Public high schools; research-based hazing prevention instruction. Requires the Board of Education to develop Standards of Learning and curriculum guidelines for research-based hazing prevention instruction to be provided as a part of physical or health education instruction provided to students in grade nine or 10. The bill requires such hazing prevention instruction to include age-appropriate, extensive, and current education about hazing, including (i) examples of hazing; (ii) the dangers of hazing, including the consequences of alcohol intoxication; and (iii) school policies and laws related to hazing, including criminal penalties and bystander intervention. The bill requires such research-based hazing prevention instruction to be offered in-person but requires each school board to provide options for virtual participation for any student who is enrolled in an online or virtual physical or health education program. Finally, the bill requires each school board to provide such research-based hazing prevention instruction beginning with the school year following the Board's adoption of revised Standards of Learning for physical and health education for grades nine and 10 incorporating such research-based hazing prevention instruction and directs the Board to, in the intermediary time, develop and post on its website guidance documents for the purpose of making such research-based hazing prevention instruction available to local school boards. This bill is identical to SB 379.
Abuse and neglect of children; causing or enabling child to gain possession of a firearm; penalty. Creates a Class 5 felony for any parent, guardian, or other person who is 18 years of age or older and is responsible for the care of a child under the age of 18 whose willful act or omission causes or enables that child to gain possession of a firearm (i) after having received notice of a preliminary determination, pursuant to relevant law, that such child poses a threat of violence or physical harm to self or others or (ii) when such parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the care of the child knows or reasonably should know that such child has been charged with, either by warrant or petition, convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent of a violent juvenile felony.The bill provides that no person shall be subject to arrest or prosecution regarding knowledge of a preliminary threat determination if such person received notice that the threat assessment team concluded that the child does not indicate a threat of violence or physical harm to self or others or that any case or review opened or conducted by that threat assessment team as a result of such preliminary determination has been closed. The bill also provides that no person shall be subject to arrest or prosecution if such person has received notice that any pending charge for a violent juvenile felony has been dismissed or a nolle prosequi has been entered.The bill provides an affirmative defense to prosecution if the parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the care of a child caused or enabled such child to gain possession of a firearm while in a dwelling because of a reasonable belief that he or such child was in imminent danger of bodily injury. Lastly, the bill provides that the new offense is eligible for the enhanced earned sentence credits. This bill is identical to HB 36.
STEM+C Competition Team Grant Program and Fund;established. Establishes the Science, Technology, Engineering,Mathematics, and Computing (STEM+C) Competition Team Grant Programand Fund to encourage interest in STEM+C-related subject areas andsupport STEM+C-related extracurricular team-building activities inpublic schools in the Commonwealth by providing grants to qualifiedschools, as defined in the bill, for use in establishing or supportingSTEM+C competition teams.
Alcoholic beverage control; sale and delivery of mixed beverages and pre-mixed wine for off-premises consumption; third-party delivery license; sunset; repeal. Repeals the July 1, 2024, sunset on provisions that allow (i) distillers that have been appointed as agents of the Board of Directors of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, mixed beverage restaurant licensees, and limited mixed beverage restaurant licensees to sell mixed beverages for off-premises consumption and (ii) farm winery licensees to sell pre-mixed wine for off-premises consumption. The bill also repeals, effective July 1, 2026, third-party delivery licenses. The bill requires the Authority to convene a work group to review third-party delivery licenses and report its findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services by November 15, 2024. This bill is identical to HB 688.
Training standards for law-enforcement officers; comprehensive harm reduction program; drug use. Requires theDepartment of Criminal Justice Services to establish training standardsand publish and periodically update model policies for law-enforcementpersonnel for a comprehensive harm reduction program that promotesscientifically proven methods of mitigating health risks associatedwith drug use and other high-risk behaviors, including the use ofnaloxone or other opioid antagonists to prevent opioid overdose deaths,in coordination with statewide naloxone training programs developedby the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Servicesand the Virginia Department of Health.
Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; reciprocal licensing for certain professionals from neighboring states. Requires the Real Estate Appraiser Board, the Real Estate Board, the Board for Waste Management Facility Operators, and the Board for Waterworks and Wastewater Works Operators and Onsite Sewage System Professionals, upon application, to recognize current and valid licenses or certificates issued by a neighboring state, defined in the bill, as fulfillment of qualifications for licensure in the Commonwealth if there are no pending investigations or complaints, no disqualifying criminal records, and no discipline imposed by another state.
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, and the project shall be designed and implemented by the county capital projects manager or the designee of the chief administrative officer of the county to project standards.
Unpaved secondary highway funds. Clarifiesthat the improvement of nonsurface treated secondary highways includesimprovements other than paving, as described in the bill. The billalso clarifies that the local governing body of the county receivingfunds for such improvements will select the highways or highway segmentsto be improved, after consulting with the Department of Transportation,and the project shall be designed and implemented by the county capitalprojects manager to project standards.
Rental conveyances; leases; assignments. Relocates certain provisions of Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances) of the Code of Virginia related to assignments of rent from a chapter related to nonresidential tenancies to a chapter related to leases. The bill corrects a technical error from the 2019 recodification of Title 55 of the Code of Virginia. This bill is identical to HB 312.
State Corporation Commission; annual reportfiling requirements. Permits a person authorized by a domesticor foreign stock or nonstock corporation to sign the annual reportof such corporation for purposes of the Virginia Stock CorporationAct and the Virginia Nonstock Corporation Act.
Manufacture, importation, sale, etc., of auto sears; prohibition; penalty. Prohibits the manufacture, importation, sale or offer to sell, possession, transfer, or transportation of an auto sear, defined in the bill as a device, other than a trigger activator, for use in converting a semi-automatic firearm to shoot automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. A violation is punishable as a Class 6 felony. The bill also provides for the forfeiture of any auto sear concealed, possessed, transported, or carried in violation of the prohibition. This bill is identical to HB 22.
Long-term services and supports screening; expedited screening; screening exemption; emergency. Modifies existing provisions regarding the required long-term services and supports screening under the state plan for medical assistance services by creating greater flexibility for how screenings are completed under certain circumstances. Under the bill, any individual receiving inpatient services in an acute care hospital discharged to a nursing facility for skilled care only is not required to be screened prior to discharge from the hospital unless the individual requests the screening. The bill directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill. This bill is identical to HB 291 and contains an emergency clause.
