Legal holidays; Indigenous Peoples' Day.Replaces Columbus Day, the second Monday in October, with IndigenousPeoples' Day as a state holiday.
Department of Motor Vehicles; highway use fee;tiered flat rate system; work group; report. Directs the Departmentof Motor Vehicles to convene a work group to determine the feasibilityof implementing a tiered flat rate system to accurately determinethe correct amount of highway use fee to be charged at the pointof sale of a motor vehicle. The bill directs the work group to completeits work and report its findings and recommendations to the Chairsof the Senate and House Committees on Transportation no later thanNovember 15, 2024.
Service Member Sentencing Act. Creates the Service Member Sentencing Act to provide service members, defined in the bill, a service member sentencing option, defined in the bill, if such service member satisfies the eligibility criteria. The bill explains the process and procedures associated with a service member sentencing option. The bill also provides sentencing mitigation for service members that are not eligible for the service member sentencing option, including criteria for a judge to consider prior to sentencing a service member for a criminal offense. The bill requires the Department of Veterans Services to assist in facilitating the provision of the Act.The bill also requires the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court to create a form to track and report the number of service members receiving, successfully completing, failing, declining, and denied a service member sentencing option and sentencing mitigation; such information shall be categorized by race, ethnicity, gender, age, military discharge characterization, and offense type.
Promise to appear after the issuance of a summons; issuance of summons instead of warrant in certain cases; nonviolent felonies. Provides that if any person refuses to give a written promise to appear after the issuance of a summons, the arresting officer shall give such person notice of the time and place of the hearing, note such person's refusal to give his written promise to appear on the summons, and forthwith release him from custody. Under current law, any person refusing to give such written promise to appear is required to be taken immediately by the arresting officer before a magistrate or other issuing officer having jurisdiction.The bill also provides that a law-enforcement officer, at his discretion, may issue a summons instead of a warrant for certain felony offenses, described in the bill, if (i) in the judgment of the officer, the person charged will cease committing the illegal act; (ii) in the judgement of the officer, the person charged does not pose an immediate threat to public safety; and (iii) the person charged signs a written promise to appear at the time and place of the hearing. The bill prohibits a law-enforcement agency from creating a policy that requires or prohibits release for persons meeting such criteria.
Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics AdvisoryCouncil; staffing; annual audit of certain disclosure forms; lobbyistregistration and reporting; civil penalties. Provides for anannual audit of the Statement of Economic Interests disclosure formsfiled by members of the General Assembly to ensure the completenessand material accuracy of the information disclosed. The bill directsthe Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council toappoint and employ an executive director; currently, the Divisionof Legislative Services employs the executive director and providesadditional staff assistance. Additional staff required pursuant tothe bill includes at least one experienced lawyer and at least oneexperienced auditor or investigator. The bill also increases thecivil penalty for certain violations related to filing such disclosureforms and prohibits any such penalty from being paid using fundscontributed to or received by a candidate or his campaign committeeor by any political committee. Lastly, the bill brings the reportingperiod and deadline for lobbyists' disclosures into alignment withthe schedule for filing disclosures required pursuant to the Stateand Local Government Conflict of Interests Act and the General Assembly Conflicts of Interests Act.
Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission; court records; online access to case management systems. Provides that if a clerk of the circuit court provides secure remote access to nonconfidential court records, the clerk shall, by a signed agreement with the Director of the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission, provide secure remote access to such records to staff of the Commission. The bill clarifies that a clerk is not prohibited from providing online access to a case management system to any person designated by law to prepare sentencing guidelines.The bill also requires the clerk of each circuit court to provide online access to a case management system that may include abstracts of case filings and proceedings in the circuit courts to the Commission for purposes related to the preparation of sentencing guidelines. The bill requires the Commission to ensure the confidentiality and security of the information obtained through such online access and prohibits the Commission from publishing personal or case identifying information. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission.
Public institutions of higher education; financialvalue transparency information and acknowledgement; requirements.Requires each public institution of higher education to requireeach student enrolled at such institution to sign, at the time suchstudent enrolls in such institution or declares or changes his academicmajor, as defined in the bill, an acknowledgement form outlining(i) the total cost of completing such academic major and (ii) anestimate of the annual income such student could expect to earn uponcompleting such academic major, based on the median income potential of such academic major as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statisticsof the United States or another reputable source.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment; pilot program. Directs the Department of Veterans Services to establish a pilot program to make electroencephalogram (EEG) combined transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment available for military members, veterans, first responders, law-enforcement officers, and certain agents of federal agencies and family members of the aforementioned individuals. The bill requires the Department to establish regulations for administration of the pilot program.
Home Visiting Program established; report. Establishes the Home Visiting Program within the Department of Social Services to support pregnant people and parents with young children who face greater risks and barriers to achieving positive maternal and child health outcomes. The bill directs the Department to operate in accordance with the Virginia Plan for Home Visiting established by Early Impact Virginia, a consortium of government and private entities. The purpose of the Program is to (i) promote the health and well-being of pregnant people and parents, (ii) improve infant and child health and development, (iii) strengthen family functioning, (iv) promote school readiness, (v) reduce child maltreatment, (vi) promote economic mobility, and (vii) cultivate strong communities. The bill requires the Department to report biennially to the Governor and the General Assembly on outcomes for Program participants.
Insurrections; elections; prohibition from serving in position of public trust; civil penalty. Prohibits any person from serving in any position of public trust within the Commonwealth for life if such person is convicted of certain offenses related to rioting and unlawful assembly or any substantially similar offense under the laws of the United States or any of its states or territories when such offense occurs (i) at a polling place, a voter satellite office, or any other location being used for voting or registration purposes; (ii) during the certification of an election; or (iii) at any other official proceeding related to an election. The bill provides that any person who violates such prohibition shall be subject to a civil penalty of $1,000, and such person shall also immediately resign from any such position of public trust such person holds. The bill authorizes the attorney for the Commonwealth and their assistants to enforce these provisions.The bill defines "position of public trust" as any position in which a person performs work that involves a significant degree of public trust and confidence that such person will carry out the work in accordance with applicable laws, regulation, and guidelines. Such positions may involve policy making, major program responsibility, fiduciary responsibilities, or other duties demanding a significant degree of public trust and shall include positions in administering or conducting elections, public safety or public health, law enforcement, and education.The bill also provides a procedure for any person prohibited from serving in any position of public trust within the Commonwealth to petition the circuit court of the jurisdiction in which he resides or, if the person is not a resident of the Commonwealth, the circuit court of any county or city where such person was last convicted of a disqualifying offense, for a restoration order that unconditionally authorizes his ability to serve in a position of public trust within the Commonwealth.Lastly, the bill provides that the attack on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, constitutes an insurrection, and the provisions of the bill shall apply to any person convicted of an offense in relation to such insurrection.
Commission to Study the History of the Uprootingof Black Communities by Public Institutions of Higher Education inthe Commonwealth established; report. Establishes the 19-memberlegislative Commission to Study the History of the Uprooting of BlackCommunities by Public Institutions of Higher Education for the purposeof studying and determining (i) whether any public institution ofhigher education in the Commonwealth has purchased, expropriated,or otherwise taken possession of property owned by any individualwithin the boundaries of a community in which a majority of the residentsare Black in order to establish or expand the institution's campusand (ii) whether and what form of compensation or relief would beappropriate for any such individual or any of his lineal descendants.The bill sunsets on July 1, 2027.
Chief Resilience Officer of the Commonwealth; Office of Commonwealth Resilience; Interagency Resilience Working Group; Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund; Resilient Virginia Revolving Fund; Advisory Review Committee. Moves the position of Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) from under the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources to under the Governor and creates an Office of Commonwealth Resilience to support the CRO in his functions and duties. The bill requires the CRO to convene an Interagency Resilience Working Group to support the coordination of planning and implementation of resilience efforts, eliminates the position of Special Assistant to the Governor for Coastal Adaptation and Protection, and requires the Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation to convene an Advisory Review Committee to assist in the distribution of loans and grants from the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund. The bill also requires the Director to convene an Advisory Review Committee to assist in the distribution of loans and grants from the Resilient Virginia Revolving Fund and adds the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources and the CRO to the list of those with whom the Virginia Resources Authority is required to consult in directing the distribution of loans or grants from the Fund. The bill requires the Department to make available for public inspection at the office of the Department and on a publicly accessible website records of each application for grants and loans from the two Funds and the actions taken thereon.
