Summary: Public elementary and secondary schools; student discipline; evidence-based restorative disciplinary practices. Prohibits, except in certain cases involving specific offenses enumerated in applicable law or in cases in which the division superintendent or his designee finds that aggravating circumstances, as defined by the Department of Education, exist, any public elementary or secondary school student from being suspended, expelled, or excluded from attendance at school without first considering at least one evidence-based restorative disciplinary practice such as community conferencing, community service, mentoring, a peer jury, peer mediation, positive behavioral interventions and supports, a restorative circle, or the Virginia Tiered Systems of Supports. The bill also requires the Department to add as part of the student behavior and administrative response collection required pursuant to relevant law the use of evidence-based restorative disciplinary practices as a behavioral intervention in order to evaluate the use and effectiveness of such practices. This bill is identical to SB 586.

Summary: Recordation tax; value of interest conveyed. Provides that for purposes of recordation taxes, the value of a property interest conveyed shall be the most recent property tax assessment for such property at the time the property is conveyed.

Summary: Candidates for office; persons entitled to have name printed on ballot, required reports. Provides that a person who fails to file at least one of the campaign finance reports required by law to be filed in an election year by July 20 is not entitled to have his name printed on the ballot at the general election for the office sought.

Summary: Virginia Minority Business Commission; report; sunset. Establishes the 13-member Virginia Minority Business Commission in the legislative branch of government for the purpose of promoting the growth and competitiveness of Virginia minority-owned businesses. The bill provides that the Commission sunsets on July 1, 2028.

Summary: Judicial Council of Virginia; work group tostudy conservatorship; report. Directs the Judicial Council ofVirginia to convene a work group of relevant stakeholders to study issues relating to conservatorship in the Commonwealth and to developrecommendations for a best practices model. The bill requires thework group to submit its findings and recommendations by November1, 2024, to the Chairmen of the House Committee for Courts of Justiceand the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.

Summary: Campaign finance; independent expenditure reports; electronic filing required. Requires independent expenditure reports to be filed electronically. Current law allows such reports to be filed either electronically or in writing. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025. This bill is identical to SB 692.

Summary: Virginia Public Procurement Act; construction management and design-build contracting. Requires state public bodies, covered institutions, and local public bodies to provide documentation of the processes used for the final selection of a construction contract to all the unsuccessful applicants upon request. The bill adds certain requirements for covered institutions, including posting all documents that are open to public inspection exchanged between the Department of General Services and the covered institution on the central electronic procurement website eVA. The bill requires approval by a majority vote of the covered institution's board of visitors or governing board if the covered institution chooses to proceed with construction management or design-build against the recommendation of the Department for (i) projects funded by funds other than those provided from the state general fund or (ii) projects of $65 million or more funded in whole or in part from state general funds. For projects under $65 million funded in whole or in part by state general funds, the bill provides that the covered institution shall obtain approval from the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations, or their designees, and a representative of the Department.The bill requires a local public body to adopt a resolution or motion to use construction management or design-build, if required by its local governing body, prior to issuing a Request for Qualifications and to publish notice of such resolution or motion on its website or eVA. The bill provides that the Department shall report annually, for any construction management or design-build project, on the qualifications that made such project complex. Finally, the bill requires the Department, with the assistance of staff of the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations, to assess the implementation and administration of construction management and design-build projects and report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly by November 1, 2029. This bill incorporates HB 965 and is identical to SB 18.

Summary: Voter registration; list maintenance; data sharing; requiring membership in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). Requires the Commissioner of Elections to apply for, enter into, and maintain membership for the Commonwealth in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). This bill is identical to SB 606.

Summary: Virginia College Savings Plan; Virginia College Opportunity Endowment and Fund. Directs the board of the Virginia College Savings Plan to deposit $250 million per year of surplus moneys from the Plan's fund into the Virginia College Opportunity Fund, established by the bill. The bill provides that such deposit shall not be made or shall be reduced in any year in which the College Opportunity Investment Advisory Committee determines that certain conditions relating to the Plan's funded status are not met. The Committee is established by the bill as an advisory committee for the Plan, for the purpose of determining the amount of deposits to be made to the Fund.The bill provides that financial management of the Fund is the responsibility of the board of the Plan but authorizes the board of the Virginia College Opportunity Endowment, also established by the bill, to manage a scholarship program funded by the Fund. The bill establishes an individual and corporate income tax subtraction for donations to the Fund.Under the bill, the Endowment provides scholarships to students who attend or plan to attend one of 12 eligible universities named in the bill. The bill provides that only such students who meet the eligibility requirements for a Federal Pell Grant and commit to being employed in Virginia, or being enrolled in postgraduate education in Virginia, for at least eight years after graduation from an eligible university are eligible for such scholarships.

Summary: Study; joint subcommittee; creation of Virginia Gaming Commission; report. Continues the Joint Subcommittee to Study the Feasibility of Establishing the Virginia Gaming Commission for two additional years, through November 30, 2025.

Summary: Department of Education; development of education materials relating to risks of opioids. Requires the Department of Education, in consultation with such stakeholders and experts as it deems necessary or appropriate, to develop and submit to the Chairs of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by November 1, 2024, (i) age-appropriate and evidence-based education materials concerning the risks to health and safety that are posed by opioids and (ii) guidelines for school boards for incorporating such education materials into instructional programs for students enrolled in the local school division.

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

Summary: Average teacher salary in the Commonwealth; national average. Requires the Governor's introduced budget bills for the 2025, 2026, and 2027 Regular Sessions of the General Assembly to propose funding for, and state funding to be provided pursuant to the general appropriation act enacted during any regular or special session of the General Assembly during 2025, 2026, or 2027 to fund, the Commonwealth's share of compensation supplement incentives for Standards of Quality-funded instructional and support positions sufficient to increase the average teacher salary in the Commonwealth to at least the national average teacher salary by the end of the 2026–2028 biennium and establishes a detailed timeline and process for satisfying such requirement. This bill is identical to SB 104.

Summary: Department of Education; development of Title IX and sexual harassment prevention training modules for students in the ninth and tenth grades. Requires the Department of Education to develop culturally appropriate, age-appropriate, and trauma-informed Title IX and sexual harassment prevention training modules concerning Title IX rights and protections, consent, and sexual harassment prevention and reporting and to make such training modules available to each school board for the education of ninth and tenth grade students. The bill requires the Department of Education to make such training modules available to each school board by July 1, 2025, and to revise such training modules and make such revised training modules available to each school board by December 31 of each year thereafter. Finally, the bill requires each school board to adopt policies in accordance with the provisions of the bill beginning with the 2025–2026 school year.

Summary: Public school funding; nonpersonal cost categories;federal fund deduction methodology; support services. Requiresthe Department of Education, (i) in calculating nonpersonal costsin the Standards of Quality funding formula, to include the costsassociated with leased facilities and work-related employee travel and (ii) in calculating the deduction of federal funds in the Standardsof Quality funding formula, to examine actual school division spendingon support costs as a percentage of actual school division spendingon all public education costs, with certain exceptions such as foodservice. The bill also requires support services positions, whichincludes positions in each local school division that the schoolboard deems necessary for the efficient and cost-effective operationand maintenance of its public schools, to be funded based on a calculationof prevailing costs and prohibits such positions from being subjectto any method of funding calculation that caps the number of fundedsupport services positions based on a ratio of such positions tostudents enrolled in the local school division.

Summary: Public school staffing ratios; specializedstudent support positions. Increases the number of specialized student support positions required to be employed by each local schoolboard from at least three to at least four such positions per 1,000students in the local school division. Such specialized student supportpositions include school social workers, school psychologists, schoolnurses, licensed behavior analysts, licensed assistant behavior analysts,and other licensed health and behavioral positions.

Summary: Early childhood care and education system; need-based and demand-based funding. Requires, for the purpose of addressing family demand and preferences for affordable, high-quality early childhood care and education services, state general funds to be provided to support the provision of services to families for early childhood care and education, as specified in the general appropriation act. The bill requires the Department of Education to report each year by November 15 on the projected general funds needed for the upcoming two fiscal years based on cost of quality rate per child in order to (i) maintain the current number of slots at early childhood care and education programs, (ii) increase the number of slots using a projected growth report, and (iii) increase the number of slots to fully accommodate parent demand and eliminate waitlists. The bill requires such projected general funds to be based on the annual per-child cost, determined as set forth in the bill, for the Virginia Preschool Initiative, the Mixed Delivery Program, and the Child Care Subsidy Program, the current eligibility criteria for such programs, and maximization of certain regularly recurring federal funds. The bill requires each regional entity established by the Board of Education pursuant to applicable law, each local school division, and each locality to annually indicate the number of slots needed, respectively, in the region for the Mixed Delivery Program, the local school division for the Virginia Preschool Initiative, and the locality for the Child Care Subsidy Program. The bill requires the Department of Education to (a) reallocate by July 1 any slots with available funding from the Child Care Subsidy Program and the Mixed Delivery Program, (b) make adjustments based on family preferences following the fall enrollment periods, and (c) first expend all current-year state general funds in providing funding for slots. This bill is identical to SB 54.

Summary: Public high schools; personnel; career coachrequired. Requires each school board to employ at least one careercoach in each public high school in the local school division whoseduties are required to include assisting students with securing internships, externships, and credentialing opportunities as required by the Profileof a Virginia Graduate, providing students with information on apprenticeship programs, and connecting students to career opportunities. The billprovides that each such individual shall be employed in additionto and not as a replacement for the required school counselor positions,specialized student support positions, or support services positions.

Summary: High school student-athletes; use of name, image, or likeness. Establishes rights, duties, and prohibitions relating to the use of the name, image, or likeness of high school student-athletes that are equivalent to those established in law for college student-athletes. The bill also requires the Department of Education to publish in a publicly accessibly format on its website information about laws that are applicable to any contract entered into by a student-athlete relating to compensation for the use of his name, image, or likeness.

Summary: Public school staffing and funding; National Teacher Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fund; At-Risk Program; English language learner students. Renames the National Teacher Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fund as the National Board Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fund, expands eligibility for incentive grant awards from such Fund pursuant to such Program from solely teachers who have obtained national certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards to all public school staff who are candidates for initial national certification or maintenance of national certification to cover certain costs of obtaining or maintaining such certification and all public school staff who have successfully obtained or maintained such certification, and permits certain teachers to apply for additional incentive grants pursuant to such Program and Fund. The bill also establishes the At-Risk Program for the purpose of supporting programs and services for students who are educationally at risk, including prevention, intervention, or remediation activities required pursuant to relevant law, teacher recruitment programs and initiatives, programs for English language learners, the hiring of additional school counselors and other support staff, and other programs relating to increasing the success of disadvantaged students in completing a high school degree and providing opportunities to encourage further education and training. The bill also contains provisions relating to certain funding requirements for the At-Risk Program. Finally, the bill requires state funding to be provided pursuant to the general appropriation act to support ratios of instructional positions to English language learner students based on each such student's English proficiency level, as established in the general appropriation act. This bill is identical to SB 105.

Summary: Public education; community schools; Office of Community Schools at Department of Education; Community School Development and Implementation Planning Grant; state goal. Requires the Department of Education to establish the Office of Community Schools as an office within the Department for the purpose of supporting the development and growth of community schools throughout the Commonwealth in accordance with the Virginia Community School Framework and requires the Office to establish and administer the Community School Development and Implementation Planning Grant for the purpose of providing grants to school boards that seek to designate any school within the local school division as a community school to assist with the planning and implementation of such designation. The bill also establishes a state goal of prioritizing funding for such initiatives and grants to enable their expansion to serve the top 33 percent of public elementary and secondary schools in the Commonwealth for highest identified student percentage, as defined in the bill, based on data from the immediately preceding school year. This bill is identical to SB 608.

Summary: Public schools; certain local school divisions; youth and community violence prevention; Community Builders Pilot Program established; report. Establishes the Community Builders Pilot Program for the purpose of reducing youth involvement in behaviors that lead to gun violence and increasing community engagement among public school students by providing to students who are entering the eighth grade and enrolled in Roanoke City Public Schools and Petersburg City Public Schools opportunities during the school year after regular school hours and during the summer months for community engagement, workforce development, postsecondary education exploration, and social-emotional education and development. The bill provides that the school boards of Roanoke City Public Schools and Petersburg City Public Schools shall be responsible for the administration of the Program and are directed to collect data and report to the Governor and relevant committees of the General Assembly by November 1 of each year on the progress of the Program. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2027. This bill is identical to SB 484.

Summary: Superintendent of Public Instruction; employment of certified school library specialists. Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to employ in the Department of Education at least one certified school library specialist who fulfills several duties enumerated in the bill, including providing leadership and technical assistance with the implementation and use of information literacy skills to support student achievement for local school divisions, Department staff, and other stakeholders and directing the implementation of state and national school library standards and consulting with and providing technical assistance to local school divisions relating to such standards.

Summary: Public schools; opioid antagonist procurement, possession, and administration; school board employee training and certification; opioid overdose prevention and reversal instruction; guidelines and requirements. Requires each local school board to develop, in accordance with the guidelines developed by the Department of Health in collaboration with the Department of Education, plans, policies, and procedures for (i) providing at each public secondary school that includes grades nine through 12 a program of instruction on opioid overdose prevention and reversal and for encouraging each student to complete such program of instruction prior to graduation; (ii) the procurement, placement, and maintenance in each public elementary and secondary school of a supply of opioid antagonists in an amount equivalent to at least two unexpired doses for the purposes of opioid overdose reversal; and (iii) the possession and administration of an opioid antagonist by any employee of the school board who is authorized by a prescriber and trained in the administration of an opioid antagonist, including policies (a) requiring each public elementary and secondary school to ensure that at least one employee is authorized by a prescriber and trained and certified in the administration of an opioid antagonist, (b) for partnering with a program administered or approved by the Department of Health to provide such training and certification, and (c) for maintaining records of each such trained and certified employee.The bill provides for the disciplinary, civil, and criminal immunity of any employee of a public school, school board, or local health department, regardless of whether such employee was trained or certified in opioid antagonist administration, for any act or omission made in connection with the good faith administration of an opioid antagonist for the purposes of opioid overdose reversal during regular school hours, on school premises, or during a school-sponsored activity, unless such act or omission was the result of gross neglect or willful misconduct. The bill requires each school board to adopt and each public elementary and secondary school to implement policies and procedures in accordance with the provisions of the bill and, in doing so, to utilize to the fullest extent possible programs offered by the Department of Health for the provision of opioid antagonist administration training and certification and opioid antagonist procurement.In addition, the bill modifies the school board employees who are authorized to administer opioid antagonists to include any school board employee who has completed training and is certified in the administration of an opioid antagonist by a program administered or authorized by the Department of Health.Finally, the bill directs the Department of Health and the Department of Education to collaborate to develop guidelines and policies for the implementation of the provisions of the bill and requires each school board to implement the provisions of the bill by the beginning of the 2025–2026 school year. This bill is identical to SB 726.

Summary: Public school funding; At-Risk Program established. Establishes the At-Risk Program for the purpose of supporting programs and services for students who are educationally at risk, including prevention, intervention, or remediation activities required pursuant to Standard 1 (§ 22.1-253.13:1); teacher recruitment programs and incentives; Dropout Prevention; community and school-based truancy officer programs; Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID); Project Discovery; programs for English language learners; the hiring of additional school counselors, testing coordinators, and licensed behavior analysts; and programs relating to increasing the success of disadvantaged students in completing a high school degree and providing opportunities to encourage further education and training and requires a portion of the state funding provided for such At-Risk Program to be allocated to school divisions on a flat per-student percentage rate set out in the general appropriation act and a portion of such funding to be allocated to school divisions on a variable rate set out in the general appropriation act based on the concentration of poverty in the school division.

Summary: Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of Virginia Program established. Establishes Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of Virginia Program for the purpose of promoting a comprehensive statewide initiative for encouraging preschool-age children to develop a love of reading and learning whereby one reading selection, as defined in the bill, is provided per month to each registered child from birth to age five in each participating county at no cost to the family of such child. The bill requires the Program to contribute to local programs a 50 percent match of funds, if available, required of such local programs participating in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in the Commonwealth. The bill requires a nonprofit entity dedicated to statewide early literacy advocacy to serve as the program administrator and be responsible for the development, implementation, and administration of the Program. The bill sunsets on January 1, 2029.

Summary: Board of Education; instructional materialson climate change and environmental literacy; model policies andprocedures for selection. Requires the Board of Education tomake available to each local school board instructional materialson climate change and environmental literacy that are based on andinclude peer-reviewed scientific sources. The bill requires the Boardof Education to develop, adopt, and make available to each localschool board model policies and procedures, based on peer-reviewedscientific sources, pertaining to the selection of instructionalmaterials on climate change and environmental literacy, includinga requirement for any such selected material to accurately portray changes in weather and climate patterns over time, the impacts ofhuman activity on changes in weather and climate patterns, and theeffects of climate change on people and resources.

Summary: Special education and related services. Makes several changes relating to special education and related services for children with disabilities in public elementary and secondary schools in the Commonwealth, including requiring (i) the Department of Education to (a) develop, establish, review and update as necessary at least once every five years, and make available to each local school board an IEP writing, facilitation, tracking, and transfer system to be referred to as the Virginia IEP that includes, at a minimum, an IEP template component and a data system component and (b) develop and publish a data dashboard for the annual public reporting of state-level, division-level, and school-level special education data; (ii) each local school board to designate a faculty member to serve as a special education parent/family liaison to be a resource to parents and families to understand and engage in the referral, evaluation, reevaluation, and eligibility process if they suspect that their child has a disability and in the IEP process; and (iii) the Parent Training and Information Center in the Commonwealth designated pursuant to relevant federal law to establish special education family support centers in eight distinct regions of the Commonwealth that shall each be staffed by a regional special education family liaison employed by such center, coordinate with the designated special education parent/family liaisons in the local school divisions in the region, develop and implement outreach and support to parents of children with disabilities in its region, and track and report to the State Parent Ombudsman for Special Education data on questions and concerns raised by parents. This bill is identical to SB 220.

Summary: Public school staffing ratios; teachers; English language learner students. Requires state funding to be provided pursuant to the general appropriation act to support ratios of instructional positions to English language learner students based on each such student's English proficiency level, as established in the general appropriation act. This bill is identical to SB 272.

Summary: Early childhood care and education; publicly funded providers. Provides that any locality wishing to participate in the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) must submit a proposal by May 15 of each year identifying a lead VPI agency responsible for developing a local plan for the delivery of preschool services to at-risk children. A local match based on the composite index of local ability to pay is required to fund such a proposal. The proposal must include the number of at-risk four-year-olds and three-year-olds to be served and eligibility criteria for participation. Upon acceptance, the Department will disburse state VPI funds to the lead VPI agency in such localities, which may be used with local matching funds to provide preschool education, health services, social services, parental involvement services, and transportation. The Department must establish academic standards for VPI programs that prepare students to successfully enter kindergarten. Full day VPI programs must operate for a minimum of five and a half instructional hours per day, while half day VPI programs operate for a minimum of three instructional hours per day. The bill requires the Department of Education to collect information from VPI and the Mixed Delivery Grant Program to compile a comprehensive report on the use of state funds, including the number of slots and funding allocated to each local program or provider and the number of slots that have been filled. The bill codifies the Child Care Subsidy Program, which is currently established pursuant to regulations of the Board of Education, for the purpose of assisting families who meet certain eligibility criteria with the cost of child care provided by approved vendors. The bill requires the Child Care Subsidy Program to be overseen by the Department of Education and permits the Department to contract with state and local agencies to administer the Program. The bill requires the Department and Board of Education, as applicable, to establish rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and standards for the Program. The bill also codifies the Mixed Delivery Grant Program, which is currently established pursuant to the general appropriation act, for the purpose of awarding grants on a competitive basis to local public entities that enter into partnerships with local private early childhood care and education entities and other community organizations, as applicable, to provide, under the direction and leadership of a lead agency identified in the grant proposal, high-quality care and education, either part time or full time, for at-risk infants, toddlers, and preschool-age children who reside in the locality. The bill requires the Mixed Delivery Grant Program to be administered by the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation in partnership with the Department of Education and, consistent with any provisions relating to the Program in the general appropriation act, requires the Foundation and the Department to establish policies, procedures, and standards for the Program.

Summary: Study; joint committee of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health to study fair school funding reform; 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 fair school funding reform by, among other things, utilizing the recommendations from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission in its July 2023 report, "Virginia's K-12 Funding Formula," and any stakeholder input and feedback received by the joint committee to produce and submit to the Division of Legislative Automated Services by the first day of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly an executive summary of its findings and recommendations.

Summary: Task Force on Transparency in Publicly Funded Animal Testing Facilities; report. Requires the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to convene a Task Force on Transparency in Publicly Funded Animal Testing Facilities, consisting of legislators and stakeholders, for the purpose of identifying potential deficiencies in publicly funded animal testing facilities in the Commonwealth and recommending methods and context for making certain information about such animal testing facilities publicly available. The bill requires the Task Force to report its findings to certain committees of the General Assembly no later than November 1, 2024. This bill is identical to SB 411.

Summary: State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; survey on campus food insecurity; report. Requires the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to (i) survey each public institution of higher education to determine how each such institution is addressing on-campus food insecurity, including specific methods, programs, sources of funding, expenditures, communications strategies, and staffing; (ii) compile and make available to each such institution a guidance document containing best practices for leveraging all available resources and opportunities, including public benefits programs and donation programs, to ensure that students do not face food insecurity on campus; and (iii) report its findings and any recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Education, the Senate Committee on Education and Health, and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations no later than November 1, 2024.

Summary: Earned sentence credits; incarceration prior to entry of final order of conviction. Provides that a person's eligibility for earned sentence credits shall include any period of time actually spent in any state or local correctional facility, state hospital, or juvenile detention facility for the offense such person was held deducted from such person's term of incarceration or detention. The bill also provides that all time actually spent by a person in confinement or detention shall be used in calculating such person's earned sentence credits.The bill provides that the provisions shall apply retroactively to any person who is confined in any correctional facility on July 1, 2025, and if it is determined that, upon retroactive application of the provisions, the release date of any such person passed prior to the effective date of this act, the person shall be released upon approval of an appropriate release plan and within 60 days of such determination unless otherwise mandated by court order; however, no person shall have a claim for wrongful incarceration on the basis of such retroactive application. If a person is released prior to completion of any reentry programs deemed necessary by the Department of Corrections on the person's most recent annual review or prior to completion of any programs mandated by court order, the person shall be required to complete such programs under probation, provided probation is mandated by the court and current community resources are sufficient to facilitate completion of the aforementioned programs. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025.

Summary: Carrying assault firearms in public areas prohibited; penalty. Prohibits the carrying of certain semi-automatic center-fire rifles and shotguns on any public street, road, alley, sidewalk, or public right-of-way or in any public park or any other place of whatever nature that is open to the public, with certain exceptions. Under current law, the current prohibition on carrying certain shotguns and semi-automatic center-fire rifles and pistols applies to a narrower range of firearms, only in certain localities, and only when such firearms are loaded. This bill is identical to SB 99.

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

Summary: Firearms instructors and safety programs; NationalRifle Association and United States Concealed Carry Association.Removes references to the National Rifle Association (the NRA)and the United States Concealed Carry Association from the Code thatallow the organizations to certify ranges and instructors and forcourses offered by them to serve as proof of demonstrated competencein firearms safety and training for the purpose of obtaining a concealedhandgun permit or receiving training as a minor in the use of pneumaticguns. The bill also repeals authority for special license platesin support of the NRA.

Summary: Firearm locking device required for purchase of a firearm; warning against accessibility to children; penalty. Requires any person who purchases a firearm to either (i) obtain or purchase from a licensed dealer a locking device for such firearm if a minor is present in such person's residence for 14 days or more in a calendar month or (ii) complete a certification statement on a form provided by the Department of State Police certifying that a minor is not present in such person's residence for 14 days or more in a calendar month, with exceptions enumerated in the bill. Accordingly, the bill provides that it is unlawful for any licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, or licensed dealer to sell, deliver, or transfer any firearm to any person, other than a licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, or licensed dealer, unless (a) the firearm is accompanied by a warning, in conspicuous and legible type in capital letters printed on a separate sheet of paper included within the packaging enclosing the firearm, that firearms should be locked and kept away from children and that there may be civil and criminal liability for failing to do so and (b) the transferee (1) obtains or purchases a locking device for such firearm if a minor is present in such person's residence for 14 days or more in a calendar month or (2) completes the certification statement. A violation of either provision is a Class 3 misdemeanor.

Summary: Purchase, possession, or transportation of firearm; assault and battery of a family or household member or intimate partner; penalties. Adds to the existing definition of "family or household member" a person's intimate partner, defined in the bill as an individual who, within the previous 12 months, was in a romantic, dating, or sexual relationship with the person. The bill also provides that any person who knowingly and intentionally purchases, possesses, or transports any firearm following a misdemeanor conviction for an offense that occurred on or after July 1, 2024, for the offense of assault and battery against an intimate partner or an offense substantially similar under the laws of any other state or of the United States is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. This bill is identical to SB 642.

Summary: Decreasing probation period; criteria for mandatory reduction; report. Establishes criteria for which a defendant's supervised probation period shall be reduced, including completing qualifying educational activities, maintaining verifiable employment, and complying with or completing any state-certified or state-approved mental health or substance abuse treatment program. The bill provides that a court may decrease a defendant's probation period if warranted by the defendant's conduct and in the interests of justice and may do so without a hearing. The bill also directs the Department of Corrections to meet with relevant stakeholders and provide to the General Assembly by November 1, 2024, a report regarding certain probation practices. The provisions of the bill, other than the requirement that the Department submit a report to the General Assembly, are subject to reenactment by the 2025 Session of the General Assembly. This bill is identical to SB 80.

Summary: Virginia Center for Firearm Violence Interventionand Prevention; Virginia Firearm Violence Intervention and PreventionFund; creation. Creates the Virginia Center for Firearm ViolenceIntervention and Prevention (the Center) within the Department ofCriminal Justice Services and the Virginia Firearm Violence Interventionand Prevention Fund, to be administered by the Center, to replacethe existing Virginia Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention Fund.

Summary: Civilian deaths in custody; report. Requires every law-enforcement agency and state or juvenile correctional facility to report to the Department of Criminal Justice Services and every local or regional correctional facility to report to the State Board of Local and Regional Jails certain information regarding the death of any person who is detained, under arrest or in the process of being arrested, en route to be incarcerated, incarcerated, or otherwise in the custody of such law-enforcement agency or correctional facility. The bill provides that any law-enforcement agency or state or juvenile correctional facility that fails to comply may, at the discretion of the Department, be declared ineligible for state grants or funds. The bill also requires the Department and the Board to analyze the submitted data to determine the means by which such information can be used to reduce the number of such deaths. Finally, the bill requires the Director of the Department and the Board to annually report the findings and recommendations resulting from the analysis and interpretation of the data to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Attorney General beginning on or before July 1, 2025, and each July 1 thereafter. This bill incorporates HB 423.

Summary: Purchase, possession, or transportation of firearm following an assault and battery or stalking violation; prohibition period; penalty. Prohibits a person who has been convicted of assault and battery, assault and battery of a family or household member, or stalking from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm. The prohibition expires five years after the date of conviction, at which point the person's firearm rights are restored, unless he receives another disqualifying conviction. A person who violates the provisions of the bill is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill also extends from three years to five years the existing prohibition period for persons convicted of assault and battery of certain family or household members.

Summary: Expungement of juvenile court records. Provides that if a juvenile was adjudicated delinquent of a delinquent act that would be a felony if committed by an adult, other than certain felony offenses specified in the bill committed when such juvenile was 14 years of age or older, the court records shall be destroyed when the juvenile has attained the age of 29. The bill provides that if a juvenile was adjudicated delinquent of one of the felony offenses specified in the bill committed when such juvenile was 14 years of age or older, the court records shall be retained. Under current law, the court records shall be retained in all instances when a juvenile was found guilty of a delinquent act that would be a felony if committed by an adult. The bill directs the clerk of the juvenile and domestic relations district court to expunge all records pursuant to the bill by July 1, 2027.

Summary: Substantial Risk Order Reporting System established. Requires the Department of State Police to establish a Substantial Risk Order Reporting System for the purpose of tracking and reporting substantial risk orders by locality and to publish such reports on a monthly basis and distribute them in an electronic format to the General Assembly and the Office of the Governor. The bill provides that the Department shall remove the names and other personal identifying information from the data before the reports are published.

Summary: Disabled parking placards; validity; fees.Extends from six months to 12 months the maximum duration for whichthe DMV may issue a temporary removable windshield placard to a personwith a disability that limits or impairs his ability to walk or thatcreates a concern for his safety while walking. The bill also eliminatesthe fee for the issuance of temporary and permanent disabled parkingplacards and includes technical amendments.

Summary: Purchase of firearms; waiting period; penalty. Provides that no person shall sell a firearm unless at least five days have elapsed from the time the prospective purchaser completes the written consent form to have a licensed dealer obtain criminal history record information, with exceptions enumerated in relevant law. This bill is identical to SB 273.

Summary: Department of Motor Vehicles; fees. Reduces the fee for the issuance of an original, duplicate, reissue, or renewal special identification card without a photograph from $10 per year with a $20 minimum fee to $2 per year with a $10 minimum fee. This bill is identical to SB 151.

Summary: Restorative housing and isolated confinement; restrictions on use. Prohibits the use of isolated confinement, defined in the bill, in state correctional facilities, subject to certain exceptions. The bill requires that before placing an incarcerated person in restorative housing or isolated confinement for his own protection, the facility administrator shall place an incarcerated person in a less-restrictive setting, including by transferring such person to another institution or to a special-purpose housing unit for incarcerated persons who face similar threats. The bill requires that if an incarcerated person is placed in restorative housing or isolated confinement, such placement shall be reviewed every 48 hours and the facility administrator shall ensure that the incarcerated person receives a medical and mental health evaluation from certified medical and mental health professionals within one working day of placement in restorative housing or any form of isolated confinement. The bill also requires the facility administrator to notify the regional administrator in writing that an incarcerated person was placed in restorative housing or isolated confinement within 24 hours of such placement. Finally, the bill requires that formal reviews of an incarcerated person's placement in any form of isolated confinement shall be held in such person's presence, inform him of any reason or reasons administrative officials believe isolated confinement remains necessary, and give the incarcerated person an opportunity to respond to those reasons, and a formal ruling shall be provided to the incarcerated individual within 24 hours. This bill is identical to SB 719.

Summary: Alert for missing or endangered children; Virginia Critical Operation for a Disappeared Child Initiative (Codi) Alert Program. Creates a program for local, regional, or statewide notification of a missing or endangered child. The bill defines a missing or endangered child as a child (i) who is 17 years of age or younger or is currently enrolled in a secondary school in the Commonwealth, regardless of age; (ii) whose whereabouts are unknown; and (iii) whose disappearance is under suspicious circumstances or poses a credible threat as determined by law enforcement to the safety and health of the child and under such other circumstances as deemed appropriate by the Virginia State Police. The bill requires the Virginia State Police to develop, in consultation with representatives of local law-enforcement agencies, including representatives from the Virginia Sheriffs' Association and the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, policies for the establishment of uniform standards for the creation of Codi Alert Programs throughout the Commonwealth. This bill is identical to SB 201.

Summary: Limited-duration licenses and driver privilege cards and permits; expiration. Extends the validity of limited-duration licenses, driver privilege cards and permits, and identification privilege cards, other than REAL ID credentials and commercial driver's licenses and permits, to a period of time consistent with the validity of driver's licenses, which, under current law, is a period not to exceed eight years or, for a person age 75 or older, a period not to exceed five years, and permits and special identification cards. The bill directs the Department of Motor Vehicles to implement the extended validity periods for such documents upon reissuance. This bill is identical to SB 246.

Summary: Study; JLARC; effects of gun violence on communities;report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commissionto conduct a two-year study of the social, physical, emotional, and economic effects of gun violence on communities across the Commonwealth.

Summary: Unemployment compensation; employer failure to respond to requests for information; claim determination; notice requirements. Provides that an employer's account shall not be relieved of charges relating to an erroneous payment if the Virginia Employment Commission determines that (i) the employer has failed to respond timely or adequately to a written request for information related to the claim and (ii) the employer has established a pattern of failing to respond timely or adequately to such requests, as described in the bill. The bill requires the Commission to provide written notice for each instance of untimely or inadequate employer response to such requests. The bill provides that upon the Commission's third determination, and for each subsequent determination, within the applicable review period that an employer failed to respond timely or adequately to such a request, the employer shall be considered to have waived all rights in connection with the claim, including participation and appeal rights. The bill requires a deputy examining a claim to provide the reasoning behind the decision, as described in the bill, and a short statement of case-specific facts material to the determination together with any notice of determination upon a claim. The provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Commission on Unemployment Compensation. This bill is identical to SB 381.

Summary: MEI Project Approval Commission; board-level gender and diversity requirements. Requires the MEI Project Approval Commission to consider, prior to recommending approval of any major employment and investment (MEI) project, a board diversity disclosure statement submitted by the business seeking incentives. The Commission is required to consider (i) whether such statement specifies the number and percentage of diverse directors who identify as female or as representing a national, racial, ethnic, indigenous, or cultural minority in the country of the business's principal executive offices and (ii) whether the business commits to annually updating and submitting such statement. This bill is identical to SB 393.

Summary: Department of Forestry; Forestland and Urban Tree Canopy Conservation Plan required. Requires the Department of Forestry, in coordination with a Technical Advisory Committee composed of stakeholders, to develop a Forestland and Urban Tree Canopy Conservation Plan no later than November 1, 2026, and update such plan at least once every five years thereafter. The bill requires the Department to post and maintain on its website the most recent version of the Plan and to submit the Plan to the Governor and Chairmen of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources no later than November 30, 2026, and following any update to such plan. This bill is identical to SB 461.

Summary: Waste tire disposal by tire producers and haulers; fee; requirements. Requires a hauler, as defined in the bill, to (i) register with the Department of Environmental Quality and (ii) transfer all waste tires to a transfer station, material recovery facility, landfill with a solid waste permit as required by law, or waste tire end user. The bill expands the purpose of the Waste Tire Trust Fund to include paying the costs of implementing the waste tire disposal requirements of haulers and funding research, studies, and demonstration projects that stimulate the growth of existing and emerging markets for waste tires. The bill also increases the tire recycling fee from $0.50 to $2 beginning July 1, 2024, and directs the Waste Management Board to adopt regulations to implement the provisions of the bill.

Summary: Historic rehabilitation tax credit; maximum amount of tax credit. Increases from $5 million to $7.5 million, beginning in taxable year 2025, the maximum amount of the historic rehabilitation tax credit, including amounts carried over from prior taxable years, that may be claimed by a taxpayer in any taxable year. This bill is identical to SB 556.

Summary: Department of Environmental Quality; Department of Health; PFAS; identification; monitoring; PFAS Expert Advisory Council established; report. Requires, for every public water system, as defined in the bill, the Department of Health (VDH) to assist the Department of Environmental Quality (the Department) by transferring to the Department quarterly all validated monitoring results available to VDH that indicate PFAS maximum containment level, as defined in the bill, exceedances. In such circumstances, the bill provides that the Department is required to develop and implement a plan to prioritize and conduct PFAS assessments for identifying significant sources of PFAS in such public water system's raw water source or sources. The bill requires any facility, if deemed by the Department to be a potentially significant source of PFAS in the public water system's raw water source, (i) to perform and promptly report the results of quarterly discharge monitoring for one year and (ii) to report to the Department, within 90 days after being directed by the Department, its manufacture or use of PFAS. The bill establishes a PFAS Expert Advisory Committee to assist the Department and VDH in its PFAS-related efforts and requires the Committee to meet at least two times per year through June 30, 2027. The bill requires the Department to annually report certain information to the Governor and the General Assembly by October 1. This bill incorporates HB 245 and is identical to SB 243.

Summary: Housing; Zoning for Housing Production Pilot Program created; affordable dwelling unit policy incentives; report. Creates the Zoning for Housing Production Pilot Program to be administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development. To be eligible for a grant from the Program, a locality is required to make a change to its zoning policies to allow for by-right development that is expected to further the goal of creating and maintaining mixed-income communities, affordable housing, and moderately priced housing, as those terms are defined in the bill. The Department of Housing and Community Development is required to establish certain guidelines for the Program and to notify eligible localities of the existence and purpose of the Program no later than September 1, 2024. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2027.

Summary: Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity; Small SWaM Business Procurement Enhancement Program established; disparity study report. Establishes the Small SWaM Business Procurement Enhancement Program with a statewide goal of 42 percent of certified small SWaM business utilization in all discretionary spending by executive branch agencies and covered institutions in procurement orders, prime contracts, and subcontracts, as well as a target goal of 50 percent subcontracting to small SWaM businesses in instances where the prime contractor is not a small SWaM business for all new capital outlay construction solicitations that are issued. The bill provides that executive branch agencies and covered institutions are required to increase their small SWaM business utilization rate by three percent per year until reaching the 42-percent target level or, if unable to do so, to implement achievable goals to increase their utilization rate. In addition, the bill provides for a small SWaM business set-aside for executive branch agency and covered institution purchases of goods, services, and construction, requiring that purchases up to $100,000 be set aside for award to certified small SWaM businesses.The bill creates the Division of Procurement Enhancement within the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity for purposes of collaborating with the Department of General Services, the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, the Department of Transportation, and covered institutions to further the Commonwealth's efforts to meet the goals established under the Small SWaM Business Procurement Enhancement Program, as well as implementing initiatives to enhance the development of small businesses, microbusinesses, women-owned businesses, minority-owned businesses, and service disabled veteran-owned businesses in the Commonwealth.Finally, the bill requires the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity to conduct a disparity study every five years, with the next disparity study due no later than January 1, 2026. The bill specifies that the study shall evaluate the need for enhancement and remedial measures to address the disparity between the availability and the utilization of women-owned and minority-owned businesses. The provisions of the bill other than those requiring a disparity study have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025, and apply to covered institutions beginning July 1, 2025. This bill incorporates HB 716.

Summary: Study; State Corporation Commission; electric utilities; performance-based regulatory tools; competitive service providers; report. Requests the State Corporation Commission, in consultation with the Department of Energy, to study performance-based regulatory tools for investor-owned electric utilities and the impact of competitive service providers in the Commonwealth.

Summary: Study; Board of Veterinary Medicine; shortage of large animal veterinarians; report. Directs the Board of Veterinary Medicine, in consultation with the State Veterinarian, to complete a two-year study of the shortage of large animal veterinarians, with technical assistance provided by relevant stakeholders, including a member of the House of Delegates and a member of the Senate of Virginia, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates and the Senate Committee on Rules, respectively.