Rep. Chad Green

Commending the Yorktown ReStore.

Attorney General; instituting or conductingcriminal prosecutions for violations of criminal sexual assault andcommercial sex trafficking committed against children. Authorizesthe Attorney General to institute or conduct criminal prosecutionsin cases involving a violation of criminal sexual assault or commercialsex trafficking when such crimes are committed against children.

Animal control officers; additional training.Increases the number of hours of required additional training in animal control and protection from 15 to 24 every three years forall animal control officers and deputy animal control officers employedby a locality.

High school graduation requirements; satisfaction of certain course credits with workforce credentials; development and maintenance of list of accepted credentials. Requires the Board of Education, in collaboration with the Virginia Community College System, to develop and maintain a current, comprehensive, and uniform list of industry-recognized workforce credentials that students may take as a substitute for certain units of credit required for graduation, including such credentials that are accepted as substitutes for (i) laboratory science credits or (ii) electives credits. The bill provides that such list uniformly applies across each local school division and that each school board is required to accept as a substitute for a required credit any credential listed as an accepted substitute for such required credit. The bill also requires any College and Career Access Pathways Partnership entered into between a school board and a comprehensive community college to specify, consistent with the list, industry-recognized credentials that are accepted as substitutes for certain credits required for high school graduation. Finally, the bill requires the Board, in establishing graduation requirements, to permit any student to substitute (a) three standard units of credit and one verified credit in laboratory science or (b) credits for electives for completion of any industry-approved workforce credential that is included on the list as an accepted substitute for such credits. This bill was incorporated into HB 1345.

Maximum number of judges in each judicial circuit. Increases from four to five the maximum number of authorized circuit court judges in the Ninth Judicial Circuit. This bill is a recommendation of the Judicial Council of Virginia and is incorporated into HB 310.

Employee protections; discipline for politicalactivity or affiliations prohibited. Prohibits an employer from(i) directing the political activity or affiliations of an employee;(ii) discharging, disciplining, or discriminating against an employeefor such employee's lawful engagement or refusal to engage in anypolitical activity or affiliations; and (iii) refusing to hire, employ,or license an individual on the basis of such individual's politicalactivity or affiliations. The bill provides exceptions to these requirementswhere an employer believes that such actions are required by statute,regulation, or other mandate, where a professional services contractpermits an employer to limit the off-duty activities of an individual, and in the case of a religious exemption. A violation of the provisionsof the bill may be subject to a civil action within one year of theemployer's prohibited retaliatory action.

License plates; collector motor vehicles; penalty.Creates license plates for collector motor vehicles, defined in thebill, which the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehiclesshall issue to any applicant who owns or has regular use of anotherpassenger car, autocycle, or motorcycle and who owns at least a totalof three collector motor vehicles. The bill designates the fee forsuch plates and registration as $50, specifies that the collectormotor vehicles shall not be used for general transportation purposesand may only be used (i) for participation in shows, parades, charitable functions, and historical exhibitions for display, maintenance, and preservation; (ii) on the highways of the Commonwealth for the purposeof testing their operation or selling the vehicle, obtaining repairsor maintenance, transportation to and from events, and for occasionalpleasure driving not exceeding 250 miles from the residence of theowner; and (iii) to carry or transport passengers and personal effects.The bill also prohibits such vehicles from being registered as antiquevehicles or military surplus motor vehicles. Finally, the bill makesit a Class 4 misdemeanor to violate any provision relating to theregistration of collector motor vehicles.

Department of Education; model policy on studentcell phone use during instructional time; local adoption. Requiresthe Department of Education to develop, adopt, and distribute to each school board a model policy whereby public elementary and secondaryschool students are prohibited from possessing or using personalcell phones or other personal handheld communication devices duringinstructional time at school. The bill requires the Department, indeveloping and adopting such model policy, to seek to balance theinterests of students' academic achievement, cognitive development,safety, and general well-being and permits the Department to include appropriate exceptions in extraordinary circumstances such as emergency situations or situations involving the need to contact the student'sparents. The bill requires each school board to develop and adopta policy that is consistent with such model policy adopted by theDepartment.

Virginia Retirement System; enhanced retirementbenefits for 911 dispatchers. Allows local governments to provideenhanced retirement benefits for hazardous duty service to full-time salaried 911 dispatchers. The bill provides that such enhanced retirementbenefits apply only to service earned as a full-time salaried 911dispatcher on or after July 1, 2025, but allows an employer, as thatterm is defined in relevant law, to provide such enhanced retirement benefits for service earned as a full-time salaried 911 dispatcherbefore July 1, 2025, in addition to service earned on or after thatdate. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025.

Commending the Culpeper County Volunteer FireDepartment.