Sen. David Suetterlein

Prohibits a county from holding a new referendum on the levy of a food and beverage tax in the three calendar years subsequent to its electoral defeat, but only if such referendum is initiated by a resolution of the board of supervisors. The bill also requires the ballot for any such referendum to state the total tax, as a percentage, that would be imposed on food and beverage if the referendum were to pass, based upon a four percent food and beverage tax and any other ad valorem taxes applicable to the purchase of prepared food and beverage in the county.

Authorizes the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to establish an operational and programmatic efficiency and effectiveness review and assessment of state agencies, under a contract with a United States-based private management consulting firm. The purpose of the review and assessment is to provide an objective and independent cost-savings assessment of the Commonwealth's organizational structure and its programs in order to provide information to the Governor and the General Assembly to effect savings in expenditures, a reduction in duplication of effort, and programmatic efficiencies in the operation of state government. The bill also (i) provides certain required terms for the contract with the private entity and (ii) requires the Commission to submit a report to the General Assembly on the results of any review and assessment by December 1 of the year in which the review is conducted.

Directs the court to reimburse a plaintiff for the costs of an inverse condemnation proceeding for "damaging" property if a judgment is entered for the plaintiff. Under current law, the court is directed to award costs only for the "taking" of property. The amendment in this bill corresponds with the language of amendments to Article I, Section 11 of the Constitution of Virginia, which became effective on January 1, 2013, and applies to declaratory judgment proceedings filed on or after July 1, 2017.

Creates a new program of parental leave benefits for full-time state employees with one or more years of continuous employment with the Commonwealth who (i) adopt an infant under one year of age or (ii) are the natural father of an infant under one year of age. The amount of leave would be equivalent to the amount of paid leave awarded to an employee pursuant to short-term disability for maternity leave. The bill specifies that the parental leave coverage shall apply only to eligible state employees who take custody of an infant in the course of an adoption on or after July 1, 2018, or, for a natural father, for an infant born on or after July 1, 2018. The Department of Human Resource Management is directed to develop guidelines and policies for implementing the parental leave benefits. The bill also directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to analyze parental leave benefits for state employees in other states and the costs of providing such benefits to the employees of the Commonwealth. The bill has a reenactment clause that applies to all provisions of the bill except the JLARC study, which is effective July 1, 2017.

Requires the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (the Council) and each public institution of higher education to develop a passport credit program that will be offered at each associate-degree-granting public institution of higher education. Under the program, each passport credit course shall satisfy a lower division general education requirement at any public institution of higher education. The bill requires the Council to develop such program by July 1, 2020, and each associate-degree-granting public institution of higher education to offer such program by the 2020-2021 academic year.

Provides an exemption for counties with a charter from having to create a managing library board appointed by the local governing body. This bill is identical to

Requires the Department of Education to develop and oversee a pilot program to administer across five geographically and demographically diverse school divisions the model exit questionnaire for teachers developed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, analyze the results of each such questionnaire, and include such results and analysis in the Superintendent's annual report beginning in 2018. The bill requires the Department to (i) administer such questionnaire to each teacher who ceases to be employed by the relevant school board for any reason and (ii) collect, maintain, and report on the results of each such questionnaire in a manner that ensures the confidentiality of each teacher's name and other personally identifying information. This bill is identical to

Permits each local school board or division superintendent to waive certain enumerated licensure requirements for any individual whom it seeks to employ as a career and technical education teacher and who is also seeking initial licensure or renewal of a license with an endorsement in the area of career and technical education. This bill is identical to