Del. Laura Jane Cohen

High school graduation requirements; satisfaction of certain course credits with workforce credentials; development and maintenance of list of accepted credentials. Requires the Board of Education, in collaboration with the Virginia Community College System, Career and Technical Education directors, and industry partners, to develop and maintain a current, comprehensive, and uniform list of industry-recognized workforce credentials that students may take as a substitute for certain units of credit required for graduation, including such credentials that are accepted as substitutes for electives credits and credentials completed outside of regular school hours. The bill requires each school board to accept as a substitute for a required credit any credential listed as an accepted substitute for such required credit. The bill also requires any College and Career Access Pathways Partnership entered into between a school board and a comprehensive community college to specify, consistent with the list, industry-recognized credentials that are accepted as substitutes for certain credits required for high school graduation. Finally, the bill requires the Board, in establishing graduation requirements, to permit any student to substitute elective credits for completion of any industry-approved workforce credential that is included on the list as an accepted substitute for such credits. This bill incorporates HB 1009 and is identical to SB 199.

Marriage lawful regardless of sex, gender, or race of parties; issuance of marriage license. Provides that no person authorized to issue a marriage license shall deny the issuance of such license to two parties contemplating a lawful marriage on the basis of the sex, gender, or race of the parties. The bill also requires that such lawful marriages be recognized in the Commonwealth regardless of the sex, gender, or race of the parties. The bill provides that religious organizations or members of the clergy acting in their religious capacity shall have the right to refuse to perform any marriage. This bill is identical to HB 174.

Department of Medical Assistances Services; financial eligibility standards for certain waivers providing services to individuals with developmental disabilities. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to amend the financial eligibility standards for individuals receiving services under the Family and Individual Support Waiver, Community Living Waiver, and Building Independence Waiver (the DD Waivers). The bill requires the Department, when determining financial eligibility for the DD Waivers, to disregard any Social Security Disability Insurance income above the maximum monthly Supplemental Security Income as determined by the U.S. Social Security Administration; however, such Social Security Disability Insurance income shall not be disregarded for purposes of determining an individual's patient pay obligation. The bill also requires the Department to (i) analyze the implications of such amendments to the financial eligibility standards for individuals under the DD waivers, which shall include a determination of the costs and the number of individuals who would benefit from such amendments and (ii) report its findings to the Chairmen of the Senate Committees on Education and Health and Finance and Appropriations and the House Committees on Health and Human Services and Appropriations no later than November 1, 2024. The bill sunsets on July 1, 2026. This bill is identical to SB 676.

Firearm safety device tax credit; definition of firearm safety device. Expands the definition of "firearm safety device" as it relates to the firearm safety device tax credit to include any device that, when installed on a firearm, is designed to prevent the firearm from being operated without first deactivating the device. The provisions of the bill are effective for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2024. This bill incorporates HB 945.

Dissemination of criminal history record information; Department of Social Services. Authorizes the Department of Social Services to obtain criminal history record information for the purpose of screening individuals as a condition of licensure, employment, volunteering, or providing services on a regular basis in a licensed child welfare agency or foster or adoptive home approved by a child-placing agency.

Department of Labor and Industry; workplaceposter for veterans benefits and services. Directs the Departmentof Labor and Industry, in consultation with the Department of VeteransServices, to create a poster describing benefits and services availableto veterans and allows employers to request and display such poster in the workplace. The bill enumerates a minimum group of resourcesthe poster shall include, including (i) Department of Veterans Services'programs, contact information, and website address; (ii) substanceabuse and mental health treatment resources; (iii) educational, workforce,and training resources; (iv) tax benefits; (v) eligibility for unemploymentinsurance benefits; (vi) legal services; and (vii) the U.S. Departmentof Veterans Affairs Veterans Crisis Line.

Department of Motor Vehicles; medical review. Changes the standard for being denied a driver's license or having a driver's license reviewed or revoked for medical reasons by removing language regarding the presence of a disability or disease and requiring the existence of an impairment that will prevent the driver from exercising reasonable and ordinary control over a motor vehicle or drive a motor vehicle safely.

Out-of-state health care practitioners; temporary authorization to practice; assisted living facilities. Adds assisted living facilities to the list of eligible health care employers for which a health care practitioner licensed, certified, or registered in another state or the District of Columbia may temporarily practice for one 90-day period, provided that the practitioner is contracted by or has received an offer of employment in the Commonwealth from the health care employer and certain other conditions are met.

Constitutional amendment (voter referendum); real property tax exemption; surviving spouses of soldiers who died in the line of duty. Provides for a referendum at the November 5, 2024, election to approve or reject an amendment to the Constitution of Virginia that would expand the real property tax exemption that is currently available to the surviving spouses of soldiers killed in action to be available to the surviving spouses of soldiers who died in the line of duty with a Line of Duty determination from the U.S. Department of Defense. This bill is identical to SB 4.

Standards for attorneys appointed to represent parents or guardians; child dependency cases; compensation; multidisciplinary law offices or programs; report. Requires the Judicial Council of Virginia, in conjunction with the Virginia State Bar, beginning July 1, 2026, to adopt standards for the qualification and performance of attorneys appointed to represent a parent or guardian of a child when such child is the subject of a child dependency case, as defined in the bill. The bill also requires the Judicial Council of Virginia, beginning July 1, 2026, to maintain a list of attorneys admitted to practice law in Virginia who are qualified to be appointed to represent indigent parents involved in a child dependency case. Prior to July 1, 2026, counsel must be appointed from the list of attorneys qualified to serve as guardians ad litem. The bill provides that beginning January 1, 2025, court-appointed counsel for a parent, guardian, or other adult in a child dependency case will be compensated in an amount no greater than $330, or in a case for the termination of residual parental rights, $680.The bill authorizes the establishment of up to two multidisciplinary law offices or programs in localities, jurisdictions, or judicial districts that affirm they have met specified criteria for the purpose of representing parents in a child dependency court proceeding or in a child protective services assessment or investigation prior to such proceeding. During any calendar year that such an office or program is in effect for at least six months, the office or program must submit a report on program outcomes, expenses, recommendations, and other pertinent information to the Office of the Children's Ombudsman and the Chairmen of the House Committees for Courts of Justice and on Health and Human Services and Appropriations and the Senate Committees for Courts of Justice and on Education and Health and Finance and Appropriations by November 1.