Department of Education; Child Care Implementationand Substitute Employee Pool Grant Program established. Requiresthe Department of Education, with such funds as may be appropriatedfor such purpose pursuant to the general appropriation act, to establishand administer the Child Care Implementation and Substitute EmployeePool Grant Program whereby any (i) existing child day program provideror group of such providers may apply for a grant, on a competitivebasis, for the establishment of a substitute employee pool that,notwithstanding the provisions of relevant law relating to the disclosureof the results of background checks, enables such provider or providersto ensure efficient and effective staffing with qualified employees or (ii) prospective child day program may apply for a grant, on acompetitive basis, to cover costs associated with implementing suchprogram.
Cost of competing adjustment; eligibility; certainschool boards. Provides that the Accomack County School Boardand the Northampton County School Board are eligible to receive thecost of competing adjustment to salaries for instructional and supportpositions as part of the state share of basic aid pursuant to thegeneral appropriation act.
Consumer Data Protection Act; protections forchildren. Requires a controller or processor to obtain verifiableparental consent, defined in the bill, prior to registering any childwith the operator's product or service or before collecting, using,or disclosing such child's personal data and prohibits a controllerfrom knowingly processing the personal data of a child for purposesof (i) targeted advertising, (ii) the sale of such personal data,or (iii) profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legalor similarly significant effects concerning a consumer. The bill also amends the definition of child for purposes of the Consumer DataProtection Act to include any natural person younger than 18 yearsof age.
State correctional facilities; telephone callsand communication services. Requires the Department of Correctionsto provide telephone systems and web-based or electronic communicationssystems free of charge to any person, whether such person is initiatingor receiving the communication. The bill also requires that a minimumratio of one telephone per every 10 inmates be available within each housing unit at each correctional facility and that the maximumnumber of telephone numbers permitted on an approved call list mustbe no fewer than 20.
Public schools; classified instructional supportstaff; competitive compensation; biennial review. Declares thatit is a goal of the Commonwealth that its classified instructional support staff, defined in the bill as any individual who works morethan 90 days total in a 200-day school year as a substitute for alicensed teacher, be compensated at a rate that is competitive inorder to provide a quality education in the absence of a licensedteacher. The bill requires the Department of Education to conducta biennial review of the compensation for classified instructionalsupport staff and to consider the Commonwealth's compensation forclassified instructional support staff relative to the national averageteacher salary and report the results of such review to the Governor,the General Assembly, and the Board of Education by June 1 of eachodd-numbered year.
Public school staffing ratios; teachers; Englishlanguage learner students. Requires state funding to be providedpursuant to the general appropriation act to support divisionwideratios of English language learner students in average daily membershipto full-time equivalent teaching positions as follows: (i) for eachEnglish language learner identified as proficiency level one, oneposition per 25 students; (ii) for each English language learneridentified as proficiency level two, one position per 30 students;(iii) for each English language learner identified as proficiency level three, one position per 40 students; and (iv) for all otherEnglish language learners, one position per 50 students. Currentlaw requires state funding to be provided pursuant to the general appropriation act to support one such teaching position per 50 Englishlanguage learner students, regardless of the identified English proficiencylevel of such students.
Virginia local journalism sustainability taxcredits. Creates a nonrefundable income tax credit for eligiblelocal newspaper publishers, defined in the bill, for compensationpaid to local news journalists. The credit is equal to (i) for thefirst taxable year in which the credit is claimed, the lesser of10 percent of the actual amounts paid in wages to local news journalistsduring such taxable year or $5,000 and (ii) in subsequent taxableyears, the lesser of five percent of the actual amounts paid in wagesto local news journalists during such taxable year or $2,500. Thecredit includes an aggregate cap of $5 million per taxable year. The bill also creates a nonrefundable incometax credit for eligible small businesses with fewer than 50 employeesfor certain expenses incurred for local media advertising in a localnewspaper or in a broadcast of a local radio or television station.The credit is equal to (i) for the first taxable year in which thecredit is claimed, the lesser of 80 percent of the actual amountspaid or incurred for qualified local media advertising expenses or$4,000 and (ii) in subsequent taxable years, the lesser of 50 percentof the actual amounts paid or incurred for qualified local mediaadvertising expenses during such taxable year or $2,000. The creditincludes an aggregate cap of $10 million per taxable year. Each of the credits may be claimed in taxableyears beginning on and after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2029.
Student safety and discipline; certain reportsto school principals and division superintendents; form and scope.Requires local law-enforcement authorities to prepare in writingand provide to the principal or his designee and the division superintendent a report on (i) any suspected offense, offense for which any chargehas been filed, or offense that is subject to investigation that was committed or is suspected to have been committed by a student enrolled at the school if the offense would be (a) a felony if committedby an adult, (b) a violation of the Drug Control Act and occurredon a school bus, on school property, or at a school-sponsored activity,or (c) an adult misdemeanor involving certain enumerated incidentsand (ii) whether the student is released to the custody of his parentor, if 18 years of age or older, is released on bond. The bill requires division superintendents to report all such incidents to the Departmentof Education in an annual report that is made available to the public. Current law does not require such reports to be in writing and onlyapplies to student offenses but does not specify whether such reportsare required to be made for student offenses that are suspected,charged, or subject to investigation.
Income tax deduction; union dues. Providesan income tax deduction beginning in taxable year 2024 for the amount paid by an individual for union dues for participation in a labor organization.
Organ donation leave tax credit. Establishesa nonrefundable income tax credit for taxable years 2024 through2028 for a taxpayer that is a private employer, as defined by thebill, for certain costs incurred during a period of organ donationleave received by an employee organ donor.
Child Care Subsidy Program vendors; basis forperiodic reimbursement. Requires the Department of Educationto periodically reimburse child care providers that are vendors through the Child Care Subsidy Program on the basis of authorizedchild enrollment but provides that if any such enrolled child isabsent from the provider for 10 or more days during one month, theDepartment shall periodically reimburse such provider on the basisof such child's attendance.
Reports relating to PFAS; Department of Environmental Quality; one-time report. Requires all facilities that have engaged since January 1, 2021, in the manufacture of or knowing use in the production process of one or more chemicals listed as PFAS target analytes to produce a one-time report on the use of such chemicals. The report shall be limited to facilities that discharge to (i) a surface water under a Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issued by the Department of Environmental Quality (the Department) or (ii) a publicly owned treatment works under an industrial pretreatment program permit or other written authorization issued by a local permit control authority. The report shall be submitted to the Department and, if such facility discharges to a publicly owned treatment works, also to the local permit control authority no later than October 1, 2024. The bill also requires certain facilities to perform a limited PFAS discharge characterization during the one-year period from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025, for each waterway discharge outfall consisting of representative quarterly monitoring using the applicable laboratory test method, as specified in the bill. Such facilities shall report results to the Department and, if the facility discharges to a publicly owned treatment works, also to the local permit control authority, within 30 days after the end of each quarter. This bill was incorporated into HB 1085.
