Visitation; petition of grandparent. Requires the court, in petitions for visitation filed by the grandparent of a child where either (i) the parent is the grandparent's child and is deceased, incarcerated, or incapacitated, or has had his parental rights terminated or (ii) the grandparent has an established relationship with the child and has provided a significant level of care for the child, to consider the following factors: (a) the historical relationship between the grandparent and child; (b) the motivation of the grandparent in seeking visitation; (c) the motivation of the living parent in denying visitation to the grandparent; (d) the quantity of time requested and the effect it will have on the child's daily activities; and (e) the benefits of maintaining a relationship with the extended family of the deceased parent.
Vehicle registration fees; Public Safety TrustFund. Imposes an additional vehicle registration fee to be depositedinto the Public Safety Trust Fund, established by the bill. The additionalregistration fee would be $1.25 per year beginning July 1, 2020,and would be increased over a period of 10 years to $12.50 per year.The revenues in the Public Safety Trust Fund would be used to addressstaffing, retention, and pay suppression issues at the Departmentof State Police.
Compensation of court-appointed counsel; waivers. Allows court-appointed counsel for parents in child welfare cases to submit a waiver application for additional compensation of $120 in district court and $158 for cases appealed to the circuit court. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.
Corporate income tax returns of affiliated corporations. Provides that, for taxable years 2020 through 2021, certain affiliated corporations may elect to switch to or from consolidated corporate income tax return filing status under certain conditions. The option would be available only to a group with at least one affiliate that is (i) a bank exempt from filing a Virginia corporate income tax return or (ii) an aerospace manufacturer. Current law requires a group of corporations to apply to the Tax Commissioner for permission to change the basis of the type of return filed and to meet certain specified requirements in order for permission to be granted. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.
Individual income tax subtraction for certain low-income and middle-income students. Establishes an individual income tax subtraction starting in taxable year 2021 for any financial assistance received by a student through the Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back Program, which was included in the Governor's introduced budget and would offer financial assistance to low-income and middle-income Virginia residents. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.
Virginia-Korea Advisory Board; report. Establishes a nine-member Virginia-Korea Advisory Board in the executive branch of state government to advise the Governor on ways to improve mutually beneficial trade relationships between the Commonwealth and the Republic of Korea (South Korea), with a focus on the areas of commerce and trade, art and education, and government. The bill provides that the Board sunsets on July 1, 2023.
Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System; provide benefits to conservation officers of the Department of Conservation and Recreation. Adds conservation officers of the Department of Conservation and Recreation as members of the Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System. The bill makes conservation officers eligible to accrue retirement benefits under the Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System only for creditable service on and after July 1, 2020. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.
Public animal shelters; notice to euthanize. Requires each public animal shelter to adopt a policy under which it waits a certain number of days before euthanizing a dog or cat when a person has notified the shelter of his intent to adopt or take custody of the animal. The shelter must make reasonable efforts to accomplish the release of the animal but is not required hold the animal if it has reason to believe that the animal has seriously injured a human or the animal meets certain other specified conditions for euthanasia. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.
Property conveyance; Governor; Chickahominy Indian Tribe. Authorizes the Governor to purchase, in a form approved by the Attorney General and for an amount of up to $2.5 million, land located in Charles City County for the purpose of conveyance to the Chickahominy Indian Tribe.
State-Funded Kinship Guardianship Assistance program. Creates the State-Funded Kinship Guardianship Assistance program (the program) to facilitate child placements with relatives, including fictive kin, and ensure permanency for children in foster care. The bill sets forth eligibility criteria for the program, payment allowances to kinship guardians, and requirements for kinship guardianship assistance agreements. The bill also expands eligibility for the Federal-Funded Kinship Guardianship Assistance program by allowing payments to be made to fictive kin who receive custody of a child of whom they have been the foster parent. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.
Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System; additional retirement allowance; retirement age. Changes the age through which a retired law-enforcement officer covered under the Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System (VaLORS) is entitled to receive an additional retirement allowance from the law-enforcement officer's sixty-fifth birthday to retirement age as defined by the Social Security Act. This change aligns the additional allowance with that currently provided under the State Police Officers' Retirement System. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act. This bill incorporates SB 554.
Dairy Producer Margin Coverage Premium Assistance Program. Directs the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services to establish and administer the Dairy Producer Margin Coverage Premium Assistance Program (the Program). The bill provides that any dairy farmer that has a resource management plan or nutrient management plan and participates in the federal margin coverage program for dairy producers as contained in the federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 is eligible to participate in the Program. Under the bill, each year a Program participant will receive a refund of its annual premium payment paid into the federal program. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.
