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 incorporates SB 2, SB 287, and SB 613 and is identical to HB 4.
Sponsored bills
Unemployment compensation; program integrity. Requires the Virginia Employment Commission (the Commission) (i) to conduct all mandatory and recommended program integrity activities as identified by the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, (ii) perform a full eligibility review of suspicious or potentially improper unemployment claims, and (iii) recover any improper overpayment of benefits to the fullest extent authorized by state and federal law. The bill requires the Department of Social Services, the Department of Medical Assistance Services, and the Department of Housing and Community Development to notify the Virginia Employment Commission if an individual enrolled in public assistance programs has become employed. The bill also authorizes the Commission to enter into a memorandum of understanding with any state agency necessary to implement the provisions of the bill and requires the Commission to report by December 1 of each year to the Commission on Unemployment Compensation, addressing the implementation and enforcement of the provisions of the bill. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2023.
Enforcement of illegal gaming laws; Charitable Gaming Fund established. Establishes the Charitable Gaming Fund (the Fund) as the depository of all fees and penalties collected by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (the Department) in its administration of charitable gaming laws. The bill allocates 50 percent of the collected funds to the Department to fund its costs of administering charitable gaming laws; five percent to the Virginia Lottery to fund the costs of the Illegal Gaming Enforcement Coordinator, a position created at the Virginia Lottery by the bill; one percent to the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund; and 44 percent to the general fund.The bill charges the Illegal Gaming Enforcement Coordinator with coordinating local, state, and federal enforcement of illegal gaming laws, defined as laws regulating gambling, charitable gaming, lottery games, sports betting, casino gaming, fantasy contests, and horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering, and with establishing a tip line for members of the public to report concerns about illegal gaming. The bill (i) directs the Department, under certain circumstances, to revise the fees levied by it for placement into the Fund so that the fees are sufficient but not excessive to cover the costs of administration and enforcement of charitable gaming laws and (ii) provides that beginning on July 1, 2024, 95 percent of moneys in the Fund shall be allocated to the Department to fund its costs of administering charitable gaming laws and five percent to the Virginia Lottery to fund the costs of the office of the Illegal Gaming Enforcement Coordinator.
Charitable gaming; social organizations and social quarters; electronic gaming. Provides that the conduct of electronic gaming, defined in the bill, is restricted to qualified social organizations on their premises or other qualified organizations that lease the premises of a qualified social organization pursuant to the guidelines set out in the bill. The bill eliminates the exceptions related to the sale of instant bingo, pull tabs, or seal cards or the conduct of bingo games in current law for veterans and fraternal organizations. The bill provides that such qualified organizations shall be subject to two prohibitions that, under current law, apply to all other organizations, as defined in relevant law: (i) they are prohibited from selling instant bingo, pull tabs, or seal cards or conducting bingo games outside of their home locality and (ii) they are prohibited from offering such games at an establishment that has been granted a license by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority unless they hold such license. The bill provides that, with the exception of social organizations qualified under § 501(c)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code, all gross receipts attributable to electronic gaming shall be reported to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (the Department) and shall be subject to application, audit, and administration fees. Under the provisions of the bill, social organizations that are exempt from taxation pursuant to § 501(c)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code are permitted to conduct electronic gaming until such organizations reach $200,000 in electronic gaming adjusted gross receipts, defined in the bill, during any 12-month period. Such organizations are required to report their adjusted gross receipts to the Department and are subject to application, audit, and administration fees based on their adjusted gross receipts. The bill provides that application fees shall be paid to the Department by the qualified organization and that audit fees may be paid to the Department either by the qualified organization or the electronic gaming manufacturer that provides electronic gaming devices to such organization. The bill imposes on any person or organization conducting charitable gaming without a permit a civil penalty of not less than $25,000 and not more than $50,000 per incident. Finally, the bill sets out via a second enactment provisions that require qualified organizations permitted to conduct electronic gaming to report and pay all required fees to the Department based on such organization's electronic gaming adjusted gross receipts. The provisions of the first enactment of the bill requiring the use of a qualified organization's electronic gaming gross receipts for the purpose of reporting and payment of required fees has an expiration date of July 1, 2024. The provisions of the second enactment of the bill requiring the use of a qualified organization's electronic gaming adjusted gross receipts for the purpose of reporting and payment of required fees has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2024. This bill is identical to HB 763.
Acquisition of certain military property by law-enforcement agencies. Changes the limitation on the acquisition or purchase of military property by a law-enforcement agency from firearms of .50 caliber or higher to rifles of .50 caliber or higher and from ammunition of .50 caliber or higher to rifle ammunition of .50 caliber or higher. This bill is identical to HB 813.
Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; Charitable Gaming Board; powers and duties. Changes the Charitable Gaming Board (the Board) from a policy board to an advisory board in the executive branch of state government, decreases the membership from 11 members to nine members, and moves the power and duty to promulgate regulations related to charitable gaming in the Commonwealth from the Board to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (the Department). The bill provides that (i) the current regulations enacted by the Board shall be administered by the Department and remain in full force and effect until the Department promulgates new regulations pursuant to this bill and (ii) notwithstanding clause (i), the regulations promulgated by the Board regarding Texas Hold'em poker games and tournaments, which became effective on March 23, 2021, and were rescinded by the General Assembly pursuant to Item 105 of Chapter 552 of the Acts of Assembly of 2021, Special Session I, shall not take effect, but the Department shall promulgate regulations regarding Texas Hold'em poker games and tournaments consistent with the provisions of Chapter 982 of the Acts of Assembly of 2020 and pursuant to the provisions of the Administrative Process Act. The bill contains technical amendments. This bill is identical to HB 765.
Horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering; prohibitionon persons under 21 years of age; penalty. Raises from 18 to21 years of age the minimum age for a person to wager on or conduct any wagering on the outcome of a horse race or to be admitted intoa satellite facility without being accompanied by such person's parentor legal guardian.
Illegal gaming devices; Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act; civil penalty. Adds the manufacturing for sale, selling, or distributing of an illegal gaming device while knowing that it is or is intended to be operated in the Commonwealth in violation of the law to the list of violations for which a civil penalty may be assessed against a person who is found to have committed such violation. The bill also adds a knowledge requirement to the existing violation of possessing or controlling an illegal gambling device. The bill also provides for a civil penalty of up to $25,000 per gambling device for any person who sells a gambling device that is located in an unregulated location. The bill provides that it shall be sufficient ground for an action for pretrial levy or seizure or an attachment that a principal defendant has conducted, financed, managed, supervised, directed, sold, or owned a gambling device that is located in an unregulated location. This bill incorporates SB 566.
Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program. Amends the definition of "qualified survivors and dependents" under the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program to include that a child who is a stepchild of a deceased military service member shall receive all Program benefits if the military service member claimed the stepchild on his tax return or on his Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System while serving on active duty. The bill also provides that the Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Services may consider the domicile or physical presence requirements with reference to the surviving spouse or surviving student, as applicable, for qualified survivors and dependents to be eligible for a waiver of tuition and mandatory fees if such requirements are not met because the military service member or surviving spouse dies after having established physical presence within the Commonwealth but before such requirements can be met.
Department of Military Affairs; institutionsof higher education; recruitment. Authorizes the Department ofMilitary Affairs to utilize grant funding for which active membersof the Virginia National Guard who attend any public institutionof higher education or accredited nonprofit private institution ofhigher education and meet other certain requirements are eligibleunder current law in order to recruit qualified applicants for servicein the Virginia National Guard. The bill states that the yearly funding amount for such recruitment shall be at the discretion ofthe Adjutant General and the Department of Military Affairs and notexceed $50,000 per fiscal year.