Bills & Legislation

Synthetic media; use in furtherance of crimes involving fraud, etc., report.

Synthetic media; penalty. Expands the applicability of provisions related to defamation, slander, and libel to include synthetic media, defined in the bill. The bill makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person to use any synthetic media for the purpose of committing any criminal offense involving fraud, constituting a separate and distinct offense with punishment separate and apart from any punishment received for the commission of the primary criminal offense. The bill also authorizes the individual depicted in the synthetic media to bring a civil action against the person who violates such prohibition to recover actual damages, reasonable attorney fees, and such other relief as the court determines to be appropriate. The bill directs the Attorney General to convene a work group to study and make recommendations on the current enforcement of laws related to the use of synthetic media, including deepfakes, and any further action needed to address the issue of such use in fraudulent acts.

Michelle Lopes MaldonadoDemocrat

Local anti-rent gouging authority; civil penalty.

Local anti-rent gouging authority; civil penalty. Provides that any locality may by ordinance adopt anti-rent gouging provisions. The bill provides for notice and a public hearing prior to the adoption of such ordinance and specifies that all landlords who are under the ordinance may be required to give at least two months' written notice of a rent increase and cannot increase the rent by more than the locality's calculated allowance, described in the bill as the maximum amount a landlord can increase a tenant's rent during any 12-month period, in effect at the time of the increase. The bill sets such allowance as equal to the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index or seven percent, whichever is less, states that such allowance is effective for a 12-month period beginning July 1 each year, and requires the locality to publish such allowance on its website by June 1 of each year. Certain facilities, as outlined in the bill, are exempt from such ordinance. The bill also allows a locality to establish an anti-rent gouging board that will develop and implement rules and procedures by which landlords may apply for and be granted exemptions from the rent increase limits set by the ordinance. Finally, the bill provides that a locality may establish a civil penalty for failure to comply with the requirements set out in the ordinance.

Nadarius E. ClarkDemocrat

Local government; powers, conveyance of real property, public hearing requirement.

Counties, cities and towns; powers of local government; conveyance of real property; public hearing requirement. Adds to the list of exemptions from the requirement imposed upon localities to hold a public hearing prior to the disposition of real property owned by such locality the conveyance of any utility easement necessary to provide utilities to residential properties adjacent to property owned by the locality. Current law only excludes from such public hearing requirement (i) the leasing of real property to another public body, political subdivision, or authority and (ii) the conveyance of site development or utility easements related to transportation projects across public property.

Michael J. WebertRepublican

Electric utilities; regional transmission entities, annual report.

Electric utilities; regional transmission entities; annual report. Requires each incumbent electric utility that is a member of or has established a regional transmission entity for purposes of management and control of its transmission system as required under current law to submit an annual report by February 1 of each year. Such report shall include all recorded votes cast by the utility during the immediately preceding calendar year, all votes cast by an affiliate of the utility, and a brief description explaining how each vote cast by the utility or its affiliate is in the public interest.

Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan, Jr.Democrat

Retail Sales and Use tax; exemption for data centers.

Sales and use tax exemption; data centers. Requires data center operators to meet certain energy efficiency standards in order to be eligible for the sales and use tax exemption for data center purchases. Under the bill, a data center operator shall be eligible for the exemption only if such operator demonstrates that (i) its facilities either (a) have a power usage effectiveness score of no greater than 1.2 or (b) for data centers co-located in buildings with other commercial uses, achieve an energy efficiency level of no less than the most efficient 15 percent of similar buildings constructed in the previous five years and (ii) it will procure carbon-free renewable energy and associated renewable energy certificates from facilities equal to 90 percent of its electricity requirements or that its electricity will be otherwise derived from non-carbon-emitting, renewable sources.

Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan, Jr.Democrat

Constitutional officers; dual office holding, prohibited for deputies and other persons.

Constitutional officers; dual office holding; prohibited for deputies and other persons. Provides that the current prohibition on dual office holding that is applicable to constitutional officers also applies to deputies of such officers and any persons serving in such officer's absence until a special election to fill the vacancy is held.

Kelly K. Convirs-FowlerDemocrat

Veterans' Fellowship for State Government Pilot Program; created, report.

Department of Veterans Services; Veteran's Fellowship for State Government Pilot Program. Creates, within the Department of Veterans Services, the Veteran's Fellowship for State Government Pilot Program (the Program) through which the Department shall collaborate with Virginia Commonwealth University to recruit veterans to participate in undergraduate-level and graduate-level cohorts to assist such veterans in pursuing educational pathways to employment with the Commonwealth. The Department shall report annually to the General Assembly by November 1 regarding the progress of the participants, the return on investment for the Commonwealth, and recommendations for Program enhancements. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2027.

David A. ReidDemocrat

Crosswalks; waiving certain requirements for proposed installation.

Installation of crosswalks; waiving certain requirement. Authorizes the Department of Transportation, when determining the need for a crosswalk within a community subject to the Property Owners' Association Act, to waive any requirement that a certain number of individuals cross such highway within a particular period of time if the location of the proposed crosswalk is adjacent to and providing access to a facility that attracts pedestrians or generates an increased pedestrian presence.

David A. ReidDemocrat

Firearm locking device; required for sale or transfer of firearm.

Firearm locking device required for sale or transfer of firearm; warning against accessibility to children; penalty. Makes it a Class 3 misdemeanor for any licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, or licensed dealer to sell, deliver, or transfer any firearm to any person other than a licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, or licensed dealer unless the transferee is provided with a locking device for that firearm and the firearm is accompanied by a warning, in conspicuous and legible type in capital letters printed on a separate sheet of paper included within the packaging enclosing the firearm, that firearms should be locked and kept away from children and that there may be civil and criminal liability for failing to do so. The bill provides exceptions for law-enforcement and governmental agencies. This bill incorporates HB 12.

Adele Y. McClureDemocrat

Retirement systems; financial reports, annual disclosures.

Financial reports by retirement systems; annual disclosures. Requires retirement systems to provide disclosures describing the process and criteria used for selecting third-party fund managers, advisers, or consultants and other persons providing services to the retirement system. Such information shall be included in a retirement system's annual report.

David A. ReidDemocrat

Social Work Advisory Board; established, report, sunset date.

Social Work Advisory Board; established; report. Establishes the Social Work Advisory Board to advise the Governor on efforts to improve the social work profession in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the Social Work Advisory Board to report annually by December 1 to the Governor and the General Assembly regarding its activities and recommendations. The bill contains an expiration date of June 30, 2027.

Debra D. GardnerDemocrat

School counselors; decreases public school staffing ratios.

Public school staffing ratios; school counselors. Decreases from one to 325 to one to 250 the ratio of full-time equivalent school counselors required to be employed by each local school board per student enrolled in the local school division.

Michael B. FeggansDemocrat

Atlantic menhaden; VIMS, et al., to study ecology, fishery impacts, and economic importance.

Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Marine Resources Commission; study of ecology, fishery impacts, and economic importance of Atlantic menhaden; report. Directs the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) in collaboration with the Marine Resources Commission and certain stakeholders, as provided in the bill, to conduct a three-year study of the ecology, fishery impacts, and economic importance of the Atlantic menhaden population in the waters of the Commonwealth. The bill requires VIMS to provide a report on its findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources no later than October 1, 2027.

R. Lee WareRepublican

Photo speed monitoring devices; location.

Photo speed monitoring devices; location. Authorizes the governing body of any county, city, or town to provide by ordinance for the placement and operation of photo speed monitoring devices in any location deemed necessary by the locality for the purposes of recording violations resulting from the operation of a vehicle in excess of the speed limit. The bill provides the same requirements for such devices, information collected from such devices, and any enforcement actions resulting from information collected from such devices as current law applies to the use of such devices in school crossing zones and highway work zones. The bill requires that two signs, rather than one, be placed warning of such device if the device is placed somewhere other than a school crossing zone or highway work zone.

Michael J. JonesDemocrat

Pet shops; notice of deceased animals.

Pet shops; notice of deceased animals; report. Requires pet shops to annually submit a summary of records indicating any time a dog or cat in their possession dies or is euthanized to the State Veterinarian in a format prescribed by him.

Shelly A. SimondsDemocrat

Higher educational institutions, public; Dept. of Education to audit education preparation programs.

Department of Education; audit of education preparation programs at public institutions of higher education; science-based reading research and evidence-based literacy instruction; frequency. Changes from once every seven years to biennially the frequency with which the Department of Education is required to audit each education preparation program for compliance with the requirements set forth in relevant law relating to student coursework and mastery in science-based reading research and evidence-based literacy instruction.

Marty MartinezDemocrat

Virginia Consumer Protection Act; recycling information on products.

Virginia Consumer Protection Act; recycling information on products. Prohibits the sale or offering for sale of any product that indicates on the product's container or packaging that such container or packaging is recyclable unless such container or packaging is made out of a material that is recyclable under a majority of regional and local waste management plans. The bill requires the Virginia Waste Management Board to maintain a list of all materials that are recyclable under a majority of regional and local waste management plans adopted in the Commonwealth and to make such list available on the Department of Environmental Quality's website.

Joshua G. ColeDemocrat

Health insurance; cost sharing for breast examinations.

Health insurance; cost sharing for breast examinations. Prohibits health insurance carriers from imposing cost sharing for diagnostic breast examinations and supplemental breast examinations, as those terms are defined in the bill, under certain insurance policies, subscription contracts, and health care plans delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in the Commonwealth on and after January 1, 2025. The bill provides that such examinations include examinations using diagnostic mammography, breast magnetic resonance imaging, or breast ultrasound.

Shelly A. SimondsDemocrat

Virginia Retirement System; enhanced retirement benefits for animal control officers.

Virginia Retirement System; enhanced retirement benefits for animal control officers. Adds animal control officers to the list of local employees eligible to receive enhanced retirement benefits for hazardous duty service. Under current law, localities may provide such benefits to first responders, including firefighters and emergency medical technicians, and certain other hazardous duty positions.The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025, and provides that such membership would apply only to service earned on or after July 1, 2025.

Ellen H. McLaughlinRepublican

Income tax, state; contributions to Virginia College Savings Plan accounts, report.

Income tax; contributions to Virginia College Savings Plan accounts; report. Increases the maximum individual income tax deduction for amounts paid or contributed to a prepaid tuition contract or college savings trust account entered into with the Virginia College Savings Plan from $4,000 to $7,500 in taxable year 2024, $11,000 in taxable year 2025, and $15,000 for taxable year 2026 and thereafter. Such amount shall be adjusted for changes in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U) beginning in taxable year 2024. The deduction is limited to $4,000 for taxpayers with federal adjusted gross income that is greater than $100,000 for an individual or $200,000 for married persons filing a joint return. The bill also creates an individual or corporate deduction, as applicable, of up to $4,000 for the amount a child day center or child day program paid or contributed to a customer's or client's prepaid tuition contract or college savings trust account entered into with the Virginia College Savings Plan. The bill also provides a nonrefundable income tax credit for taxable years 2024 through 2028 for 35 percent of expenses incurred by a business during the taxable year for contributions into a Virginia College Savings Plan account owned by an employee of the business. If the employee receiving the contribution is a qualified employee, as defined in the bill, the bill specifies that the credit shall not exceed $500 annually for each such employee. If the employee receiving the contribution is a qualified employee who is not highly compensated, as defined in the bill, the bill specifies that the credit shall not exceed $1,000 annually for each such employee. The bill provides that the total amount of tax credits available for a calendar year shall not exceed $5 million and that any unused tax credit may be carried over for five years.

Delores L. McQuinnDemocrat

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; noncompliance by certain landlords, tenant remedies.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; noncompliance by certain landlords; tenant remedies. Allows a tenant to bring a civil cause of action for compensatory damages against a housing authority when there is a material noncompliance by such housing authority with the rental agreement or a noncompliance with any provision of the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act that materially affects the health and safety of the tenant.

Jackie H. GlassDemocrat

Autonomous agent; regulations for an applicant requesting licensure of an agent.

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; autonomous agent. Authorizes regulatory boards to promulgate regulations for an applicant requesting licensure of an autonomous agent that is owned or operated by such applicant. Autonomous agent is defined in the bill as software or hardware that operates independently, without real-time human intervention, and is capable of performing tasks that, when executed by a human, would require licensure by a regulatory board.

Jackie H. GlassDemocrat

Income tax, state; conformity to Internal Revenue Code.

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.

Joseph P. McNamaraRepublican

Commonwealth Comprehensive Gun Safety Program; established, etc.

Sale, transfer, etc., of certain firearms and firearm magazines; Virginia Firearm Buy-Back Program and Fund established; penalties. Provides that, unless otherwise prohibited by law, any person may import, sell, transfer, manufacture, or purchase an authorized rifle, defined in the bill, in accordance with the relevant provisions of law. The bill makes it a Class 6 felony for any person to import, sell, transfer, manufacture, or purchase a restricted rifle or large-capacity firearm magazine, both defined in the bill, with certain exceptions. The bill also provides that a person is civilly liable for injuries to person or property or wrongful death of another caused by a third party if it can be shown that the civil defendant sold or transferred a restricted rifle or large-capacity firearm magazine in violation of the provisions of the bill to the person who committed the crime resulting in such injury or death. The bill also provides that no person shall sell a firearm unless at least three days have elapsed from the time the prospective purchaser completes the written consent form to have a licensed dealer obtain criminal history record information, with exceptions enumerated in the bill. The bill also directs the Department of State Police to develop policies for the establishment of uniform standards for the creation of the Virginia Firearm Buy-Back Program. The bill clarifies that participation in the Program by a local law-enforcement agency is voluntary and also directs the Department to establish the Virginia Firearm Buy-Back Fund, a nonreverting fund to be used solely for the purposes of development and implementation of the Program.

David A. ReidDemocrat

Divorce; cruelty, reasonable apprehension of bodily hurt, or willful desertion or abandonment.

Divorce; cruelty, reasonable apprehension of bodily hurt, or willful desertion or abandonment; divorce from bed and board. Eliminates the one-year waiting period for being decreed a divorce on the grounds of cruelty, reasonable apprehension of bodily hurt, or willful desertion or abandonment by either party. The bill also repeals the provision allowing for a divorce from bed and board on the grounds of cruelty, reasonable apprehension of bodily hurt, or willful desertion or abandonment. The provisions of the bill apply to suits for divorce filed on or after July 1, 2024.

David A. ReidDemocrat

Workers' compensation; presumption of compensability of infertility for firefighters.

Workers' compensation; presumption of compensability of infertility for firefighters. Provides that firefighters who suffer from infertility are presumed to have developed infertility during the course and scope of employment as a firefighter in certain instances. The bill provides that such infertility is compensable under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act if diagnosed by a medical professional and that such compensation may include medical treatment, temporary total incapacity benefits, and temporary partial incapacity benefits for a maximum period of 52 weeks from the date of diagnosis. The bill also requires each employer of firefighters to refer a firefighter seeking infertility health care services to a licensed medical professional after January 1, 2025.

Dan I. HelmerDemocrat

Campaign advertisements; independent expenditures, electioneering communications.

Campaign advertisements; independent expenditures; electioneering communications; disclaimer requirements. Broadens the scope of disclaimer requirements for campaign advertisements to include electioneering communications, as defined in the bill, and messages advocating for the passage or defeat of a referendum. The bill also requires an advertisement that is an independent expenditure or that expressly advocates for the passage or defeat of a referendum to contain a disclaimer providing the names of the advertisement sponsor's three largest contributors. The bill also requires independent expenditure reports to be filed electronically. Current law allows such reports to be filed either electronically or in writing.

Dan I. HelmerDemocrat

Maternal Health Data and Quality Measures, Task Force on.

Task Force on Maternal Health Data and Quality Measures; report. Directs the State Health Commissioner to reestablish the Task Force on Maternal Health Data and Quality Measures for the purpose of evaluating maternal health data collection processes to guide policies in the Commonwealth to improve maternal care, quality, and outcomes for all birthing people in the Commonwealth. The bill directs the Task Force to report its findings and conclusions to the Governor and General Assembly by December 1 of each year regarding its activities. This bill reestablishes the Task Force on Maternal Health Data and Quality Measures that concluded on December 1, 2023.

Delores L. McQuinnDemocrat

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.

Jason S. BallardRepublican

Firearms instructors & safety prog.; removes reference to NRA & U.S. Concealed Carry Assoc. in Code.

Firearms instructors and safety programs; National Rifle Association and United States Concealed Carry Association. Removes references to the National Rifle Association (the NRA) and the United States Concealed Carry Association from the Code that allow the organizations to certify ranges and instructors and for courses offered by them to serve as proof of demonstrated competence in firearms safety and training for the purpose of obtaining a concealed handgun permit or receiving training as a minor in the use of pneumatic guns. The bill also repeals authority for special license plates in support of the NRA.

Dan I. HelmerDemocrat

Interstate Massage Compact; authorizes Virginia to become a signatory to Compact.

Interstate Massage Compact. Authorizes Virginia to become a signatory to the Interstate Massage Compact. The Compact allows massage therapists who (i) possess an active, unencumbered license in the compact member state in which they reside; (ii) have completed at least 625 hours of massage therapy education; (iii) have passed the national licensing examination; and (iv) have no disqualifying criminal history to be granted a multistate license that authorizes them to practice in all compact member states. The Compact takes effect when it is enacted by a seventh member state.

Jackie H. GlassDemocrat

Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact; enters the Commonwealth into Compact.

Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact. Enters the Commonwealth into the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact, the purpose of which is to facilitate the mobility of teachers across the member states, with the goal of supporting teachers through a new pathway to licensure. The Compact is presently in effect, as it has reached the enactment threshold of 10 state members.

Jackie H. GlassDemocrat

Public drinking water; Commissioner of Health's work group to study occurrence of microplastics.

Commissioner of Health; work group to study the occurrence of microplastics in the Commonwealth's public drinking water; report. Directs the Commissioner of Health to convene a work group to study the occurrence of microplastics in the Commonwealth's public drinking water and develop recommendations for the reduction of microplastics in the Commonwealth's public drinking water. The bill requires the work group to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committees on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committees on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and Education and Health by December 1, 2024.

Nadarius E. ClarkDemocrat

Richmond, City of; amending charter, extensive updates, removing outdated provisions.

Charter; City of Richmond. Makes extensive updates to the charter for the City of Richmond. Many changes in the bill have the effect of removing outdated or duplicative provisions and more closely aligning the city's powers with those set out in general law. Other changes include authorizing compensation to individual council members as may be set by the city council by resolution as compensation for attending meetings of standing committees or other meetings of the city council, in addition to the sums permitted by general law. In addition, the bill authorizes the city council to fix an additional sum to be paid to the president and vice president of the city council, notwithstanding the limitations set out in general law. The bill makes the city's chief administrative officer, rather than the mayor, responsible for making certain recommendations to the council concerning the personnel system. Further changes in the bill provide for additional protected classes to include all of the protected classes recognized under general law. The bill also removes the requirement that the mayor annually submit a capital budget program to the city council and authorizes the city's chief administrative officer, not the mayor, to make transfers between completed projects and projects that are incomplete. The bill contains numerous technical amendments.

Michael J. JonesDemocrat

Siting of data centers; locality may perform site assessment before approval.

Siting of data centers; site assessment. Allows a locality, prior to any approval for the siting of a data center, to perform a site assessment to examine the effect of the data center on water usage and carbon emissions within the locality.

Joshua E. ThomasDemocrat

Financial institutions; regulation of money transmitters, penalty.

Financial institutions; regulation of money transmitters; penalty. Replaces existing state law regulating money transmitters with comprehensive provisions aimed at standardizing the regulation of money transmitters across the 50 states. The bill includes provisions for the licensure of money transmitters, supervision and implementation by the State Corporation Commission, acquisition of control of a licensee, mandatory disclosures, reporting and records requirements, authorized delegates, mandatory disclosures, prudential standards, and enforcement.

Joshua G. ColeDemocrat

School board employees; civil cause of action against principals, etc.

School board employees; civil cause of action against principals, division superintendents, and school boards for workplace injuries. Permits any school board employee who suffers bodily injury in the course of his employment on school board property after notifying the appropriate school principal, division superintendent, or school board that a working condition or situation was reasonably likely to lead to such bodily injury to bring a civil cause of action in a court of competent jurisdiction for appropriate relief, including damages, against any such school principal, division superintendent, or school board that acted negligently, recklessly, or willfully in failing to remedy the condition or situation that led to such bodily injury.

W. Chad GreenRepublican

Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.

Employment; paid sick leave; civil penalties. Expands provisions of the Code that currently require one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked for home health workers to cover all employees of private employers and state and local governments. The bill requires that employees who are employed and compensated on a fee-for-service basis accrue paid sick leave in accordance with regulations adopted by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry. The bill provides that employees transferred to a separate division or location remain entitled to previously accrued paid sick leave and that employees retain their accrued sick leave under any successor employer. The bill allows employers to provide a more generous paid sick leave policy than prescribed by its provisions. Employees, in addition to using paid sick leave for their physical or mental illness or to care for a family member, may use paid sick leave for their need for services or relocation due to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking. The bill provides that certain health care workers who work no more than 30 hours per month may waive the right to accrue and use paid sick leave. The bill also provides that employers are not required to provide paid sick leave to certain health care workers who are employed on a pro re nata, or as-needed, basis, regardless of the number of hours worked. The bill requires the Commissioner to promulgate regulations regarding employee notification and employer recordkeeping requirements. The bill authorizes the Commissioner, in the case of a knowing violation, to subject an employer to a civil penalty not to exceed $150 for the first violation, $300 for the second violation, and $500 for each successive violation. The Commissioner may institute proceedings on behalf of an employee to enforce compliance with the provisions of this bill. Additionally, an aggrieved employee is authorized to bring a civil action against the employer in which he may recover double the amount of any unpaid sick leave and the amount of any actual damages suffered as the result of the employer's violation. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025.

Jeion A. WardDemocrat

Tidal and nontidal wetlands; DEQ to establish work group to develop strategies to protect, report.

Department of Environmental Quality; protection of existing tidal and nontidal wetlands; wetland restoration and creation; work group; report. Directs the Department of Environmental Quality to establish a work group to develop (i) strategies for protecting the existing tidal and nontidal wetlands of the Commonwealth and (ii) plans for wetland restoration and creation to address losses and adverse impacts from human activities and climate change. The bill specifies that such work group shall include certain relevant stakeholders and will focus on (a) evaluating existing approaches to wetland conservation strategies in the Commonwealth and other states, (b) identifying wetlands adaption areas where tidal wetlands can persist in the landscape, and (c) exploring the circumstances in which climate can impact the wetlands' health and survival. The bill requires the work group to report its findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources by December 1, 2024.

Shelly A. SimondsDemocrat

Public school funding; nonpersonal cost categories, federal fund deduction methodology.

Public school funding; nonpersonal cost categories; federal fund deduction methodology; support services. Requires the Department of Education, (i) in calculating nonpersonal costs in the Standards of Quality funding formula, to include the costs associated with leased facilities and work-related employee travel and (ii) in calculating the deduction of federal funds in the Standards of Quality funding formula, to examine actual school division spending on support costs as a percentage of actual school division spending on all public education costs, with certain exceptions such as food service. The bill also requires support services positions, which includes positions in each local school division that the school board deems necessary for the efficient and cost-effective operation and maintenance of its public schools, to be funded based on a calculation of prevailing costs and prohibits such positions from being subject to any method of funding calculation that caps the number of funded support services positions based on a ratio of such positions to students enrolled in the local school division.

Shelly A. SimondsDemocrat

Public Instruction, Superintendent of; duties, fixed and actual school staffing ratios.

Superintendent of Public Instruction; duties; fixed and actual school staffing ratios. Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to biennially calculate, compare, and report to the Board of Education and the General Assembly the differences between the fixed staffing ratios in the Standards of Quality funding formula and the actual staffing ratios in local school divisions in the Commonwealth so that such fixed staffing ratios can be regularly adjusted as needed to more closely approximate such actual staffing ratios.

Shelly A. SimondsDemocrat

Candidates for office; disqualification, affidavit of eligibility.

Disqualification from office under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution; affidavit of eligibility for candidates for elective office; removal from office for current officeholders. Provides that any person who is found to have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States or to have given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof shall be disqualified from holding any office of the Commonwealth or of its governmental units in accordance with Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Persons holding office who are so disqualified may be removed by a writ of quo warranto, except that a member of the General Assembly may be removed by the house in which he sits. The bill requires any candidate for any elective office to submit an affidavit of eligibility attesting that such candidate is eligible to hold elective office under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment.

David A. ReidDemocrat

Va. Nat'l Guard State Tuition Assistance Program; provisions relating to eligibility for grants.

Institutions of higher education; tuition grants; Virginia National Guard State Tuition Assistance Program. Makes several changes to the Virginia National Guard State Tuition Assistance Program, including (i) making the provisions relating to the requirements and conditions for eligibility for and award of grants under the Program subject to regulations as prescribed by the Adjutant General, (ii) eliminating the requirement to satisfy financial obligations with the institution of higher education at the beginning of each semester, (iii) simplifying the requirements relating to academic performance and good standing, and (iv) providing that upon acceptance, grant funds shall be disbursed to the applicable institution of higher education for credit against the recipient's student account.

David A. ReidDemocrat

Sexual misconduct policies; SCHEV to convene task force on combating violence, civil penalty.

Institutions of higher education; sexual misconduct policies; civil penalty. Requires the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to appoint and convene a task force on combating sexual violence for the purpose of developing a base sexual misconduct campus climate survey to be distributed to institutions of higher education no less than annually. The bill defines "institution of higher education" as any public institution of higher education or any private institution of higher education. The bill permits each institution of higher education to append campus-specific questions to the base survey and, within 120 days after completion of the survey, requires each institution to submit a summary of the results to the Director of the Council and post a summary of the results on the institution's website in an easily accessible manner. The bill also requires survey data to be posted on the Council's website. The bill directs each institution of higher education to establish a written memorandum of understanding with a sexual assault crisis center, domestic violence center, or other victim support service in order to provide sexual assault victims with immediate access to a confidential, independent advocate who can provide a trauma-informed response that includes an explanation of options for moving forward. Currently, only Richard Bland College and each baccalaureate public institution of higher education and nonprofit private institution of higher education are required to enter into such agreements. The bill requires each institution of higher education to include in its campus security policy the designation of at least one confidential resource advisor whose role shall be to serve as a confidential resource for students and employees to discuss alleged acts of sexual misconduct and receive information on resources available to such students or employees. The bill creates a statutory privilege between the confidential resource advisor and a student or employee who is sharing information with such confidential resource advisor. The bill sets out required awareness programming and training for students and employees to be conducted each year by each institution of higher education. The bill also requires each institution of higher education to adopt a policy on sexual misconduct that includes information set out in the bill and provides information that the institution shall provide to parties involved in an alleged incident of sexual misconduct. The bill sets forth data reporting requirements of sexual misconduct incidences and investigations that each institution of higher education shall prepare annually. After reasonable notice and opportunity for a hearing, upon determination that an institution of higher education has violated or failed to carry out any provision or any rule adopted under the bill, the Director of the Council may impose a civil penalty upon such institution for each violation not to exceed $150,000, which shall be adjusted for inflation annually, or one percent of an institution's annual operating budget, whichever is lower.

Marty MartinezDemocrat

Child Care Implementation and Substitute Employee Pool Grant Program; established.

Department of Education; Child Care Implementation and Substitute Employee Pool Grant Program established. Requires the Department of Education, with such funds as may be appropriated for such purpose pursuant to the general appropriation act, to establish and administer the Child Care Implementation and Substitute Employee Pool Grant Program whereby any (i) existing child day program provider or group of such providers may apply for a grant, on a competitive basis, for the establishment of a substitute employee pool that, notwithstanding the provisions of relevant law relating to the disclosure of the results of background checks, enables such provider or providers to ensure efficient and effective staffing with qualified employees or (ii) prospective child day program may apply for a grant, on a competitive basis, to cover costs associated with implementing such program.

Marty MartinezDemocrat

Financial institutions; reporting financial exploitation of elderly or vulnerable adults.

Financial institutions; reporting financial exploitation of elderly or vulnerable adults. Permits a financial institution, as defined in the bill, to allow an elderly or vulnerable adult, as defined in the bill, to submit and periodically update a list of trusted persons whom such financial institution or financial institution staff, as defined in the bill, may contact in the case of suspected financial exploitation of such adult. In such a case, the bill also allows a financial institution or financial institution staff to convey such suspicion to one or more certain individuals, provided that the recipient of such conveyance is not the suspected perpetrator of financial exploitation. The bill provides that a financial institution or financial institution staff shall be immune from any criminal, civil, or administrative liability for any act taken or omission made in accordance with the bill's provisions.

Michael B. FeggansDemocrat

Presidential electors; National Popular Vote Compact.

Presidential electors; National Popular Vote Compact. Enters Virginia into an interstate compact known as the Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote. Article II of the Constitution of the United States gives the states exclusive and plenary authority to decide the manner of awarding their electoral votes. Under the compact, Virginia agrees to award its electoral votes to the presidential ticket that receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The compact goes into effect when states cumulatively possessing a majority of the electoral votes have joined the compact. A state may withdraw from the compact; however, a withdrawal occurring within six months of the end of a President's term shall not become effective until a President or Vice President has qualified to serve the next term.

Dan I. HelmerDemocrat

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.

Nadarius E. ClarkDemocrat