Del. Jackie Glass

Deaths by suicide of veterans or military service members; inquiry by State Registrar of Vital Records; Department of Veterans Services annual report. Requires the State Registrar of Vital Records, when a death certificate is filed and lists suicide as the cause of death, to make an inquiry into whether the decedent was a veteran or military service member and to provide any information concerning the suicide of such veteran or military service member to the Department of Veterans Services. The bill also provides that the Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Services may request, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall deliver to the Commissioner, a copy of an autopsy report of a veteran or military service member whose cause and manner of death is determined to be a suicide. The bill also reestablishes the position of Suicide Prevention Coordinator as the Suicide Prevention Program and requires such Program to, in coordination with the State Police, compile and analyze data relating to such suicides to be included in the annual report submitted by the Department to the Governor and the General Assembly.

Workers' compensation benefits; post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, or depressive disorder incurred by law-enforcement officers and firefighters. Increases from 52 weeks to 104 weeks the maximum duration after the date of diagnosis that workers' compensation benefits are payable for post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, or depressive disorder incurred by law-enforcement officers and firefighters acting in the line of duty.

Department of Veterans Services; powers and duties of Commissioner; online portal. Provides that the Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Services shall develop and maintain an online portal to connect veterans, members of the Virginia National Guard, Virginia residents in the Armed Forces Reserves who qualify for veteran status, and their immediate family members to available resources, programs, and services in the Commonwealth and provide a means to submit electronic applications for such resources, programs, and services.

Board of Education; Standards of Learning assessments; availability in commonly spoken languages other than English. Requires the Board of Education to prioritize the incorporation of Standards of Learning assessments in commonly spoken languages in the Commonwealth other than English into its statewide student assessment system, and in any contract that it enters into with a third party for the development, establishment, and maintenance of such system.

Speed safety cameras; placement and operation. Changes the terms "photo speed monitoring device" to "speed safety camera" and "high-risk intersection segment" to "high-risk speed corridor" in provisions related to vehicle speed violations. The bill authorizes localities to provide by ordinance for the placement and operation of a speed safety camera by the law-enforcement agency of such locality in certain locations. The bill authorizes any locality without its own law-enforcement agency to, by ordinance, authorize officers of the law-enforcement agency with jurisdiction within such locality to issue a summons and swear to or affirm a certificate for a vehicle speed violation. For any new speed safety camera placed, the bill provides for a warning by mail instead of a summons and no civil penalty for alleged vehicle speed violations within the first 30 days of such camera's operation. The bill makes various other changes to the requirements for the use of speed safety cameras, including changes related to signs indicating the use of such cameras; the use of funds collected from civil penalties; requirements for private vendors; the periodic review of the use of such cameras; the provision of information to the public related to the use and placement of such cameras; the creation of advisory groups; and consultation with certain entities prior to placement and operation of such cameras.

Virginia National Guard; deployment to active duty combat. Prohibits the Virginia National Guard from being deployed into active duty combat, defined in the bill, unless Congress has made an official declaration of war, defined in the bill, or has taken an official action as authorized by the Constitution of the United States for the purposes of expressly executing the laws of the United States, repelling invasion, or suppressing an insurrection.

Maddy summaryThis resolution honors the life and contributions of Thomas S. Whipple. It passed the Senate on February 6, 2025, and the House on February 10, 2025, and is now awaiting the governor's action. As a ceremonial resolution, it does not create new laws or affect any policies or individuals.

Wage garnishment; state or local tax debt. Provides that the maximum part of the aggregate disposable earnings of an individual for any workweek that is subject to garnishment to collect delinquent taxes and charges owed to the state or any local government shall not exceed 25 percent of such individual's disposable earnings for that week. The bill contains technical amendments and applies only to garnishments issued on and after January 1, 2026.

Income tax; housing opportunity tax credit; sunset extended. Extends the housing opportunity tax credit sunset date from taxable year 2025 to taxable year 2030. The bill also increases the aggregate credit cap across all calendar years from $255 million to $595 billion and imposes an annual aggregate credit cap of $68 million in each calendar year between 2026 and 2030. The bill also provides that of the $68 million in credits authorized per calendar year from 2026 through 2030, 33 percent shall be reserved for qualified projects located in a geographic area within the Balance of State Pool, defined in the bill. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Virginia Housing Commission.

Film industry community zones; local designation. Allows localities to establish, by ordinance, one or more zones in a film industry community, defined in the bill as a community that has a film industry presence or the potential of a film industry presence within the designated area and where such presence drives, or has the potential to drive, significant economic activity. The bill provides that a locality, or another political subdivision acting on behalf of the locality, may offer unique benefits to film industry businesses, along with related businesses that serve the needs of the film industry, looking to locate within a film industry community zone, including the reduction of certain fees and taxes. In addition, the bill provides that local governing bodies are authorized to enter into agreements for the payment of economic development incentive grants to such businesses. The bill also allows a governing body to provide for certain regulatory flexibility and incentives and provides that the establishment of a film industry community zone does not preclude a filmmaker from participating in the Governor's Motion Picture Opportunity Fund and the motion picture production tax credit.