Del. Mike Cherry

Authority of Attorney General; criminal cases; criminal sexual assault and commercial sex trafficking committed against children. Authorizes the Attorney General to institute or conduct criminal prosecutions in cases involving a violation of criminal sexual assault or commercial sex trafficking when such crimes are committed against children.

Department of Veterans Services; powers and duties of Commissioner; identification of incarcerated veterans. Provides that the Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Services shall utilize, in consultation with the Department of Corrections, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Veterans Re-Entry Search Services system to identify veterans incarcerated in state, local, or community correctional facilities to prepare such veterans for release and reentry, reduce recidivism and homelessness, provide behavioral health resources, and refer eligible veterans to behavioral health dockets. This bill was incorporated into HB 2071.

Office of New Americans Advisory Board; increase in membership. Increases from 18 to 21 the number of nonlegislative citizen members of the Office of New Americans Advisory Board and adds the Secretaries of Commerce and Trade, Education, Health and Human Resources, Labor, Public Safety and Homeland Security, and Transportation as ex officio members with nonvoting privileges. This bill was incorporated into HB 2279.

Guidelines and policies on school-connected overdose; response and parental notification. Adjusts the contents of the guidelines that the Board of Education is required to establish for school-connected overdose response and parental notification policies by requiring such guidelines to include guidance and model language for the development and implementation of a policy requiring each school board to provide within 24 hours of any school-connected overdose notification to the parent of each student within the local school division and criteria for ensuring sensitivity to the privacy interests of affected individuals in issuing such notification. The bill also requires each school board to notify the parent of each student in the local school division of any school-connected overdose within 24 hours of the overdose occurring in accordance with the guidance and criteria provided by the Board of Education.

Department of Education; statewide anonymous student reporting mobile application. Requires the Department of Education, with such funds as may be appropriated for such purpose pursuant to the general appropriation act or provided from any other source, and alone or in partnership with another state agency or a nonprofit organization, or a combination thereof, to (i) develop or procure a multiplatform compatible mobile application that permits any public elementary and secondary school student to submit anonymous reports relating to the health or safety of self or others, including threats of violence that are made on social media; (ii) train or contract for the training of individuals to respond to each such anonymous report in a timely and effective manner, including responding to the student and notifying the appropriate school official, local law-enforcement agency, or public safety answering point (PSAP), as that term is defined in relevant law; (iii) train students, parents, PSAP responders, law-enforcement officials, and school officials throughout the Commonwealth on the proper use of such mobile application; and (iv) provide permissible users with access to such mobile application at no cost.

Possession of retail tobacco products and hemp products intended for smoking by a person younger than 21 years of age prohibited; penalty. Prohibits any person younger than 21 years of age from possessing any retail tobacco product or hemp product intended for smoking, as those terms are defined in relevant law. A violation of such prohibition is punishable by a civil penalty not to exceed $100 for a first violation and a civil penalty not to exceed $250 for a second or subsequent violation. The bill also provides that a court may, as an alternative to the civil penalty, and upon motion of the defendant, prescribe the performance of up to 20 hours of community service for a first violation and up to 40 hours of community service for a second or subsequent violation, but if the defendant fails or refuses to complete the community service as prescribed, the court may impose the civil penalty. Additionally, upon such violation, the judge may enter an order suspending the motor vehicle and driver's license of such person pursuant relevant law.

Campaign finance; prohibited personal use of campaign funds; complaints, hearings, civil penalty, and advisory opinions. Prohibits any person from converting contributions to a candidate or his campaign committee for personal use. Current law only prohibits such conversion of contributions with regard to disbursement of surplus funds at the dissolution of a campaign or political committee. The bill provides that a contribution is considered to have been converted to personal use if the contribution, in whole or in part, is used to fulfill any commitment, obligation, or expense that would exist irrespective of the person's seeking, holding, or maintaining public office but allows a contribution to be used for the ordinary and accepted expenses related to campaigning for or holding elective office, including the use of campaign funds to pay for the candidate's dependent care expenses that are incurred as a direct result of campaign activity. The bill provides that any person subject to the personal use ban may request an advisory opinion from the State Board of Elections on such matters. The bill directs the State Board of Elections to adopt emergency regulations similar to those promulgated by the Federal Election Commission to implement the provisions of the bill and to publish an updated summary of Virginia campaign finance law that reflects the State Board of Elections' and Attorney General's guidance on the provisions of such law that prohibit the personal use of campaign funds and any new regulations promulgated by the State Board of Elections. This bill was incorporated into HB 2165.

Standards of Learning; programs of instruction; civics education; instruction on local government. Requires the Board of Education to include in the Standards of Learning for Virginia and United States Government for grade 12 and requires each school board to provide as a part of any Virginia and U.S. Government course or civic education course offered to students in grade 12 instruction on local government, including instruction on the types of localities in the Commonwealth and the structure and functions of local governments in the Commonwealth. The bill also requires the Board to consider in its criteria for awarding a diploma seal for excellence in civics education and understanding of the state and federal constitutions and the democratic model of government the successful completion of government or civics courses that include instruction on the structures and functions of local government.

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

Department of Education; model policy on student cell phone use during instructional time; local adoption. Requires the Department of Education to develop, adopt, and distribute to each school board a model policy whereby public elementary and secondary school students are prohibited from possessing or using personal cell phones or other personal handheld communication devices during instructional time at school. The bill requires the Department, in developing and adopting such model policy, to seek to balance the interests 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's parents. The bill requires each school board to develop and adopt a policy that is consistent with such model policy adopted by the Department.