Sen. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker

Child tax credit. Creates a tax credit for taxable years 2024 through 2028 for individuals whose households include dependents younger than the age of 18. The bill provides that the amount of the credit will be equal to $500 for each such dependent for an individual or married persons filing a joint return whose family Virginia adjusted gross income, as defined by Virginia code, does not exceed $100,000. The bill provides that if the taxpayer is a resident of the Commonwealth for the full taxable year, and the amount of such credit exceeds the taxpayer's liability for the taxable year, the excess shall be refunded by the Tax Commissioner.

Commission on Legislature Modernization; report. Establishes the Commission on Legislature Modernization in the legislative branch for the purpose of studying the operation and functionality of the General Assembly and identifying ways to make the legislature more effective, efficient, responsive, reflective, and transparent on behalf of all Virginians. The Commission will consist of 17 members, which shall include 9 legislators, 6 nonlegislative citizen members, and 2 ex officio members. The Commission shall be convened for a period of two years, every 10 years in the year ending in four, and shall terminate after the submission of its final report to the General Assembly at the end of its second year.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 8.01-217, 16.1-331, 18.2-308.04, 18.2-308.06, 18.2-308.2:2, 18.2-308.2:4, 19.2-13, 20-88.54, 22.1-287.1, 23.1-405, 23.1-407, 24.2-418, 24.2-444, 30-394, 32.1-261, 32.1-267, 32.1-269.1, 32.1-292.2, 40.1-96, 40.1-102, 46.2-323, 46.2-341.12, 46.2-345, 46.2-345.2, 46.2-2906, 54.1-3319, 54.1-4108, 59.1-118, and 65.2-900 of the Code of Virginia, relating to nonbinary sex or gender designation option. 24102456D

Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia; work group to study trauma-informed training and education; report. Directs the Office of the Executive Secretary to convene a work group to make recommendations on the development, adoption, and implementation of trauma-informed training and education for judges, magistrates, and court personnel. The bill requires the work group to submit its recommendations by December 1, 2024, to the Chairmen of the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice.

Task Force on Maternal Health Data and Quality Measures; report. Directs the State Health Commissioner to reestablish the Task Force on Maternal Health Data and Quality Measures for the purpose of evaluating maternal health data collection processes to guide policies in the Commonwealth to improve maternal care, quality, and outcomes for all birthing people in the Commonwealth. The bill directs the Task Force to report its findings and conclusions to the Governor and General Assembly by December 1 of each year regarding its activities. This bill reestablishes the Task Force on Maternal Health Data and Quality Measures that concluded on December 1, 2023.

Public school staffing ratios; specialized student support positions. Increases the number of specialized student support positions required to be employed by each local school board from at least three to at least four such positions per 1,000 students in the local school division. Such specialized student support positions include school social workers, school psychologists, school nurses, licensed behavior analysts, licensed assistant behavior analysts, and other licensed health and behavioral positions.

Department of Corrections; online educational courses. Requires the Director of the Department of Corrections to establish, develop, and implement an educational program with the Online Virginia Network Authority for the purposes of providing a means for prisoners to earn degrees and postsecondary education credentials through accessing online degree and credential programs that are offered by George Mason University, Old Dominion University, James Madison University, and comprehensive community colleges.

Public schools; classified instructional support staff; competitive compensation; biennial review. Declares that it is a goal of the Commonwealth that its classified instructional support staff, defined in the bill as any individual who works more than 90 days total in a 200-day school year as a substitute for a licensed teacher, be compensated at a rate that is competitive in order to provide a quality education in the absence of a licensed teacher. The bill requires the Department of Education to conduct a biennial review of the compensation for classified instructional support staff and to consider the Commonwealth's compensation for classified instructional support staff relative to the national average teacher salary and report the results of such review to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Board of Education by June 1 of each odd-numbered year.

Early childhood care; Child Care Subsidy Program expansion; provision of free child care to certain child care provider employees. Requires the Child Care Subsidy Program, established pursuant to applicable regulations, to be expanded to assist employees of any licensed child care provider in the Commonwealth with the costs of child care by providing any such employee who meets the eligibility criteria set forth in the bill child care at no cost to and with no copayment required of such employee. The bill directs the Board of Education to adopt any regulations and the Department of Education to implement any policies and procedures necessary for the implementation and administration of the provisions of the bill.

Imposition of income tax. Establishes a new income tax bracket beginning on and after January 1, 2024, that taxes income in excess of $1 million at a rate of 10 percent. The bill provides that 50 percent of revenues generated by the new tax bracket will be dedicated to providing additional basic aid funding for public schools, 30 percent of such revenues will be dedicated to the Child Care Subsidy Program, and 20 percent of such revenues will be dedicated to the Virginia Housing Trust Fund.