Del. Marcus Simon

Commission on Updating Virginia Law to Reflect Federal Recognition of Virginia Tribes; established; report. Establishes the Commission on Updating Virginia Law to Reflect Federal Recognition of Virginia Tribes in the legislative branch of state government for the purpose of performing a comprehensive review of Virginia law to assess ways in which it must be revised to include federally recognized Tribal Nations located in the Commonwealth as distinct governments with the right to exercise general sovereignty and powers of government. The Commission is required to submit an annual report on its interim activities and work by the first day of each regular session of the General Assembly. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2024.

Requirement for appeals bond; indigent parties;appeal of unlawful detainer. Removes the requirement for an indigentdefendant in civil actions to post an appeal bond in any civil caseappealed from the general district court. The bill also removes provisionsof the Code allowing a plaintiff in an unlawful detainer case thathas been appealed to the circuit court to request the judge to ordera writ of eviction immediately upon entry of judgment for possession.

Charter; City of Falls Church; qualifications of members of boards and commissions. Removes the requirement in the City of Falls Church charter that board and commission members be qualified voters, replacing it with an age requirement of at least 18 years old while leaving the city residence requirement. This bill is identical to SB 182.

Public accommodations, employment, and housing;prohibited discrimination on the basis of religion; includes outwardreligious expression. Clarifies that "religion" as it relatesto freedom of expression includes any outward expression of religiousfaith in contexts where discrimination on the basis of religion isprohibited.

Chief Resilience Officer. Clarifies the designation and role of the Chief Resilience Officer by moving the position from under the responsibility of the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources and adding provisions related to the role of the Chief Resilience Officer in creating and overseeing the implementation of a Virginia Flood Protection Master Plan and a Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan. Under current law, the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources is designated the Chief Resilience Officer. This bill is a Chesapeake Bay Commission initiative.

Certain student-athletes; compensation forname, image, or likeness. The bill prohibits any (i) high school student-athlete who participates in interscholastic athletic competitionfrom entering into any contract to receive compensation in exchangefor the use of such student's name, image, or likeness and (ii) student-athleteenrolled at an institution of higher education in the Commonwealthwho participates in intercollegiate athletic competition from enteringinto any contract to receive compensation in exchange for the useof such student's name, image, or likeness, the duration of whichextends beyond the student's enrollment at such institution.

SNAP benefits program; inmates of state or local correctional facilities. Requires the Department of Social Services(the Department) to establish a process that (i) allows inmatesof state or local correctional facilities to submit within 45 daysof the inmate's expected release date an application to participatein the SNAP benefits program and (ii) enables eligible inmates toreceive SNAP benefits immediately upon release. The bill requiresthe Department to distribute to the Department of Corrections andthe Board of Local and Regional Jails information regarding suchprocess and certain other information described in the bill. Thebill has a delayed effective date of October 1, 2023.

Transit Ridership Incentive Program. Changes from a maximum of 25 percent to a minimum of 25 percent the percentage of Transit Ridership Incentive Program (TRIP) funds required to be used to support the establishment of programs to reduce the impact of fares on low-income individuals. This change expires on July 1, 2024. The bill also requires at least 25 percent of TRIP funds to be used to support regional transit initiatives and provides that the Commonwealth Transportation Board has the discretion to allocate the remaining funds available as authorized by law and based on the programs and initiatives submitted during the application process.

Historical African American cemeteries. Changes the date of establishment that qualifies historical African American cemeteries for appropriated funds to care for such cemeteries from prior to January 1, 1900, to prior to January 1, 1948, and provides that the total number of graves in a qualifying cemetery shall be the number of markers of African Americans who were interred in such cemetery prior to January 1, 1948. Under current law, the total number of graves is the number of markers of African Americans who lived at any time between January 1, 1800, and January 1, 1900. This bill is identical to SB 477.

Department of Juvenile Justice; juvenile bootcamps. Eliminates the authority of the Department of JuvenileJustice to establish juvenile boot camps and the ability of a courtto order a juvenile adjudicated delinquent to attend such a boot camp.This bill is identical to SB 546.