Bills & Legislation

Preferred Drug List/Common Core Formulary; approval of a nonpreferred drug.

Department of Medical Assistance Services; Preferred Drug List/Common Core Formulary; approval of a nonpreferred drug. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to eliminate the requirement that a patient try and fail a drug from the Preferred Drug List/Common Core Formulary in the six months immediately prior to approval of a nonpreferred drug when such patient has previously tried the drug from the Preferred Drug List/Common Core Formulary and experienced harmful side effects.

Saddam Azlan SalimDemocrat

Workers' compensation benefits; post-traumatic stress disorder incurred by firefighters, etc.

Workers' compensation benefits; post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, or depressive disorder incurred by law-enforcement officers and firefighters. Increases from 52 weeks to 104 weeks the maximum duration after the date of diagnosis that workers' compensation benefits are payable for post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, or depressive disorder incurred by law-enforcement officers and firefighters acting in the line of duty.

Jeremy S. McPikeDemocrat

Emergency medical personnel; EMS Advisory Board to examine requirements to join program.

Department of Health; Office of Emergency Medical Services EMS Advisory Board; emergency medical personnel; career fatigue and wellness program. Directs the Department of Health's Office of Emergency Medical Services EMS Advisory Board to examine the eligibility requirements for emergency medical personnel to join a professional program addressing career fatigue and wellness. The bill requires the Board to report its findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by October 1, 2024.

Jeremy S. McPikeDemocrat

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; noncompliance with rental agreement.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; noncompliance with rental agreement; emergency eviction process. Reduces from 15 to seven the number of days, after the date upon which a tenant is served a landlord's intent to terminate the tenancy due to certain illegal activities by the tenant, within which the initial hearing on the landlord's action for immediate possession of the premises shall be held. The bill also reorganizes certain provisions of the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act to consolidate language and organize the structure of certain provisions of the Act.

Adam P. EbbinDemocrat

Local law enforcement; reduction of budget prohibited, exception.

Reduction of local law enforcement budget prohibited; exception. Provides that no local governing body shall approve a budget that will reduce the total funds appropriated for local law-enforcement purposes from the preceding fiscal year except by unanimous vote of all members elected to the governing body.

John J. McGuire, IIIRepublican

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority; budget, operating assistance.

Commonwealth Mass Transit Fund; Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority; budget; operating assistance. Provides that payments and obligations arising from or related to any contract pertaining to employee compensation and work conditions under the normal operation of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) may be included in the calculation of a WMATA budget increase for purposes of the cap of such budget increase. Current law provides that any payment or obligation of any kind arising from or related to legal disputes or proceedings between or among WMATA and any other person or entity shall not be used in calculating a WMATA budget increase.

Mark D. ObenshainRepublican

Public elementary and secondary schools; compulsory attendance policies and procedures.

Public elementary and secondary schools; compulsory attendance policies and procedures; educational neglect defined. Revises the policies and procedures relating to addressing the nonattendance or nonenrollment of a child subject to compulsory education requirements by expanding the definition of "abused or neglected child" to include educational neglect and, therefore, requiring any teacher, attendance officer, or other person employed by such child's school, to report such neglect to the appropriate authority in accordance with pertinent law. The bill defines "educational neglect" as the failure or refusal to provide necessary education for a child who is subject to compulsory attendance in accordance with relevant law and is enrolled in a public school and has missed 10 percent or more of the academic year, including by (i) causing or allowing the child to become chronically absent, defined as any student who has missed 10 percent or more of the academic year for any reason, including excused and unexcused absences, or (ii) failing or refusing to enroll a child in any school who is not otherwise exempt from school attendance if (a) such failure or refusal to enroll continues after the school notifies and institutes proceedings against the parent and (b) the time elapsed between the institution of proceedings and the continued noncompliance to date exceeds 10 percent of the academic year.

Todd E. PillionRepublican

Firefighters and emergency medical services; collective bargaining by providers.

Collective bargaining by firefighters and emergency medical services providers. Authorizes firefighters and emergency medical services providers employed by a political subdivision of the Commonwealth to engage in collective bargaining through labor organizations or other designated representatives. The bill provides for the appointment of a three-member board of arbitration regarding any dispute arising between an employer and firefighters or emergency medical services providers. Under the bill, determinations made by such board of arbitration are final on a disputed issue and are binding on the parties involved.

L. Louise LucasDemocrat

VNG; efforts to make state-sponsored group term life insurance offered to members.

Authorize the Adjutant General to facilitate and coordinate efforts to promote participation in the state-sponsored group term life insurance program offered to members of the Virginia National Guard.

Timmy FrenchRepublican

Income tax, state; decreases certain taxes, increases amount of tax credit.

Taxation. Decreases, beginning in taxable year 2025, the income tax imposed (i) on income less than $3,000, from two percent to 1.75 percent; (ii) on income in excess of $3,000 but less than $5,000, from three percent to 2.65 percent; (iii) on income in excess of $5,000 but less than $17,000, from five percent to 4.4 percent; and (iv) on income in excess of $17,000, from 5.75 percent to 5.1 percent. The bill increases from 20 to 25 percent, beginning in taxable year 2025, the amount of credit eligible taxpayers may claim pursuant to the income tax credit for low-income taxpayers. The bill also increases the annual aggregate amount of Education Improvement Scholarships tax credits that are available from $25 million to $30 million beginning fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal year thereafter. The bill defines "digital personal property," "streaming," and "taxable service" for the purposes of the retail sales and use tax. The bill increases the sales and use tax from 4.3 percent to 5.2 percent. Amendments are made throughout the bill to impose the sales and use tax on taxable services in addition to tangible personal property. The bill requires that one half of the additional sales and use tax revenues generated by taxable services and digital personal property that is deposited in the Commonwealth Transportation Fund be distributed to the Transportation Partnership Opportunity Fund, and the additional one half of such revenues be distributed to the Interstate 81 Corridor Improvement Fund until June 30, 2031, or until $400 million has been deposited in the Interstate 81 Corridor Improvement Fund. Certain provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025.

Richard H. StuartRepublican

Court fines and fees; indigent defendant, waiver of fees.

Court fines and fees; indigent defendant; waiver of fees. Provides that in any criminal or traffic case, the court may waive the assessment of certain fees specified in the bill, either wholly or in part, if the court determines the defendant to be indigent pursuant to relevant law and is unable to pay such fee. The bill provides that the court may make such determination upon motion of the defendant at any time prior to the entry of order for which such fee is assessed or final order has been entered.

R. Creigh DeedsDemocrat

Transcranial magnetic stimulation; DBHDS to establish pilot program for veterans.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment; pilot program. Directs the Department of Veterans Services to establish a pilot program with two locations to make electroencephalogram (EEG) combined transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment available for certain military members, veterans, first responders, law-enforcement officers, and certain agents of federal agencies, and family members of the aforementioned individuals. The bill requires the Department to establish regulations for administration of the pilot program.

Mamie E. LockeDemocrat

Virginia Public Procurement Act; apprenticeship programs, competitive sealed bidding.

Virginia Public Procurement Act; competitive sealed bidding; required criteria in invitations to bid. Requires all public bodies to include in any Invitation to Bid criteria that will be used in determining whether a bidder who is not prequalified by the Virginia Department of Transportation is a responsible bidder. Current law authorizes, but does not require, localities to include such criteria in Invitations to Bid.

Jennifer D. Carroll FoyDemocrat

Fire and Emergency Medical Services Grant Fund; increases vehicle registration fees.

Fire and Emergency Medical Services Grant Fund; funding for fire and emergency medical services. Increases the vehicle registration fee used to provide support for emergency medical services from $4.25 to $6.25 for each pickup or panel truck and each motor vehicle. The bill also creates the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Grant Fund to provide funding (i) to increase the number of firefighters and emergency medical services personnel to help communities meet industry minimum standards and attain 24-hour staffing to provide adequate assistance and (ii) to purchase heavy apparatus necessary for fire and emergency medical services.

Russet PerryDemocrat

Nursing facilities; electronic monitoring in resident rooms.

Nursing facilities; electronic monitoring in resident rooms. Gives residents of nursing facilities the right to place electronic monitoring devices in their rooms. "Electronic monitoring" is defined in the bill as video or audio monitoring or recording of residents of a nursing facility as a means of monitoring resident wellbeing.

Christie New CraigRepublican

Income tax, state; subtraction for state police retirement benefits.

Income tax subtraction; state police retirement benefits. Establishes an income tax subtraction for up to $10,000 of state police retirement benefits in taxable year 2024 and each year thereafter. The bill defines state police retirement benefits to include retirement income received by a Virginia State Police officer who is at least 55 years of age and benefits paid to the surviving spouse of such officer whose death occurred in the line of duty.

Mark J. PeakeRepublican

Electric utilities; electric distribution infrastructure serving data centers.

Electric utilities; electric distribution infrastructure serving data centers. Prohibits the costs associated with the construction or extension of any electric distribution infrastructure that primarily serves the load of a data center from being recovered from any other customer.

Richard H. StuartRepublican

Southwest Regional Recreation Authority; soil erosion control and stormwater management plans.

Southwest Regional Recreation Authority; soil erosion control and stormwater management plans; land-disturbing activities. Adds the Southwest Regional Recreation Authority to the list of entities that may submit standards and specifications for its conduct of land-disturbing activities to the Department of Environmental Quality for approval by the Department as an alternative to submitting soil erosion control and stormwater management plans.

Bill DeStephRepublican

Surplus line broker; any person required to be licensed as one shall not be subject to certain tax.

Surplus line broker taxes. Provides that any surplus lines broker or any person required to be licensed as one shall not be subject to the annual taxes, license taxes, or penalties under current law for any policy of insurance procured during the preceding calendar year on behalf of a commuter rail system jointly operated by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation District.

Stella G. PekarskyDemocrat

Casino gaming; eligible host localities.

Casino gaming; eligible host localities. Adds Fairfax County to the list of localities eligible to host a casino in the Commonwealth and provides that any proposed site for a casino gaming establishment considered by Fairfax County shall be (i) located within one-quarter of a mile of an existing station on the Metro Silver Line, (ii) part of a coordinated mixed-use project development, (iii) outside of the Dulles airport flight path, (iv) within two miles of a major shopping destination containing not less than 1.5 million square feet of gross building area, and (v) outside of the Interstate 495 Beltway. The bill also requires an eligible host locality in selecting a preferred casino gaming operator to consider and give substantial weight to the proposer's history of or commitment to (a) paying or contracting for the payment of prevailing wages to those individuals providing construction labor during the initial construction of the casino gaming establishment and any hospitality facilities on the premises, and (b) entering into labor peace agreements with labor organizations that are actively engaged in representing or seeking to represent employees in the gaming or hospitality industries in the Commonwealth. The bill also requires an eligible host locality to provide with its submission of its preferred casino gaming operator to the Virginia Lottery an executed agreement with its preferred casino gaming operator certifying that such casino gaming operator and any subcontractor or sublessee responsible for the performance of casino gaming or hospitality operations at the proposed casino gaming establishment will enter into a labor peace agreement with each labor organization actively engaged in representing or seeking to represent employees in the gaming or hospitality industries in the Commonwealth that requests such labor peace agreement, and evidence of all such signed labor peace agreements.

David W. MarsdenDemocrat

Intercollegiate athletics; student-athletes, compensation and representation for name, image, etc.

Intercollegiate athletics, student-athletes; compensation and representation for name, image, or likeness.

Aaron R. RouseDemocrat

Health professions; universal licensure, requirements.

Health professions; universal licensure; requirements. Requires health regulatory boards within the Department of Health Professions to recognize licenses or certifications issued by other United States jurisdictions, as defined in the bill, as fulfillment for licensure or certification in the Commonwealth if certain conditions are met. The bill also requires such health regulatory boards to recognize work experience as fulfillment for licensure or certification in the Commonwealth if certain conditions are met. The bill does not apply to licensure for physicians or dentists.

David R. SuetterleinRepublican

Online Children's Safety Protection Act; established, civil penalties.

Online Children's Safety Protection Act established; civil penalties. Creates the Online Children's Safety Protection Act, which requires certain duties of covered entities, defined in the bill, to protect the best interests of children who use online services, products, or features. The bill requires any covered entity that provides an online service, product, or feature likely to be accessed by a child to complete a data protection impact assessment, the details of which are described in the bill, within two years before any new online service, product, or feature is offered to the public on or after July 1, 2024. The bill also prohibits certain actions by covered entities and authorizes the Attorney General to impose penalties and initiate actions against any covered entity that violates the provisions of the bill.

William M. Stanley, Jr.Republican

Minimum wage and overtime pay; warehouse distribution center employees and employers, civil action.

Minimum wage and overtime pay; warehouse distribution center employees and employers; civil action; civil penalty. Provides that (i) an employer that violates requirements in existing law relating to the minimum wage, payment of wages and salaries, or overtime pay or (ii) a warehouse employer, as defined in the bill, that violates the bill's provisions shall be liable to an impacted employee for certain remedies, damages, and other relief as specified in the bill. The bill requires a warehouse employer to provide each warehouse employee, as defined in the bill, a written description of each performance standard to which such employee is subject and of any potential adverse employment action that may result from such employee's failure to meet such performance standard. The bill prohibits a warehouse employer from taking adverse action against a warehouse employee for such employee's use of a bathroom facility. The bill provides that a warehouse employer that violates the bill's provisions relating to warehouse employers is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 for each violation.

Jennifer D. Carroll FoyDemocrat

Offshore wind capacity; development, prohibited cost recovery.

Development of offshore wind capacity; prohibited cost recovery.

David R. SuetterleinRepublican

Casino gaming; cruise ship gaming in the offshore waters of the Commonwealth.

Exemptions to article; cruise ship gaming in the offshore waters of the Commonwealth.

Christie New CraigRepublican

Residential land; prohibited acquisition, restrictions, civil penalty.

Prohibited acquisition of residential land; restrictions; civil penalty. Restricts any partnership, corporation, or real estate investment trust that manages funds pooled from investors, is a fiduciary to such investors, and has $50 million or more in net value or assets under management on any day during a taxable year from acquiring any interest in residential land, as defined in the bill, in the Commonwealth and requires registration with the Secretary of the Commonwealth on or after July 1, 2024. The bill requires the Secretary to report annually by December 1 on the registrations and any penalties assessed for failure to register and to submit such report to the Governor and the General Assembly. The bill also requires all real property tax bills to contain notice of such prohibited business ownership restrictions and registration requirements.

Glen H. Sturtevant, Jr.Republican

Skill games; exceptions.

Skill games; exceptions. Clarifies that skill games are a form of illegal gambling except where relevant Code provides otherwise.

William M. Stanley, Jr.Republican

Solar and energy facilities; local regulation.

Solar and energy facilities; local regulation. Prohibits a locality from including in an ordinance (i) limits on the total amount, density, or size of any ground-mounted solar facility or energy storage facility until such time that the total area under panels within the locality exceeds four percent of the total area within the locality or (ii) any prohibitions on the use of solar panels that comply with generally accepted national environmental protection and product safety standards, provided that such installation is in compliance with any provisions of a local ordinance that establishes criteria and requirements for siting.

Schuyler T. VanValkenburgDemocrat

Dam Safety, Flood Prevention, and Protection Assistance Fund; percentage of funds available.

Dam Safety, Flood Prevention, and Protection Assistance Fund; percentage of funds available; owner match requirements. Reduces from 50 percent to 30 percent the project match required of applicants to receive funds from the Dam Safety, Flood Prevention, and Protection Assistance Fund for grants (i) to a local government that owns a dam, (ii) to a local government for a dam located within the locality, or (iii) to a private entity that owns a dam for the design, repair, and safety modifications of such a dam if it is identified in a safety report. The bill provides that grants made from the Fund to a local government or private entity for the determination of the hazard classification for impounding structures, dam break analysis, the mapping and digitization of dam break inundation zones, incremental damage analysis, and other engineering requirements shall require no more than a 10 percent match by the applicant except that such applicant shall be required to provide a minimum of $5,000 of the cost of the project, if funded, and such match provided by such applicant may be used to pay the application fees for the necessary impounding structure operation and maintenance certificate. The bill removes the 50 percent limit on matching grants that owners of impounding structures may be eligible for from the Fund and other sources of funding available to the Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation to assist in the development of dam break inundation zone maps and for conducting incremental damage assessments in accordance with the Virginia Impounding Structure Regulations. The bill also removes the limitation that the total amount of expenditures for grants in any fiscal year are not to exceed 50 percent of the total noninterest or income deposits made to the Fund during the previous fiscal year together with the total amount collected in interest or income from the investment of moneys in the Fund from the previous year as determined at the beginning of the fiscal year.

Timmy FrenchRepublican

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