"Occupational disease" definition.Clarifies that for the purpose of worker's compensation claims, an "occupational disease" does not include certain physical conditions resulting from repetitive and sustained physical stressors.
Classification of land and improvements for tax purposes; localities. Reclassifies improvements to real property located in any locality as a separate class of real property and authorizes any locality to impose a real property tax on improvements to real property at a rate of tax that is different than, but does not exceed, the general real property rate and is not zero. Under current law, such classification is allowed only for the Cities of Fairfax, Poquoson, Richmond, and Roanoke and such authorization is limited to the Cities of Fairfax, Richmond, and Roanoke. Under current law and under the bill, the City of Poquoson remains authorized to impose a real property tax at a different rate than the tax imposed upon the land on which it is located that is not zero, but such rate may exceed the general real property rate.
Elections; conduct of election; ranked choice voting; locally elected offices; report. Allows elections for any local or constitutional office to be conducted by ranked choice voting. Under current law, only elections of members of a county board of supervisors or a city council are allowed to be conducted by ranked choice voting. The bill also clarifies requirements for conducting elections using ranked choice voting and requires results for elections conducted by ranked choice voting to be reported along with other results reported on election night, except that such results must clearly be identified as preliminary and based on the first rankings in a ranked choice voting election. The bill provides that final tabulation for an election for a local or constitutional office that is not shared by more than one county or city is required to be conducted on the same day as other results are canvassed by the local electoral board and that final tabulation for and election for a local or constitutional office that is shared by more than one county or city is required to be conducted at a centralized facility under the supervision of the Department of Elections. The bill specifies that ranking data is required to be made publicly available by the Department and requires the State Board of Elections to provide standards and to approve vote tabulating software for use with existing voting systems in elections conducted by ranked choice voting. The bill also limits a risk-limiting audit of an election conducted using ranked choice voting to the first choice rankings reported on voting systems. Finally, the bill directs the Department to review the testing and approval framework for voting equipment in the Commonwealth and submit a report of such review no later than the first day of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
Constitutional amendment (first reference); tax and finance; exempt property; affordable housing tax exemption. Provides that the General Assembly may by general law authorize the governing body of any county, city, town, or regional government to provide for the exemption from local real property taxation, or a portion thereof, within such restrictions and upon such conditions as may be prescribed, of real estate owned and occupied by persons of low income. Such general law shall require that (i) the real property is a single family habitation and has been owned and continuously occupied as the sole dwelling of the owner of such real property for a prescribed minimum number of years, (ii) the assessment on the property has increased by a prescribed percentage or more from the previous year or over a number of previous years, and (iii) the taxes on such property are current or the owner of such property has entered into a plan for payment of any delinquent taxes and shall establish the annual household income limits to qualify for such exemption.
Health insurance; coverage option for fertility services; essential health benefits benchmark plan. Requires health insurance policies, subscription contracts, and health care plans to offer and make available coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of infertility and for standard fertility preservation procedures, as defined in the bill. Such coverage includes coverage for in vitro fertilization, provided that procedures are performed at medical facilities or clinics that conform to guidelines published by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology or the American Fertility Society for in vitro fertilization procedures. The bill also requires the Health Insurance Reform Commission to consider such coverage in its 2025 review of the essential health benefits benchmark plan. The bill directs the Commission to include such coverage in its recommendation to the General Assembly for a new essential health benefits benchmark plan unless the Commission identifies a compelling reason to exclude such coverage.
Land preservation tax credit. Increases from $1 million to $1.5 million the threshold credit amount that triggers verification by the Department of Conservation and Recreation of the conservation value of a land donation. The bill exempts certain state agencies from the verification requirement unless the value of the credit claimed is greater than $2 million.
Content manufacturing tax credit. Removes the sunset for the motion picture tax credit, which currently is set to expire after taxable year 2026, and expands and redesignates the tax credit as the content manufacturing tax credit. The bill increases the total amount of credits that can be allocated to taxpayers to $46.5 million beginning in fiscal year 2024; however, should less than $100 million worth of certain new investments, as described by the bill, occur in Virginia by January 1, 2027, the cap will be reduced to $10 million per fiscal year. The bill also amends the definition of the "qualifying expenses" eligible for the content manufacturing tax credit to mean certain amounts spent in connection with the production of an eligible project filmed in the Commonwealth. The bill defines "eligible project" to be the production of a motion picture or an episodic television series.
State plan for medical assistance services; violence prevention services benefit; work group. Directs the Board of Medical Assistance Services to amend the state plan for medical assistance services to include a provision for payment of medical assistance for violence prevention services, defined in the bill, provided by a qualified violence prevention professional to an individual who receives medical treatment for an injury sustained as a result of community violence, defined in the bill, who is determined by a health care provider to be at risk of repeat injury or retaliation. The bill directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to convene a work group to advise the Board on the design and implementation of the violence prevention services benefit and specifies that the work group include representatives from the Department and violence intervention programs, medical providers, survivors of community violence, and other members as deemed appropriate by the Department. The bill requires the Department to post on its website the date upon which violence prevention services may be provided and billed pursuant to the provisions of the bill.
Felony homicide; certain drug offenses; penalty. Provides that a person is guilty of felony homicide, which constitutes second degree murder and is punishable by confinement of not less than five nor more than 40 years, if the underlying felonious act that resulted in the killing of another involved the manufacture, sale, gift, or distribution of a Schedule I or II controlled substance to another and such other person's use of the controlled substance results in his death. The bill provides that venue for a prosecution of this crime shall lie in the locality where the underlying felony occurred, where the use of the controlled substance occurred, or where death occurred. The bill also provides that if a person gave or distributed a Schedule I or II controlled substance only as an accommodation to another individual who is not an inmate in a community correctional facility, local correctional facility, or state correctional facility, or in the custody of an employee thereof, and not with intent to profit thereby from any consideration received or expected nor to induce the recipient of the controlled substance to use or become addicted to or dependent upon such controlled substance, he is guilty of a Class 5 felony.
School meals; availability at no cost to students. Provides that each school board shall require each public elementary and secondary school in the local school division to participate in the federal National School Lunch Program and the federal School Breakfast Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture or in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) as provided in relevant law, if applicable, and to make lunch and breakfast available to any student who requests such a meal at no cost to the student, unless the student's parent has provided written permission to the school board to withhold such a meal from the student. The bill also requires the Department of Education to reimburse each public elementary and secondary school for each school breakfast and lunch served to a student, with a maximum of one breakfast and one lunch per student per school day, and provides the formula for determining the state reimbursement rate for such meals. The bill contains provisions directing each school board to adopt policies and procedures aimed at maximizing access to federal funds available for the cost of participating in school breakfast and lunch programs and maximizing determinations of student eligibility for federal free or reduced cost meal reimbursements rates and participation in CEP. The bill also lowers the minimum identified student percentage for a school to be eligible to participate in CEP from 40 to 25 percent in accordance with the updated federal CEP regulations (7 C.F.R. § 245.9(f)(3)(i)). The bill also requires the Secretary of Education, in coordination with the Secretary of Finance, to convene a stakeholder work group to study and make recommendations on ways to avoid or mitigate the impact of offering statewide free school breakfast and lunches on other state-funded programs and to submit a report on such findings and recommendations by January 15, 2025, to the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Education. The bill also repeals provisions of law relating to the federal School Breakfast Program and to school meal debt that are rendered obsolete by the provisions of the bill.
Constitutional amendment (first reference); qualifications of voters; felon disenfranchisement; automatic restoration of voting rights. Provides that the General Assembly shall provide by general law an exemption to the prohibition that disqualifies a convicted felon from being qualified to vote. The amendment allows the exemption to be created for a person who has been convicted of a nonviolent felony and who has completed his sentence of imprisonment, including any period of probation or postrelease supervision, and has made payment in full of any restitution, fines, or fees assessed against him as a result of his conviction, at which time his voting rights shall be restored. The amendment also permits the General Assembly to include in such law a provision that a person who had his voting rights restored pursuant to such law is not eligible for restoration under such law for any subsequent conviction of a nonviolent felony. The amendment retains the Governor's authority to restore the civil rights of persons convicted of any felony.
Virginia Student Environmental Literacy Plan Grant Fund and Program established. Requires the Office of Environmental Education within the Department of Conservation and Recreation, in conjunction with the Department of Education and any other stakeholder that it deems appropriate, to implement the Virginia Student Environmental Literacy Plan Grant Program and Fund for school districts to develop local student environmental literacy plans and, with consultation from the Department of Education, to maintain a state environmental literacy plan. The bill establishes the Program and Fund, to be administered by the Office, for the purpose of awarding grants on a competitive basis to any local school board that seeks assistance to initiate, expand, or improve teacher professional development opportunities or student environmental education programs that align with the content and objectives of the bill.
