Del. A.C. Cordoza

Department of Medical Assistance Services; Medicaid eligibility; asset limits. Directs the Department of MedicalAssistance Services to (i) submit an amendment to the state planfor medical assistance services to remove or lower any asset limitsrelated to Medicaid eligibility and (ii) to the extent permittedunder federal laws and regulations, remove or lower any asset capsthat may be removed or lowered without an amendment to the stateplan.

Real property tax; permanent and totaldisability; definition. Amends the definition of "permanentlyand totally disabled" for the purposes of real property tax exemptionsto include those individuals who are blind or have uncorrectablevision loss that interferes with daily activities.

Electric vehicle charging equipment tax credit. Provides an income tax credit for the costs of installing electricvehicle charging equipment at a gas station. The credit shall extendfor five years once claimed. For the first year of the credit, theamount of the credit shall be 100 percent of the allowable costs,defined in the bill, which are incurred in the taxable year or $5,000,whichever is less. For the subsequent four years of the credit, theamount of the credit shall be one percent of the allowable costsincurred by the taxpayer in the taxable year.

Children alleged to be abused or neglected;preliminary removal hearing; appointment of counsel for parent ofsuch child. Provides that at a preliminary removal hearing in cases in which a child is alleged to have been abused or neglected,the court shall appoint an attorney-at-law to represent such child's parent, guardian, or other adult standing in loco parentis if thecourt determines that such parent, guardian, or other adult standingin loco parentis is indigent, unless he has waived his right to representationor otherwise employed counsel. Under current law, any such appointmentis made at an adjudicatory hearing on such removal after a preliminaryremoval order is issued.

Absentee voting; absentee voting in person;available beginning 30 days prior to election. Limits the availabilityof absentee voting in person to 30 days before the election. Undercurrent law, absentee voting in person is available beginning 45 days prior to the election.

Tangible personal property tax relief; rateof taxation. Removes the $950 million cap, beginning in tax year2025 and all tax years thereafter, on the amount of tangible personalproperty tax relief reimbursed to localities by the Commonwealth.The bill requires, for tax year 2025 and all tax years thereafter,each county, city, or town to reduce its local tax rate on qualifyingvehicles to no greater than $0.000001 per $100 of assessed value of the qualifying vehicle.

Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services;electric vehicle battery suppliers; certification; penalty. Requireseach supplier of electric vehicle batteries operating in the Commonwealthto certify under penalty of perjury to the Commissioner of the Departmentof Agriculture and Consumer Services that no electric vehicle batteries sold in consumer transactions, as defined in the bill, are manufacturedin or sourced from African cobalt mines and that the manufactureor sourcing of such electric vehicle batteries involves no childor slave labor. Certification is required by suppliers by July 1,2025, and annually thereafter. Under the bill, it is unlawful foran electric vehicle battery supplier to sell, lease, or license anyelectric vehicle battery without first obtaining a certificate ofcompliance from the Commissioner, and a violation of this requirement constitutes a violation of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.

Nonresident concealed handgun permits. Providesthat if the Department of State Police has not issued a nonresidentconcealed handgun permit nor determined that the applicant for suchpermit is disqualified within 90 days of receipt of the applicationfor such permit, the Department shall immediately issue the permit.Current law does not specify a time limit for issuance of such permitor determination of disqualification. The bill retains the currentrequirement that if after issuance of the permit the permittee isfound by the Department to be disqualified, the permit shall be revokedand the person shall return the permit after being so notified bythe Department.

Study; JLARC; effect of salaries, employmentbenefits, and other relevant factors on teacher recruitment and retention;report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commissionto study the effect of salaries, employment benefits, and other relevantfactors on recruiting and retaining high-quality, fully licensed teachers, including (i) examining salaries, employment benefits, andother financial benefits and incentives available to teachers inrelation to teacher recruitment and retention in each local schooldivision; (ii) identifying disparities in salaries, employment benefits,and other financial benefits and incentives available to teachersin relation to teacher recruitment and retention rates between high-povertyand rural school divisions, high-income school divisions, and theCommonwealth on average; (iii) reviewing salaries, employment benefits,and other financial benefits and incentives available to teachersin relation to the rates of teacher recruitment and retention andthe numbers of fully licensed teachers in adjoining states and theDistrict of Columbia; and (iv) identifying factors that positivelyimpact the recruitment and retention of high-quality, fully licensedteachers.

Public institutions of higher education; legacyadmissions prohibited. Prohibits any public institution of highereducation from utilizing legacy admissions for any student applicant.The bill defines "legacy admissions" as any policy or practice wherebyany individual who applies for admission to an institution of highereducation and who is the child, grandchild, or sibling of an alumnusof such institution is afforded preferential treatment in the admissionsdecision.