Del. Karrie Delaney

Constitutional amendment (first reference); marriage between two individuals; repeal of same-sex marriage prohibition; affirmative right to marry. Repeals the constitutional provision defining marriage as only a union between one man and one woman as well as the related provisions that are no longer valid as a result of the United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015). The amendment provides that the right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of persons and prohibits the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions from denying the issuance of a marriage license to two parties contemplating a lawful marriage on the basis of the sex, gender, or race of such parties. The Commonwealth and its political subdivisions are required to recognize any lawful marriage between two parties and to treat such marriages equally under the law, regardless of the sex, gender, or race of such parties. The amendment provides that religious organizations and clergy acting in their religious capacity have the right to refuse to perform any marriage.

Celebrating the life of Janet Marie Brooking.

Commending Peter A. Blake.

Commending Scott McGeary.

Custody and visitation arrangements; best interestsof the child; expert testimony; history of abuse. Requires acourt to consider any history of family abuse, sexual abuse, childabuse, or an act of violence, force, or threat in determining bestinterests of a child for purposes of determining custody or visitationarrangements. Under current law, only such history that occurredno earlier than 10 years prior to the filing of a custody or visitationpetition is required to be considered. The bill also requires thatany expert evidence from a court-appointed or outside professionalrelating to any alleged abuse of a child subject to such petitionshall only be admitted if such professional possesses demonstratedexpertise and clinical experience in working with victims of thetype of such abuse alleged that is not solely of a forensic nature.The bill further directs the Office of the Executive Secretary ofthe Supreme Court of Virginia to provide mandatory judicial trainingon trauma-informed practices in proceedings involving domestic violenceto magistrates and judges of the juvenile domestic relations districtcourts, general district courts, circuit courts, and the Court ofAppeals of Virginia, the justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia,and court personnel.

Termination of parental rights; sexual abuse;clear and convincing standard; petition filed by other parent.Allows a parent to file a petition to terminate the parental rightsof the other parent if the circumstances giving rise to such a petitionallege that such parent engaged in conduct prohibited by relevantlaw relating to sexual abuse, whether or not the parent has beencharged with or convicted of the alleged violation, and the childwas conceived of such conduct. Thebill further requires the court to issue an order terminating theparental rights of a parent upon a finding, based on clear and convincingevidence, that (i) such parent engaged in the conduct prohibited byrelevant law relating to sexual abuse, whether or not the parenthas been charged with or convicted of the alleged violation, and the child was conceived of such conduct and (ii) termination of the parentalrights of such parent is in the best interests of the child. Thebill specifies that, if such parent is found by clear and convincingevidence to have engaged in the prohibited conduct resulting in theconception of such child, there shall be a rebuttable presumptionthat termination is in the best interest of the child, but no presumptionshall be made by the court that one parent alone is contrary to thebest interests of the child.

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome Awareness Day. Designates October 25, in 2024 and in each succeeding year, as Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome Awareness Day in Virginia. This bill was incorporated into HJ 7.

Organ donation leave tax credit. Establishesa nonrefundable income tax credit for taxable years 2024 through2028 for a taxpayer that is a private employer, as defined by thebill, for certain costs incurred during a period of organ donationleave received by an employee organ donor.

Public school funding; certain calculations; certain support services positions; programs for at-risk students. Places several parameters on Standards of Quality funding calculations performed by the Department of Education, including (i) requiring the Department, when calculating the cost of salaries under the Standards of Quality funding formula, to include facilities staff and transportation staff salaries in the calculation of any cost of competing adjustment to salaries for instructional and support positions that is provided as part of the state share of basic aid pursuant to the general appropriation act; (ii) requiring the Department, when estimating the cost of any compensation supplement for instructional and support positions under the Standards of Quality funding formula, to include and estimate the cost of such a compensation supplement for facilities staff; and (iii) prohibiting the Department from applying any cap on inflation rate adjustments to non-personal cost categories during the biennial process of rebenchmarking the direct aid to public education budget. The bill also amends Standard of Quality 2 by (a) including in the definition of "support services position" any central office clerical position that is not otherwise set forth in such definition and (b) establishing the At-Risk Program, defined in the bill as any state funding provided for programs of prevention, intervention, or remediation or pursuant to the at-risk add-on, the statewide voluntary pupil/teacher ratio and class size reduction program, or the Standards of Learning Algebra Readiness Initiative for the purpose of supporting programs for students who are educationally at risk. The bill requires (1) the determination of the amount of state funding for which a school division is eligible pursuant to such At-Risk Program to be based on the school division's identified student percentage, defined in the bill as the fraction, expressed as a percentage, that results from dividing the number of identified students enrolled in a school division by the total number of students enrolled in such school division weighted by the factor between 1.2 and 1.6 that is set forth in the general appropriation act, and (2) such funding to be distributed as follows: 60 percent on a flat per-student rate and 40 percent on a variable rate set out in the general appropriation act based on the concentration of poverty in the school division.

Commending the Honorable Mark C. Simmons.