Public elementary and secondary school students;parents' bill of rights established. Establishes, consistentwith § 1-240.1 of the Code of Virginia, several enumerated rightsfor the parents of each public elementary or secondary school studentin the Commonwealth, including the right to review any books, curricula,or instructional materials being taught or made available to theirchild and the right to be notified of any situation that directly affects their child's safety at school.
Department of Wildlife Resources; killing ofdeer, elk, or bear damaging fruit trees, crops, livestock, or personalproperty. Allows the owner or lessee of lands upon which damageto fruit trees, crops, livestock, or personal property utilized forcommercial agricultural production has occurred to solicit the opinionof a district biologist in a neighboring district when, after anassessment by the district biologist for the lands upon which suchdamage has occurred, authorization to kill an animal is not grantedby the Director of the Department of Wildlife Resources or his designee.
Fetal and Infant Mortality Review Team established;penalty; report. Establishes the Fetal and Infant Mortality ReviewTeam to develop and implement procedures to ensure that fetal andinfant deaths occurring in the Commonwealth are analyzed in a systematicway. The bill requires the Team to compile triennial statisticaldata regarding fetal and infant deaths and to make such data availableto the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Department of Health.The bill provides that information and records obtained or createdby the Team and portions of meetings of the Team at which individualfetal and infant deaths are discussed shall be confidential.
Charter; Town of Rocky Mount. Amends thecharter for the Town of Rocky Mount in Franklin County to reflectthe town's transition from May to November for municipal elections.The bill also imposes term limits of three consecutive terms forthe mayor and members of the town council.
Manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing,etc., fentanyl; mandatory minimum. Provides that any person who(i) manufactures, sells, gives, distributes, or possesses with intentto manufacture, sell, give or distribute fentanyl and (ii) does sowithin the geographic limits of any participating locality underthe Opioid Abatement Authority shall upon conviction be imprisonedfor not less than five nor more than 40 years, two years of whichshall be a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment to be served consecutivelywith any other sentence, and be fined not more than $500,000.
Travel expenses; local officials. Provides that any travel expense of a local official, as defined in the bill, to be paid from public funds that is anticipated to exceed $2,500 shall be subject to approval in advance by a vote of the local governing body in an open meeting. If the final travel expense exceeds the previously approved amount, such expense shall be reported to the governing body and noted in the meeting agenda or meeting minutes within 60 days of the determination.
Child abuse; mandatory reporters. Adds to the list of persons who are required to report suspected childabuse or neglect employees of the Department of Labor and Industrywhose duties include ensuring compliance with child labor laws.
Motor vehicle safety inspection approval sticker;persons on active duty. Authorizes motor vehicles owned and operatedby persons on active duty with the United States Armed Forces stationedoutside the Commonwealth at the time the inspection expires to be operated on the highways of the Commonwealth while such persons areon leave. Existing law only authorizes the operation of any suchvehicle by active duty Virginia residents when such vehicle displaysa valid inspection sticker issued by another state.
Admission to bail; rebuttable presumptionsagainst bail. Creates a rebuttable presumption against bail forcertain criminal offenses enumerated in the bill. The bill also requires the court to consider specified factors when determining whetherthe presumption against bail has been rebutted and whether thereare appropriate conditions of release.
Study; JLARC; effect of salaries, employmentbenefits, and other relevant factors on teacher recruitment and retention;report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commissionto study the effect of salaries, employment benefits, and other relevantfactors on recruiting and retaining high-quality, fully licensed teachers, including (i) examining salaries, employment benefits, andother financial benefits and incentives available to teachers inrelation to teacher recruitment and retention in each local schooldivision; (ii) identifying disparities in salaries, employment benefits,and other financial benefits and incentives available to teachersin relation to teacher recruitment and retention rates between high-povertyand rural school divisions, high-income school divisions, and theCommonwealth on average; (iii) reviewing salaries, employment benefits,and other financial benefits and incentives available to teachersin relation to the rates of teacher recruitment and retention andthe numbers of fully licensed teachers in adjoining states and theDistrict of Columbia; and (iv) identifying factors that positivelyimpact the recruitment and retention of high-quality, fully licensedteachers.
Towing fees; Commonwealth Trespass Towing Rate-SettingAdvisory Panel established. Creates the Commonwealth TrespassTowing Rate-Setting Advisory Panel to advise the General Assemblyand the Governor on statewide trespass towing fees and related ancillaryfees. The bill increases from $150 to $190 the maximum statewide hookupand initial towing fee of any passenger car, from $30 to $65 the maximum ancillary fee for towing a vehicle between 7:00 p.m. and8:00 a.m., and from $30 to $35 the maximum ancillary fee for towinga vehicle on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday. The bill clarifiesthat such limitations on fees do not include any reasonable creditcard fees. The bill requires localities to set their own towing ratesto at least the amounts of the maximum statewide rates and removesrequirements specific to Planning Districts 8 and 16 regarding localitiessetting their own towing rates.
Students with individualized education programsor Section 504 Plans; emergency protocol and guide. Requiresa protocol for individualized accommodations and supports during emergency situations at school and a step-by-step guide on how toexecute such protocol to be included in each individualized educationprogram implemented for a public school student with a disabilityin accordance with the federal Individuals with Disabilities EducationAct and in each Section 504 Plan implemented for a public schoolstudent in accordance with § 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Actof 1973 and provided to all of such student's teachers for implementation.
