Voter registration; list maintenance; data sharing; requiring membership in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). Requires the Commissioner of Elections to apply for, enter into, and maintain membership for the Commonwealth in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC).
Impersonation of law-enforcement officer while committing additional act; penalties. Provides that any person who impersonates a law-enforcement officer (i) while committing or attempting to commit aggravated murder, first or second degree murder, abduction, rape, forcible sodomy, object sexual penetration, aggravated sexual battery, or sexual battery or (ii) while circumventing, bypassing, or attempting to circumvent or bypass any security measure of any business, commercial building, residence, building owned or leased by the Commonwealth or any agency thereof, or building owned or leased by a locality or any agency thereof is guilty of a Class 6 felony. A second or subsequent offense is punishable as a Class 5 felony.
Delinquency petition; referral to court service unit. Provides that at any point prior to the commencement of an adjudication hearing on a petition alleging that a child is delinquent, the court, upon request of the child with consent of the attorney for the Commonwealth, if a party to the case, may refer the delinquency charge back to the court service unit in writing and the intake officer shall proceed informally pursuant to relevant law. Additionally, the bill provides that upon such referral, the court shall dismiss the petition and order that the court records pertaining to the petition be expunged pursuant to relevant law. Lastly, the bill allows an intake officer to proceed informally on a complaint alleging a child is in need of services, in need of supervision, or delinquent if the juvenile has previously been proceeded against informally. Current law does not permit proceeding informally when a juvenile (i) commits a violent juvenile felony or (ii) is alleged delinquent for an offense that would be a felony if committed by an adult if such juvenile had previously been (a) proceeded against informally by intake or (b) adjudicated delinquent for a prior offense that would be a felony if committed by an adult. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Virginia Commission on Youth. This bill is identical to HB 438.
Department of Medical Assistance Services; Medicaid billing navigation. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to provide training to local school division staff regarding assisting schools in effectively navigating the laws, policies, rules, regulations, and guidelines governing Medicaid billing for reimbursable services rendered at school sites, including the federal Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, and to ensure that all school divisions are able to fully leverage Medicaid funding opportunities to enhance student health services in the Commonwealth. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the School Health Services Committee.
Department of Juvenile Justice; commitment of juveniles to Department; petition to extend duration of indeterminate commitment. Creates a process by which the Department of Juvenile Justice, upon determining that a juvenile currently committed to the Department should continue such commitment beyond the high end of the length of stay guidelines established by the State Board of Juvenile Justice, may petition the court that ordered a juvenile's indeterminate commitment to the Department to extend such juvenile's commitment. The bill requires the Department to file such petition at least 60 days prior to the expiration of the high end of the length of stay range, along with a report on the juvenile's progress. If the Department determines fewer than 60 days before expiration that an extension is necessary, it shall file a petition for review that includes a statement explaining the specific circumstances causing the late filing. The bill provides that the court shall schedule a hearing on the petition at which the court shall consider such progress report and may consider additional evidence as described in the bill. The bill provides that, at the conclusion of the hearing, the court shall order either that the juvenile be released or that the juvenile's period of commitment be extended for a period not to exceed six months, provided that such extension does not exceed the limitations for an indeterminate commitment provided by current law. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Virginia Commission on Youth.
Parking enforcement; issuance of a summons or parking ticket. Removes the population requirement for a locality to be authorized to, by ordinance, authorize law-enforcement officers, other uniformed employees of the locality, and uniformed personnel serving under contract with the locality to issue a summons or parking ticket for a violation of an ordinance regulating the parking, stopping, and standing of vehicles. Existing law grants such authority to localities having a population of at least 40,000. This bill is identical to HB 783.
Community service work in lieu of payment of fines and costs; work performed while incarcerated. Requires a court to establish a program and allow any person upon whom a fine and costs have been imposed to discharge all or part of the fine or costs by earning credits for the performance of (i) community service work performed before or after imprisonment or (ii) work performed while incarcerated, defined in the bill as any work done on or after July 1, 2023, by a person confined in any local, regional, or state correctional facility who is paid a wage that is less than the Virginia minimum wage.The bill requires such program to be available during such person's imprisonment in a local, regional, or state correctional facility. The bill provides that a person who is performing work while incarcerated shall be credited at the same rate as the community service work rate less any wages received. Under current law, a court is required to establish a program for providing an option for community service work in lieu of payment of fines and costs but offering such option is not mandatory. The bill also requires the local, regional, or state correctional facility to provide confirmation of the hours worked and the credits earned for such work upon request of any person who has performed work while incarcerated or his representative.
Employee Child Care Assistance Program established. Establishes the Employee Child Care Assistance Program to provide matching funds in order to incentivize employers to contribute to the child care costs of their employees. The Program shall be administered by the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation. To participate in the Program, an employer shall agree to make child care contributions to the eligible mixed delivery provider on behalf of the employee or to a third-party administrator, as defined by the bill, and shall provide any other information deemed necessary by the Foundation. The bill specifies that, to the extent funds are available, the Foundation shall issue a state match to a third-party administrator. Program funds shall be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis; however, the bill clarifies that the Foundation is encouraged to prioritize awards to proposals involving contributions from small businesses. The bill requires the Foundation to provide an interim report to the General Assembly by September 1, 2028, and a summative report to the General Assembly by September 1, 2030, on the effectiveness and impact of the Program.
Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; duties; Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Advisory Committee; appointment of members. Requires the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to appoint two additional members of the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Advisory Committee: an employee of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services who specializes in recovery and treatment services and a representative from the Virginia State Police Gaming Enforcement Unit.
Public institutions of higher education; disciplinary immunity for certain individuals who make reports; Virginia Military Institute. Removes the authority granted to Virginia Military Institute to include in its sexual violence policy, code, rules, or set of standards a provision stipulating that in the event that a cadet discloses personal consumption of drugs or alcohol in conjunction with a good faith report of an act of sexual violence and the superintendent of Virginia Military Institute determines that such cadet's personal consumption of drugs or alcohol constitutes a threat to the cadet's well-being or the well-being of others, the superintendent may require such cadet to attend drug or substance use disorder counseling.
Department of Military Affairs; feasibility of Sexual Offense Prevention and Response Officer; report. Directs the Department of Military Affairs to assess the feasibility of and develop recommendations related to establishing a Sexual Offense Prevention and Response Officer position within the Sexual Offense Prevention and Response Program to perform victim advocacy services. The bill requires the Adjutant General to report to the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Delegates, and the Chairs of the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice no later than November 1, 2026.
Emergency and temporary detention transportation. Clarifies that the term "law-enforcement officer" as used in relevant law relating to emergency and involuntary civil transportation includes retired law-enforcement officers, defined in the bill, for the purposes of laws related to emergency custody and involuntary temporary detention. The bill also permits an alternative transportation provider to provide transportation of a person in the temporary detention process in a safe manner if the alternative transportation provider is (i) an employee of, or the person providing services pursuant to a contract with, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services or (ii) an employee of a private or state hospital within the confines of the Commonwealth. The bill provides that, for purposes of transporting a minor during the temporary detention process, an alternative transportation provider is deemed available if it states it is available to take custody from law enforcement within six hours of issuance of the temporary detention order or an order changing the transportation provider. The bill also provides the alternative transportation provider shall maintain custody from the time custody is transferred by the primary law-enforcement agency until custody is transferred to the temporary detention facility, including while awaiting transport and during transport. The bill also specifies when a law-enforcement agency or alternative transportation provider providing transportation of a minor in the temporary detention process may transfer custody of such minor to a facility or location where the minor is awaiting transport. When a bed becomes available at the temporary detention facility, the bill provides that facility or location shall notify the law-enforcement agency or alternative transportation provider specified on the order, which shall then return to transport the minor to the facility of temporary detention.This bill incorporates SB 395. The provisions of this bill are identical to both HB 681 and HB 976.
