Voter registration; list maintenance; data sharing; requiring membership in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). Requires the Commissioner of Elections to apply for, enter into, and maintain membership for the Commonwealth in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). This bill is identical to SB 606.
Purchase, possession, or transportation of firearm following an assault and battery against a person in a dating relationship with the alleged offender, penalty. Provides that any person who knowingly and intentionally purchases, possesses, or transports any firearm following a misdemeanor conviction for an offense that occurred on or after July 1, 2024, for the offense of assault and battery against a person in a dating relationship, as defined in the bill, with the alleged offender or an offense substantially similar under the laws of any other state or of the United States is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill provides that a court, after a finding of guilt has been made and prior to entering a final order of conviction, shall determine by a preponderance of the evidence whether the victim of the offense was a family or household member or an intimate or dating partner for the purposes of determining the firearms prohibition.
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage; termination by landlord. Requires a landlord, prior to giving a tenant 21 days' notice of his intention to terminate the rental agreement for a dwelling unit that has been damaged or destroyed by fire or casualty, to (i) make a reasonable effort to meet with the tenant to discuss reasonable alternatives and to offer the tenant a substantially similar unit, if one is available, or (ii) determine that the damage was caused by the tenant's failure to maintain the dwelling unit in accordance with certain provisions. Current law allows the landlord to terminate such agreement by giving the tenant 14 days' notice of his intention to terminate on the basis of the landlord's determination that such damage requires the removal of the tenant and that the use of the premises is substantially impaired. The bill requires the landlord, upon receiving a request from the tenant after the tenant has received such notice, to reevaluate the extent of damage and habitability of such unit unless the landlord has determined that the damage was caused by the tenant's failure to maintain the dwelling unit.
Unpaid family bereavement leave; required; remedies. Requires that an employer that employs 50 or more employees provide eligible employees, defined in the bill, with up to 10 days of unpaid family bereavement leave in any 12-month period to (i) attend the funeral or funeral equivalent of a covered family member; (ii) make arrangements necessitated by the death of a covered family member; (iii) grieve the death of a covered family member; or (iv) be absent from work due to (a) a miscarriage, (b) an unsuccessful round of intrauterine insemination or of an assisted reproductive technology procedure, (c) a failed adoption match or an adoption that is not finalized because it is contested by another party, (d) a failed surrogacy agreement, (e) a diagnosis that negatively impacts pregnancy or fertility, or (f) a stillbirth. The bill requires the employee to provide notice of his intent to take the leave if reasonable and practicable and provides that an employer may require reasonable documentation of the death or event. The bill requires the employer to restore the employee's position following the leave, to continue to provide coverage for the employee under any health benefit plan, and to pay the employee any commission earned prior to the leave. The bill prohibits the employer from taking retaliatory action against the employee for taking family bereavement leave and provides that, if an employer fails to provide unpaid family bereavement leave or engages in such prohibited retaliatory action, an employee may bring an action against the employer in a court of competent jurisdiction.
Rate of fees; legal representation of indigent defendant. Limits the fees charged for the cost of court-appointed counsel or public defender representation to persons determined to be indigent to an amount no greater than the amount such person would have owed if such fees had been assessed on or before June 30, 2024.
Workers' compensation; presumption that certaininjuries arose out of employment. Provides that in any claimfor workers' compensation, where the employee suffers an unexplainedfall in the course of employment, it shall be presumed that the fallarose out of the employment, unless such presumption is overcomeby a preponderance of competent evidence to the contrary.
School board policies; parental notification; safe storage of firearms in the household. Requires each local school board to develop and implement a policy to require the annual notification of the parent of each student enrolled in the local school division, to be sent by email and, if applicable, SMS text message within 30 calendar days succeeding the first day of each school year, of the parent's legal responsibility to safely store any firearm present in the household, risks associated with improperly stored firearms, statistics relating to firearm-related accidents, injuries, and death among youth, and other tips and strategies. The bill requires each school board to make such parental notification available in multiple languages on its website. This bill is identical to SB 225.
Home-based firearms dealers; prohibited nearschools; penalties. Provides that no home-based firearms dealer,as defined in the bill, shall be engaged in the business of selling,trading, or transferring firearms at wholesale or retail within 1.5miles of any elementary or middle school, including buildings andgrounds. The bill provides that any person who willfully violatessuch prohibition is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor for a first offenseand guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor for a second or subsequent offense.
Child abuse and neglect; custody and visitation; possession or consumption of authorized substances. Provides that a child shall not be considered an abused or neglected child, and no person shall be denied custody or visitation of a child, based only on the fact that the child's parent or other person responsible for his care, or the person petitioning for custody or visitation of the child, possessed or consumed legally authorized substances. The bill directs the Board of Social Services to amend its regulations, guidance documents, and other instructional materials to ensure that such regulations, documents, and materials comply with, and that investigations and family assessments are conducted by local departments of social services in accordance with, the provisions of the bill. This bill is identical to SB 115.
Employment; determining wage of tipped employee.Provides that an employer shall increase the amount paid to itstipped employees by an amount determined by the employer in accordancewith the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and that, notwithstandingany other provision of law, a tipped employee who regularly performsservices in the course of his employment for which there is no reasonableexpectation of receiving tips shall receive an amount not less thanthe minimum wage for the time that he performs such services. Thebill provides that tipped employees shall receive a cash wage ofnot less than $3.50 per hour starting on January 1, 2025. Startingon January 1, 2026, a tipped employee shall receive a cash wage ofnot less than $4.75 per hour, and starting on January 1, 2027, theamount of cash wage shall be not less than $6.00 per hour. StartingJanuary 1, 2028, tips shall be excluded from any determination ofwage paid to a tipped employee and the amount paid to such employeeshall be not less than the minimum wage.
