Del. Nadarius Clark

Electric utilities; notice required for customer return to service. Decreases the required written notice period to 90 days for certain electric energy customers to return to service by an investor-owned utility after purchasing electric energy from other suppliers. Currently, such electric energy customers must provide five years' written notice to return to service by Dominion Energy Virginia or three years' written notice to return to service by Appalachian Power.

Public school staffing ratios; school counselors. Decreases from one to 325 to one to 250 the ratio of full-time equivalent school counselors required to be employed by each local school board per student enrolled in the local school division.

Division of Early Childhood Care and Education; Department of Education; comprehensive review of certain findings and recommendations relating to the quality of early childhood care and education in the Commonwealth; report. Requires the Division of Early Childhood Care and Education of the Department of Education, in consultation with the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation and such other stakeholders as it deems appropriate, to (i) conduct a comprehensive review of the findings and recommendations contained in the 2017 report of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, Improving Virginia's Early Childhood Development Programs, to determine what barriers, gaps, and deficiencies continue to exist in the provision of high-quality early childhood education and care in the Commonwealth, with a particular focus on gaps and deficiencies in the ongoing monitoring of Virginia Preschool Initiative program quality, including the collection and analysis of data relating to outcomes and kindergarten readiness, and (ii) report its findings and any associated policy recommendations to the Board of Education, the Governor, and the General Assembly no later than November 1, 2024.

Permit applications for natural gas pipelines; State Water Control Law. Requires applicants for federal licenses or permits for natural gas transmission pipelines with an inside diameter of at least 24 inches to submit a separate application, erosion and sediment control plan, and stormwater management plan to the Department of Environmental Quality concurrently with a Joint Permit Application. Current law requires such application standards for pipelines with an inside diameter of greater than 36 inches. The provisions of the bill apply to any natural gas transmission pipeline project of at least 24 inches in inside diameter that is subject to a certificate of public convenience and necessity under the federal Natural Gas Act and that has not commenced construction by July 1, 2024, notwithstanding any previous certification previously issued or waived by the Department of Environmental Quality or the State Water Control Board.

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.

Study; JLARC; waiver of tuition and mandatory fees at certain comprehensive community colleges; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study the feasibility of waiving tuition and mandatory fees for Virginia students who attend Mountain Empire Community College, Southwest Virginia Community College, and Virginia Highlands Community College and report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly no later than November 30, 2024.

Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia; work group to study trauma-informed training and education; report. Directs the Office of the Executive Secretary to convene a work group to make recommendations on the development, adoption, and implementation of trauma-informed training and education for judges, magistrates, and court personnel. The bill requires the work group to submit its recommendations by December 1, 2024, to the Chairmen of the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice.

Study; procuring goods and services from employment service organizations; report. Requests the Department of General Services, in tandem with the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, to examine the current process for procurement, potential set-asides or percentage goals that could be utilized or bolstered by employment service organizations, and whether employment service organizations should be housed within the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity.

Task Force on Maternal Health Data and Quality Measures; report. Directs the State Health Commissioner to reestablish the Task Force on Maternal Health Data and Quality Measures for the purpose of evaluating maternal health data collection processes to guide policies in the Commonwealth to improve maternal care, quality, and outcomes for all birthing people in the Commonwealth. The bill directs the Task Force to report its findings and conclusions to the Governor and General Assembly by December 1 of each year regarding its activities. This bill reestablishes the Task Force on Maternal Health Data and Quality Measures that concluded on December 1, 2023.

Public school staffing ratios; specialized student support positions. Increases the number of specialized student support positions required to be employed by each local school board from at least three to at least four such positions per 1,000 students in the local school division. Such specialized student support positions include school social workers, school psychologists, school nurses, licensed behavior analysts, licensed assistant behavior analysts, and other licensed health and behavioral positions.