Study; JLARC; scope and cost of penalizing possessionof drugs as a felony. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit andReview Commission to study the scope and cost of the current lawsin the Commonwealth penalizing possession of drugs as a felony.
Toll relief; maximum charges. Limits to$200 per month the tolls charged to residents of the Commonwealthvia electronic toll collection devices for the use of toll bridges,toll ferries, toll tunnels, or toll roads in the Commonwealth. Thebill prohibits misusing, sharing, or transferring an electronic toll collection device for the purpose of (i) generating tolls to reachthe toll limit or (ii) obtaining toll-free use of toll facilitiesin the Commonwealth. The bill authorizes the free use of all tollbridges, toll roads, and other toll facilities in the Commonwealthfor drivers who are recipients of Temporary Assistance for NeedyFamilies (TANF) benefits.
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.
Pneumatic guns; penalties. Makes it a Class6 felony to possess a pneumatic gun upon (i) the property of any child day center or public, private, or religious preschool or elementary,middle, or high school, including buildings and grounds; (ii) thatportion of any property open to the public and then exclusively usedfor school-sponsored functions or extracurricular activities whilesuch functions or activities are taking place; or (iii) any schoolbus owned or operated by any such school.
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.
Loan repayment programs; mental health professionals. Creates a loan repayment program for persons who have worked as mentalhealth professionals in the Commonwealth for at least five years.
Parking Lot Solar Development Program and Fund; report. Directs the Department of Energy, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Quality, to establish by January 1, 2025, a Parking Lot Solar Development Program for the purpose of encouraging development of distributed parking lot solar projects up to one megawatt in size in the Commonwealth. The bill also creates the Parking Lot Solar Development Fund for the purposes of (i) funding solar renewable energy credit values at an updated 10-year levelized incentive level through the renewable energy certificate market using a solar financing model as described in the bill, (ii) implementing and administering the Parking Lot Solar Development Program, and (iii) implementing and administering an alternative auction site that sets a fixed price for solar renewable energy credits not sold in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the Department, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Quality, to engage in a stakeholder consultation to evaluate the current costs of solar installations and incentive levels across market segments and study benefits to grid security and reliability, ratepayers, and environmental goals of the Commonwealth by December 1, 2024, and every five years thereafter. The bill also directs the Commission to consult with agencies and stakeholders to develop an online mapping database of potential parking lot solar sites for development in the Commonwealth by December 1, 2024. Finally, the bill requires the Department, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Quality, to submit an annual report to the General Assembly regarding the implementation of the Parking Lot Solar Development Program for the preceding fiscal year by November 1, 2025.
Public high school students; civics benchmarkassessment. Requires the Board of Education to develop and makeavailable to each school board a civics benchmark assessment andrequires each school board to require each public high school student enrolled in the local school division, except in the case of a publichigh school student whose individualized education program indicatesotherwise, to take such assessment at least once during grades ninethrough 12. The bill requires the Board to annually report to theGovernor and the General Assembly the state-level and school division-levelstudent results on such benchmark assessment in order to aid decision-makingregarding any policy changes that may be necessary to improve studentlearning in civics.
The Virginia African American, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Latino, and Indigenous Education Advisory Board; establishment.
Public high school students; economics educationand financial literacy; benchmark assessment. Requires the Boardof Education to develop and make available to each school board aneconomics education and financial literacy benchmark assessment andrequires each school board to require each public high school studentenrolled in the local school division, except in the case of a publichigh school student whose individualized education program indicatesotherwise, to take such assessment at least once during grades ninethrough 12. The bill requires the Board to annually report to theGovernor and the General Assembly the state-level and school division-levelstudent results on such benchmark assessment in order to aid decision-makingregarding any policy changes that may be necessary to improve studentlearning in the relevant subject matter areas.
