Grounds for divorce; cruelty, abuse, desertion,or abandonment; waiting period. Eliminates the one-year waitingperiod for a divorce to be decreed on the grounds of cruelty, reasonableapprehension of bodily hurt, or willful desertion or abandonment.
Department of Criminal Justice Services; schoolresource officers; establishment of minimum employment qualificationsprohibited. Prohibits the Department of Criminal Justice Servicesfrom establishing minimum qualifications for the employment of schoolresource officers, including any minimum age or experience requirement,or providing guidance or standards or adopting regulations relatingto such minimum qualifications unless expressly authorized by law.
Standards of Learning assessments; virtual assessment administration; students with Individualized Education Programs;conditions and availability. Requires the Board of Educationto offer virtual assessment administration as an alternative methodof Standards of Learning assessment administration for any studentwith an Individualized Education Program (IEP) who meets the criteriaestablished by the Board to demonstrate achievement of the Standardsof Learning. The bill provides that such virtual assessment administrationshall be available at the option of such student and such student'sparent subject to the final determination of such student's IEP team as to the virtual setting and conditions appropriate for such student.The bill further permits the Board to adopt policies providing forsuch virtual assessment administration as an alternative for any student who does not receive special education or does not havean IEP, provided that such alternative is equally available to anysuch student subject to through-year growth assessment requirements.Finally, the bill requires the Board to develop guidance to implementthe provisions of the bill by January 1, 2025.
Earned income tax credit. Allows eligiblelow-income taxpayers to claim a refundable income tax credit equalto 20 percent of the federal earned income tax credit claimed that year by the taxpayer for the same taxable year. The bill also statesthat individuals who would have been entitled to the federal equivalentof this credit but for the fact that the individual, the individual'sspouse, or one or more of the individual's children does not havea valid social security number are eligible to claim this credit.
Animal control officers; additional training.Increases the number of hours of required additional training in animal control and protection from 15 to 24 every three years forall animal control officers and deputy animal control officers employedby a locality.
Virginia Consumer Protection Act; prohibitedpractices; artificial intelligence disclosure. Prohibits thedissemination or sale of an item created with artificial intelligencetechnology that contains a videographic or still image intendingto depict an actual person or an audio or audio-visual recording intendingto depict the voice of an actual person where the creator has notdisclosed the use of artificial intelligence technology.
Virginia Museum of Transportation; established. Establishes the Virginia Museum of Transportation as a public entityand educational institution under the Commonwealth. The bill providesthat the Museum is governed by a 15-member board of trustees.
Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact. Entersthe Commonwealth into the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact, thepurpose of which is to facilitate the mobility of teachers acrossthe member states, with the goal of supporting teachers through anew pathway to licensure. The Compact is presently in effect, asit has reached the enactment threshold of 10 state members.
Siting of data centers; impacts on resourcesand historically significant sites. Provides that any local governmentland use application required for the siting of a data center shallonly be approved in areas where the data center will (i) have a minimal impact on historic, agricultural, and cultural resources and (ii)not be within one mile of a national park, state park, or other historicallysignificant site.
Corporate income tax; sourcing of sales otherthan sales of tangible personal property. Implements market-basedcorporate income tax sourcing for attributing sales, other than salesof tangible personal property, to Virginia beginning with taxableyear 2025.
Firearms instructors and safety programs; NationalRifle Association and United States Concealed Carry Association.Removes references to the National Rifle Association (the NRA)and the United States Concealed Carry Association from the Code thatallow the organizations to certify ranges and instructors and forcourses offered by them to serve as proof of demonstrated competencein firearms safety and training for the purpose of obtaining a concealedhandgun permit or receiving training as a minor in the use of pneumaticguns. The bill also repeals authority for special license platesin support of the NRA.
Sales tax; exemption for food purchased forhuman consumption and essential personal hygiene products. Providesan exemption from local sales and use tax beginning July 1, 2024,for food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygieneproducts. The bill also provides an allocation of state revenuesto fund the distribution to localities for funding that would havebeen distributed to them absent the exemption created by the bill.Under current law, such products are exempt from state sales anduse tax but are subject to the standard local rate of one percent.
