Sen. John McGuire

Income tax deduction; eligible educators.Provides for taxable years 2022 and thereafter an income tax deductionof the lesser of $500 or the actual amount paid or incurred by aneligible educator, defined in the bill as (i) an individual who forat least 900 hours during the taxable year served as a Virginia licensedteacher, instructor, student counselor, principal, or student aidefor public or private primary and secondary school students in Virginiaor (ii) a parent providing home instruction to his child in Virginia,for qualifying expenses, defined in the bill as expenses incurredfrom participation in professional development courses and the purchaseof books, supplies, computer equipment (including related software and services), other educational equipment, and supplementary materialsused directly in service to Virginia students as an eligible educator.

Foster care; housing support for persons between ages 18 and 21. Directs local departments of social services (local department) to provide housing support to any person who (i) is 18 years of age or older but less than 21 years of age, (ii) was in foster care under the custody of a local department on or after July 1, 2022, (iii) was in foster care under the custody of a local department (a) upon turning 18 years of age or (b) immediately prior to commitment to the Department of Juvenile Justice and is transitioning from such commitment to self-sufficiency, and (iv) declines to participate in the Fostering Futures program. The bill requires that such housing support shall be equal to the room and board portion of the maintenance payment that such person would otherwise receive for housing support through participation in the Fostering Futures program.

Income tax; military benefits subtraction; emergency. Establishes an income tax subtraction for up to $20,000 of military benefits in taxable year 2022, up to $30,000 in taxable year 2023, and up to $40,000 in taxable year 2024 and each year thereafter. The bill defines military benefits to include military retirement income and benefits paid to the surviving spouse of a veteran. The bill contains an emergency clause.

Foster care; local boards of social services;collaborative placement program. Directs the Department of SocialServices to establish and implement a collaborative local board placementprogram to increase kinship placements and the number of locallyapproved foster homes. The bill provides that such program shall require local boards of social services (local boards) to enter intopartnership agreements with other local boards to work collaborativelyto (i) facilitate approval of kinship foster parents through engagement,assessment, and training; (ii) increase the capacity of local boardsto recruit, train, and develop foster parents; and (iii) expand thepool of available foster homes within and across the localities ofsuch local boards. The bill also requires local boards, when placinga child, to seek placement with a foster family within the localityof the local board or a nearby locality through the collaborative local board placement program.

School principals; incident reports. Requires that school principals report to law enforcement certain enumerated acts that may constitute a misdemeanor offense and report to the parents of any minor student who is the specific object of such act that the incident has been reported to law enforcement. Under current law, principals are required to make such reports only for such acts that may constitute a felony offense. The bill provides, as an exception to the requirement to report any written threats against school personnel while on a school bus, on school property, or at a school-sponsored activity, that a principal is not required but may report to the local law-enforcement agency any such incident committed by a student who has an individualized education plan. This bill is identical to SB 36.

Public elementary and secondary schools and public school-based early childhood care and education programs; student instruction; masks. Requires, except in the case of the 10 unscheduled remote learning days otherwise permitted by law or in certain cases of student discipline, each school board to offer in-person instruction, as defined in the bill, to each student enrolled in the local school division in a public elementary or secondary school for at least the minimum number of required annual instructional hours and to each student enrolled in the local school division in a public school-based early childhood care and education program for the entirety of the instructional time provided pursuant to such program. The bill permits, notwithstanding any other provision of law or any regulation, rule, or policy implemented by a school board, school division, school official, or other state or local authority, the parent of any child enrolled in a public elementary or secondary school, or in any school-based early childhood care and education program, to elect for such child to not wear a mask while on school property. The bill provides that no parent making such an election shall be required to provide a reason or any certification of the child's health or education status and no student shall suffer any adverse disciplinary or academic consequences as a result of this parental election. The bill clarifies that none of the foregoing provisions shall be construed to affect the authority granted to the Governor to achieve the purposes of relevant emergency services and disaster law with regard to a communicable disease of public health threat.

Public elementary and secondary schools; threat assessment team membership; law-enforcement liaison for certain school administrators. Requires, in the case of any public elementary or secondary school in which a school resource officer is employed, the threat assessment team for such school to include at least one such school resource officer. The bill requires the chief local law-enforcement officer for any local school division in which a public elementary or secondary school does not employ a school resource officer to designate a law-enforcement officer to receive, either in-person or online, the school safety training for public school personnel conducted by the Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety in accordance with relevant law and requires such officer to serve as the law-enforcement liaison for the school administrator in such a school who has also received such training as prescribed by relevant law.

Catalytic converters; penalties. Makes it a Class 6 felony for a person to commit larceny of a catalytic converter or the parts thereof from a motor vehicle, regardless of the converter's value. The bill also makes it a Class 6 felony for a person to willfully break, injure, tamper with, or remove any part or parts of any vehicle, aircraft, boat, or vessel for the purpose of injuring, defacing, or destroying said vehicle, aircraft, boat, or vessel, or temporarily or permanently preventing its useful operation, or for any purpose against the will or without the consent of the owner, or to in any other manner willfully or maliciously interfere with or prevent the running or operation of such vehicle, aircraft, boat, or vessel, when such violation causes damage to such vehicle, aircraft, boat, or vessel of $1,000 or more. Current law makes such violation a Class 1 misdemeanor with no limit on the amount of damage. Under the bill, the penalty for damage of less than $1,000 remains a Class 1 misdemeanor.Additionally, the bill requires that the copies of the documentation that scrap metal purchasers are required to maintain for purchases of catalytic converters or the parts thereof (i) establish that the person from whom they purchased the catalytic converter or the parts thereof had lawful possession of it at the time of sale or delivery and (ii) detail the scrap metal purchaser's diligent inquiry into whether the person selling had a legal right to do so. The bill also requires that such documentation be maintained for at least two years after the purchase and that copies be made available upon request to any law-enforcement officer, conservator of the peace, or special conservator of the peace in the performance of his duties who presents his credentials at the scrap metal purchaser's normal business location during normal business hours.