Sen. Scott Surovell

License plate reader systems; civil penalty.Provides requirements for the use of license plate reader systems,defined in the bill, by law-enforcement agencies. The bill limitsthe use of such systems to scanning, detecting, and recording dataabout vehicles and license plate numbers for the purpose of identifyinga vehicle that is (i) associated with a wanted, missing, or endangeredperson or human trafficking; (ii) stolen; (iii) involved in an activelaw-enforcement investigation; or (iv) in the vicinity of a recentcrime and may be connected to that crime. The bill authorizes andrequires the Commonwealth Transportation Board to establish a permittingprocess for installing and using such systems in state highway rights-of-way.

Campaign finance; prohibited personal use of campaignfunds; complaints, hearings, civil penalty, and advisory opinions.Prohibits any person from converting contributions to a candidate or hiscampaign committee to personal use. Current law only prohibits such conversionof contributions with regard to disbursement of surplus funds at thedissolution of a campaign or political committee. The bill provides that acontribution is considered to have been converted to personal use if thecontribution, in whole or in part, is used to fulfill any commitment,obligation, or expense that would exist irrespective of the person's seeking,holding, or maintaining public office but allows a contribution to be used forthe ordinary and accepted expenses related to campaigning for or holdingelective office, including the use of campaign funds to pay for the candidate'schild care expenses that are incurred as a direct result of campaign activity.The bill provides that any person subject to the personal use ban may requestan advisory opinion from the State Board of Elections on such matters. The billdirects the State Board of Elections to adopt emergency regulations similar tothose promulgated by the Federal Election Commission to implement theprovisions of the bill and to publish an updated summary of Virginia campaignfinance law that reflects the State Board of Elections' and Attorney General'sguidance on the provisions of such law that prohibit the personal use ofcampaign funds and any new regulations promulgated by the State Board ofElections.

Legal holidays; Indigenous Peoples' Day.Replaces Columbus Day, the second Monday in October, with IndigenousPeoples' Day as a state holiday.

Celebrating the life of the Honorable BernardWaugh Crigler.

Commending Major General Timothy P. Williams,VNG.

Virginia College Savings Plan; Virginia College Opportunity Endowment and Fund. Directs the board of the Virginia College Savings Plan to deposit $250 million per year of surplus moneys from the Plan's fund into the Virginia College Opportunity Fund, established by the bill. The bill provides that such deposit shall not be made or shall be reduced in any year in which the College Opportunity Investment Advisory Committee determines that certain conditions relating to the Plan's funded status are not met. The Committee is established by the bill as an advisory committee for the Plan, for the purpose of determining the amount of deposits to be made to the Fund.The bill provides that financial management of the Fund is the responsibility of the board of the Plan but authorizes the board of the Virginia College Opportunity Endowment, also established by the bill, to manage a scholarship program funded by the Fund. The bill establishes an individual and corporate income tax subtraction for donations to the Fund.Under the bill, the Endowment provides scholarships to students who attend or plan to attend one of 12 eligible universities named in the bill. The bill provides that only such students who meet the eligibility requirements for a Federal Pell Grant and commit to being employed in Virginia, or being enrolled in postgraduate education in Virginia, for at least eight years after graduation from an eligible university are eligible for such scholarships.

Commending John Ray Grisham, Jr.

Commending the Honorable Dr. Luke E. Torian.

Commending Margaret L. Sanner.

Commending Travis G. Hill.