Del. Jason Ballard

Maddy summaryThis resolution formally commends the Christiansburg High School softball team for winning the Virginia High School League Class 3 state championship in 2024. The document highlights the team's historic 24-3 season, which included their first district and regional titles, culminating in a 6-3 victory over the Turner Ashby High School Knights. As a procedural measure, the House of Delegates directs its Clerk to prepare a copy of the resolution to present to head coach Seann Gaynor as a gesture of appreciation for the team's achievements.

Maddy summaryThis legislative resolution honors Nathaniel L. Bishop for his retirement as the senior vice president of administration and chief diversity and inclusion officer for the Carilion Clinic. The document highlights his career achievements, including being the first Black member of the Christiansburg Police Department and his extensive work advancing diversity in healthcare administration and education. It formally expresses the House of Delegates' admiration for his contributions to patient care and workforce representation, and directs the Clerk to present a copy of the resolution to him.

Space Force; extension of certain benefits andprivileges for persons serving in a branch of the Armed Forces. Amends several provisions of law related to certain benefits andprivileges available to persons serving or having served in a branchof the Armed Forces to include the Space Force as an eligible branch.

Department of Medical Assistance Services; lien for claim of personal injuries. Creates a process by which a lien in favor of the Department of Medical Assistance Services on a claim for personal injuries may be satisfied upon the request of the injured person who received medical care or services to treat such personal injury. The bill provides that the Department is required within 60 days of receipt of the request of the injured person to provide such injured person or his personal representative with an itemized statement detailing all health care expenses paid for by a program of the Department and a sum specific demand for payment in full and final resolution of the Department's lien. Such request shall not be made by the injured person or his personal representative until all claims for health care expenses to be paid for by a program of the Department for an alleged injury on which the claim is based have been submitted to and processed for potential payment by the Department. The bill provides that if the Department fails to respond to such request, the injured party or his personal representative may submit to the Department an offer of payment for a sum certain in satisfaction of the lien, including an explanation of the reasons for such offer, and the Department may then, within 30 days, accept or reject such offer. The bill also clarifies that such process is not the exclusive means by which an injured person or his personal representative may request such itemized statement of health care expenses. Under the bill, the Department shall report on a quarterly basis those offers of the payment for a sum certain in satisfaction of liens to which it does not respond to the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations and the House Committee on Appropriations.

Compensation of court-appointed counsel. Raises the limitation of fees that court-appointed counsel can receive for representation on various offenses in district and circuit courts. The bill also limits the fees charged for the cost of court-appointed counsel or public defender representation to persons determined to be indigent to an amount no greater than the amount such person would have owed if such fees had been assessed on or before June 30, 2024. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025. This bill is identical to SB 356.

Veterans' Services Protection Act; prohibited practices; penalty. Creates the Veterans' Services Protection Act to prohibit any person from receiving compensation for preparing, presenting, prosecuting, advising, consulting, or assisting any individual regarding any veterans' benefits matter, as defined in the bill, except as permitted under federal law. The bill provides that a violation of its provisions constitutes a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.

Social Work Licensure Compact. Authorizes Virginia to become a signatory to the Social Work Licensure Compact. The Compact allows social workers who have or are eligible for an active, unencumbered license in the compact member state where they reside to apply for a multistate license. After verifying eligibility, the social worker is granted a multistate license that authorizes practice in all other compact member states. The Compact takes effect when it is enacted by a seventh member state. This bill is identical to HB 326.

Appointment of counsel; public defenders; caseload exception. Exempts the public defender, in counties and cities where public defender offices are established, from providing defense services for indigent clients if the public defender, with the concurrence of the executive director of the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission or his designee, determines that the public defender's current active caseload would preclude the public defender from providing adequate representation to new clients.

Charitable gaming. Amends charitable gaming law to allow, as a condition of receiving a charitable gaming permit or authorization to conduct electronic gaming, certain organizations to use a predetermined percentage of its receipts for expenses related to the rental of real property where such real property is involved in the operation of the organization and used for lawful religious, charitable, community, or educational purposes. The bill prohibits the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services from promulgating electronic gaming regulations that prohibit (i) devices that display spinning, rotating, or rolling reels or animations or flashing lights; (ii) devices that accept vouchers; or (iii) the purchase and play of an electronic pull tab with a single press or touch of a button. The bill also requires qualified organizations and electronic gaming manufacturers to pay one-quarter of one percent of its gross receipts or adjusted gross receipts, as appropriate, to be deposited by the Department into the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund and prohibits any qualified social organization that is subject to Department regulations from conducting electronic gaming in a separately demised premises that has a direct or indirect means of ingress to or egress from any adjacent space unless such space is used exclusively by members or guests of such qualified organization.

License tax; retired police or military dogs; exemption. Allows a locality by ordinance to exempt any dog that served as a police or law-enforcement dog or military working dog from the license tax on the ownership of dogs. Such ordinance must include a verification process for the vaccination records of such a dog.