Summary: Special justices and independent evaluator fees; emergency custody and voluntary and involuntary civil admissions. Increases the fee that a special justice receives for presiding over emergency custody and voluntary and involuntary civil admissions from $86.25 to $120 for each commitment hearing and from $43.25 to $70 for each certification hearing. The bill also increases the fee that an independent evaluator receives if required to serve as a witness or an interpreter from $75 to $120 for each commitment hearing and from $43.25 to $70 for each certification hearing. The bill contains technical amendments.

Summary: Fines, restitution, forfeiture, penalties, other costs; criminal and traffic cases; itemized statement. Requires the clerk of the court to provide an itemized statement to any defendant convicted of a traffic infraction or a violation of any criminal law of the Commonwealth or of any political subdivision thereof, or found not innocent in the case of a juvenile, who is sentenced to pay a fine, restitution, forfeiture, or penalty or assessed any other costs in the circuit court or appropriate district court of his county or city at the time such fine, restitution, forfeiture, penalty, or other costs are assessed, or within a reasonable time after assessment. The bill requires the clerk to also provide an updated statement of the outstanding balances of any fines, forfeiture, and penalties, restitution and costs, or payment history upon request of the defendant. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025.

Summary: Appointment of counsel; public defenders; caseload exception. Exempts the public defender, in counties and cities where public defender offices are established, from providing defense services for indigent clients if the public defender, with the concurrence of the executive director of the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission or his designee, determines that the public defender's current active caseload would preclude the public defender from providing adequate representation to new clients.

Summary: Civil actions filed on behalf of multiple persons; class actions. Provides that one or more members of a class may, as representative parties on behalf of all members, bring a civil action or may be proceeded against in a civil action, provided that (i) the class is so numerous that joinder of all members or proceeding with such actions on an individual basis is impracticable or contrary to judicial economy; (ii) there are questions of law or fact common to the class; (iii) the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class; and (iv) the representative parties shall fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class. The bill further sets out the procedure to certify a class action, the duties of counsel appointed in a class action, the various orders a court may issue during the course of a class action, and the process by which a settlement, voluntary dismissal, or compromise may occur. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025, and is identical to SB 259.

Summary: Fines, costs, forfeitures, penalties, and restitution; collection fees; assessment against incarcerated defendant; deferred payment agreement. Extends from 90 days without payment to 180 days without payment the period of delinquency necessary for an account to be included on the required monthly report of delinquent accounts made by the clerk of the circuit court and district court. The bill also provides that for any defendant sentenced to an active term of incarceration and ordered to pay any fine, cost, forfeiture, or penalty related to the charge that such defendant is incarcerated for, or any other charge for which such defendant was sentenced on the same day, the court shall enter such defendant into a deferred payment agreement for such fines, costs, forfeitures, or penalties. The bill requires the due date for such deferred payment agreement to be set no earlier than the defendant's scheduled release from incarceration on the charge for which such defendant received the longest period of active incarceration. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025. This bill is identical to SB 654. 

Summary: Wrongful incarceration; compensation. Provides that any person who is convicted of a felony by a county or city circuit court of the Commonwealth and is wrongfully incarcerated for such felony shall receive, in addition to the compensation for wrongful incarceration specified under current law, not less than $30,000 for each year or fraction thereof (i) of imprisonment after being sentenced to death or (ii) that such person was required to register with the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry. The bill further requires that the amount paid to the person wrongfully incarcerated shall be in the form of a lump sum; under current law, only the initial 25 percent of an award is required to be paid in lump sum form.The bill further removes the bar against receiving compensation if such wrongfully incarcerated person received any funds pursuant to a settlement agreement with any person or entity for compensation or damages arising out of the factual situation in connection with the conviction. The bill replaces such requirement with a provision allowing for the wrongful incarceration compensation award to be offset by any such award in a civil action or settlement.

Summary: Claims; David Wayne Kingrea; compensation for wrongful inclusion on sex offender registry. Grants relief in an amount to be appropriated to David Wayne Kingrea, who was wrongly convicted of taking indecent liberties with a minor and, as a result of such wrongful conviction, was required to register on the sex offender registry.

Summary: Virginia Information Technologies Agency; assess the creation of a cyber civilian corps for the Commonwealth; report. Directs the Virginia Information Technologies Agency to assess the creation of a cyber civilian corps for the Commonwealth, including determining (i) the utility of such a corps, (ii) eligibility for such corps, and (iii) availability of potential volunteers.

Summary: Bonds for public institutions of higher learning; emergency. Authorizes issuance of bonds in an amount up to $124,285,000 for revenue-producing capital projects at James Madison University, Virginia State University, and The College of William and Mary in Virginia. The bill contains an emergency clause and is identical to SB 599.

Summary: Six-year financial plan. Modifies the requirements for the six-year financial plan submitted by the Governor to the General Assembly by (i) requiring that such plan be submitted on or before the first day of each regular session of the General Assembly instead of on or before the first day of each regular session of the General Assembly held in an even-numbered year as required by current law and (ii) providing that such plan ensure structural balance between projected revenues and expenditures for the six-year period. This bill is identical to SB 399.

Summary: Capital outlay plan. Updates the six-year capital outlay plan for projects to be funded entirely or partially from general fund-supported resources. This bill is identical to SB 585.

Summary: Appointment of counsel for accused; feloniespunishable by a mandatory minimum term of confinement for life.Provides that in any case in which an indigent defendant is chargedwith any felony punishable by a mandatory minimum term of confinementfor life, the court shall appoint two competent, qualified, and experiencedattorneys, one of whom shall be the public defender in a jurisdictionin which a public defender office is established, for the defendant.Under current law, the court is required to appoint two such attorneysin cases in which an indigent defendant is charged with a Class 1felony. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Criminal JusticeConference.

Summary: Public defender offices; City of Harrisonburgand County of Rockingham. Establishes a public defender officefor the City of Harrisonburg and the County of Rockingham.

Summary: Joint Commission on Technology and Science; staff; authority to appoint, employ, and remove. Authorizes the Joint Commission on Technology and Science (JCOTS) to appoint, employ, and remove an executive director and such other persons as it deems necessary and determine their duties and fix their salaries or compensation within the amounts appropriated therefor. The bill removes the provision that directs the Division of Legislative Services to provide staff support to JCOTS.

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

Summary: Child Care Subsidy Program vendors; basis forperiodic reimbursement. Requires the Department of Educationto periodically reimburse child care providers that are vendors through the Child Care Subsidy Program on the basis of authorizedchild enrollment but provides that if any such enrolled child isabsent from the provider for 10 or more days during one month, theDepartment shall periodically reimburse such provider on the basisof such child's attendance.

Summary: Early childhood care; Child Care Subsidy Programexpansion; provision of free child care to certain child care provideremployees. Requires the Child Care Subsidy Program, establishedpursuant to applicable regulations, to be expanded to assist employeesof any licensed child care provider in the Commonwealth with thecosts of child care by providing any such employee who meets the eligibilitycriteria set forth in the bill child care at no cost to and withno copayment required of such employee. The bill directs the Boardof Education to adopt any regulations and the Department of Educationto implement any policies and procedures necessary for the implementationand administration of the provisions of the bill.

Summary: Student transportation; innovative alternatives to school buses. States that the intent of the General Assembly is that school boards encourage the implementation of innovative low-cost or no-cost alternatives to transporting students to and from school on school buses, including organizing or otherwise facilitating, encouraging, or supporting biking or walking school buses whereby groups of students ride bicycles or walk to and from school.

Summary: Cost of competing adjustment; eligibility; certainschool boards. Provides that the Accomack County School Boardand the Northampton County School Board are eligible to receive thecost of competing adjustment to salaries for instructional and supportpositions as part of the state share of basic aid pursuant to thegeneral appropriation act.

Summary: Employee Child Care Assistance Pilot Program. Establishes the Employee Child Care Assistance Pilot Program (the Program) to provide matching funds to employers in order to incentivize employers to contribute to the child care costs of their employees. The Program shall be administered by the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation (the Foundation). To participate in the Program, an employer shall agree to make child care contributions to the eligible mixed-delivery provider on behalf of the employee and shall provide any other information deemed necessary by the Foundation. To the extent funds are available, the Foundation shall issue a state match directly to such eligible mixed-delivery provider or to a third-party administrator. Program funds shall be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis; however, the Foundation is encouraged to prioritize awards to small businesses.

Summary: 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.

Summary: Virginia Retirement System; investments; diversity,equity, and inclusion investing restricted. Provides that unlessthe Board of Trustees of the Virginia Retirement System can demonstratethat a social investment, defined in the bill, would provide a superior rate of return compared to a similar investment that is not a socialinvestment with a similar time horizon and risk, neither the Boardnor any external fiduciary utilized by the Board may invest or makerecommendations regarding state funds for the purpose of social investmenton or after July 1, 2024.