Fire and Emergency Medical Services Grant Fund; funding for fire and emergency medical services. Increases the vehicle registration fee used to provide support for emergency medical services from $4.25 to $6.25 for each pickup or panel truck and each motor vehicle. The bill also creates the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Grant Fund to provide funding (i) to increase the number of firefighters and emergency medical services personnel to help communities meet industry minimum standards and attain 24-hour staffing to provide adequate assistance and (ii) to purchase heavy apparatus necessary for fire and emergency medical services.
Virginia Retirement System; investments; diversity,equity, and inclusion investing restricted. Provides that unlessthe Board of Trustees of the Virginia Retirement System can demonstratethat a social investment, defined in the bill, would provide a superior rate of return compared to a similar investment that is not a socialinvestment with a similar time horizon and risk, neither the Boardnor any external fiduciary utilized by the Board may invest or makerecommendations regarding state funds for the purpose of social investmenton or after July 1, 2024.
Workers' compensation; injuries caused by repetitiveand sustained physical stressors. Provides that, for the purposesof the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act, "occupational disease"includes injuries or diseases from conditions resulting from repetitiveand sustained physical stressors, including repetitive and sustainedmotions, exertions, posture stresses, contact stresses, vibrations,or noises. The bill provides that such injuries or diseases are coveredunder the Act and that such coverage does not require that such repetitiveor sustained physical stress occurred over a particular time period,provided that the time period over which such physical stress occurredcan be reasonably identified.
Paid sick leave; health care providers and grocerystore workers. Requires employers to provide paid sick leaveto health care providers and grocery store workers. Under currentlaw, employers are only required to provide paid sick leave to certainhome health workers. The bill removes requirements that workers workon average at least 20 hours per week or 90 hours per month to beeligible for paid sick leave. The bill provides that certain healthcare providers may waive their right to accrue and use paid sick leave and provides an exemption for employers of certain other healthcare providers. The bill requires the Department of Labor and Industryto develop guidelines for retail employers that sell groceries toprovide sick leave and to publish such guidelines by December 1,2024. The provisions of the bill other than the requirement for theDepartment of Labor and Industry to develop guidelines have a delayedeffective date of January 1, 2025.
Authorize the Adjutant General to facilitateand coordinate efforts to promote participation in the state-sponsoredgroup term life insurance program offered to members of the VirginiaNational Guard.
Certain public institutions of higher education;enrollment limitations in incoming freshman classes; Virginia Higher Education Scholarship Act Fund and Program established. Requires,beginning with the incoming freshman class in the 2025 academic year,the board of visitors of each baccalaureate public institution ofhigher education, with the exception of Norfolk State University,Virginia Military Institute, and Virginia State University, to ensurethat the annual percentage of undergraduate non-Virginia studentsin each incoming freshman class does not exceed 45 percent. The billalso establishes the Virginia Higher Education Scholarship Act Fundand Program whereby certain Virginia public high school graduateswho graduated at or near the top of their graduating classes arepermitted to apply to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginiafor a scholarship in an amount equal to the cost of tuition, roomand board, and mandatory fees to attend a public institution of higher education enumerated in the bill for eight semesters.
Standards of Quality; Standards of Learning assessments; development and administration of assessments; assessments in languages other than English; requirements. Requires the Board of Education to develop all Standards of Learning assessments using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles, as defined in the bill. The bill also requires the Board to develop and implement policies providing for the development and administration of all Standards of Learning assessments in languages other than English that are identified as being present to a significant extent in the participating student population. The bill requires such policies to provide that each local school board provide appropriate accommodations on such assessments for eligible students who are English language learners, including providing for administration of such assessments for any student who is an English language learner in grades three through eight who has been identified as having limited English proficiency and has participated in an English language proficiency program for no more than a total of three school years. The bill provides, however, that each local school board, on the recommendation of English language learner faculty that any such student has not yet reached sufficient English proficiency, may provide on an individual case-by-case basis for the administration of any such Standards of Learning assessment in one of such top three languages other than English for a period that does not exceed two additional consecutive years. The provisions of the bill are required to be implemented by the beginning of the 2025–2026 school year.
Commission on Artificial Intelligence; report; sunset. Creates the Commission on Artificial Intelligence to advise the Governor on issues related to artificial intelligence and make advisory recommendations based on its findings. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2027. This bill was incorporated into SB 487.
Virginia Abortion Care and Gender-Affirming Health Care Protection Act; reproductive and gender-affirming health care services; prohibitions on extradition for certain crimes; civil penalties. Establishes the Virginia Abortion Care and Gender-Affirming Health Care Protection Act. The bill provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealth that all persons are entitled to provide, receive, and help others provide or receive abortion care and gender-affirming health care services not prohibited under the laws of the Commonwealth, and that such provision, receipt, and assistance is not diminished, chilled, or infringed by public or private actors.The bill provides that no law-enforcement officer acting in the Commonwealth or employed by the Commonwealth or any of its localities or political subdivisions may investigate, arrest, or detain any person, seek the issuance of a warrant, or otherwise assist in or provide support for any investigation regarding either the provision or receipt of abortion care or gender-affirming care not prohibited under the laws of the Commonwealth or any person's menstrual health data. The bill creates a private right of action for any person who is aggrieved by such unlawful investigation to obtain an injunction or other equitable relief against such law-enforcement officer.The bill also creates a private right of action for any person who sustains any injury, damages, or other harm resulting from another person who, under the law of a jurisdiction other than the Commonwealth, engages or attempts to engage in abusive litigation, as defined in the bill.The bill also provides that no demand for extradition of a person charged with a criminal violation of law of another state shall be recognized by the Governor if such alleged violation involves the receipt of or assistance with protected health care activity, as defined in the bill, within the Commonwealth unless the alleged criminal violation would also constitute a criminal offense under the laws of the Commonwealth.The bill provides that any subpoena under the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act or any summons for a witness for another state in a criminal case shall include an attestation, made under penalty of perjury, stating whether the subpoena or summons seeks documents, information, or testimony related to the provision, receipt, attempted provision or receipt, assistance in the provision or receipt, or attempted assistance in the provision or receipt of protected health care activity, as defined in the bill.
Public school funding; certain calculations; certain support services positions; programs for at-risk students. Places several parameters on Standards of Quality funding calculations performed by the Department of Education, including (i) requiring the Department, when calculating the cost of salaries under the Standards of Quality funding formula, to include facilities staff and transportation staff salaries in the calculation of any cost of competing adjustment to salaries for instructional and support positions that is provided as part of the state share of basic aid pursuant to the general appropriation act; (ii) requiring the Department, when estimating the cost of any compensation supplement for instructional and support positions under the Standards of Quality funding formula, to include and estimate the cost of such a compensation supplement for facilities staff; and (iii) prohibiting the Department from applying any cap on inflation rate adjustments to non-personal cost categories during the biennial process of rebenchmarking the direct aid to public education budget. The bill also amends Standard of Quality 2 by (a) including in the definition of "support services position" any central office clerical position that is not otherwise set forth in such definition and (b) establishing the At-Risk Program, defined in the bill as any state funding provided for programs of prevention, intervention, or remediation or pursuant to the at-risk add-on, the statewide voluntary pupil/teacher ratio and class size reduction program, or the Standards of Learning Algebra Readiness Initiative for the purpose of supporting programs for students who are educationally at risk. The bill requires (1) the determination of the amount of state funding for which a school division is eligible pursuant to such At-Risk Program to be based on the school division's identified student percentage, defined in the bill as the fraction, expressed as a percentage, that results from dividing the number of identified students enrolled in a school division by the total number of students enrolled in such school division weighted by the factor between 1.2 and 1.6 that is set forth in the general appropriation act, and (2) such funding to be distributed as follows: 60 percent on a flat per-student rate and 40 percent on a variable rate set out in the general appropriation act based on the concentration of poverty in the school division.
Public institutions of higher education; Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program established; report. Establishes the Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program to address student food insecurity at public institutions of higher education. The bill provides that the Program shall be managed by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and available for participation by public institutions of higher education; however, participation in the Program shall be optional for such institutions. Under the bill, if a public institution of higher education satisfies certain criteria set out in the bill, including creating initiatives on campus to address student food insecurity, it shall be designated as a "Hunger-Free Campus" and the Council shall award a grant to such institution. A public institution of higher education that receives a grant under the bill shall utilize the funds to support on-campus efforts and initiatives to eliminate student food insecurity at such institution. The bill requires the Council to submit a report to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Education no later than two years after the establishment of the Program.
Collective bargaining by firefighters and emergency medical services providers. Authorizes firefighters and emergency medical services providers employed by a political subdivision of the Commonwealth to engage in collective bargaining through labor organizations or other designated representatives. The bill provides for the appointment of a three-member board of arbitration regarding any dispute arising between an employer and firefighters or emergency medical services providers. Under the bill, determinations made by such board of arbitration are final on a disputed issue and are binding on the parties involved.
