Del. Dave LaRock

Commonwealth Broadband Chief Advisor; broadbandservice territory maps. Requires the Commonwealth Broadband ChiefAdvisor to develop and maintain a map of private broadband providerservice territories, including accurate average broadband speeds insuch territories. The map shall be updated yearly and be made availableto the public.

Campaign finance; prohibited contributions tocandidates. Prohibits any candidate from soliciting or acceptinga contribution from any public service corporation, as defined inthe bill, or any political action committee established and administeredby such a corporation.

Governing boards of public institutions of higher education; State Board for Community Colleges; communication; transparency. Requires the governing board of each public institution of highereducation and the State Board for Community Colleges to provide on their websites publicly available contact information for each boardmember, including each board member's email address, to ensure accessby the public and for the timely sharing of comprehensive information between the public and board members. The bill directs the StateCouncil of Higher Education for Virginia to conduct a review of compliancewith the bill and issue a report of its findings to the General Assemblyby November 1, 2021.

Local control of firearms; concealed handgunpermit. Provides that any local ordinance that prohibits thepossession, carrying, or transportation of any firearms, ammunition,or components or combination thereof on specified public propertyshall not apply to a person who has a valid concealed handgun permit.

Special license plates; certain military declarations; fees. Removes the fee for one special license plate for one motorvehicle owned and used by an applicant who has been awarded the BronzeStar, Bronze Star with a "V" for valor, or the Silver Star. The billprovides that the applicant will be charged the typical fee for statelicense plates for any such additional special license plates.

Voter registration; political party affiliation;closed primary elections. Adds political party affiliation tothe information that an applicant is asked to provide when registeringto vote. The political party affiliation or independent status selectedby the voter is included in his registration record, and the billpermits voters to change political party affiliation by providingnotice in writing or through electronic means authorized by the StateBoard of Election. The bill provides that only voters who are registeredas affiliated with a political party, or who are designated as independent,are permitted to vote in that political party's primary election.Voters who are registered on or before January 1, 2022, will be designated as independent, and the general registrars are required to notifythe voters of such fact and include instructions on how the votermay change his affiliation beginning January 1, 2022. The bill hasa delayed effective date of January 1, 2022.

Collective bargaining; prohibited considerationsduring negotiations. Prohibits any local ordinance or resolutiongranting or permitting collective bargaining from permitting considerationduring collective bargaining negotiations of any action or discussionregarding the hiring, firing, or disciplining of a local employee.All such actions and discussions shall be exempt from all collectivebargaining negotiations.

Use of transportation funds. States thatit is the policy of the Commonwealth that revenues dedicated to transportationpurposes shall not be used or redirected for any nontransportation-relatedpurpose. Any attempt to repurpose funds dedicated to transportationas of July 1, 2020, shall be deemed invalid and shall not be effectuated.

Home instruction and private school tax credit.Creates an individual, nonrefundable income tax credit for taxableyears beginning on or after January 1, 2021, but before January 1,2026, for amounts paid by the parent or legal guardian of a childfor the child's home instruction expenses or tuition for attendingan accredited private school in Virginia. The credit shall equalthe lesser of the amount actually paid in the taxable year for suchcosts or half of the average state standards of quality funding perstudent per year. The credit may be taken for instruction-relatedmaterials, courses, or programs used in home instruction or for privateschool tuition. The credit is available only to the parents and legalguardians of children who did not attend private school or were nothome schooled in the previous year in Virginia. The credit is availablefor two years per child and can be carried forward for five taxableyears.

Public education; student education accounts.Permits any school division to establish a program to create savingsaccounts for students to be used for alternative educational programs.The bill requires the Department of Education to establish policiesand procedures under which the parent of each student may use suchfunds on public or private educational programs.