Schools boards; pupil transportation; alternatives; requirements. Expands the availability of allowable alternatives to traditional school bus transportation services relating to the transportation of students to and from school or school-related activities. The bill expands the entities with whom and the purposes for which a school board may enter into agreements to provide transportation of pupils to include other school boards and comprehensive community colleges for the purposes of transporting students to and from concurrent or dual enrollment programs, career and technical education programs, joint and regional schools, and college partnership laboratory schools. The bill permits any school board to (i) provide, or contract with a privately operated entity to provide, for the purpose of transporting students to and from schools on a regularly scheduled basis a vehicle designed (a) to carry between 11 and 15 passengers, (b) as a specific type of school bus, in accordance with relevant federal and state laws and regulations, and (c) to carry nine passengers or fewer and (ii) in accordance with the provisions set forth in the bill, adopt a resolution to utilize alternative transportation providers, coordinators, and management services to supplement traditional school bus service. The bill requires any vehicle provided or obtained pursuant to clause (i) to comply with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations and undergo scheduled and random inspections by the Department of State Police. The bill establishes requirements for the contents of police reports relating to any school transportation-related accident to account for the use of alternative modes of school transportation to supplement traditional school bus service. The bill contains provisions prohibiting any school board from hiring, employing, or entering into any agreement with any person for the purposes of operating any vehicle to transport students unless such person meets certain requirements, including those requirements specific to persons who operate school busses. Finally, the bill permits any school board of a school division for which providing transportation by school bus is not cost effective to use a portion of its transportation funding to provide a grant to any parent of a student who provides student transportation to and from school and establishes several conditions in relation to such provision, including directing the Board to adopt policies and procedures relating to the award of such grants.
Department of Medical Assistance Services; Preferred Drug List/Common Core Formulary; approval of a nonpreferred drug. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to eliminate the requirement that a patient try and fail a drug from the Preferred Drug List/Common Core Formulary in the six months immediately prior to approval of a nonpreferred drug when such patient has previously tried the drug from the Preferred Drug List/Common Core Formulary and experienced harmful side effects.
Family caregiver tax credit. Creates a nonrefundable income tax credit for taxable years 2024 through 2028 for expenses incurred by an individual in caring for an eligible family member, defined in the bill, who requires assistance with one or more activities of daily living, also defined in the bill. The credit equals 50 percent of eligible expenditures incurred by the caregiver up to $1,000. In order to qualify for the credit, the family caregiver must (i) not receive any compensation or reimbursement for the eligible expenditures and (ii) have federal adjusted gross income that is no greater than $100,000 for an individual or $200,000 for married persons.
Income tax subtraction; state police retirement benefits. Establishes an income tax subtraction for up to $10,000 of state police retirement benefits in taxable year 2024 and each year thereafter. The bill defines state police retirement benefits to include retirement income received by a Virginia State Police officer who is at least 55 years of age and benefits paid to the surviving spouse of such officer whose death occurred in the line of duty.
Board of Education; out-of-school time programs; exemptions from licensure; conditions and requirements. Exempts from licensure any out-of-school time program that (i) serves only school-age children; (ii) operates primarily after or before regular school hours, during the summer, or at times when school is not normally in session; (iii) is offered for the purpose of promoting expanded childhood learning and enrichment, child and youth development, or educational, recreational, or character-building activities; and (iv) receives and maintains Board of Education certification to operate without a license. The bill provides that any Board-certified, license-exempt out-of-school time program that fails to comply with the conditions set forth in the bill shall receive from the Superintendent notice of such noncompliance with an explanation that if such noncompliance is not resolved within a reasonable period of the time, as determined by the Board, the Superintendent may, at his discretion, deny, suspend, or revoke such program's certification and require it to be licensed.
Virginia Public Procurement Act; competitive sealed bidding; required criteria in invitations to bid. Requires all public bodies to include in any Invitation to Bid criteria that will be used in determining whether a bidder who is not prequalified by the Virginia Department of Transportation is a responsible bidder. Current law authorizes, but does not require, localities to include such criteria in Invitations to Bid.
Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services; Office of the Independent Living Community Ombudsman established. Establishes the Office of the Independent Living Community Ombudsman, with the purpose of receiving, recording, and responding to concerns related to independent living communities. The bill directs the Office to operate a complaint line to receive, record, and respond to such concerns.
Virginia Abortion Care and Gender-Affirming Health Care Protection Act; reproductive and gender-affirming health care services; prohibitions on extradition for certain crimes; civil penalties. Establishes the Virginia Abortion Care and Gender-Affirming Health Care Protection Act. The bill provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealth that all persons are entitled to provide, receive, and help others provide or receive abortion care and gender-affirming health care services not prohibited under the laws of the Commonwealth, and that such provision, receipt, and assistance is not diminished, chilled, or infringed by public or private actors. The bill provides that no law-enforcement officer acting in the Commonwealth or employed by the Commonwealth or any of its localities or political subdivisions may investigate, arrest, or detain any person, seek the issuance of a warrant, or otherwise assist in or provide support for any investigation regarding either the provision or receipt of abortion care or gender-affirming care not prohibited under the laws of the Commonwealth or any person's menstrual health data. The bill creates a private right of action for any person who is aggrieved by such unlawful investigation to obtain an injunction or other equitable relief against such law-enforcement officer. The bill also creates a private right of action for any person who sustains any injury, damages, or other harm resulting from another person who, under the law of a jurisdiction other than the Commonwealth, engages or attempts to engage in abusive litigation, as defined in the bill. The bill also provides that no demand for extradition of a person charged with a criminal violation of law of another state shall be recognized by the Governor if such alleged violation involves the receipt of or assistance with protected health care activity, as defined in the bill, within the Commonwealth unless the alleged criminal violation would also constitute a criminal offense under the laws of the Commonwealth. The bill provides that any subpoena under the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act or any summons for a witness for another state in a criminal case shall include an attestation, made under penalty of perjury, stating whether the subpoena or summons seeks documents, information, or testimony related to the provision, receipt, attempted provision or receipt, assistance in the provision or receipt, or attempted assistance in the provision or receipt of protected health care activity, as defined in the bill.
Online Children's Safety Protection Act established; civil penalties. Creates the Online Children's Safety Protection Act, which requires certain duties of covered entities, defined in the bill, to protect the best interests of children who use online services, products, or features. The bill requires any covered entity that provides an online service, product, or feature likely to be accessed by a child to complete a data protection impact assessment, the details of which are described in the bill, within two years before any new online service, product, or feature is offered to the public on or after July 1, 2024. The bill also prohibits certain actions by covered entities and authorizes the Attorney General to impose penalties and initiate actions against any covered entity that violates the provisions of the bill.
Income tax subtraction; firefighter benefits. Establishes an income tax subtraction for up to $20,000 of firefighter benefits in taxable year 2024, up to $30,000 in taxable year 2025, and up to $40,000 in taxable year 2026 and each year thereafter. The bill defines firefighter benefits to include retirement income related to professional firefighting services and benefits paid to the surviving spouse of a firefighter whose death occurred in the line of duty.
Sales and use tax exemption; data centers. Requires data center operators to meet certain energy efficiency standards in order to be eligible for the sales and use tax exemption for data center purchases. Under the bill, a data center operator shall be eligible for the exemption only if such operator demonstrates that (i) its facilities either (a) have a power usage effectiveness score of no greater than 1.2 or (b) for data centers co-located in buildings with other commercial uses, achieve an energy efficiency level of no less than the most efficient 15 percent of similar buildings constructed in the previous five years and (ii) it will procure carbon-free renewable energy and associated renewable energy certificates from facilities equal to 90 percent of its electricity requirements or that its electricity will be otherwise derived from non-carbon-emitting, renewable sources.
Income tax; rolling conformity. Provides that when Virginia does not conform on a rolling basis to federal tax laws due to any changes in a single act of Congress with an impact of more than $15 million on revenues in the year in which the amendment was enacted or any of the next four years, such nonconformity shall not be considered for purposes of calculating the nonconformity threshold for all amendments in a year with a cumulative projected impact of more than $75 million in the year in which the amendments were enacted or any of the next four years.
