Del. Gordon C. Helsel, Jr.

Declares eligible for a renewable one-year license to teach in public high schools in the Commonwealth any individual who has (i) received a graduate degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education; (ii) completed at least 30 credit hours of teaching experience as an instructor at a regionally accredited institution of higher education; (iii) received qualifying scores on the professional teacher's assessments prescribed by the Board, including the communication and literacy assessment and the content-area assessment for the endorsement sought; and (iv) completed certain other licensure requirements.

Provides that outdoor tethering of a companion animal shall not meet the requirement that an animal be given adequate shelter, unless the animal is actively engaged in an agricultural or hunting activity, when it is conducted(i) when the temperature is 32 degrees Fahrenheit or lower or 85 degrees Fahrenheit or higher; (ii) during a heat advisory; or (iii) during a severe weather warning. The bill provides that a tether shall meet the requirement that an animal be given adequate space if it is four times the length of the animal or 15 feet in length, whichever is greater, and does not cause injury or pain or weigh more than one-tenth of the animal's body weight. The bill exempts agricultural animals from existing provisions related to tethering. The bill also authorizes any locality to adopt ordinances that parallel and make more stringent the state law regarding the care of companion animals.

Adds a definition of "personal use" and prohibits the use of contributions, or conversions of items acquired using contributions, to a candidate or campaign committee for a strictly personal purpose with no intended, reasonable, or foreseeable benefit to the candidate's campaign or public office. Complaints of alleged violations may be made to the State Board of Elections (State Board) by any person who contributed to the candidate or candidate's campaign committee. The subject of the complaint has 30 days to either (i) reimburse the campaign committee the complained-of amount or (ii) provide to the State Board documentation or other evidence that the use of the campaign funds had an intended, reasonable, or foreseeable benefit to the campaign or the candidate's public office. If the subject of the complaint provides such documentation or other evidence, the State Board shall review the response made by the subject of the complaint, and determine whether the use of campaign funds had any intended, reasonable, or foreseeable benefit to the campaign or the candidate's public office. The bill amends the Freedom of Information Act to allow closed meetings for the State Board to review such complaints. If the State Board determines that there were no intended, reasonable, or foreseeable benefits and the complained-of amount has not been reimbursed, it shall call a public hearing. If the complaining party declines to participate in the hearing, the complaint shall be dismissed. A person found by a unanimous vote of the State Board to have willfully and knowingly violated the prohibition on personal use of campaign contributions must repay to the campaign committee the amount unlawfully converted to the personal use of the candidate or a member of the candidate's immediate family and must return to the complaining party the full amount of the complaining party's contribution to the campaign. The State Board may also assess an additional civil penalty, in an amount not to exceed $ 250. The person found to be in violation may seek review under the Administrative Process Act. The bill authorizes the Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council (Council) to issue formal advisory opinions regarding the provisions governing the personal use of campaign funds pursuant to the Campaign Finance Disclosure Act of 2006 (§ 24.2-945 et seq.). A person who has relied on such an opinion in good faith after he provides full disclosure of the facts will not be subject to the penalties outlined in the bill. In addition, the Council will be required to develop and publish guidance on the provisions of the Campaign Finance Disclosure Act that prohibit the personal use of campaign funds. The bill has an effective date of July 1, 2019.

Requires any school bus operator applicant who does not possess a commercial driver's license to receive (i) a minimum of 24 hours of classroom training and (ii) six hours of behind-the-wheel training on a school bus that contains no pupil passengers and requires any school bus operator applicant who possesses a commercial driver's license to receive (a) a minimum of four hours of classroom training and (b) three hours of behind-the-wheel training on a school bus that contains no pupil passengers. Current law leaves the setting of such hourly requirements to the Department of Education. The bill contains technical amendments. This bill is identical to

Provides that a veterinarian shall not prescribe medication unless a bona fide veterinarian-client-patient relationship exists and establishes the requirements for a bona fide veterinarian-client-patient relationship.

. Creates the Hampton Roads Coastal Resiliency Authority (Authority) as a body politic and corporate, a political subdivision of the Commonwealth. The Authority may by ordinance consist of any locality that makes up the membership of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission and is created for the purpose of serving as a regional leader, resource, and partner for all issues related to coastal flooding and resiliency. The act has an enactment clause delaying the effective date until two-thirds of the participating localities join the Authority.

Permits each local school board to (i) establish High School to Work Partnerships (Partnerships) between public high schools and local businesses to create opportunities for high school students to (a) participate in an apprenticeship, internship, or job shadow program in a variety of trades and skilled labor positions or (b) tour local businesses and meet with owners and employees or (ii) delegate the authority to establish Partnerships to the local school division's career and technical education administrator or his designee, in collaboration with the guidance counselor office of each public high school in the school division. The bill requires such local school boards to educate high school students about opportunities available through such Partnerships. The bill also requires the Board of Education, the Department of Labor and Industry, and the State Board for Community Colleges to identify Partnerships that may be eligible for exemptions from certain federal and state labor laws and regulations and establish procedures by which such exemptions may be obtained for such Partnerships. This bill is identical to