Del. Jackie Glass

Interstate Massage Compact. Authorizes Virginia to become a signatory to the Interstate Massage Compact. The Compact allows massage therapists who (i) possess an active, unencumbered license in the compact member state in which they reside; (ii) have completed at least 625 hours of massage therapy education; (iii) have passed the national licensing examination; and (iv) have no disqualifying criminal history to be granted a multistate license that authorizes them to practice in all compact member states. The Compact takes effect when it is enacted by a seventh member state.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; noncompliance by certain landlords; tenant remedies. Allows a tenant to bring a civil cause of action for compensatory damages against a housing authority when there is a material noncompliance by such housing authority with the rental agreement or a noncompliance with any provision of the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act that materially affects the health and safety of the tenant.

Family caregiver tax credit. Creates a nonrefundable income tax credit for taxable years 2024 through 2028 for expenses incurred by an individual in caring for an eligible family member, defined in the bill, who requires assistance with one or more activities of daily living, also defined in the bill. The credit equals 50 percent of eligible expenditures incurred by the caregiver up to $1,000. In order to qualify for the credit, the family caregiver must (i) not receive any compensation or reimbursement for the eligible expenditures and (ii) have federal adjusted gross income that is no greater than $100,000 for an individual or $200,000 for married persons. The bill requires the Tax Commissioner to establish guidelines for claiming the credit and provides that any unused credit may be carried forward by the taxpayer for five taxable years following the taxable year for which the credit was issued.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies; noncompliance with rental agreement. Increases from five days to 14 days the mandatory waiting period after a landlord serves written notice on a tenant notifying the tenant of his nonpayment of rent and of the landlord's intention to terminate the rental agreement if rent is not paid before the landlord may pursue remedies for termination of the rental agreement. The bill also provides that if a summons for unlawful detainer is filed to terminate a tenancy specifically for nonpayment of rent pursuant to the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, the initial hearing on such summons shall occur as soon as practicable, but not more than 14 days from the date of filing, and if the case cannot be heard within 14 days from the date of filing, the initial hearing shall be held as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 21 days after the date of the filing.

Teacher and support staff compensation; at orabove national average. Requires that public school teachersbe compensated at a rate that is at or above the national averageteacher salary. Under current law, compensation at such rate is aspirational.The bill also requires that public school instructional and noninstructionalsupport staff be compensated at a rate that is at or above the nationalaverage salary for such staff. The bill requires state funding tobe provided pursuant to the general appropriation act in a sum sufficientto fund an annual increase for public school teacher and instructionaland noninstructional support staff salaries such that, no later thanthe 2028-2029 school year, such individuals are compensated at arate that is at or above the respective national average salary.

Department of Housing and Community Development;Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; ManufacturedHome Lot Rental Act; notice of tenant screening criteria. Requireslandlords governed by the Virginia Residential Landlord and TenantAct or Manufactured Home Lot Rental Act to provide applicants for tenancy with (i) the amount and purpose of fees to be charged tosuch applicant, (ii) information that will be used to assess suchapplicant's eligibility for tenancy, and (iii) any criteria that mayresult in automatic denial of an application. The bill requires suchlandlords to notify applicants of certain rights protected by thefederal Fair Credit Reporting Act prior to performing any background,credit, or other pre-occupancy check on such applicants. Finally,the bill requires the Director of the Department of Housing andCommunity Development to develop a sample notice of tenant screening criteria and a standardized statement regarding an applicant's rightsprotected by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and to make suchsample notice and statement available on the Department's website.

Discovery; electronic means; report. Requires all attorneys for the Commonwealth to provide discovery materials for all courts to counsel of record for the accused by electronic means unless such material is prohibited from being distributed by law or impossible to provide by electronic means. The bill directs the Supreme Court of Virginia to promulgate rules to implement this provision by July 1, 2026. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.The bill also requires the Executive Secretary of the Compensation Board, or a designee, to convene a work group to determine the costs associated with any changes in operations and technology infrastructure necessary to implement the provisions of the bill. The bill requires the Executive Secretary of the Compensation Board to provide an interim report to the General Assembly by November 30, 2024, and a final report to the General Assembly by August 1, 2025.

Expungement of juvenile court records. Provides that if a juvenile was adjudicated delinquent of a delinquent act that would be a felony if committed by an adult, other than murder, kidnapping, robbery, or rape, and such juvenile was 14 years of age or older at the time of the offense, the court records shall be destroyed when the juvenile has attained the age of 29. The bill provides that if a juvenile was adjudicated delinquent of murder, kidnapping, robbery, or rape and such juvenile was 14 years of age or older at the time of the offense, the court records shall be retained. Under current law, the court records shall be retained in all instances when a juvenile was found guilty of a delinquent act that would be a felony if committed by an adult. The bill directs the clerk of the juvenile and domestic relations district court to expunge all records pursuant to the bill by July 1, 2027.

Prohibiting employer seeking wage or salaryhistory of prospective employees; wage or salary range transparency;cause of action; civil penalty. Prohibits a prospective employerfrom (i) seeking the wage or salary history of a prospective employee;(ii) relying on the wage or salary history of a prospective employeein determining the wages or salary the prospective employee is tobe paid upon hire; (iii) relying on the wage or salary history ofa prospective employee in considering the prospective employee foremployment; (iv) refusing to interview, hire, employ, or promotea prospective employee or otherwise retaliating against a prospectiveemployee for not providing wage or salary history; and (v) failing or refusing to disclose in each public and internal posting for eachjob, promotion, transfer, or other employment opportunity the wage,salary, or wage or salary range. The bill establishes a cause ofaction for an aggrieved prospective employee or employee and providesthat an employer that violates such prohibitions is liable to theaggrieved prospective employee or employee for statutory damagesbetween $1,000 and $10,000 or actual damages, whichever is greater,reasonable attorney fees and costs, and any other legal and equitablerelief as may be appropriate. The bill also provides for civil penaltiesfor violations not to exceed $1,000 for a first violation, $2,000for a second violation, and $4,000 for a third or subsequent violation.

Railroad safety; civil penalties. Adds various requirements for railroad companies, including (i) prohibiting placing stationary cars or trains on its track within 1,500 feet on bothsides of any crossing of a railroad with a highway; (ii) prohibitingtrains that exceed 8,500 feet in length on any mainline or branchline; (iii) requiring a crew of at least two qualified individualson all trains, locomotives, or light engines used in connection withmoving freight; (iv) requiring warning signs or devices for certaintrack obstructions that could endanger a railroad company employee; and (v) requiring walkways adjacent to yard tracks where employeesregularly perform switching service. The bill requires that finesfor a violation of the train-length requirement be deposited in theShortline Railway Preservation and Development Fund for railway safetyprojects.