Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome Awareness Day. Designates October 25, in 2024 and in each succeeding year, as Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome Awareness Day in Virginia. This bill was incorporated into HJ 7.
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 SB 503.
Public elementary and secondary schools; policies and requirements relating to naloxone. Requires each local school board to develop, in accordance with the guidelines developed by the Department of Health in collaboration with the Department of Education, plans and policies for each public elementary and secondary school relating to opioid overdose prevention and reversal, including (i) the procurement, storage, and maintenance of at least two unexpired doses of naloxone at each such school; (ii) the possession and administration of naloxone by school board employees; and (iii) providing, pursuant to the provisions of the bill, immunity from any disciplinary action or civil or criminal liability to any employee of a public elementary or secondary school who, regardless of whether such employee was trained and certified in the administration of naloxone, in good faith administers naloxone for opioid overdose reversal to any individual who is believed to be experiencing or about to experience a life-threatening opioid overdose, except in the case of gross negligence or willful misconduct. The bill modifies the list of individuals who are authorized to administer naloxone or other opioid antagonists to include any school board employee who has completed training and is certified in the administration of naloxone by an organization authorized by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to provide such training and certification. Current law limits such authorization to school nurses or school board employees contracted by a school board to provide school health services.Finally, the bill directs the Department of Health and the Department of Education to collaborate to develop guidelines and policies for the implementation of the provisions of the bill and directs the Department of Education to submit such guidelines to relevant committees of the General Assembly by January 1, 2025. The bill requires such guidelines and policies to be implemented by each school board by the beginning of the 2026–2027 school year. This bill was incorporated into SB 726.
Department of Juvenile Justice; work group to study Length of Stay Guidelines and Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center; report. Directs the Department of Juvenile Justice to convene a work group to study issues related to the Department's Length of Stay Guidelines and the Department's direct care capacity in response to the Department's report on the 2023 Length of Stay Guidelines. The work group is directed to study (i) the evidence and research relied upon by the Department as identified in the Department's report, including adjusting for changes in risk profiles for committed juveniles over time; (ii) best practices on staffing ratios, the current actual staffing ratios at Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center (BAJCC), and the projected population forecast; (iii) the ability of BAJCC to operate the community treatment model without single coverage on units and maintain consistent staffing on each residential unit and unit population not to exceed 14 residents; (iv) the ability of BAJCC to maintain all therapeutic, vocational, and educational programming; (v) a detailed comparison of youth by age, risk level, and offense level and their projected length of stay under the 2015 Length of Stay Guidelines and the 2023 Length of Stay Guidelines; (vi) trends in determinate commitments, including the percentage of such commitments in circuit court and with an active Department of Corrections sentence; and (vii) how the Department will maintain current programming and the continuum of services for youth when direct care capacity exceeds actual capacity. The work group is also directed to study the rates of serious incidents and contributing factors at BAJCC since January 2022. The bill requires the work group to submit a report with its recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee for Courts of Justice and the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice by November 1, 2024. Such report shall include evidence or research relating to the 2023 changes to the Length of Stay Guidelines and whether such evidence or research supports the changes.
Study; joint committee of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health; challenges faced by and effective strategies for ensuring the sustainable, long-term success of the five historically black colleges and universities in the Commonwealth; report. Establishes a joint committee consisting of five members of the House Committee on Education and three members of the Senate Committee on Education and Health to study the challenges faced by and effective strategies for ensuring the sustainable, long-term success of the five historically black colleges and universities in the Commonwealth–Hampton University, Norfolk State University, Virginia State University, Virginia Union University, and Virginia University of Lynchburg–by discussing, adopting, and recommending to the Governor and the General Assembly for formal recognition and endorsement a comprehensive statewide HBCU Support Plan.
Procurement; preference for local products and firms by localities. Allows localities to give a procurement preference to a higher bid that includes local products and firms so long as the bid price is not more than 10 percent greater than the bid price of the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. This bill was incorporated into HB 1361.
State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; survey; baccalaureate public institutions of higher education; student application fees; report. Requires the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to survey each baccalaureate public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth to determine, for the 2023–2024 academic year, (i) the median, average, and full per-student application fee charged by the institution; (ii) the total number and percentage of student applicants who receive an application fee waiver from the institution; (iii) the total number and percentage of student applicants who were charged the full student application fee by the institution; (iv) the total and per-student applicant revenue generated by the institution through student application fees; and (v) the total and per-student applicant cost to the institution to process student applications, including fully reviewing and acting upon such applications, disaggregated by each cost category deemed relevant by the Council and the institution. The bill requires each baccalaureate public institution of higher education to conduct such internal audits as it deems necessary to fully comply with and respond to such survey. The bill requires the Council to report its findings and any associated recommendations to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Education, the Senate Committee on Education and Health, and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations no later than November 1, 2024.
Virginia Public Procurement Act; consideration of employment of older Virginia residents. Allows public bodies to include as a factor that will be used in evaluating a Request for Proposal the proposer's participation in programs that employ Virginia residents age 55 or older. The bill also provides that in the case of a tie bid between two or more bidders-both of which are eligible for a preference as a bidder for goods produced in Virginia or goods, services, or construction provided by Virginia persons, firms, or corporations-an additional preference shall be given to any bidder that participates in such programs. This bill was incorporated into HB 1361.
Department of Health Professions; veterinarymedicine; exceptions for care of animals injured in line of duty.Provides an exception to the unauthorized practice of veterinarymedicine for any law-enforcement officer, firefighter, or emergencymedical services personnel who provides emergency treatment to anyanimal in his care that is injured in the line of duty.
Early childhood care; Child Care Subsidy Programexpansion; provision of free child care to certain child care provideremployees. Requires the Child Care Subsidy Program, establishedpursuant to applicable regulations, to be expanded to assist employeesof any licensed child care provider in the Commonwealth with thecosts of child care by providing any such employee who meets the eligibilitycriteria set forth in the bill child care at no cost to and withno copayment required of such employee. The bill directs the Boardof Education to adopt any regulations and the Department of Educationto implement any policies and procedures necessary for the implementationand administration of the provisions of the bill.
Certain school divisions; cost-savings agreements;requirements. Removes the limitation on any school board thatenters into certain cost-savings agreements with a school board that governs a contiguous school division for the consolidation or sharingof educational, administrative, or support services and thus qualifiesfor adjustment of state share of basic aid computed annually onthe basis of the composite index of local ability-to-pay of such contiguous school division that caps such adjusted basic aid paymentat an amount equal to the basic aid payment appropriated to suchlocality by the 2007 Session of the General Assembly. The bill alsopermits, notwithstanding the requirement set forth in relevant lawthat a school division has 65 percent or more of its local taxescoming from real estate taxes in order for the school board thatgoverns such school division to be eligible to enter into such cost-savingsagreements with a contiguous school division, the Bath County SchoolBoard to enter into such cost-savings agreements with the AugustaCounty School Board, provided that all other conditions and limitations set forth in relevant law apply to any such agreement.
Administrative Process Act; executive branchagencies. Requires executive branch agencies to ensure that certainregulations and guidance documents under the Virginia Register Actand Administrative Process Act, as appropriate, are posted on theVirginia Regulatory Town Hall according to instructions issued bythe Department of Planning and Budget.
