides that any locality may by ordinance prohibit or regulate the use of gas-powered leaf blowers. The bill provides that the ordinance may include provisions for a civil penalty and that the funds from such civil penalties may be used by the locality to assist with the purchase of nonprohibited leaf blowers by residents and local businesses.

Saddam Azlan SalimDemocrat

Independent Living Community Ombudsman, Office of; established.

Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services; Office of the Independent Living Community Ombudsman established. Establishes the Office of the Independent Living Community Ombudsman, with the purpose of receiving, recording, and responding to concerns related to independent living communities. The bill directs the Office to operate a complaint line to receive, record, and respond to such concerns.

Saddam Azlan SalimDemocrat

Voter registration; registration of DMV customers, updates to existing registration.

Voter registration; registration of Department of Motor Vehicles customers, automatic update. Provides that the information gathered by the Department of Motor Vehicles for a person who is already registered to vote is to be automatically transmitted to the Department of Elections for the purpose of updating an existing voter registration record name or address change and to return a voter to active status from inactive status, as appropriate. Under current law, a person must be presented with the option to decline to have his information transmitted to the Department of Elections before such information may be transmitted.

Saddam Azlan SalimDemocrat

Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program; established, report.

Public institutions of higher education; Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program established; report. Establishes the Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program to address student food insecurity at public institutions of higher education. The bill provides that the Program shall be managed by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and available for participation by public institutions of higher education; however, participation in the Program shall be optional for such institutions. Under the bill, if a public institution of higher education satisfies certain criteria set out in the bill, including creating initiatives on campus to address student food insecurity, it shall be designated as a "Hunger-Free Campus" and the Council shall award a grant to such institution. A public institution of higher education that receives a grant under the bill shall utilize the funds to support on-campus efforts and initiatives to eliminate student food insecurity at such institution. The bill requires the Council to submit a report to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Education no later than two years after the establishment of the Program.

Danica A. RoemDemocrat

Primary evacuation routes; statewide prioritization process.

Statewide prioritization process; primary evacuation routes. Adds maintenance of primary evacuation routes to the list of factors that must be considered by the Commonwealth Transportation Board as part of the statewide prioritization process for project selection. The bill directs the Board, in incorporating this new factor into the prioritization process, to not assign a weight to such factor and, instead, to set a bonus point value that may be added for projects that include maintenance of primary evacuation routes and shall apply such bonus point values to such projects when applicable.

Emily M. JordanRepublican

Virginia Retirement System; enhanced retirement benefits for 911 dispatchers.

Virginia Retirement System; enhanced retirement benefits for 911 dispatchers. Allows local governments to provide enhanced retirement benefits for hazardous duty service to full-time salaried 911 dispatchers. The bill provides that such enhanced retirement benefits apply only to service earned as a full-time salaried 911 dispatcher on or after July 1, 2025, but allows an employer, as that term is defined in relevant law, to provide such enhanced retirement benefits for service earned as a full-time salaried 911 dispatcher before July 1, 2025, in addition to service earned on or after that date. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025.

Emily M. JordanRepublican

Misdemeanor; maximum term of confinement.

Misdemeanor; maximum term of confinement. Reduces from 12 months to 364 days the maximum term of confinement in jail for a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill contains technical amendments. The bill also requires the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission to revise all labels on Sentencing Guidelines worksheets and instructions in the Sentencing Guidelines manual so that any conviction for an offense defined as a Class 1 misdemeanor or any other misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of 364 days of incarceration, as provided by the bill, shall be scored as if the maximum penalty were 12 months for the purposes of preparing and using the discretionary sentencing guidelines.

Saddam Azlan SalimDemocrat

State plan for medical assistance services; fertility preservation treatments, etc.

State plan for medical assistance services; fertility preservation treatments; genetic material misuse; penalty. Directs the Board of Medical Assistance Services to amend the state plan for medical assistance services to include a provision for payment of medical assistance for coverage of fertility preservation for individuals diagnosed with cancer who need treatment for that cancer that may cause a substantial risk of sterility or iatrogenic infertility, as defined in the bill, including surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. The bill also establishes that it is a Class 3 felony for a health care provider to provide assisted conception treatment to a patient and use the health care provider's own gamete without the written consent of the patient.

Saddam Azlan SalimDemocrat

Net energy metering; solar interconnection, cost recovery.

Net energy metering; solar interconnection; cost recovery. Provides that an electric distribution company shall pay $1 per kilowatt per day for the costs of lost electricity production for any and all delays beyond the regulatory notice period required by State Corporation Commission related to net energy metering. The bill requires that, for the purposes of net energy metering, an eligible customer-generator shall bear all reasonable costs of equipment required at the eligible customer-generator's side of the meter for the interconnection to the supplier's electric distribution system, including reasonable and prudent costs of additional controls, tests, or liability insurance. Additionally, the bill allows for cost recovery by Phase I and Phase II Utilities for electric distribution grid transformation projects that support the interconnection of generating facilities using energy derived from sunlight that are owned or contracted by eligible customer-generators, subject to the Commission finding those costs to be reasonable and prudent in accordance with existing law.

Suhas SubramanyamDemocrat

Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program; work group to evaluate, etc., Program.

Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program; work group to evaluate and make recommendations on improving long-term viability; report. Directs the Secretary of Finance, in collaboration with the Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs and the Secretary of Education, to convene a stakeholder work group for the purpose of evaluating the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program and making recommendations on legislative actions and budgetary modifications that could improve the stability, strength, and long-term viability of the Program. The bill requires the Secretary of Finance to submit the work group's recommendations to the Governor and the Chairs of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by November 1, 2024.

Bryce E. ReevesRepublican

Vehicle inspections; extends timeframe for new motor vehicles.

Vehicle inspections; new motor vehicles. Extends the timeframe following the first inspection of a new motor vehicle in which such vehicle must be inspected from 12 months after the first inspection to either 36 months after the first inspection or within such time as such new motor vehicle reaches a mileage of 36,000 miles. The bill provides that the inspection approval sticker provided by the Department of State Police for such new motor vehicle shall designate its validity period and directs the Department to develop, create, and distribute such new stickers.

Bryce E. ReevesRepublican

Advanced practice registered nurses and licensed certified midwives; joint licensing.

Board of Medicine; Board of Nursing; joint licensing of advanced practice registered nurses and licensed certified midwives. Moves the professions of advanced practice registered nurses and licensed certified midwives from being licensed jointly by the Board of Medicine and the Board of Nursing to being licensed by the Board of Nursing only.

Jennifer B. BoyskoDemocrat

Consumer Data Protection Act; social media platforms, addictive feed.

Consumer Data Protection Act; social media platforms; addictive feed. Prohibits a person that operates a social media platform that has knowledge that a user of the social media platform is a child under the age of 18 from using an addictive feed, defined in the bill, unless such social media platform obtains verifiable parental consent.

Schuyler T. VanValkenburgDemocrat

Planning districts; King George County.

Planning districts; King George County. Moves King George County from Planning District 16 (George Washington Regional Commission) to Planning District 17 (Northern Neck Planning District Commission). The bill requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to assist with this transition.

Richard H. StuartRepublican

Health insurance; limit on cost-sharing payments for prescription drugs under certain plans.

Health insurance; limit on cost-sharing payments for prescription drugs under certain plans. Requires each carrier that offers a health plan in either the individual or small group market to ensure that at least 50 percent of all health plans offered by the carrier, or at least one health plan if the carrier offers fewer than two health plans, in each rating area and in each of the bronze, silver, gold, and platinum levels of coverage in the individual and small group market conform with the following: (i) a plan that offers a silver, gold, or platinum level of coverage limits a person's cost-sharing payment for prescription drugs covered under the plan to an amount that does not exceed $100 per 30-day supply of the prescription drug and (ii) a plan that offers a bronze level of coverage limits a person's cost-sharing payment for prescription drugs covered under the plan to an amount that does not exceed $150 per 30-day supply of the prescription drug. The bill provides that such limits apply at any point in the benefit design, including before and after any applicable deductible is reached. The bill requires that any plans offered to meet its requirements are (a) clearly and appropriately named to aid the consumer or plan sponsor in the plan selection process and (b) marketed in the same manner as other plans offered by the health insurance carrier. The provisions of the bill apply with respect to health plans entered into, amended, extended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2025.

Jennifer B. BoyskoDemocrat

Campaign finance; prohibited personal use of campaign funds, complaints, hearings, civil penalty.

Campaign finance; prohibited personal use of campaign funds; complaints, hearings, civil penalty, and advisory opinions. Prohibits any person from converting contributions to a candidate or his campaign committee to personal use. Current law only prohibits such conversion of contributions with regard to disbursement of surplus funds at the dissolution of a campaign or political committee. The bill provides that a contribution is considered to have been converted to personal use if the contribution, in whole or in part, is used to fulfill any commitment, obligation, or expense that would exist irrespective of the person's seeking, holding, or maintaining public office but allows a contribution to be used for the ordinary and accepted expenses related to campaigning for or holding elective office, including the use of campaign funds to pay for the candidate's child care expenses that are incurred as a direct result of campaign activity. The bill provides that any person subject to the personal use ban may request an advisory opinion from the State Board of Elections on such matters. The bill directs the State Board of Elections to adopt emergency regulations similar to those promulgated by the Federal Election Commission to implement the provisions of the bill and to publish an updated summary of Virginia campaign finance law that reflects the State Board of Elections' and Attorney General's guidance on the provisions of such law that prohibit the personal use of campaign funds and any new regulations promulgated by the State Board of Elections.

Jennifer B. BoyskoDemocrat

State correctional facilities; DOC to provide telephone calls and communication services.

State correctional facilities; telephone calls and communication services. Requires the Department of Corrections to provide telephone systems and web-based or electronic communications systems free of charge to any person, whether such person is initiating or receiving the communication. The bill also requires that a minimum ratio of one telephone per every 10 inmates be available within each housing unit at each correctional facility and that the maximum number of telephone numbers permitted on an approved call list must be no fewer than 20.

Jennifer B. BoyskoDemocrat

Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP); Office of Chief Medical Examiner to publish information on its website.

Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy; protocol; information; training. Requires the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to take certain actions upon the finding that an individual died from Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP), defined in the bill. The bill directs the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to publish information on SUDEP and a SUDEP death investigation form on its website. Additionally, the bill requires the Chief Medical Examiner and local medical examiners to complete training in the investigation of SUDEP on a triennial basis. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025.

Stella G. PekarskyDemocrat

Public elementary & secondary schools; student athletes, pre-participation mental health assessment.

Public elementary and secondary schools; student athletes; pre-participation mental health assessment required. Provides that no public elementary or secondary school student is permitted to be a participant on or try out for any school athletic team or squad with a predetermined roster, regular practices, and scheduled competitions with other elementary or secondary schools unless such student has submitted to the school principal a signed report from a licensed physician, licensed advanced practice registered nurse, or licensed physician assistant acting under the supervision of a licensed physician attesting that such student has, within the preceding 365 days, received both a physical examination and a mental health assessment. Current law only requires that the signed report attest that any such student has received a physical examination within the preceding 12 months. The bill prohibits any public elementary or secondary school from becoming a member of any organization or entity that regulates or governs interscholastic programs that does not deem eligible for participation any student who has satisfied the requirements for eligibility in accordance with the provisions of the bill. The provisions of the bill other than the requirement for the Board of Education to convene a work group have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025.

Stella G. PekarskyDemocrat

Virginia Retirement System; service retirement allowance for certain judges.

Virginia Retirement System; increased retirement allowance for certain judges. Provides that judges appointed or elected to an initial term on or after July 1, 2024, and who are at least age 55 at the time of appointment will be placed in Plan 1 with service weighted at 3.5.

Ryan T. McDougleRepublican

Certificate of public need; hospitals licensed by DBHDS psychiatric beds.

Certificate of public need; hospitals licensed by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; psychiatric beds. Excludes from the list of medical care facilities for which a certificate of public need is required hospitals licensed as a provider by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. The bill excludes the following from the list of projects for which a certificate of public need is required for certain medical care facilities: (i) an increase or relocation of psychiatric beds licensed by the Department, (ii) the introduction of any psychiatric service when such medical care facility has not provided such service in the previous 12 months, and (iii) the conversion of beds to psychiatric beds. The bill also modifies the list of projects for which a certificate of public need is required for certain medical care facilities by requiring a certificate for the conversion of any psychiatric inpatient beds to nonpsychiatric inpatient beds. Under current law, a certificate is required for the conversion of a psychiatric bed to a nonpsychiatric bed only when the psychiatric bed was approved pursuant to a Request for Applications (RFA).

Tara A. DurantRepublican

Political campaign advertisements; advertisements sponsored by a person or nonparty committee.

Elections; political campaign advertisements; advertisements sponsored by a person or political committee that is not a party committee. Prohibits any person from printing or circulating unofficial sample ballots unless they (i) are not printed on white paper, (ii) include the words "sample ballot," (iii) include the statement: "Paid for by [Name of the sponsor as defined by § 24.2-956.1]," and (iv) include the statement "Authorized by [Name of political party]" or "Not authorized by a political party."

Tara A. DurantRepublican

Adult protective services; created central registry of substantiated complaints of adult abuse, etc.

Adult protective services; central registry. Creates a central registry of substantiated complaints of adult abuse, neglect, and exploitation to be maintained by the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services. The bill establishes (i) investigation requirements for local departments of social services related to reports of adult abuse, neglect, and exploitation; (ii) record retention and disclosure requirements for the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services and local departments of social services; (iii) notice requirements related to findings by local departments and central registry entries; and (iv) an appeals process to contest the findings of a local department related to substantiated reports of adult abuse, neglect, or exploitation. The bill directs the Commissioner for Aging and Rehabilitative Services to adopt regulations to implement the provisions of the bill and exempts the Commissioner's initial adoption of such regulations from the provisions of the Administrative Process Act. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.

Christopher T. HeadRepublican

Virginia Museum of Transportation; established.

Virginia Museum of Transportation; established. Establishes the Virginia Museum of Transportation as a public entity and educational institution under the Commonwealth. The bill provides that the Museum is governed by a 15-member board of trustees.

Christopher T. HeadRepublican

Family caregiver; creates a nonrefundable income tax credit for taxable years 2024 through 2028.

Family caregiver tax credit. Creates a nonrefundable income tax credit for taxable years 2024 through 2028 for expenses incurred by an individual in caring for an eligible family member, defined in the bill, who requires assistance with one or more activities of daily living, also defined in the bill. The credit equals 50 percent of eligible expenditures incurred by the caregiver up to $1,000. In order to qualify for the credit, the family caregiver must (i) not receive any compensation or reimbursement for the eligible expenditures and (ii) have federal adjusted gross income that is no greater than $100,000 for an individual or $200,000 for married persons.

Christopher T. HeadRepublican

Petition for modification of a sentence; eligibility, procedures.

Petition for modification of a sentence; eligibility; procedures. Provides procedures for individuals serving a sentence for certain felony convictions or a combination of such convictions who remain incarcerated in a state or local correctional facility or secure facility and meet certain criteria to petition the circuit court that entered the original judgment or order to (i) suspend the unserved portion of such sentence or run the unserved portion of such sentence concurrently with another sentence, (ii) place such person on probation for such time as the court shall determine, or (iii) otherwise modify the sentence imposed. Depending on the type of conviction, the bill allows the court to grant a hearing on such petition after an individual has served at least 25 years for certain offenses, after 20 years for certain other offenses, and after 15 years for any other felony conviction not specified. The bill does not allow an individual convicted of a Class 1 felony to petition for modification of his sentence. The bill requires the attorney for the Commonwealth and the victim to agree to hearing the petition in order for a court to conduct the hearing.

R. Creigh DeedsDemocrat

Residential development in certain areas; affordable housing.

Residential development in certain areas; affordable housing. Provides that any type of residential use that is permitted in a locality shall be considered a conforming residential use on any parcel other than parcels zoned for (i) agriculture, (ii) conservation, or (iii) a different residential use. The bill states that no local ordinance shall require that a special exception, special use, or conditional use permit be obtained for a conforming residential use and that rights under existing zoning shall be considered vested pursuant to existing vesting provisions. The bill further provides that any residential development pursuant to the authority granted in the bill shall dedicate a minimum of 10 percent of the total number of housing units to housing affordable to households making at or below 120 percent of the area median income.

Schuyler T. VanValkenburgDemocrat

School boards; expands availability of allowable alternatives for pupil transportation.

Schools boards; pupil transportation; alternatives; requirements. Expands the availability of allowable alternatives to traditional school bus transportation services relating to the transportation of students to and from school or school-related activities. The bill expands the entities with whom and the purposes for which a school board may enter into agreements to provide transportation of pupils to include other school boards and comprehensive community colleges for the purposes of transporting students to and from concurrent or dual enrollment programs, career and technical education programs, joint and regional schools, and college partnership laboratory schools. The bill permits any school board to (i) provide, or contract with a privately operated entity to provide, for the purpose of transporting students to and from schools on a regularly scheduled basis a vehicle designed (a) to carry between 11 and 15 passengers, (b) as a specific type of school bus, in accordance with relevant federal and state laws and regulations, and (c) to carry nine passengers or fewer and (ii) in accordance with the provisions set forth in the bill, adopt a resolution to utilize alternative transportation providers, coordinators, and management services to supplement traditional school bus service. The bill requires any vehicle provided or obtained pursuant to clause (i) to comply with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations and undergo scheduled and random inspections by the Department of State Police. The bill establishes requirements for the contents of police reports relating to any school transportation-related accident to account for the use of alternative modes of school transportation to supplement traditional school bus service. The bill contains provisions prohibiting any school board from hiring, employing, or entering into any agreement with any person for the purposes of operating any vehicle to transport students unless such person meets certain requirements, including those requirements specific to persons who operate school busses. Finally, the bill permits any school board of a school division for which providing transportation by school bus is not cost effective to use a portion of its transportation funding to provide a grant to any parent of a student who provides student transportation to and from school and establishes several conditions in relation to such provision, including directing the Board to adopt policies and procedures relating to the award of such grants.

David R. SuetterleinRepublican

Consumer Data Protection Act; protections for children.

Consumer Data Protection Act; protections for children. Requires a controller or processor to obtain verifiable parental consent, defined in the bill, prior to registering any child with the operator's product or service or before collecting, using, or disclosing such child's personal data and prohibits a controller from knowingly processing the personal data of a child for purposes of (i) targeted advertising, (ii) the sale of such personal data, or (iii) profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects concerning a consumer. The bill also amends the definition of child for purposes of the Consumer Data Protection Act to include any natural person younger than 18 years of age.

David R. SuetterleinRepublican

School protection officers; employment in public schools.

Employment of school protection officers in public schools. Permits any local law-enforcement agency to employ in any public elementary or secondary school in the local school division, pursuant to an agreement with the local school board, a school protection officer, defined in the bill as a retired law-enforcement officer hired by the local law-enforcement agency on a part-time basis to provide limited law-enforcement and security services to public elementary and secondary schools in the Commonwealth. The bill requires each such school board and local law-enforcement agency to enter into a memorandum of understanding that sets forth the powers and duties of school protection officers. The bill requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to establish compulsory training standards for school protection officers and requires the collection of certain data relating to the activities of such officers.

Tara A. DurantRepublican

Veterans and active duty members of the Armed Forces; credit for service, teacher salary scale.

Veterans and active duty members of the Armed Forces; teachers; credit for service. Requires each local school board to give any veteran or active duty member of any of the Armed Forces of the United States or the Commonwealth who it employs as a teacher in the local school division credit for any time served in any such forces in determining such teacher's step on the local school division's teacher salary scale.

Tara A. DurantRepublican

Environmental Resources, Board of; created.

State Air Pollution Control Board, State Water Control Board, and Virginia Waste Management Board consolidated; Board of Environmental Resources established. Consolidates the State Air Pollution Control Board, State Water Control Board, and Virginia Waste Management Board and transfers the duties of such boards into a new Board of Environmental Resources. The bill establishes membership, term, meeting, and recording requirements for the Board and also establishes the position, powers, and duties of the Executive Director of the Board.

Richard H. StuartRepublican

Income tax, corporate; distribution of revenues to state parks.

Corporate income tax; distribution of revenues; state parks. Requires five percent beginning July 1, 2024, of all corporate income tax revenues to be distributed to the State Park Conservation Resources Fund to provide (i) free entry to Virginia state parks and (ii) the conservation, development, maintenance, and operations of state parks acquired or held by the Department of Conservation and Recreation as provided in the appropriation act. The bill provides that such distribution shall not reduce the total amount of annual appropriations for the Department and the Fund below the total amounts appropriated for the most recent fiscal year ending before July 1, 2024, except as provided by a subsequent appropriation act.

David W. MarsdenDemocrat

Driving Decarbonization Program and Fund; established and created.

Driving Decarbonization Program and Fund created. Creates the Driving Decarbonization Program and Fund to assist private developers with non-utility costs associated with the installation of electric vehicle charging stations. The bill provides that a private developer is eligible to receive grants of 70 percent of such non-utility costs for electric vehicle charging stations installed in a historically economically disadvantaged community or a rural community, as those terms are defined in the bill, and 50 percent of such non-utility costs for electric vehicle charging stations installed in any other area of the Commonwealth. The bill caps the total amount of grants awarded in any fiscal year at $20 million.

David W. MarsdenDemocrat

Income tax, state; rolling conformity.

Income tax; rolling conformity. Provides that when Virginia does not conform on a rolling basis to federal tax laws due to any changes in a single act of Congress with an impact of more than $15 million on revenues in the year in which the amendment was enacted or any of the next four years, such nonconformity shall not be considered for purposes of calculating the nonconformity threshold for all amendments in a year with a cumulative projected impact of more than $75 million in the year in which the amendments were enacted or any of the next four years.

David W. MarsdenDemocrat

Virginia Land Conservation Foundation; land trusts that have been accredited, etc.

Virginia Land Conservation Foundation. Allows land trusts that have been accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission or a similar set of standards and practices adopted by the Virginia Land Conservation Board of Trustees (the Board) to hold an interest in land other than a fee simple interest as a result of a grant or transfer from the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation (the Foundation) without a co-holder. Current law requires that certain interests in land as a result of a grant or transfer from the Foundation be held jointly by a holder and a public body. The bill also allows, whenever a holder acquires fee simple interest in land as a result of a grant or transfer from the Foundation, the Board to accept a reversionary interest in such land as an alternative to a public body holding an open space easement in such land.

David W. MarsdenDemocrat

Bath County and Augusta County School Boards; cost-savings agreements, requirements.

Certain school divisions; cost-savings agreements; requirements. Removes the limitation on any school board that enters into certain cost-savings agreements with a school board that governs a contiguous school division for the consolidation or sharing of educational, administrative, or support services and thus qualifies for adjustment of state share of basic aid computed annually on the basis of the composite index of local ability-to-pay of such contiguous school division that caps such adjusted basic aid payment at an amount equal to the basic aid payment appropriated to such locality by the 2007 Session of the General Assembly. The bill also permits, notwithstanding the requirement set forth in relevant law that a school division has 65 percent or more of its local taxes coming from real estate taxes in order for the school board that governs such school division to be eligible to enter into such cost-savings agreements with a contiguous school division, the Bath County School Board to enter into such cost-savings agreements with the Augusta County School Board, provided that all other conditions and limitations set forth in relevant law apply to any such agreement.

Mark D. ObenshainRepublican

Abolition of juvenile fines and fees; criminal offenses.

Abolition of juvenile fines and fees; criminal offenses. Abolishes court costs, fines, and fees assessed to a juvenile or his parent or other persons responsible for his care in circuit court and juvenile and domestic relations district court related to prosecutions of criminal offenses.

Lashrecse D. AirdDemocrat

Juveniles; expungement and sealing of court records.

Expungement and sealing of juvenile court records. Provides for the sealing of juvenile court records in those instances where a juvenile was found guilty of a delinquent act that would be a felony if committed by an adult and such juvenile has attained the age of 18 years and three years have elapsed since the date of the last hearing in the case of such juvenile. Under current law, such records are open to the public. The bill also provides that any juvenile court records that may be expunged shall be expunged when the juvenile who is the subject of the records has attained the age of 18 years and three years have elapsed since the date of the last hearing in the case of such juvenile. Under current law, such juvenile shall have attained the age of 19 years and five years shall have elapsed since the date of the last hearing in the case of such juvenile.

Lashrecse D. AirdDemocrat

Employee protections; employer-sponsored meetings on political matters, civil action.

Employee protections; employer-sponsored meetings on political matters; civil action. Prohibits an employer from retaliating against an employee (i) because such employee declines to attend or participate in an employer-sponsored meeting or receive an employer's communications conveying an opinion about political matters, as defined in the bill; (ii) as a means of inducing an employee's attendance at such meeting or receipt of such communications; or (iii) because the employee reports a suspected violation of the bill's provisions. The bill permits an employee alleging a violation of the bill's provisions to bring an action in civil court within 90 days after such violation occurs for appropriate relief, including injunctive relief, reinstatement, compensation for lost wages, benefits, and other remuneration, interest, and reasonable attorney fees and costs.

Jennifer D. Carroll FoyDemocrat