Del. Josh Cole

Study; JLARC; Department of Juvenile Justice;report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission,in conjunction with the Office of the Secretary of Public Safetyand Homeland Security and the Office of the Secretary of Health andHuman Resources, to conduct a study to determine the feasibilityand benefits of transferring responsibility for the Department ofJuvenile Justice from the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to the Secretary of Health and Human Resources.

Department of Medical Assistance Services; reimbursement rates for Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers withDisabilities; work group; report. Directs the Department of MedicalAssistance Services to convene a work group of relevant stakeholdersto assess and make recommendations related to reimbursement ratesfor the federal Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlerswith Disabilities. The bill requires the work group to report itsrecommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Health,Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committee on Education andHealth by November 1, 2024.

Campaign finance; prohibited contributionsto candidates. Prohibits candidates, campaign committees, and political committees from soliciting or accepting contributions fromany public utility, as defined in the bill, and prohibits any publicutility or any political committee established by such public utilityfrom making any such contribution.

Radar detectors. Authorizes the use andsale of devices and mechanisms to detect a radar, laser, or otherdevice or mechanism employed by law-enforcement personnel to measurethe speed of motor vehicles on the highways of the Commonwealth forlaw-enforcement purposes, commonly known as radar detectors. Thebill retains the prohibition on the use of such devices in a commercialmotor vehicle.

High-occupancy toll lanes; disabled veteranlicense plates. Provides that, on Interstate 95, vehicles displayinga disabled veteran license plate meet the high-occupancy requirementfor high-occupancy toll lanes, regardless of the number of occupantsin the vehicle.

Home Visiting Program established; report. Establishes the Home Visiting Program within the Department of Social Services to support pregnant people and parents with young children who face greater risks and barriers to achieving positive maternal and child health outcomes. The bill directs the Department to operate in accordance with the Virginia Plan for Home Visiting established by Early Impact Virginia, a consortium of government and private entities. The purpose of the Program is to (i) promote the health and well-being of pregnant people and parents, (ii) improve infant and child health and development, (iii) strengthen family functioning, (iv) promote school readiness, (v) reduce child maltreatment, (vi) promote economic mobility, and (vii) cultivate strong communities. The bill requires the Department to report biennially to the Governor and the General Assembly on outcomes for Program participants.

Commission to Study the History of the Uprootingof Black Communities by Public Institutions of Higher Education inthe Commonwealth established; report. Establishes the 19-memberlegislative Commission to Study the History of the Uprooting of BlackCommunities by Public Institutions of Higher Education for the purposeof studying and determining (i) whether any public institution ofhigher education in the Commonwealth has purchased, expropriated,or otherwise taken possession of property owned by any individualwithin the boundaries of a community in which a majority of the residentsare Black in order to establish or expand the institution's campusand (ii) whether and what form of compensation or relief would beappropriate for any such individual or any of his lineal descendants.The bill sunsets on July 1, 2027.

Elections; conduct of election; ranked choice voting; locally elected offices; report. Allows elections for any local or constitutional office to be conducted by ranked choice voting. Under current law, only elections of members of a county board of supervisors or a city council are allowed to be conducted by ranked choice voting. The bill also clarifies requirements for conducting elections using ranked choice voting and requires results for elections conducted by ranked choice voting to be reported along with other results reported on election night, except that such results must clearly be identified as preliminary and based on the first rankings in a ranked choice voting election. The bill provides that final tabulation for an election for a local or constitutional office that is not shared by more than one county or city is required to be conducted on the same day as other results are canvassed by the local electoral board and that final tabulation for and election for a local or constitutional office that is shared by more than one county or city is required to be conducted at a centralized facility under the supervision of the Department of Elections. The bill specifies that ranking data is required to be made publicly available by the Department and requires the State Board of Elections to provide standards and to approve vote tabulating software for use with existing voting systems in elections conducted by ranked choice voting. The bill also limits a risk-limiting audit of an election conducted using ranked choice voting to the first choice rankings reported on voting systems. Finally, the bill directs the Department to review the testing and approval framework for voting equipment in the Commonwealth and submit a report of such review no later than the first day of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

Virginia Student Environmental Literacy Plan Grant Fund and Program established. Requires the Office of Environmental Education within the Department of Conservation and Recreation, in conjunction with the Department of Education and any other stakeholder that it deems appropriate, to implement the Virginia Student Environmental Literacy Plan Grant Program and Fund for school districts to develop local student environmental literacy plans and, with consultation from the Department of Education, to maintain a state environmental literacy plan. The bill establishes the Program and Fund, to be administered by the Office, for the purpose of awarding grants on a competitive basis to any local school board that seeks assistance to initiate, expand, or improve teacher professional development opportunities or student environmental education programs that align with the content and objectives of the bill.

Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy; protocol; information; training. Requires the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to take certain actions upon the finding that an individual died from Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP), defined in the bill. The bill directs the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to publish information on SUDEP and a SUDEP death investigation form on its website. Additionally, the bill requires the Chief Medical Examiner and local medical examiners to complete training in the investigation of SUDEP on a triennial basis. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025.