Installation, maintenance, and operation of devices in highway right-of-way for law-enforcement purposes; regulation authority; civil penalty. Authorizes the Department of State Police or the chief law-enforcement officer of a locality to install devices for law-enforcement purposes in the right-of-way of highways under state jurisdiction. The bill defines law-enforcement purposes as an active felony investigation, an effort to prevent a targeted act of violence, or an attempt to locate missing, endangered, or wanted persons by law enforcement through the identification of a motor vehicle and excludes from the definition the enforcement of speed limits, traffic laws, tolling requirements, or high-occupancy vehicle requirements. The bill authorizes entering into agreements with private entities for the maintenance and operation of such devices. The bill requires the data collected to be maintained for no more than 30 days following its collection and limits the data and information collected to data and information about (i) the make, model, condition, location, and color of a vehicle and the information on the vehicle's license plate and (ii) the date and time the data and information was collected. This bill was incorporated into HB 775.
Virginia Retirement System; enhanced retirementbenefits for animal control officers. Adds animal control officersto the list of local employees eligible to receive enhanced retirementbenefits for hazardous duty service. Under current law, localitiesmay provide such benefits to first responders, including firefightersand emergency medical technicians, and certain other hazardous dutypositions.The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025, andprovides that such membership would apply only to service earned onor after July 1, 2025.
Employee protections; employer-sponsored meetingson political matters; civil action. Prohibits an employer fromretaliating against an employee (i) because such employee declinesto attend or participate in an employer-sponsored meeting or receivean employer's communications conveying an opinion about politicalmatters, as defined in the bill; (ii) as a means of inducing an employee'sattendance at such meeting or receipt of such communications; or (iii) because the employee reports a suspected violation of the bill's provisions. The bill permits an employee alleging a violation ofthe bill's provisions to bring an action in civil court within 90days after such violation occurs for appropriate relief, includinginjunctive relief, reinstatement, compensation for lost wages, benefits,and other remuneration, interest, and reasonable attorney fees andcosts.
Minimum wage and overtime pay; warehouse distribution center employees and employers; civil action; civil penalty. Providesthat (i) an employer that violates requirements in existing law relatingto the minimum wage, payment of wages and salaries, or overtime payor (ii) a warehouse employer, as defined in the bill, that violatesthe bill's provisions shall be liable to an impacted employee forcertain remedies, damages, and other relief as specified in the bill.The bill requires a warehouse employer to provide each warehouseemployee, as defined in the bill, a written description of each performancestandard to which such employee is subject and of any potential adverseemployment action that may result from such employee's failure tomeet such performance standard. The bill prohibits a warehouse employerfrom taking adverse action against a warehouse employee for such employee's use of a bathroom facility. The bill provides that a warehouse employer that violates the bill's provisions relating to warehouseemployers is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 for each violation.
Electric utilities; integrated resource plans;grid-enhancing technologies and advanced conductors. Requiresan electric utility to include in an integrated resource plan a comprehensive assessment of the application of grid-enhancing technologies andadvanced conductors, as those terms are defined in the bill, and,if applicable, to include in such plan a detailed explanation ofwhy such technologies or conductors are not included in such plan.
Early childhood care and education; publicly funded providers; exemption from licensure for certain child day programs. Excepts military child care fee assistance or any child care subsidy paid by a branch of the Armed Forces of the United States from the federal funds that would otherwise render a child day program as a "publicly funded provider," as that term is defined and used in relevant law relating to early childhood care and education. The bill also exempts from licensure by the Superintendent of Public Instruction any child day program that (i) serves only dependent children of military personnel and (ii) (a) is located on a military base or federal property or (b) is certified as a family child care provider by a branch of the Armed Forces of the United States and provides that any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States or its agent, including an installation commander of a military base on which a child day program is located, may assume responsibility for approving or determining which children may be served by the program that is so exempted from licensure. This bill was incorporated into HB 739.
Development of offshore wind capacity; prohibited cost recovery.
Department of Education; development and distribution of fentanyl education and awareness informational one-sheet; requirements. Requires the Department of Education to develop, in collaboration with the Department of Health, a fentanyl education and awareness informational one-sheet designed to promote awareness of the dangers associated with and the prevalence of fentanyl and provide essential information on fentanyl overdose prevention and preparedness among high school-age students. The bill requires the Department of Education to make available to each school board and post in a publicly accessible location on its website such informational one-sheet and to annually review and update such informational one-sheet in collaboration with the Department of Health to ensure its currency and accuracy. The bill requires each public high school or secondary school that includes grades nine through 12 to annually distribute such informational one-sheet to each student in grades nine through 12 within the first two weeks of the school year. This bill was incorporated into HB 1473.
Electric utilities; energy efficiency programs; duty to implement the Energy Policy of the Commonwealth; RPS program requirements; competitive procurement. Provides that "in the public interest" for the purpose of assessing energy efficiency programs means that the State Corporation Commission determines that the program is cost-effective and directs the Commission to initiate a proceeding no later than December 31, 2025, to establish a single, consistent cost-effectiveness test for use in evaluating proposed energy efficiency programs.The bill provides (i) that "total electric energy" for purposes of the RPS Program requirements does not include energy sold to certain customers purchasing 100 percent renewable energy and (ii) that in any RPS program compliance year, any electric energy that was generated in the previous calendar year from certain nuclear generating plants, or any zero-carbon electric generating facilities, including small modular nuclear reactors and green hydrogen facilities, will reduce the utility's RPS Program requirements by an equivalent amount.The bill provides that the Commission and its staff have the affirmative duty to ensure the Commonwealth implements the Energy Policy of the Commonwealth at the lowest reasonable cost, taking into account all cost-effective demand-side management options and the security and reliability benefits of the regional transmission entity to which each incumbent electric utility has joined.The bill requires that for certain required petitions by Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy Virginia for approvals to construct, acquire, or purchase the generating capacity using energy derived from sunlight or onshore wind, at least 35 percent of such generating capacity is from the purchases of energy from solar or onshore wind facilities owned by persons other than such utilities. Current law requires 35 percent of such generating capacity to be from the purchases of energy from solar or onshore wind facilities owned by persons other than such utilities.
Absentee voting; voter satellite offices; minimumnumber required. Requires that absentee voting in person be availablein the office of the general registrar and in any voter satelliteoffice that the governing body of any county or city chooses to establish.Localities with a population of 50,000 or more are required to establishat least one voter satellite office to be in operation for the durationof the period during which absentee voting in person is available.Under current law, the governing body of any county or city, regardlessof its population, is authorized to establish as many voter satelliteoffices as it deems necessary.
Firearm purchases; permit to purchase a firearm required; penalties. Requires any person purchasing a firearm from a firearms dealer to present a valid permit issued by the Department of State Police that allows the holder to purchase a firearm. The bill prohibits a firearms dealer from selling, renting, trading, or transferring from his inventory any firearm to any person until he has received such permit. The bill sets forth the procedures to apply for the permit and prohibits the permitting of any person who (i) is younger than 21 years of age; (ii) is prohibited from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm; (iii) within the two years prior to the date of application, has been convicted of any offense against a person that is an act of violence, force, or threat or a firearm-related offense that is punished as a Class 1 misdemeanor; (iv) is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance; (v) within the two years prior to the date of application, has not completed a firearms safety or training course or class offered to the public by a law-enforcement agency, institution of higher education, or private or public institution or organization or by a firearms training school utilizing instructors certified or approved by the Department of Criminal Justice Services, and with a required curriculum, detailed in the bill; or (vi) for whom it would not be in the interest of the public health, safety, or welfare of the Commonwealth as determined by the Department of State Police for the person to obtain a permit because the person is found to be lacking in essential character or temperament necessary to be entrusted with a firearm. The bill provides that such permit is valid for five years from the date of issuance. The bill details reasons for revocation of a permit and provides that any person who fails to return a revoked permit to the Superintendent of State Police within five days' notice of revocation is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill also states that any person who willfully and intentionally makes a materially false statement on the application form for a permit is guilty of a Class 5 felony.
Virginia Retirement System; additional servicecredit. Allows an individual who serves concurrently as a full-timeprimary or secondary school teacher and as a full-time school busdriver to receive additional service credit in the Virginia RetirementSystem for providing such services. The bill specifies that the amountof credit allowable shall be equivalent to the amount of credit thatthe individual would earn if he were employed only as a full-timeschool bus driver.
