Sen. Suhas Subramanyam

Register of volunteer cybersecurity and information technology professionals. Directs the Secretary of Administrationto establish a register of cybersecurity and information technologyprofessionals interested in volunteering to assist localities andschool divisions, in collaborating on workforce development, andin providing mentorship opportunities.

Virginia Retirement System; enhanced retirement benefits for 911 dispatchers. Adds 911 dispatchers to the list of local employees eligible to receive enhanced retirement benefits for hazardous duty service. Under current law, localities may provide such benefits to first responders, including firefighters and emergency medical technicians, and certain other hazardous duty positions.

Health insurance; coverage for the diagnosisof and treatment for infertility and standard fertility preservationservices. Requires health insurance policies, subscription contracts,and health care plans to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of infertility and for standard fertility preservation procedures,defined in the bill.

Department of General Services; point-basedprogram for prime contractors. Provides that when an awardedcontract includes a small business subcontracting plan, the primecontractor shall be required to report compliance with its smallbusiness subcontracting plans using the Department of General Services'central electronic procurement system. The bill provides that beforefinal payment is made, the purchasing agency shall confirm that theprime contractor certified compliance with the contract's small businesssubcontracting plan; that contracts and renewals shall include aprovision allowing final payment to be withheld until the prime contractorcomplies with its small business subcontracting plan; and that priorto entering into a new contract or renewing a contract with a primecontractor, a purchasing agency shall review a contractor's recordof compliance, and such compliance shall be considered in the prospectiveaward or renewal of any future contracts with the prime contractor.The bill requires the Department of General Services to create areport within the central electronic procurement system to enable cross-agency transparency into a contractor's record of compliancewith small business subcontracting plan requirements. The bill containstechnical amendments.

Campaign advertisements; independent expenditures; electioneering communications; disclaimer requirements. Broadensthe scope of disclaimer requirements for campaign advertisementsto include electioneering communications, as defined in the bill,and messages advocating for the passage or defeat of a referendum.The bill also requires an advertisement that is an independent expenditureor expressly advocates for the passage or defeat of a referendum,to contain a disclaimer providing the names of the sponsor's three largest contributors or individuals representing a contributor thatis not an individual.

Retail Small Business Grant Program and Fund.Establishes the Retail Small Business Grant Program and Fund to supportexisting Virginia small businesses, attract new businesses, increasethe Commonwealth's tax base, create new job opportunities for Virginiaresidents, and enhance commercial activity in Virginia. The billprovides that an eligible Virginia small business, defined in thebill, is eligible for grants of up to $50,000. The total amount ofgrants awarded in a fiscal year is capped at $10 million.

Family caregiver tax credit. Creates a nonrefundableincome tax credit for taxable years 2022 through 2026 for expensesincurred by an individual in caring for an eligible family member,defined in the bill, who requires assistance with one or more activitiesof daily living, also defined in the bill. The credit equals 50 percentof eligible expenditures incurred by the caregiver up to $1,000. Inorder to qualify for the credit, the family caregiver must (i) notreceive any compensation or reimbursement for the eligible expendituresand (ii) have federal adjusted gross income that is no greater than$100,000 for an individual or $200,000 for married persons. The billrequires the Tax Commissioner to establish guidelines for claimingthe credit and provides that any unused credit may be carried forwardby the taxpayer for five taxable years following the taxable yearfor which the credit was issued. The bill is a recommendation ofthe Joint Commission on Health Care.

Department of Education; local school boards; instruction on climate change. Requires the Department of Education, in collaboration with environmental groups and other relevant state agencies such as the Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Health and to assist local school boards in the implementation of programs of instruction that comply with the requirements relating to the Standards of Learning, specifically relating to citizenship and environmental issues and geography necessary for responsible participation in American society and the international community, to develop, no later than July 1, 2023, an interdisciplinary program of instruction on the causes of and potential solutions for climate change. The bill requires each local school board to incorporate, during the 2024%962025 school year, such program of instruction into curricula and instruction in the local school division in each core academic subject area at the grade levels that it deems most appropriate. The bill requires the Department of Education to implement and oversee a one-year pilot program to provide training and technical assistance to a diverse cross section of local school boards to implement such program of instruction in the local school division during the intervening 2023–2024 school year between the development and full local implementation of such program of instruction.

Income tax credit; employers of G3 Program orcybersecurity graduates. Creates a nonrefundable individual andcorporate income tax credit for employers that hire eligible employeeswho are (i) graduates of the Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back Program(G3 Program) or (ii) graduates with a degree in cybersecurity froma Virginia four-year institution of higher education. The creditis available for taxable years 2022 through 2026, is equal to $1,000per eligible employee hired during the taxable year who works ina full-time position, and includes an aggregate annual cap of $5million.

Commending the Honorable H. Jan Roltsch-Anoll.