Board of Education; membership; qualifications. Requires the nine-member Board of Education to include at leastone member with experience or expertise in local government leadershipor policymaking, at least one member with experience or expertisein career and technical education, and at least one member with experienceor expertise in early childhood education, all of whom are appointedby the Governor.
Constitutional amendment (first reference);legislative compensation; Legislative Compensation Commission.Establishes the Legislative Compensation Commission, charged withdetermining the salaries, allowances, and retirement benefits ofthe members of the General Assembly. Members would receive no compensationfrom the Commonwealth other than the compensation determined by theCommission. The Commission is established by appointment of the GeneralAssembly every four years beginning July 1, 2026.
Virginia Public Procurement Act; purchase ofpersonal protective equipment. Requires a state agency, wheneverpurchasing personal protective equipment (PPE) for public use, topurchase such PPE from a Virginia-based company or manufacturer ora manufacturer that uses materials made in the United States. Thebill provides that if a state agency is unable to purchase PPE fromsuch company or manufacturer, it may purchase from another companyor manufacturer, pending the results of independent laboratory testingof the PPE.
Local school boards; open enrollment policyrequired. Requires all local school boards to establish and implementpolicies to provide for the open enrollment to any school of anystudent who is eligible to receive free or reduced lunch upon therequest of a parent or guardian, subject to conditions and limitationsestablished by the local school board.
Department of Transportation; U.S. Route 60.Directs the Department of Transportation to propose a plan to renumberU.S. Route 60 to the Federal Highway Administration and the SpecialCommittee on U.S. Route Numbering of the American Association ofState Highway and Transportation Officials.
Rapidan Service Authority; withdrawal of a member. Authorizes a member of the Rapidan Service Authority to withdrawat any time after fulfilling certain public notice requirements, providedthat all obligations to the Authority incurred by the locality remainin full force and effect following the withdrawal and that the localityassumes all assets and debts of the Authority within the locality.
Tourism Development Authority; name change.Renames the Tourism Development Authority, also known as the VirginiaCoalfield Regional Tourism Development Authority, as the Heart ofAppalachia Tourism Authority. The bill contains technical amendments.
Naturopathic doctors; license required. Requiresthe Board of Medicine to license and regulate naturopathic doctors.The practice of naturopathic medicine is defined in the bill as (i)a system of primary health care for the prevention, diagnosis, andtreatment of human health conditions, injury, and disease and (ii)the use of both naturopathic and traditional medical therapies topromote or restore whole patient health. The bill also establishes the Advisory Board on Naturopathic Medicine to assist the Board ofMedicine in formulating regulations related to the practice of naturopathicmedicine.
Traffic regulations; bicycles. Permits operatorsof bicycles to treat a stop sign as a yield sign in certain situations.The bill requires the driver of a motor vehicle to change lanes whenovertaking a bicycle or certain other vehicles when the lane of travelis not wide enough for the overtaking motor vehicle to pass at least three feet to the left of the overtaken vehicle. The bill also removesthe limitations on riding bicycles and certain other vehicles twoabreast.
Criminal history record information check requiredto sell firearm; National Firearms Act. Provides that a personmay sell a firearm to another person without obtaining a criminalhistory record information check at the point of sale if the saleof the firearm is governed by the provisions of the National FirearmsAct (NFA) and the purchaser has been previously approved pursuantto a background check conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigationin accordance with the NFA provisions and regulations governing thesale and transfer of such firearm.
Virginia Retirement System; retired law-enforcement officers employed as school security officers. Provides thatif a retired law-enforcement officer was employed by a local school division as a school security officer on January 1, 2020, and hada bona fide break in service of at least one month between retirementand employment as a school security officer, such person is not required to establish a 12-month break in service that would otherwise berequired by law.
Wake surfing; proximity to certain structuresor other persons. Prohibits a person within 200 feet of a dock,pier, boathouse, boat ramp, or other person in the water from operatinga vessel on any inland lake that is more than 500 feet above sealevel and of 20,000 acres or more in size, and wholly located withinthe Commonwealth (Smith Mountain Lake), while accompanied by a personor persons engaged in wake surfing.
