Del. J.R. Henson

Study; procuring goods and services from employmentservice organizations; report. Requests the Department of GeneralServices, in tandem with the Department for Aging and RehabilitativeServices, to examine the current process for procurement, potentialset-asides or percentage goals that could be utilized or bolsteredby employment service organizations, and whether employment serviceorganizations should be housed within the Department of Small Businessand Supplier Diversity.

Behavioral health services in correctional facilities; report. Requires the Department of Corrections to report to theGeneral Assembly and the Governor on or before October 1 of eachyear certain population statistics regarding the provision of behavioralhealth services to persons incarcerated in state correctional facilities.The bill also requires local correctional facilities to report tothe State Board of Local and Regional Jails on or before October1 of each year certain population statistics regarding the provisionof behavioral health services to persons incarcerated in local correctionalfacilities and for the Board to report such statistics to the GeneralAssembly and the Governor on or before December 1 of each year.

Study; State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; public institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth; guaranteed first-year admission; report. Requests the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to study the feasibility of implementing a guaranteed first-year admission policy at each public institution of higher education for certain high school graduates in the Commonwealth and report its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

Department of Juvenile Justice; work group to study Length of Stay Guidelines and Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center; report. Directs the Department of Juvenile Justice to convene a work group to study issues related to the Department's Length of Stay Guidelines and the Department's direct care capacity in response to the Department's report on the 2023 Length of Stay Guidelines. The work group is directed to study (i) the evidence and research relied upon by the Department as identified in the Department's report, including adjusting for changes in risk profiles for committed juveniles over time; (ii) best practices on staffing ratios, the current actual staffing ratios at Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center (BAJCC), and the projected population forecast; (iii) the ability of BAJCC to operate the community treatment model without single coverage on units and maintain consistent staffing on each residential unit and unit population not to exceed 14 residents; (iv) the ability of BAJCC to maintain all therapeutic, vocational, and educational programming; (v) a detailed comparison of youth by age, risk level, and offense level and their projected length of stay under the 2015 Length of Stay Guidelines and the 2023 Length of Stay Guidelines; (vi) trends in determinate commitments, including the percentage of such commitments in circuit court and with an active Department of Corrections sentence; and (vii) how the Department will maintain current programming and the continuum of services for youth when direct care capacity exceeds actual capacity. The work group is also directed to study the rates of serious incidents and contributing factors at BAJCC since January 2022. The bill requires the work group to submit a report with its recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee for Courts of Justice and the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice by November 1, 2024. Such report shall include evidence or research relating to the 2023 changes to the Length of Stay Guidelines and whether such evidence or research supports the changes.

Study; joint committee of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health; challenges faced by and effective strategies for ensuring the sustainable, long-term success of the five historically black colleges and universities in the Commonwealth; report. Establishes a joint committee consisting of five members of the House Committee on Education and three members of the Senate Committee on Education and Health to study the challenges faced by and effective strategies for ensuring the sustainable, long-term success of the five historically black colleges and universities in the Commonwealth–Hampton University, Norfolk State University, Virginia State University, Virginia Union University, and Virginia University of Lynchburg–by discussing, adopting, and recommending to the Governor and the General Assembly for formal recognition and endorsement a comprehensive statewide HBCU Support Plan.

Procurement; preference for local products and firms by localities. Allows localities to give a procurement preference to a higher bid that includes local products and firms so long as the bid price is not more than 10 percent greater than the bid price of the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. This bill was incorporated into HB 1361.

Public school staffing ratios; teachers; Englishlanguage learner students. Requires state funding to be providedpursuant to the general appropriation act to support divisionwideratios of English language learner students in average daily membershipto full-time equivalent teaching positions as follows: (i) for eachEnglish language learner identified as proficiency level one, oneposition per 25 students; (ii) for each English language learneridentified as proficiency level two, one position per 30 students;(iii) for each English language learner identified as proficiency level three, one position per 40 students; and (iv) for all otherEnglish language learners, one position per 50 students. Currentlaw requires state funding to be provided pursuant to the general appropriation act to support one such teaching position per 50 Englishlanguage learner students, regardless of the identified English proficiencylevel of such students.

Virginia local journalism sustainability taxcredits. Creates a nonrefundable income tax credit for eligiblelocal newspaper publishers, defined in the bill, for compensationpaid to local news journalists. The credit is equal to (i) for thefirst taxable year in which the credit is claimed, the lesser of10 percent of the actual amounts paid in wages to local news journalistsduring such taxable year or $5,000 and (ii) in subsequent taxableyears, the lesser of five percent of the actual amounts paid in wagesto local news journalists during such taxable year or $2,500. Thecredit includes an aggregate cap of $5 million per taxable year. The bill also creates a nonrefundable incometax credit for eligible small businesses with fewer than 50 employeesfor certain expenses incurred for local media advertising in a localnewspaper or in a broadcast of a local radio or television station.The credit is equal to (i) for the first taxable year in which thecredit is claimed, the lesser of 80 percent of the actual amountspaid or incurred for qualified local media advertising expenses or$4,000 and (ii) in subsequent taxable years, the lesser of 50 percentof the actual amounts paid or incurred for qualified local mediaadvertising expenses during such taxable year or $2,000. The creditincludes an aggregate cap of $10 million per taxable year. Each of the credits may be claimed in taxableyears beginning on and after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2029.

Student safety and discipline; certain reportsto school principals and division superintendents; form and scope.Requires local law-enforcement authorities to prepare in writingand provide to the principal or his designee and the division superintendent a report on (i) any suspected offense, offense for which any chargehas been filed, or offense that is subject to investigation that was committed or is suspected to have been committed by a student enrolled at the school if the offense would be (a) a felony if committedby an adult, (b) a violation of the Drug Control Act and occurredon a school bus, on school property, or at a school-sponsored activity,or (c) an adult misdemeanor involving certain enumerated incidentsand (ii) whether the student is released to the custody of his parentor, if 18 years of age or older, is released on bond. The bill requires division superintendents to report all such incidents to the Departmentof Education in an annual report that is made available to the public. Current law does not require such reports to be in writing and onlyapplies to student offenses but does not specify whether such reportsare required to be made for student offenses that are suspected,charged, or subject to investigation.

Child Care Subsidy Program vendors; basis forperiodic reimbursement. Requires the Department of Educationto periodically reimburse child care providers that are vendors through the Child Care Subsidy Program on the basis of authorizedchild enrollment but provides that if any such enrolled child isabsent from the provider for 10 or more days during one month, theDepartment shall periodically reimburse such provider on the basisof such child's attendance.