Uniform Statewide Building Code; violations; fines. Increases from $2,500 to $5,000 the minimum amount and from $5,000 to $10,000 the maximum amount that any person, firm, or corporation shall be fined when convicted of a third or subsequent offense of violating the provisions of the Uniform Statewide Building Code committed within 10 years of another such offense after having been at least twice previously convicted of such an offense. The bill also adds penalties for similar violations committed by owners of a blighted multifamily property. This bill is identical to HB 578.
Virginia Freedom of Information Act; exclusionsfrom mandatory disclosure; purchase card statement. Clarifiesthat the name of a public employee, officer, or official as it appearson a purchase card statement or other payment record and the descriptionof individual purchases are not exempt from disclosure by the StateComptroller.
High school graduation requirements; satisfactionof certain course credits with workforce credentials; developmentand maintenance of list of accepted credentials. Requires theBoard of Education, in collaboration with the Virginia CommunityCollege System, to develop and maintain a current, comprehensive,and uniform list of industry-recognized workforce credentials thatstudents may take as a substitute for certain units of credit requiredfor graduation, including such credentials that are accepted as substitutesfor (i) laboratory science credits or (ii) electives credits. Thebill provides that such list uniformly applies across each localschool division and that each school board is required to accept as a substitute for a required credit any credential listed as anaccepted substitute for such required credit. The bill also requiresany College and Career Access Pathways Partnership entered into betweena school board and a comprehensive community college to specify,consistent with the list, industry-recognized credentials that areaccepted as substitutes for certain credits required for high schoolgraduation. Finally, the bill requires the Board, in establishinggraduation requirements, to permit any student to substitute (i)three standard units of credit and one verified credit in laboratoryscience or (ii) credits for electives for completion of any industry-approvedworkforce credential that is included on the list as an acceptedsubstitute for such credits.
Employee protections; medicinal use of cannabisoil. Amends the provision that prohibits an employer from discriminatingagainst an employee for such employee's lawful use of cannabis oilpursuant to a valid written certification issued by a practitionerfor the treatment or to eliminate the symptoms of the employee'sdiagnosed condition or disease, with certain exceptions, by specifyingthat such use must conform to the laws of the Commonwealth and byexcluding the employees of the Commonwealth and other public bodiesfrom such protections.
Virginia Freedom of Information Act; charges for production of public records; report. Prohibits a public body from charging a requester for any costs incurred during the first hour spent accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for records requested in conjunction with the requester's first request. The bill provides that for any additional time spent accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for such records, or for any additional record requests, the public body shall not charge an hourly rate for accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for the records exceeding the lesser of the hourly rate of pay of the lowest-paid individual capable of fulfilling the request or $40 per hour. The bill allows a public body to petition the appropriate court for relief from the $40-per-hour fee cap upon showing by a preponderance of the evidence that there is no qualified individual capable of fulfilling the request for $40 per hour or less and requires such petition to be heard within seven days of when the petition is made, provided that the public body has sent and the requester has received a copy of the petition at least three working days prior to filing. The bill also provides that in certain instances a hearing on any petition shall be given precedence on a circuit court's docket over all cases that are not otherwise given precedence by law and that the time period the public body has to respond to a record request shall be tolled between the requester's receipt of the petition and the final disposition of the court. The bill prohibits a public body from charging a requester for any court costs or fees resulting from a petition. The bill directs the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council to study whether public bodies should charge requesters pursuant to the bill and report on its findings by December 2024. The provisions of the bill amending the Code of Virginia do not become effective unless reenacted by the 2025 Session of the General Assembly.
Public institutions of higher education; release of student transcripts. Requires each public institution of higher education to release an academic transcript directly to the employer or prospective employer of a student currently or formerly enrolled at such institution upon the request of the student. The bill also prohibits any public institution of higher education from conditioning the release of an academic transcript to a student currently or formerly enrolled at such institution on the payment of an outstanding debt if (i) such outstanding debt is less than $500, (ii) such outstanding debt is less than $1,000 and such currently or formerly enrolled student received a Federal Pell Grant at any time during his enrollment, or (iii) such currently or formerly enrolled student has enrolled in a repayment plan and has made at least three consecutive monthly payments on such outstanding debt.
Security for costs; suit or action by nonresident.Provides that in any suit or action taken by a plaintiff, includinga counterclaim plaintiff, cross-claim plaintiff, or third-party plaintiff,a motion may be made by a party to such suit or action that suchplaintiff is a nonresident and security is required. As under currentlaw, a court may dismiss such suit or action after 60 days from thecourt's order unless before the dismissal it is proven that suchplaintiff is a resident of the Commonwealth or that the security setby the court has been posted. This bill is a recommendation of theBoyd-Graves Conference.
Foreman of grand jury; oaths of jurors and witnesses.Clarifies the oath of the foreman and other grand jurors. Thisbill is a recommendation of the Judicial Council of Virginia.
Civil penalties for certain local property violations; industrial and commercial areas. Allows localities by ordinanceto charge enhanced civil penalties for certain local property violationson property that is zoned or utilized for industrial or commercial purposes.
Digital asset mining; holding, use, and transfer of digital assets; securities exemption; tax exemption. Exempts any person engaging in home digital asset mining, digital asset mining, or digital asset mining business activities, as those terms are defined in the bill, from the requirement to obtain a money transmitter license. The bill exempts issuers and sellers of digital assets from securities registration requirements if certain conditions are met. Under the bill, no locality's industrial zone may prohibit the use of such area for digital asset mining or digital asset mining business activities and no local sound ordinance may be more restrictive for digital asset mining or digital asset mining business activities than the current industrial zone noise ordinance of the locality. Additionally, the bill provides that, for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2024, up to $200 per transaction of any net capital gain from exchanges made after January 1, 2024, for one legal tender to another legal tender shall be subtracted from taxable income computations. The bill provides that any person in the Commonwealth may use or transfer digital assets to purchase legal goods or services or transfer or exchange digital assets using a blockchain protocol and that no person engaging in digital asset mining, digital asset mining business activities, or providing digital asset mining or staking services for another person or operating a node or series of nodes on a blockchain network shall be subject to liability for merely validating a transaction. The bill also directs to the Bureau of Financial Institutions of the State Corporation Commission to convene a work group for the purpose of studying and making recommendations related to blockchain technology, digital asset mining, and cryptocurrency activity in the Commonwealth.
Civil commitments and temporary detention orders; definition of mental illness; neurocognitive disorders and neurodevelopmental disabilities; Secretary of Health and Human Resources to evaluate placements for certain individuals; report. Specifies that for the purpose of civil commitments and temporary detention orders, behaviors and symptoms that manifest from a neurocognitive disorder or neurodevelopmental disability are excluded from the definition of mental illness and are, therefore, not a basis for placing an individual under a temporary detention order or committing an individual involuntarily to an inpatient psychiatric hospital. The bill provides that if a state facility has reason to believe that an individual's behaviors or symptoms are solely a manifestation of a neurocognitive disorder or neurodevelopmental disability, the state facility may require that a licensed psychiatrist or other licensed mental health professional reevaluate the individual's eligibility for a temporary detention order before the individual is admitted and shall promptly authorize the release of an individual held under a temporary detention order if the licensed psychiatrist or other licensed mental health professional determines the individual's behaviors or symptoms are solely a manifestation of a neurocognitive disorder or neurodevelopmental disability. The foregoing provisions of the bill do not become effective unless reenacted by the 2025 Session of the General Assembly. The bill also directs the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to convene a work group to evaluate, identify, and develop placements for individuals with neurocognitive disorders and neurodevelopmental disabilities, as well as any statutory or funding changes needed to prevent inappropriate placements for such individuals, and to report his findings and recommendations by November 1, 2024. As introduced, this bill is a recommendation of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission and the Behavioral Health Commission. This bill is identical to SB 176.
Department of Environmental Quality; review and authorization of projects; hearing and appeal. Allows any person aggrieved by the final decision of the Department of Environmental Quality regarding the authorization of a project and who has participated in a proceeding for a permit to construct or operate a small renewable energy project under procedures adopted by the Department to seek judicial review of such action in accordance with the Administrative Process Act in the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond within 30 days of such decision. The bill requires the court to hear and decide such action as soon as practicable after the date of filing. This bill is identical to HB 122.
