Changes the name of guidance counselors to school counselors and requires school boards to employ school counselors in accordance with the following ratios: in elementary schools, one hour per day per 91 students, one full-time at 455 students, one hour per day additional time per 91 students or major fraction thereof; in middle schools, one period per 74 students, one full-time at 370 students, one additional period per 74 students or major fraction thereof; and in high schools, one period per 65 students, one full-time at 325 students, one additional period per 65 students or major fraction thereof. Additionally, the bill provides that notwithstanding any act of the 2019 Regular Session of the General Assembly the ratio of school counselors to students shall be as provided for in the appropriation act.
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Provides that following the close of any biennium, when the account for any regulatory board within the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation shows that unspent and unencumbered revenue exceeds $100,000 or 20 percent of the total expenses allocated to the regulatory board for the past biennium, whichever is greater, the regulatory board must (i) distribute all such excess revenue to current regulants and (ii) reduce the fees levied by it for certification, licensure, registration, or permit and renewal thereof so that the fees are sufficient but not excessive to cover expenses. Under current law, these boards are required to adjust their fees when their account shows expenses allocated to it for the past biennium to be more than 10 percent greater or less than moneys collected on behalf of the board. Current law does not require the boards to distribute excess funds to regulants. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2022.
Provides that any determination by the State Corporation Commission that an energy efficiency program is not in the public interest shall include with its final order the work product and analysis conducted by the staff of the Commission in making that determination. The measure requires that if the Commission reduces the proposed budget for a program or portfolio of programs, its final order shall include an analysis of the impact such budget reduction has upon the cost-effectiveness of such program or portfolio of programs. An order by the Commission (i) finding that a program or portfolio of programs is not in the public interest or (ii) reducing the proposed budget for any program or portfolio of programs shall adhere to existing protocols for extraordinarily sensitive information. The measure provides that any utility petitioning the Commission for approval of one or more rate adjustment clauses for energy efficiency programs shall include a proposed budget for the design, implementation, and operation of the energy efficiency programs. The bill requires that any rate adjustment clause approved for an energy efficiency program remain in effect until the utility exhausts the approved budget for the energy efficiency program.
Conforms Virginia law to the provisions of the federal 2018 Farm Bill by amending the definitions of cannabidiol oil, marijuana, and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) to exclude industrial hemp in the possession of a registered person, hemp products, or an oil containing no more than 0.3% THC. The bill defines "industrial hemp" as any part of the plant
Requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services (Department) to establish and every full-time or part-time law-enforcement officer employed as a school resource officer after July 1, 2020, to comply with compulsory minimum training standards for law-enforcement officers serving as school resource officers. The bill requires the training provided by the Department pursuant to such standards to be specific to the role and responsibility of a law-enforcement officer working with students in a school environment and to be available throughout the Commonwealth. The bill requires each school board to ensure that every public school it supervises employs at least one school administrator who has completed, either in-person or online, school safety training for public school personnel conducted by the Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety, unless such training is not available online. This bill is identical to
Prohibits the imposition and collection of tolls on any primary highway that is wholly located in Planning District 8 and that was previously classified as a secondary highway and is between 30 and 35 miles in length without prior approval by the General Assembly.
Requires the Virginia Community College System, in consultation with the Department of Labor and Industry, to develop and deliver uniform, related instruction for registered apprenticeships in high-demand programs, as determined by the Virginia Board of Workforce Development and the Virginia Employment Commission, and for which coursework is not otherwise available. The bill requires such instruction to be available statewide and to be delivered in a face-to-face, online, or blended format.
Extends the benefits of the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program to the spouse or child of a veteran with at least a 90 percent permanent, service-related disability. Under current law, the spouse or child would be eligible for benefits only if the veteran's disability was incurred during military operations against terrorism, on a peacekeeping mission, as a result of a terrorist act, or in any armed conflict. Under the provisions of the bill, eligibility for stipends from the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Fund is unchanged. This bill is identical to
Applies the reduced state sales and use tax rate of 1.5%, which under current law applies only to food purchased for human consumption, to essential personal hygiene products, defined in the bill as (i) nondurable incontinence products such as diapers, disposable undergarments, pads, and bed sheets; and (ii) menstrual cups and pads, pantyliners, sanitary napkins, tampons, and other products used to absorb or contain menstrual flow. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2020. This bill is identical to
Requires the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth to develop and the Department of Education to distribute to each local school division educational materials concerning the health and safety risks of using tobacco products, nicotine vapor products, and alternative nicotine products. The bill requires instruction concerning the health and safety risks of using such products be provided in each public elementary and secondary school in the Commonwealth, consistent with such educational materials.