Del. Marty Martinez

Board of Education; Child Care Subsidy Program; maximum reimbursement rate; vendors providing care outside of normal business hours. Directs the Board of Education to amend its regulations relating to the Child Care Subsidy Program to permit payment over the maximum reimbursable rate for any vendor that provides child care outside of normal business hours, provided that such rate may not exceed twice the maximum reimbursable rate for child care provided within normal business hours.

Study; JLARC; Virginia's campaign finance laws; independent agency; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to study Virginia's campaign finance laws. In its study, JLARC is directed to (i) identify any legal, technical, and staffing shortcomings in the current election and campaign finance laws relating to (a) reporting and investigating violations, (b) enforcing legal and regulatory requirements, and (c) implementing directions from state government at the local level and (ii) determine whether current budgetary allocations are sufficient to effectively carry out such aspects of the campaign finance system. To that end, JLARC is directed to analyze how existing campaign finance and election laws can be modernized by creating a new independent agency to increase transparency and accountability using best practices from other jurisdictions across the United States and to produce a report of clear recommendations and best practices for creating such an independent agency for improving the current system.

Line of Duty Act; payments to beneficiaries. Provides that if a deceased person, as that term is defined in the Line of Duty Act, died as a result of certain cancers within 10 years from his date of retirement, his beneficiary shall be entitled to the payment of certain benefits. Under current law, such beneficiary shall be entitled to such payment if the deceased person's death (i) arose out of and in the course of his employment or (ii) was within five years from his date of retirement.

Recognition of the Wolf Creek Cherokee Tribe of Virginia. Extends state recognition to the Wolf Creek Cherokee Tribe of Virginia within the Commonwealth.

Abolition of fees; legal representation of indigent defendant. Eliminates the fees for the cost of court-appointed counsel or public defender representation for persons who are determined to be indigent.

Maddy summaryThis bill (SJ 305) is a ceremonial resolution commending Colonel James B. Cogbill, USA, Ret., for his military service. It does not create new laws or affect any policies, programs, or individuals beyond this formal recognition. The resolution passed both the Senate and House by voice vote in early February 2025 and is now pending final action. It serves solely to honor an individual's service, with no substantive policy impact.

Transportation network companies; minimum compensation. Establishes minimum compensation rates for TNC partners. The bill also prohibits gratuities from passengers from being included in TNC partner compensation calculations, authorizes TNC partners to collect gratuity in cash or electronically, and prohibits transportation network companies from limiting the amount that can be paid as gratuity through such companies' digital platforms.

Virginia Commission on Lynching Sites Memorialization established; report. Establishes the Virginia Commission on Lynching Sites Memorialization as an advisory commission in the executive branch of state government. The purpose of the 15-member Commission is to acknowledge the history of racial violence in Virginia through the placement of historical markers at the sites of lynchings. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2028.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord obligations; access of tenant to broadband services. Prohibits the landlord of a multifamily dwelling unit from accepting payment from a provider of broadband service for granting such provider mere access to the landlord's tenants or giving such tenants mere access to such service. The bill also prohibits a landlord from demanding or accepting payment from tenants in exchange for such a service unless the landlord itself is the provider of the service.

Regulation of discharging preproduction plastic; requirements. Requires the Department of Environmental Quality to establish a program to ensure zero discharge or release from point and nonpoint source at certain facilities that discharge to (i) a surface water under a Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issued by the Department or (ii) a publicly owned treatment works under an industrial pretreatment program permit or other written authorization issued by a local permit control authority and to require the prompt and environmentally responsible containment and cleanup of discharged or released preproduction plastic. The bill requires the Department to adopt and implement certain requirements in order to reduce and control the discharge or release of preproduction plastic from such facilities. The bill allows the Department to exempt a facility from the requirements of the program if a facility satisfies the criteria for a no exposure certification and complies with inspection requirements administered by the Department. The bill also allows the Department to establish additional requirements regarding the regulation of discharges and releases of preproduction plastic from certain facilities into water or onto land in the Commonwealth.