Del. Karen Keys-Gamarra

Selective Service; Two-Year College Transfer Grant; Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant Program. Removes the requirement that individuals register for the Selective Service in order to be eligible for the Two-Year College Transfer Grant, the Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant Program, or any other state direct tuition assistance.

Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Adult and Dislocated Worker funds; minimum allocation requirement waived. Authorizes the Department of Workforce Development and Advancement to waive the 40 percent allocation requirement of certain funding under the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 for a local workforce development board that submits a request for a waiver and demonstrates that the board is unable to meet the requirement due to (i) a lack of available training providers in the local workforce development area, (ii) a lack of demand for training services among eligible participants, or (iii) other extraordinary circumstances. The bill requires the Department to develop and publish a process for the application and approval of such waivers.

Certain transit entities; funding and administration. Changes the purposes and geographic applicability of the Transit Ridership Incentive Program, removes various other requirements related to the program's administration and use of funds, and specifies a November 1 deadline for the annual report on the program. The bill removes the requirement for the Secretary of Transportation to coordinate with certain other entities for the purpose of revising the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Compact of 1966 and implementing other reforms necessary to ensure the near-term and long-term viability of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. The bill also extends from July 1, 2027, to July 1, 2028, the sunset on provisions delegating to local building officials the enforcement of the Uniform Statewide Building Code for bus shelters to be constructed for transit agencies receiving state funds from the Commonwealth Mass Transit Fund.

Virginia Public Procurement Act; preference for Virginia goods; school nutrition programs; sunset extension. Provides that, in the case of procurement of goods by manufacturers, if the lowest responsive and responsible bidder is not a resident of Virginia and the bid is for agricultural products that are produced or processed in Virginia and intended for school nutrition programs, including fresh fruits, vegetables, and dairy products, and is within 20 percent of such bid, such bidder for agricultural products that are produced or processed in Virginia shall be granted the option to match the price of the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. The bill amends provisions of law providing preference for Virginia goods in procurement that are set to expire on July 1, 2027. The bill extends the sunset date of these provisions to July 1, 2028.

Special license plates; Sons of Confederate Veterans and Robert E. Lee. Repeals authorization for the issuance of Sons of Confederate Veterans and Robert E. Lee special license plates and provides that such special license plates already in circulation will remain valid until their expiration and shall not be renewed.

Motor vehicles; use of safety belt systems; certain persons exempt. Exempts from the requirements for the use of safety belt systems emergency medical services personnel while in the patient compartment of an emergency medical services vehicle providing necessary care, as defined in the bill, to a patient. The bill provides that, for seats that are subject to such requirements for the use of safety belt systems, such personnel shall use safety belt systems while the vehicle is in motion and such personnel is not providing necessary care to a patient. The bill also changes the existing exemption for law-enforcement agency personnel driving motor vehicles to enforce laws governing motor vehicle parking to an exemption for law-enforcement officers driving motor vehicles to enforce laws governing motor vehicle parking. This bill incorporates HB 233.

Appointment of youth representative to local governing body. Allows a local governing body to appoint a youth representative to serve as a nonvoting member of the governing body.

Board of Education and Superintendent of Public Instruction; state program to support the improvement of low-performing schools. Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to consistently and effectively implement a state program to support the improvement of low-performing schools based on school accountability standards established by the Board of Education within the standards of accreditation. The bill requires the Superintendent to ensure that the Department of Education is appropriately organized and employs qualified staff to effectively provide this support to such low-performing schools. The bill requires the Board to ensure that the Superintendent and the Department administer an effective school improvement program to support such low-performing schools. The bill is a recommendation of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission.

Sexual abuse during infancy or incapacity; accrual. Adds to the accrual provisions for personal injury actions resulting from sexual abuse during the infancy or incapacity of a person that accrual occurs when corroborative evidence, as defined in the bill, is discovered or by the exercise of due diligence reasonably should have been discovered.

Hospitals; reports of threats or acts of violence against health care providers; expansion of reporting requirements. Expands the reporting requirements for incidents of workplace violence in hospitals with an emergency department by requiring additional descriptors of incidents, requiring hospitals to report collected data to additional parties, and directing the Department of Health to publish a report containing an annual summary of such data. The bill directs the Board of Health to promulgate regulations implementing the provisions of the bill by January 1, 2027, and directs the Department of Health to publish its first report by December 31, 2027.