Sen. Bill DeSteph

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. This bill was incorporated into SB 36.

State subsidy of property tax exemptions fordisabled veterans and surviving spouses. Requires the Commonwealthto subsidize local real estate tax relief for disabled veterans andsurviving spouses of members of the United States Armed Forces killedin action when more than one percent of a locality's real estatetax base is lost due to such state-mandated tax relief programs.The Commonwealth would subsidize only that portion of tax-exemptreal estate that exceeds the one percent threshold. Thebill requires the Auditor of Public Accounts to establish an applicationprocess whereby a locality would demonstrate that more than one percentof its real estate tax base was lost. The Auditor would certify tothe Governor and the General Assembly those localities that wouldbe eligible for a subsidy, and the Governor would include in theBudget Bill a proposed appropriation of the amount of the state subsidyto be provided to localities certified as eligible localities.

Licensure and practice of associate physicians. Authorizes the Board of Medicine to issue a two-year license topractice as an associate physician to an applicant who is 18 yearsof age or older, is of good moral character, has graduated from anaccredited medical school, has successfully completed Step 1 and Step2 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination, and has notcompleted a medical internship or residency program. The bill requiresall associate physicians to practice in accordance with a practiceagreement entered into between the associate physician and a physicianlicensed by the Board and provides for prescriptive authority ofassociate physicians in accordance with regulations of the Board.

Division of marital property; military retainerpay. Provides that, for the purposes of dividing maritalproperty, military retainer pay shall be classified as separate property.

Virginia Retirement System; enhanced retirementbenefits for 911 dispatchers. Adds 911 dispatchers to the listof local employees eligible to receive enhanced retirement benefitsfor hazardous duty service. Under current law, localities may providesuch benefits to first responders, including firefighters and emergencymedical technicians, and certain other hazardous duty positions.

Department of Veterans Services; hyperbaricoxygen therapy; data collection. Allows the Department of VeteransServices (the Department) to contract with any hospital in the Commonwealththat furnishes the treatment option of hyperbaric oxygen therapyto provide hyperbaric oxygen therapy to any veteran in the Commonwealthwho has been certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairsor any branch of the United States Armed Forces as having post-traumaticstress disorder or traumatic brain injury. The Department shall includein any contract with such hospital to furnish hyperbaric oxygen therapythe requirement that data be collected to assess the efficacy ofhyperbaric oxygen therapy for veterans and any other informationdeemed relevant by the Department.

Sales tax; exemption for food purchased forhuman consumption and essential personal hygiene products. Exemptsfood purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygieneproducts (the grocery tax) from all state, regional, and local salestaxes.

Education improvement scholarships tax credits; sunset. Removes the sunset of taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2028, for the tax credit for donations to certain scholarship foundations and removes the sunset for changes to the definition of an eligible student with a disability and certain income guidelines that were set to expire beginning with taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2024. This bill was incorporated into SB 27.

Capital murder; death penalty for the willful,deliberate, and premeditated killing of a law-enforcement officer.Authorizes punishment by death for the willful, deliberate, and premeditatedkilling of a law-enforcement officer.

Celebrating the life of the Honorable FrankDuVal Hargrove, Sr.