Summary: Public institutions of higher education; governing boards; powers and duties; legal counsel; scope of employment. Provides that the governing board of each public institution of higher education shall have authority over the employment of all legal counsel for the institution, including decision-making authority in the commencement or termination of any legal counsel, the employment of outside legal counsel, the oversight and management of any legal counsel, and the appointment of a general counsel to serve as the chief legal officer of the institution. The bill provides that the chief legal officer and the vice president or similarly situated executive officer of such institution shall, under the direction of the governing board of such institution, conduct the legal affairs of and provide legal advice and representation for such institution on any matter that the governing board determines to be in the interest of the institution. The bill clarifies the scope of the involvement of the Attorney General in the legal affairs of public institutions of higher education, providing that the Attorney General may only provide legal service to a public institution of higher education upon request of the governing board of such institution or upon the governing board's decision to delegate all authority in accordance with the provisions of the bill. The bill permits the governing board of any public institution of higher education with less than 7,500 full-time students to delegate all authority over legal counsel conferred pursuant to the provisions of the bill. The bill also provides that the approval of the Attorney General shall be required for any legal settlement involving consideration in excess of $5 million. The bill also clarifies the duties of the governing board of each public institution of higher education in its collective capacity and of the members of such governing board in their individual capacities.

Summary: Solar-ready roofs for certain government buildings; net-zero energy consumption building design for schools. Requires any executive branch agency or institution and any locality entering the design phase for the construction of a new building greater than 5,000 gross square feet in size, or the renovation of a building where the cost of the renovation exceeds 50 percent of the value of the building, to ensure that such building includes infrastructure for renewable energy systems. The bill also requires the Department of Energy to convene a work group to make recommendations on how to implement renovations to existing public school buildings and facilities. The provisions of this bill only apply to projects entering the design phase on or after January 1, 2026.

Summary: STEM+C Competition Team Grant Program established. Establishes the Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Computing (STEM+C) Competition Team Grant Program to encourage interest in STEM+C-related subject areas and support STEM+C-related extracurricular team-building activities in public schools in the Commonwealth by providing grants for use in establishing or supporting STEM+C competition teams.

Summary: Public School Trades Incentive Fund and Program;established. Establishes the Public School Trades Incentive Fund (the Fund) and the Public School Trades Incentive Program (the Program) for the purpose of providing grants on a competitive basis from the Fund to any school board that seeks to (i) restore high school programs that teach students skilled trades that lead to earning industry-recognized certifications or credentials or (ii) create or restore middle school programs that encourage and recruit students to participate in high school programs that teach students skilled trades that lead to earning industry-recognized certifications or credentials. The bill requires the Department of Education to administer the Program and to establish such rules and procedures relating to applications and awards as it deems appropriate, provided that the Department considers and gives appropriate weight to certain criteria for grantees. The bill requires any grantee to use Program funds only for equipment.

Summary: 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.

Summary: Wildlife Corridor Grant Fund established; report. Establishes the Wildlife Corridor Grant Fund to provide grants for projects that conserve or enhance wildlife corridors prioritized by the Wildlife Corridor Action Plan and associated wildlife crossing infrastructure projects. The bill directs the Director of Wildlife Resources to administer the Fund and to consult with the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Department of Forestry, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Wildlife Resources on disbursing moneys from the Fund. The bill also requires the Director to submit a report to the General Assembly by November 1 of each odd-numbered year concerning funding of the Fund, the awarding of grants from the Fund, and the progress of projects funded by the Fund, including data on the use of project infrastructure by wildlife.

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 HB 960.

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 HB 1224.

Summary: Property tax exemption; surviving spouses ofarmed forces members who died in the line of duty. Expands thereal property tax exemption that is currently available to the survivingspouses of soldiers killed in action to the surviving spouses ofsoldiers who died in the line of duty with a Line of Duty determinationfrom the U.S. Department of Defense. This bill is enabling legislationfor a constitutional amendment to be presented during the November2024 general election.

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

Summary: Unpaved secondary highway funds. Clarifies that the improvement of nonsurface treated secondary highways includes improvements other than paving, as described in the bill. The bill also clarifies that the local governing body of the county receiving funds for such improvements will select the highways or highway segments to be improved, after consulting with the Department of Transportation. This bill is identical to HB 74.

Summary: Persons with disabilities; disAbility Law Center of Virginia; helpline program. Establishes a helpline program within the disAbility Law Center of Virginia for persons with disabilities. The bill provides that such program may receive and respond to questions regarding state-operated programs that provide services to persons with disabilities and directs the disAbility Law Center of Virginia to publicize a toll-free phone number and web-based portal for receiving questions and the procedures for contacting the helpline program.

Summary: Community services boards; core of services. Adds to the list of the core services to be provided by community services boards (i) crisis services for individuals with a mental illness or substance use disorder, (ii) outpatient mental health and substance abuse services, (iii) psychiatric rehabilitation services, (iv) peer support and family support services, (v) mental health services for members of the armed forces located 50 miles or more from a military treatment facility and veterans located 40 miles or more from a Veterans Health Administration medical facility, and (vi) care coordination services. The bill removes language that conditions the duty of community services boards to provide case management services on the availability of funding. The bill further requires community services boards to provide any such services (a) to every adult who has a serious mental illness, child who has or is at risk of serious emotional disturbance, and individual who has a substance use disorder and (b) in a timely manner and at a location that is near the individual. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026, for most provisions.

Summary: Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services;training; powers and duties of guardian; annual reports by guardians;information required. Directs the Department for Aging and RehabilitativeServices to develop and provide training for court-appointed guardiansby July 1, 2025. The bill requires a court-appointed guardian andany skilled professional retained by such guardian to perform guardianshipduties to complete the initial training developed by the Departmentwithin four months after the date of qualification of such guardian.Under the bill, guardians appointed prior to July 1, 2025, must completesuch training by January 1, 2027. The bill further requires a guardianto include in his annual report to the local department of social services a statement as to whether such training has been completed.

Summary: Department of Health; WIC applications; information. Directs the Department of Health to provide information, resources,and education to food banks regarding providing assistance to individuals completing a Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) application.The bill also directs the Department of Health to explore strategies to support the outreach and education efforts for food banks pursuant to the bill and report its findings and recommendations to the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriations and Education and Health and the House Committees on Appropriations and Health and Human Services by November 1, 2024.