Bills & Legislation

Out-of-school time programs; exemptions from licensure, conditions and requirements.

Board of Education; out-of-school time programs; exemptions from licensure; conditions and requirements. Exempts from licensure any out-of-school time program that (i) serves only school-age children; (ii) operates primarily after or before regular school hours, during the summer, or at times when school is not normally in session; (iii) is offered for the purpose of promoting expanded childhood learning and enrichment, child and youth development, or educational, recreational, or character-building activities; and (iv) receives and maintains Board of Education certification to operate without a license. The bill provides that any Board-certified, license-exempt out-of-school time program that fails to comply with the conditions set forth in the bill shall receive from the Superintendent notice of such noncompliance with an explanation that if such noncompliance is not resolved within a reasonable period of the time, as determined by the Board, the Superintendent may, at his discretion, deny, suspend, or revoke such program's certification and require it to be licensed.

Christie New CraigRepublican

Zoning; enhanced civil penalties for violations involving nonpermitted commercial uses.

Zoning; civil penalties; commercial uses. Allows enhanced civil penalties for zoning violations involving nonpermitted commercial uses. The bill also requires that for any violation involving nonpermitted commercial uses, a person who admits liability shall be required to abate or remedy the nonpermitted commercial use violation within a period of time specified by the locality that is no less than 30 days but no more than 24 months from the date of admission of liability.

Christie New CraigRepublican

Public elementary and secondary schools; cardiac emergency response plans required.

Public elementary and secondary schools; cardiac emergency response plans required; grant program established. Requires each public elementary or secondary school to develop a cardiac emergency response plan (CERP) that addresses the appropriate use of school personnel to respond to incidents involving an individual who is experiencing sudden cardiac arrest or a similar life-threatening emergency while on school grounds and, in the event that such school has an athletic department or organized athletic program, while attending or participating in an athletic practice or event. The bill requires each such CERP to integrate nationally recognized evidence-based core elements such as those recommended by the American Heart Association guidelines and to integrate certain provisions and guidelines, including those relating to establishing a cardiac emergency response team, activating such team in response to a sudden cardiac event, and integrating the CERP into the local community's emergency medical services response protocols. The bill also requires, with such funds as may be appropriated for such purpose pursuant to the general appropriation act, the Department to establish and administer the CERP Grant Program for the purpose of awarding grants, on a competitive basis, to any public elementary or secondary school to assist such school in the development or implementation of its CERP or in the purchase or funding of activities or equipment that further promotes CERP preparedness, giving priority to certain high-need schools.

Aaron R. RouseDemocrat

Income tax, state; eligible low-income taxpayers to claim a refundable tax credit.

Earned income tax credit. Allows eligible low-income taxpayers to claim a refundable income tax credit equal to 20 percent of the federal earned income tax credit claimed that year by the taxpayer for the same taxable year. The bill also states that individuals who would have been entitled to the federal equivalent of this credit but for the fact that the individual, the individual's spouse, or one or more of the individual's children does not have a valid social security number are eligible to claim this credit.

Aaron R. RouseDemocrat

Electric utilities; data center demand, allocation of costs among customer classes.

Electric utilities; data center demand; allocation of costs among customer classes. Directs the State Corporation Commission to ensure that any plan, petition, or proposal from a utility to meet demand associated with data centers considers generation, transmission, and distribution system costs so as to meet such demand at the lowest aggregate reasonable cost. The bill also directs the Commission to initiate a proceeding, on or before December 31, 2024, (i) to determine if the current allocation of costs among customers and the different classifications of customers of electric utilities results in customers that are data centers receiving unreasonable subsidies from other customers or classifications of customers and (ii) if it determines unreasonable subsidies exist, to amend such allocation of costs.

Suhas SubramanyamDemocrat

Retail Sales and Use Tax; certain 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.

Suhas SubramanyamDemocrat

Attorney General; instituting or conducting criminal prosecutions.

Attorney General; instituting or conducting criminal prosecutions for violations of criminal sexual assault and commercial sex trafficking committed against children. Authorizes the Attorney General to institute or conduct criminal prosecutions in cases involving a violation of criminal sexual assault or commercial sex trafficking when such crimes are committed against children.

J.D. "Danny" DiggsRepublican

License plates; creates plates for collector motor vehicles, penalty.

License plates; collector motor vehicles; penalty. Creates license plates for collector motor vehicles, defined in the bill, which the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles shall issue to any applicant who owns or has regular use of another passenger car, autocycle, or motorcycle and who owns at least a total of three collector motor vehicles. The bill designates the fee for such plates and registration as $50, specifies that the collector motor vehicles shall not be used for general transportation purposes and may only be used (i) for participation in shows, parades, charitable functions, and historical exhibitions for display, maintenance, and preservation; (ii) on the highways of the Commonwealth for the purpose of testing their operation or selling the vehicle, obtaining repairs or maintenance, transportation to and from events, and for occasional pleasure driving not exceeding 250 miles from the residence of the owner; and (iii) to carry or transport passengers and personal effects. The bill also prohibits such vehicles from being registered as antique vehicles or military surplus motor vehicles. Finally, the bill makes it a Class 4 misdemeanor to violate any provision relating to the registration of collector motor vehicles.

J.D. "Danny" DiggsRepublican

Legal notices; locality to advertise on their website.

Advertisement of legal notices; website. Allows a locality to advertise legal notices on the locality's website instead of, or in addition to, publishing such notices in a newspaper having general circulation in the locality.

J.D. "Danny" DiggsRepublican

Retirement system; animal control officers to receive benefits.

Virginia retirement system; enhanced retirement benefits; animal control officers. Adds full-time animal control officers to the list of local employees eligible to receive enhanced retirement benefits for hazardous duty service for service earned in such positions on or after July 1, 2025, and in certain circumstances service earned prior to that date. 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.

Mamie E. LockeDemocrat

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 any grant awarded shall be in an amount equivalent to the difference between the full cost of tuition and fees at the institution of higher education less any other educational benefits for which an individual is eligible as a member of the National Guard.

Glen H. Sturtevant, Jr.Republican

Highway use fee; DMV to convene work group to determine tiered flat rate system, report.

Department of Motor Vehicles; highway use fee; tiered flat rate system; work group; report. Directs the Department of Motor Vehicles to convene a work group to determine the feasibility of implementing a tiered flat rate system to accurately determine the correct amount of highway use fee to be charged at the point of sale of a motor vehicle. The bill directs the work group to complete its work and report its findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the Senate and House Committees on Transportation no later than November 15, 2024.

T. Travis HackworthRepublican

Breakthrough Therapies for Veteran Suicide Prevention, Advisory Council on; placement of Council.

Health Commissioner; work group; recommendations on Advisory Council on Breakthrough Therapies for Veteran Suicide Prevention. Directs the State Health Commissioner to establish a work group to examine the feasibility of and make recommendations for the placement and infrastructure of an Advisory Council on Breakthrough Therapies for Veteran Suicide Prevention.

Ghazala F. HashmiDemocrat

Electric utilities; energy efficiency programs, duty to implement the Energy Policy, etc.

Electric utilities; energy efficiency programs; duty to implement the Energy Policy of the Commonwealth; RPS program requirements; competitive procurement. Provides that "in the public interest" for the purpose of assessing energy efficiency programs means that the State Corporation Commission determines that the program is cost-effective and directs the Commission to initiate a proceeding no later than December 31, 2025, to establish a single, consistent cost-effectiveness test for use in evaluating proposed energy efficiency programs. The bill provides (i) that "total electric energy" for purposes of the RPS Program requirements does not include energy sold to certain customers purchasing 100 percent renewable energy and (ii) that in any RPS program compliance year, any electric energy that was generated in the previous calendar year from certain nuclear generating plants, or any zero-carbon electric generating facilities, including small modular nuclear reactors and green hydrogen facilities, will reduce the utility's RPS Program requirements by an equivalent amount. The bill provides that the Commission and its staff have the affirmative duty to ensure the Commonwealth implements the Energy Policy of the Commonwealth at the lowest reasonable cost, taking into account all cost-effective demand-side management options and the security and reliability benefits of the regional transmission entity to which each incumbent electric utility has joined. The bill requires that for certain required petitions by Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy Virginia for approvals to construct, acquire, or purchase the generating capacity using energy derived from sunlight or onshore wind, at least 35 percent of such generating capacity is from the purchases of energy from solar or onshore wind facilities owned by persons other than such utilities. Current law requires 35 percent of such generating capacity to be from the purchases of energy from solar or onshore wind facilities owned by persons other than such utilities.

Ghazala F. HashmiDemocrat

Faith in Housing for the Commonwealth Act; construction of affordable housing.

Faith in Housing for the Commonwealth Act. Permits a religious organization, defined in the bill, to construct affordable housing on real estate owned by such religious organization (i) on or before January 1, 2024, or for a period of not less than five years, and (ii) for which the religious organization retains a majority ownership interest.

Ghazala F. HashmiDemocrat

Parking Lot Solar Development Program; established, report.

Parking Lot Solar Development Pilot Grant Program; report. Establishes the Parking Lot Solar Development Pilot Grant Program for the purpose of encouraging development of distributed parking lot solar projects up to one megawatt in size in Chesterfield County and Richmond City through grants. The bill directs the Department of Energy, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Quality, to administer such program, to establish and publish guidelines and criteria for solar projects funded through such program, and to report annually to the General Assembly regarding the administration of the program for the preceding fiscal year.

Ghazala F. HashmiDemocrat

Building service employees; public contracting.

Building service employees; public contracting. Permits any county, city, or town in the Commonwealth to provide for certain requirements concerning incumbent and successor building service employers, defined in the bill, by local ordinance or resolution. For example, such local ordinance or resolution may require that successor building service employers retain incumbent employees during a transition period of 90 days. Under the bill, building service employees are those who perform work in connection with the care or maintenance of property, services at an airport, or food preparation services at schools. The bill provides that a building service employer that violates the provisions of a local ordinance or resolution enacted pursuant to the bill may be subject to a civil action and monetary damages.

Jeremy S. McPikeDemocrat

Content manufacturing tax credit; removes sunset for the motion picture credit, redesignates credit.

Content manufacturing tax credit. Removes the sunset for the motion picture tax credit, which currently is set to expire after taxable year 2026, and expands and redesignates the tax credit as the content manufacturing tax credit. The bill increases the total amount of credits that can be allocated to taxpayers to $46.5 million beginning in fiscal year 2024; however, should less than $100 million worth of certain new investments, as described by the bill, occur in Virginia by January 1, 2027, the cap will be reduced to $10 million per fiscal year. The bill also amends the definition of the "qualifying expenses" eligible for the content manufacturing tax credit to mean certain amounts spent in connection with the production of an eligible project filmed in the Commonwealth. The bill defines "eligible project" to be the production of a motion picture or an episodic television series.

Ghazala F. HashmiDemocrat

Consumer Data Protection Act; controller privacy notice, consumer consent.

Consumer Data Protection Act; controller privacy notice; cookies; consumer consent. Requires the privacy notice that a controller must provide to consumers to include a method by which a consumer may opt out of the automatic placement of a data file, commonly referred to as a "cookie," on the consumer's computer or web browser and a disclosure of the purposes for which the data files are used. The bill prohibits controllers from using cookies, except those that are strictly necessary, without the prior express consent of the consumer and prohibits controllers from preventing access to their services if such consent is not granted. The bill also requires controllers to document and store proof of such consent and make available an easily accessible method by which consumers may withdraw such consent.

Ryan T. McDougleRepublican

Presidential primaries; ranked choice voting, effective clause.

Elections; presidential primaries; ranked choice voting. Allows political parties to hold presidential primaries using ballots that allow a voter to rank such party's candidates in his order of choice. The bill includes a reenactment clause.

Suhas SubramanyamDemocrat

Virginia Abortion Care and Gender-Affirming Health Care Protection Act; established, civil penalties.

Virginia Abortion Care and Gender-Affirming Health Care Protection Act; reproductive and gender-affirming health care services; prohibitions on extradition for certain crimes; civil penalties. Establishes the Virginia Abortion Care and Gender-Affirming Health Care Protection Act. The bill provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealth that all persons are entitled to provide, receive, and help others provide or receive abortion care and gender-affirming health care services not prohibited under the laws of the Commonwealth, and that such provision, receipt, and assistance is not diminished, chilled, or infringed by public or private actors. The bill provides that no law-enforcement officer acting in the Commonwealth or employed by the Commonwealth or any of its localities or political subdivisions may investigate, arrest, or detain any person, seek the issuance of a warrant, or otherwise assist in or provide support for any investigation regarding either the provision or receipt of abortion care or gender-affirming care not prohibited under the laws of the Commonwealth or any person's menstrual health data. The bill creates a private right of action for any person who is aggrieved by such unlawful investigation to obtain an injunction or other equitable relief against such law-enforcement officer. The bill also creates a private right of action for any person who sustains any injury, damages, or other harm resulting from another person who, under the law of a jurisdiction other than the Commonwealth, engages or attempts to engage in abusive litigation, as defined in the bill. The bill also provides that no demand for extradition of a person charged with a criminal violation of law of another state shall be recognized by the Governor if such alleged violation involves the receipt of or assistance with protected health care activity, as defined in the bill, within the Commonwealth unless the alleged criminal violation would also constitute a criminal offense under the laws of the Commonwealth. The bill provides that any subpoena under the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act or any summons for a witness for another state in a criminal case shall include an attestation, made under penalty of perjury, stating whether the subpoena or summons seeks documents, information, or testimony related to the provision, receipt, attempted provision or receipt, assistance in the provision or receipt, or attempted assistance in the provision or receipt of protected health care activity, as defined in the bill.

Ghazala F. HashmiDemocrat

Health care; decision-making, definitions, medical aid in dying, penalties.

Health care; decision-making; end of life; penalties. Allows an adult diagnosed with a terminal disease to request and an attending health care provider to prescribe a self-administered controlled substance for the purpose of ending the patient's life. The bill requires that a patient's request for a self-administered controlled substance to end his life must be given orally on two occasions and in writing, signed by the patient and one witness, and that the patient be given an express opportunity to rescind his request at any time. The bill makes it a Class 2 felony (i) to willfully and deliberately alter, forge, conceal, or destroy a patient's request, or rescission of request, for a self-administered controlled substance to end his life with the intent and effect of causing the patient's death; (ii) to coerce, intimidate, or exert undue influence on a patient to request a self-administered controlled substance for the purpose of ending his life or to destroy the patient's rescission of such request with the intent and effect of causing the patient's death; or (iii) to coerce, intimidate, or exert undue influence on a patient to forgo a self-administered controlled substance for the purpose of ending the patient's life. The bill also grants immunity from civil or criminal liability and professional disciplinary action to any person who complies with the provisions of the bill and allows health care providers to refuse to participate in the provision of a self-administered controlled substance to a patient for the purpose of ending the patient's life.

Ghazala F. HashmiDemocrat

Siting of data centers; impacts on resources and historically significant sites.

Siting of data centers; impacts on resources and historically significant sites. Provides that any local government land use application required for the siting of a data center shall only be approved in areas where the data center will (i) have a minimal impact on historic, agricultural, and cultural resources and (ii) not be within one mile of a national park, state park, or other historically significant site.

Danica A. RoemDemocrat

Siting of data centers; site assessment.

Siting of data centers; site assessment. Requires a locality, prior to any approval for the siting of a data center, to require disclosure of water and power usage at full build-out and perform a site assessment to examine the effect of the data center on water usage, the regional electric grid, and carbon emissions as well as any impacts on agricultural, historic, and cultural resources within the locality.

Danica A. RoemDemocrat

Stormwater management regulations; enterprise data center operations.

Stormwater management regulations; enterprise data center operations. Directs the State Water Control Board to adopt regulations that require certain stormwater management techniques for land disturbances related to the construction, expansion, or operation of an enterprise data center operation, as defined in the bill, that is located within one mile of any land owned or operated as a unit of the National Park Service or designated as a Virginia State Park or state forest.

Danica A. RoemDemocrat

Guardianship and conservatorship; duties and powers of guardian and conservator.

Guardianship and conservatorship; duties and powers of guardian and conservator; self-dealing prohibited. Provides that a guardian and conservator shall avoid all conflicts of interest and self-dealing, including all appearances of conflicts of interest and self-dealing, when addressing the needs of the incapacitated person to whom the guardian or conservator owes a fiduciary duty. The bill provides that a conflict of interest arises when the guardian or conservator has a personal or agency interest that can be perceived as self-serving or adverse to the position or best interest of the incapacitated person, and self-dealing arises when the guardian or conservator seeks to take advantage of his position as guardian or conservator and acts for his own interests rather than for the interests of the incapacitated person. The bill further provides that any sale or transaction that constitutes self-dealing shall be voidable by the court.

Danica A. RoemDemocrat

Virginia First Manufacturing Incentive Program; Manufacturing Development Commission to create.

Virginia First Manufacturing Incentive Program. Directs the Manufacturing Development Commission (the Commission) to develop a budget and business plan to establish a Virginia First Manufacturing Incentive Program (the Program). The bill provides that the business plan shall identify existing manufacturers in the Commonwealth that are potential candidates for reshoring, near-shoring, or in-shoring manufacturing jobs and capital investments. The bill directs that the Program focus on expanding and recruiting manufacturing operations that produce products identified as critical infrastructure by providing discretionary incentive funding for trade adjustment assistance. Finally, the bill requires that the Commission present the budget and business plan to the Secretary of Commerce and Trade and the Chairmen of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology by October 1, 2024.

Bill DeStephRepublican

Zoning; development and use of accessory dwelling units.

Zoning; development and use of accessory dwelling units. Requires a locality to include in its zoning ordinances for residential zoning districts accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, as defined in the bill, as a permitted accessory use. The bill requires a person to seek a permit for an ADU from the locality, requires the locality to issue such permit if the person meets certain requirements enumerated in the bill, and restricts the fee for such permit to $250 or less. The bill prohibits the locality from requiring rear or side setbacks for the ADU greater than that of the primary dwelling or consanguinity or affinity between the occupants of the ADU and the primary dwelling. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025.

Saddam Azlan SalimDemocrat

Companion Animal Surgical Sterilization Program and Fund; established and created.

Companion Animal Surgical Sterilization Program and Fund established. Establishes the Companion Animal Surgical Sterilization Program and Fund to reimburse participating veterinarians for the surgical sterilizations they perform on eligible cats or dogs. The bill provides that a surcharge of $50 per ton of pet food distributed in the Commonwealth be deposited in the Fund and such pet food be exempted from the existing litter tax. An animal will be eligible for sterilization under the Program if it is a feral or free-roaming cat or is owned by a low-income individual or a releasing agency such as an animal shelter.

William M. Stanley, Jr.Republican

Certified registered nurse anesthetists; supervision during an operation or procedure.

Supervision of certified registered nurse anesthetists; work group; report. Clarifies that supervision of a certified registered nurse anesthetist requires that a licensed doctor of medicine, osteopathy, podiatry, or dentistry is present during an operation or procedure or is immediately available to respond and provide patient care as needed. The bill directs the Secretary of Health and Human Resources, in collaboration with the Board of Medicine, Board of Nursing, and Department of Health Professions, to convene a work group of relevant stakeholders to evaluate and make recommendations to increase the anesthesia provider workforce in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the work group to report its recommendations to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Health and Human Services by November 1, 2024.

Mamie E. LockeDemocrat

Income tax, state; establishes a subtraction for firefighter benefits.

Income tax subtraction; firefighter benefits. Establishes an income tax subtraction for up to $20,000 of firefighter benefits in taxable year 2024, up to $30,000 in taxable year 2025, and up to $40,000 in taxable year 2026 and each year thereafter. The bill defines firefighter benefits to include retirement income related to professional firefighting services and benefits paid to the surviving spouse of a firefighter whose death occurred in the line of duty.

Christie New CraigRepublican

New College Institute; duties.

New College Institute; duties. Requires the New College Institute to design and implement, in collaboration with the Department of Education, the Virginia Community College System, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, the Virginia Board of Workforce Development, and other relevant agencies and organizations, any workforce development programs necessary to support the initiatives of the Office of the Governor, including adult education and workforce training programs.

William M. Stanley, Jr.Republican

Virginia Parent Data Portal; creation and maintenance by Board of Education.

Board of Education; creation and maintenance of Virginia Parent Data Portal. Requires the Board of Education, on or before July 1, 2025, to create and maintain the Virginia Parent Data Portal that, among other things, (i) displays individualized student assessment data on all state-supported assessments, as that term is defined in the bill, (a) in a format that shows both current and cumulative data over time and (b) within 45 days of a state-supported assessment window closing for each state-supported assessment; (ii) provides a description of the purpose of each state-supported assessment, an explanation of how to interpret student data on each state-supported assessment, and a comparison of a student's performance on each state-supported assessment with the performance of the student's school, the student's school division, and the Commonwealth; (iii) is viewable from a mobile device in addition to a desktop computer; and (iv) provides functionality to enable school division personnel to manage and restrict user access to students and their parents. The bill requires the Board and the Department of Education to provide certain guidance and technical assistance to local school divisions on professional development for principals and teachers in parent engagement on and interpretation of student assessment data available through the Portal and requires each school board to annually provide high-quality professional development to principals and teachers on such topics. The bill satisfies the reenactment requirement of Chapter 652 of the Acts of Assembly of 2023.

Jeremy S. McPikeDemocrat

Paid sick leave; home health workers providing agency-directed services.

Paid sick leave; home health workers providing agency-directed services. Requires employers to provide paid sick leave to home health workers who provide agency-directed services. Under current law, employers are only required to provide paid sick leave to home health workers who provide consumer-directed services. The bill provides that "employer" includes the Commonwealth, any of its agencies, institutions, or political subdivisions, and any public body.

Barbara A. FavolaDemocrat

Parental Behavior Technician Registration and Participation Pilot Program; established.

Special education; Parental Behavior Technician Registration and Participation Pilot Program; established. Establishes the Parental Behavior Technician Registration and Participation Pilot Program (the Pilot Program), to be developed and administered by the Board of Education in collaboration with the Department of Health and the Advisory Board on Behavioral Analysis, for the purpose of assisting parents of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with becoming a registered behavior technician (RBT) in order to provide assistance to their children both in the classroom as a volunteer under the supervision of a licensed behavior analyst or other qualified Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) individual and outside the classroom in the home environment. The bill provides that the Pilot Program shall assist any eligible parent, defined as any parent of a child with ASD who is enrolled in a public school in the Commonwealth and receives special education, by (i) providing assistance, resources, and support to any eligible parent in meeting the requirements to receive an RBT credential and (ii) coordinating with the school board of the school division in which the child of an RBT-credentialed parent is enrolled to set up a volunteer position for the parent to provide assistance as an RBT in his child's special education program under the supervision of a licensed behavior analyst or other qualified ABA individual. The bill provides that funds appropriated for the at-risk add-on or for support services from basic school aid, pursuant to relevant law, may be used to fund the Pilot Program. Finally, the bill requires the Board of Education to report annually to the Governor and the Generally Assembly by October 1 of each year for the duration of the Pilot Program on the progress of the Pilot Program. The provisions of the bill expire on July 1, 2027.

William M. Stanley, Jr.Republican

Wolf Creek Cherokee Tribe of Virginia; General Assembly to extend state recognition.

Recognition of the Wolf Creek Cherokee Tribe of Virginia. Extends state recognition to the Wolf Creek Cherokee Tribe of Virginia within the Commonwealth.

Delores L. McQuinnDemocrat

Dependents of public school personnel, etc.; SCHEV to study reduced in-state tuition rates.

Study; State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; offering reduced rate in-state tuition rates at public institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth to dependents of public school instructional, administrative, and support personnel in the Commonwealth; report. Requests the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to study, in collaboration with the Department of Education, the feasibility and efficacy of offering the dependents of public school instructional, administrative, and support personnel in the Commonwealth reduced rate in-state tuition at public institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth for the purpose of improving retention rates of public school instructional, administrative, and support personnel in the Commonwealth.

Dan I. HelmerDemocrat

Higher educational institutions, public; SCHEV to study guaranteed first-year admission policy.

Study; State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; public institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth; guaranteed first-year admission; report. Requests the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to study the feasibility of implementing a guaranteed first-year admission policy at each public institution of higher education for certain high school graduates in the Commonwealth and report its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

Holly M. SeiboldDemocrat

Skilled nursing, long-term care, and community care facilities; JLARC to study capacity & condition.

Study; JLARC; skilled nursing, long-term care, and community care facilities; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study the capacity and condition of skilled nursing, long-term care, and community care facilities within the Commonwealth.

Wendell S. WalkerRepublican

Dillon Rule; joint subcommittee to study.

Study; joint subcommittee; Dillon Rule; report. Creates a 13-member joint subcommittee for a one-year study of the Dillon Rule and its impact on Virginia's localities.

Dan I. HelmerDemocrat

Historically black colleges and universities; joint subcommittee to study challenges faced, etc.

Study; joint committee of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health; challenges faced by and effective strategies for ensuring the sustainable, long-term success of the five historically black colleges and universities in the Commonwealth; report. Establishes a joint committee consisting of five members of the House Committee on Education and three members of the Senate Committee on Education and Health to study the challenges faced by and effective strategies for ensuring the sustainable, long-term success of the five historically black colleges and universities in the Commonwealth–Hampton University, Norfolk State University, Virginia State University, Virginia Union University, and Virginia University of Lynchburg–by discussing, adopting, and recommending to the Governor and the General Assembly for formal recognition and endorsement a comprehensive statewide HBCU Support Plan.

Alex Q. AskewDemocrat

Comprehensive community colleges; funding model for noncredit workforce credential programs.

Study; Board of Workforce Development; adequacy of the funding model for noncredit workforce credential programs; work group; report. Requests the Virginia Board of Workforce Development to study the current funding model for noncredit workforce credential programs offered at comprehensive community colleges in order to identify areas of inadequacy and make recommendations on options for reforming the funding model to address those inadequacies and improve the sustainability of offering and providing noncredit workforce credential programs to ensure that the Virginia Community College System as a whole is capable of continuing to meet the increasing demand for highly skilled credentialed workers in the Commonwealth.

Shelly A. SimondsDemocrat

Secretariat of Rural Affairs; JLARC to study need for and feasibility of creating position.

Study; JLARC; creation of Secretariat of Rural Affairs; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study the need for and feasibility of creating a Secretariat of Rural Affairs in the Commonwealth.

Israel D. O'QuinnRepublican

Public schools; Jt. Com. on Health Care to study impact of cell phone possession & use on students.

Study; Joint Commission on Health Care; impacts of cell phone possession and use on students in public schools; report. Directs the Joint Commission on Health Care to study the impacts of cell phone possession and use in public schools on student learning outcomes, including the quality of learning and the ability of students to retain and recall information, student attention and focus, and student mental and behavioral health.

Michelle Lopes MaldonadoDemocrat

Litter tax; Department of Taxation, et al., to study tax policy options for reforming.

Study; Department of Taxation; tax policy options for reforming the litter tax; report. Directs the Department of Taxation, in conjunction with the Department of Environmental Quality, to study tax policy options for reforming the litter tax.

Paul E. KrizekDemocrat

Clean energy; Dept. of Energy to study barriers for local governments to purchase.

Study; Department of Energy; local governments; purchases of clean energy; report. Requests the Department of Energy to study the barriers for local governments to directly purchase clean energy or to facilitate the purchase of clean energy by their constituents. In conducting its study, the Department shall consider existing ways for local governments to purchase clean energy and promote access to clean energy for their constituents, evaluate barriers and develop recommendations relating to reducing such barriers for local governments to purchase clean energy and encouraging the purchase of and access to clean energy by local governments and their constituents, and consult with relevant stakeholders as needed.

Briana D. SewellDemocrat

Comprehensive community colleges, certain; JLARC to study waiver of tuition and mandatory fees.

Study; JLARC; waiver of tuition and mandatory fees at certain comprehensive community colleges; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study the feasibility of waiving tuition and mandatory fees for Virginia students who attend Mountain Empire Community College, Southwest Virginia Community College, and Virginia Highlands Community College and report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly no later than November 30, 2024.

Alfonso H. LopezDemocrat

Land value; DHCD to study tax implications of local governing bodies implementing a tax.

Study; Department of Housing and Community Development; tax implications of implementing a land value tax; report. Directs the Department of Housing and Community Development to study tax implications of local governing bodies implementing a land value tax.

Irene ShinDemocrat