Del. Betsy Carr

All-terrain vehicles and off-road motorcycles; seizure, impounding, and disposition. Authorizes the governing body of any city to provide by ordinance for the lawful seizure, impounding, and disposition of an illegally operated all-terrain vehicle or off-road motorcycle operated on a highway or sidewalk within such city. This bill is identical to SB 516.

Stores and telephone systems in local correctional facilities; fees. Provides that the net profits from the operation of stores and telephonic communication systems in local correctional facilities shall be used within each facility respectively for educational, recreational, or medical purposes for the benefit of the inmates to include behavioral health, substance abuse, reentry, and rehabilitative services and may be expended to pay for the training, salaries, and benefits of employees or contractors whose primary job is to provide such programs and services to the inmates.

Standards for attorneys appointed to represent parents or guardians; child dependency cases; compensation; multidisciplinary law offices or programs; report. Requires the Judicial Council of Virginia, in conjunction with the Virginia State Bar, beginning July 1, 2026, to adopt standards for the qualification and performance of attorneys appointed to represent a parent or guardian of a child when such child is the subject of a child dependency case, as defined in the bill. The bill also requires the Judicial Council of Virginia, beginning July 1, 2026, to maintain a list of attorneys admitted to practice law in Virginia who are qualified to be appointed to represent indigent parents involved in a child dependency case. Prior to July 1, 2026, counsel must be appointed from the list of attorneys qualified to serve as guardians ad litem. The bill provides that beginning January 1, 2025, court-appointed counsel for a parent, guardian, or other adult in a child dependency case will be compensated in an amount no greater than $330, or in a case for the termination of residual parental rights, $680.The bill authorizes the establishment of up to two multidisciplinary law offices or programs in localities, jurisdictions, or judicial districts that affirm they have met specified criteria for the purpose of representing parents in a child dependency court proceeding or in a child protective services assessment or investigation prior to such proceeding. During any calendar year that such an office or program is in effect for at least six months, the office or program must submit a report on program outcomes, expenses, recommendations, and other pertinent information to the Office of the Children's Ombudsman and the Chairmen of the House Committees for Courts of Justice and on Health and Human Services and Appropriations and the Senate Committees for Courts of Justice and on Education and Health and Finance and Appropriations by November 1.

Virginia Business Ready Expedited Permitting Program established; report. Establishes the Virginia Business Ready Expedited Permitting Program and directs the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority to designate up to two sites and four projects for participation in the Program. Sites and projects eligible for the Program shall include only (i) sites eligible for a site development grant under the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program or (ii) projects with significant local, regional, or statewide economic impact that the governing body of the locality in which the project is located has either (a) approved following a public meeting or hearing or (b) submitted, by resolution, for consideration to be included in the Program. No more than two eligible sites or projects shall be designated as part of the Program within any locality annually. The Authority shall complete a review process within 45 days of designating a site to reduce permitting conflicts and provide relevant guidance to applicants. The bill also provides that no project shall be considered eligible to enter the Program after December 31, 2027, and requires annual reporting from the Authority. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025, and expires on June 30, 2028. This bill is identical to SB 217.

Board of Housing and Community Development; stakeholder advisory group; report. Directs the Board of Housing and Community Development (the Board) to convene a stakeholder advisory group including fire code officials to evaluate and recommend revisions to the Uniform Statewide Building Code to permit Group R-2 occupancies to be served by a single exit, provided that the building has not more than six stories above grade plane. The bill requires the stakeholder advisory group to submit its findings and recommendations to the Board and to the Chairmen of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology no later than December 1, 2024. This bill is identical to SB 195.

Enforcement of certain judgments; restrictedlicense. Authorizes the court to order a restricted license tooperate a motor vehicle to a judgment debtor who has had his driver'slicense suspended for failure to satisfy certain judgments.

Child labor offenses; civil penalties. Increasesfrom $10,000 to $25,000 the civil penalty for each violation of childlabor laws that results in the employment of a child who is seriouslyinjured or dies in the course of employment. The bill also increasesfrom $1,000 to $2,500 the maximum civil penalty for each other violationof child labor laws and provides that such civil penalty shall notbe less than $500. The bill directs the Department of Labor and Industry to convene a stakeholder work group to develop education and outreach plans to inform young workers and employers about child labor laws.

Public schools; certain local school divisions; youth and community violence prevention; Community Builders Pilot Program established; report. Establishes the Community Builders Pilot Program for the purpose of reducing youth involvement in behaviors that lead to gun violence and increasing community engagement among public school students by providing to students who are entering the eighth grade and enrolled in Roanoke City Public Schools and Petersburg City Public Schools opportunities during the school year after regular school hours and during the summer months for community engagement, workforce development, postsecondary education exploration, and social-emotional education and development. The bill provides that the school boards of Roanoke City Public Schools and Petersburg City Public Schools shall be responsible for the administration of the Program and are directed to collect data and report to the Governor and relevant committees of the General Assembly by November 1 of each year on the progress of the Program. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2027. This bill is identical to SB 484.

Hate crimes and discrimination; ethnic animosity; penalties. Provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to safeguard all individuals within the Commonwealth from unlawful discrimination in employment and in places of public accommodation because of such individual's ethnic origin and prohibits such discrimination. The bill also adds victims who are intentionally selected because of their ethnic origin to the categories of victims whose intentional selection for a hate crime involving assault, assault and battery, or trespass for the purpose of damaging another's property results in a higher criminal penalty for the offense. The bill also provides that no provider or user of an interactive computer service on the Internet shall be liable for any action voluntarily taken by it in good faith to restrict access to material that the provider or user considers to be intended to incite hatred on the basis of ethnic origin. This bill is identical to SB 7.

Virginia Center on Aging; Virginia Memory Project established. Establishes the Virginia Memory Project in the Virginia Center on Aging at Virginia Commonwealth University to collect and analyze data on Alzheimer's disease, related dementias, and other neurodegenerative disorders; provide assistance to individuals with Alzheimer's disease, related dementias, and other neurodegenerative disorders and their families and physicians; and assist in the development of relevant public policy. The bill provides that no publication of information shall be made that identifies any patient by name. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025.