Del. Jackie Glass

Unemployment compensation; continuation of benefits; repayment of overpayments. Makes permanent provisions of the Code that expired on July 1, 2022, relating to unemployment compensation. The bill provides that when a claimant has had a determination of initial eligibility for unemployment benefits, as determined by the issuance of compensation or waiting-week credit, payments shall continue, subject to a presumption of continued eligibility, until a determination is made that provides the claimant notice and an opportunity to be heard. The bill requires the Virginia Employment Commission to waive the obligation to repay any overpayment if (i) the overpayment was made without fault on the part of the individual receiving benefits and (ii) requiring repayment would be contrary to equity and good conscience. Conditions for when overpayments are considered "without fault on the part of the individual" are outlined in the bill. The bill further provides that the Commission shall notify each person with an unpaid overpayment of benefits that he may be entitled to a waiver of repayment and provide 30 days to request such a waiver. This applies to outstanding overpayments established for claim weeks commencing on or after March 15, 2020. The bill allows the Commission to suspend or forgo referring any unpaid overpayment of benefits established since March 15, 2020, to the collections process indefinitely. The bill specifies that all costs that result from implementing provisions of the bill shall be incurred by federal administrative grants and the general fund. Finally, the bill adds overpayments that the Commission has waived the requirement to repay to the list of situations where specific employers are not responsible for benefit charges.

Student-athletes; use of name, image, or likeness;high school students; Office of the Student-Athlete Name, Image, and Likeness Contract Ombudsman established. Establishes rights, duties, and prohibitions relating to the use of the name, image,or likeness of high school student-athletes that are equivalent tothose established in law for college student-athletes. The bill alsorequires the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to establishand employ such individuals as it deems appropriate in the Officeof the Student-Athlete Name, Image, and Likeness Contract Ombudsman,the purpose of which is to provide information, resources, and disputeresolution services to high school and college student-athletes relatingto name, image, and likeness contracts and the rights, duties, andprohibitions relating to the use of the name, image, or likenessof such student-athletes that are set forth in relevant law.

Prescription drugs; labels; blind and disabledusers. Requires pharmacies to notify any person receiving a prescription drug that an accessible prescription label is availableupon request at no cost and to provide to individuals who are blind,visually impaired, or otherwise print disabled accessible prescriptionlabels that meet specified accessibility requirements. The bill requiresthe Board of Pharmacy to promulgate regulations implementing theprovisions of the bill no later than April 1, 2025.

Veterans' Services Protection Act; prohibited practices; penalty. Creates the Veterans' Services Protection Act to prohibit any person from receiving compensation for preparing, presenting, prosecuting, advising, consulting, or assisting any individual regarding any veterans' benefits matter, as defined in the bill, except as permitted under federal law. The bill provides that a violation of its provisions constitutes a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.

Early childhood care and education system; need-based and demand-based funding. Requires, for the purpose of addressing family demand and preferences for affordable, high-quality early childhood care and education services, state general funds to be provided to support the provision of services to families for early childhood care and education, as specified in the general appropriation act. The bill requires the Department of Education to report each year by November 15 on the projected general funds needed for the upcoming two fiscal years based on cost of quality rate per child in order to (i) maintain the current number of slots at early childhood care and education programs, (ii) increase the number of slots using a projected growth report, and (iii) increase the number of slots to fully accommodate parent demand and eliminate waitlists. The bill requires such projected general funds to be based on the annual per-child cost, determined as set forth in the bill, for the Virginia Preschool Initiative, the Mixed Delivery Program, and the Child Care Subsidy Program, the current eligibility criteria for such programs, and maximization of certain regularly recurring federal funds. The bill requires each regional entity established by the Board of Education pursuant to applicable law, each local school division, and each locality to annually indicate the number of slots needed, respectively, in the region for the Mixed Delivery Program, the local school division for the Virginia Preschool Initiative, and the locality for the Child Care Subsidy Program. The bill requires the Department of Education to (a) reallocate by July 1 any slots with available funding from the Child Care Subsidy Program and the Mixed Delivery Program, (b) make adjustments based on family preferences following the fall enrollment periods, and (c) first expend all current-year state general funds in providing funding for slots. This bill is identical to SB 54.

Department of Education and Virginia Community College System; College and Career Ready Virginia Program and Fund established. Establishes the College and Career Ready Virginia Fund and requires the Department of Education and the Virginia Community College System to establish the College and Career Ready Virginia Program whereby each school board is required to offer each qualified high school student in the local school division access at the high school to the dual enrollment courses that are sufficient to complete the Passport Program and the former Uniform Certificate of General Studies Program, renamed in the bill as the Passport Plus Program, at a public institution of higher education at no cost to such students, beginning with course registrations for the fall term of the 2025 academic year. The bill establishes several enumerated duties for the Department and the System in the administration of the College and Career Ready Virginia Program, including the establishment of a work group to make recommendations no later than November 1, 2024, on the incorporation of a career and technical education program of coursework into the College and Career Ready Virginia Program.

Constitutional amendment (second reference);real property tax exemption; surviving spouses of soldiers who diedin the line of duty. Expands the current tax exemption for realproperty available to the surviving spouses of soldiers killed inaction to the surviving spouses of soldiers who died in the lineof duty with a Line of Duty determination from the U.S. Departmentof Defense.

Chief Resilience Officer of the Commonwealth; Office of Commonwealth Resilience; Interagency Resilience Working Group; Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund; Resilient Virginia Revolving Fund; Advisory Review Committee. Moves the position of Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) from under the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources to under the Governor and creates an Office of Commonwealth Resilience to support the CRO in his functions and duties. The bill requires the CRO to convene an Interagency Resilience Working Group to support the coordination of planning and implementation of resilience efforts, eliminates the position of Special Assistant to the Governor for Coastal Adaptation and Protection, and requires the Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation to convene an Advisory Review Committee to assist in the distribution of loans and grants from the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund. The bill also requires the Director to convene an Advisory Review Committee to assist in the distribution of loans and grants from the Resilient Virginia Revolving Fund and adds the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources and the CRO to the list of those with whom the Virginia Resources Authority is required to consult in directing the distribution of loans or grants from the Fund. The bill requires, for the two Funds, the Department to (i) make available for public inspection at the office of the Department and on a publicly accessible website records of each application for grants and loans and the actions taken thereon and (ii) provide an opportunity for a 30-day public comment period prior to each new grant or loan offering to solicit feedback on proposed revisions to the Funds’ manuals. This bill incorporates HB 948.

Department of Medical Assistances Services; financial eligibility standards for certain waivers providing services to individuals with developmental disabilities. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to amend the financial eligibility standards for individuals receiving services under the Family and Individual Support Waiver, Community Living Waiver, and Building Independence Waiver (the DD Waivers). The bill requires the Department, when determining financial eligibility for the DD Waivers, to disregard any Social Security Disability Insurance income above the maximum monthly Supplemental Security Income as determined by the U.S. Social Security Administration; however, such Social Security Disability Insurance income shall not be disregarded for purposes of determining an individual's patient pay obligation. The bill also requires the Department to (i) analyze the implications of such amendments to the financial eligibility standards for individuals under the DD waivers, which shall include a determination of the costs and the number of individuals who would benefit from such amendments and (ii) report its findings to the Chairmen of the Senate Committees on Education and Health and Finance and Appropriations and the House Committees on Health and Human Services and Appropriations no later than November 1, 2024. The bill sunsets on July 1, 2026. This bill is identical to SB 676.

Virginia Post-Disaster Anti-Price Gouging Act;definitions. Provides that for the purposes of the Virginia Post-Disaster Anti-Price Gouging Act, "consumer transaction" includes transactions involving the advertisement, sale, lease, license, or offering for sale, lease, or license of goods or services to be used for business purposes and the advertisement, sale, lease, license, or contract of employment services to be provided or procured for business purposes. The bill also amends the definition of "time of disaster" to mean the longer of (i) the period of time when a state of emergency declared by the Governor or the President of the United States as the result of a disaster, emergency, or major disaster is in effect or (ii) 30 days after the occurrence of the disaster, emergency, or major disaster that resulted in the declaration of the state of emergency. Under current law, the definition of "time of disaster" means the shorter of the time periods specified in clauses (i) and (ii).