Public elementary and secondary schools; student discipline; evidence-based restorative disciplinary practices. Prohibits, except in certain cases involving specific offenses enumerated in applicable law or in cases in which the division superintendent or his designee finds that aggravating circumstances, as defined by the Department of Education, exist, any public elementary or secondary school student from being suspended, expelled, or excluded from attendance at school without first considering at least one evidence-based restorative disciplinary practice such as community conferencing, community service, mentoring, a peer jury, peer mediation, positive behavioral interventions and supports, a restorative circle, or the Virginia Tiered Systems of Supports. The bill also requires the Department to add as part of the student behavior and administrative response collection required pursuant to relevant law the use of evidence-based restorative disciplinary practices as a behavioral intervention in order to evaluate the use and effectiveness of such practices. This bill is identical to SB 586.
Sponsored bills
Expungement of juvenile court records. Provides that if a juvenile was adjudicated delinquent of a delinquent act that would be a felony if committed by an adult, other than murder, kidnapping, robbery, or rape, and such juvenile was 14 years of age or older at the time of the offense, the court records shall be destroyed when the juvenile has attained the age of 29. The bill provides that if a juvenile was adjudicated delinquent of murder, kidnapping, robbery, or rape and such juvenile was 14 years of age or older at the time of the offense, the court records shall be retained. Under current law, the court records shall be retained in all instances when a juvenile was found guilty of a delinquent act that would be a felony if committed by an adult. The bill directs the clerk of the juvenile and domestic relations district court to expunge all records pursuant to the bill by July 1, 2027.
Purchase, possession, sale, transfer, etc., of assault firearms and certain ammunition feeding devices prohibited; penalty. Creates a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person who imports, sells, manufactures, purchases, possesses, transports, or transfers an assault firearm, as that term is defined in the bill, and prohibits a person who has been convicted of such violation from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm for a period of three years from the date of conviction. The bill provides that an assault firearm does not include any firearm that is an antique firearm, has been rendered permanently inoperable, is manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action, or was manufactured before July 1, 2024. The bill also prohibits the sale of a large capacity ammunition feeding device, as that term is defined in the bill. The bill provides that any person who willfully and intentionally (i) sells an assault firearm to another person or (ii) purchases an assault firearm from another person is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor and that any person who imports, sells, barters, or transfers a large capacity ammunition feeding device is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill also makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person younger than 21 years of age to import, sell, manufacture, purchase, possess, transport, or transfer an assault firearm regardless of the date of manufacture of such assault firearm.
Noncitizens of the United States; terminology.Removes the term "alien" as it pertains to persons who are not citizensor nationals of the United States and replaces it with synonymouslanguage, as appropriate, throughout the Code of Virginia.
Earned sentence credits; incarceration prior to entry of final order of conviction. Provides that a person's eligibility for earned sentence credits shall include any period of time actually spent in any state or local correctional facility, state hospital, or juvenile detention facility for the offense such person was held deducted from such person's term of incarceration or detention. The bill also provides that all time actually spent by a person in confinement or detention shall be used in calculating such person's earned sentence credits.The bill provides that the provisions shall apply retroactively to any person who is confined in any correctional facility on July 1, 2025, and if it is determined that, upon retroactive application of the provisions, the release date of any such person passed prior to the effective date of this act, the person shall be released upon approval of an appropriate release plan and within 60 days of such determination unless otherwise mandated by court order; however, no person shall have a claim for wrongful incarceration on the basis of such retroactive application. If a person is released prior to completion of any reentry programs deemed necessary by the Department of Corrections on the person's most recent annual review or prior to completion of any programs mandated by court order, the person shall be required to complete such programs under probation, provided probation is mandated by the court and current community resources are sufficient to facilitate completion of the aforementioned programs. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025.
Paid family and medical leave insurance program; notice requirements; civil action. Requires the Virginia Employment Commission to establish and administer a paid family and medical leave insurance program with benefits beginning January 1, 2027. Under the program, benefits are paid to covered individuals, as defined in the bill, for family and medical leave. The bill specifies that covered individuals shall not include state employees, constitutional and other local officers, and employees of local school divisions and that funding for the program is provided through premiums assessed to employers and employees beginning January 1, 2026. The bill provides that the amount of a benefit is 80 percent of the employee's average weekly wage, not to exceed 80 percent of the state weekly wage, which amount is required to be adjusted annually to reflect changes in the statewide average weekly wage. The bill caps the duration of paid leave at 12 weeks in any application year and provides self-employed individuals the option of participating in the program. Finally, the bill requires the Commission to update its 2021 Paid Family and Medical Leave study to include an assessment of the budgetary impacts of extending the benefits of the program to exempt individuals.
Conservation and replacement of trees duringdevelopment process. Expands existing local government authorityto conserve or replace trees during the development process by allowinglocalities to establish higher tree canopy replacement percentages,based on density per acre, lot size, or any other measurement relevantto the practices of the locality to achieve MS4 stormwater nutrientreductions, mitigate urban heat islands, increase resilience to climatechange, including reducing coastal and inland flooding, and mitigateair pollution. The bill also alters the current process for grantingexceptions to a local ordinance by removing a provision that requires the granting of an exception when strict application of the ordinancewould result in unnecessary or unreasonable hardship to the developerand replacing it with a determination by the locality that the strictapplication would be unreasonable in a specific instance. The bill makes numerous technical amendments.
Purchase of certain firearms; age requirement; penalty. Prohibits any person under 21 years of age from purchasing a handgun or assault firearm, with exceptions for the purchase of an assault firearm by a law-enforcement officer, correctional officer, jail officer, or member of the Armed Forces of the United States, the Virginia National Guard, or the National Guard of any other state. Accordingly, the bill prohibits a licensed dealer from selling, renting, trading, or transferring from his inventory a handgun or assault firearm to any person under 21 years of age. A violation of either prohibition is a Class 6 felony. The bill also expands the definition of "assault firearm" as the term applies to criminal history record information checks. This bill is identical to HB 1174.
Limitation on sentence upon revocation of suspensionof sentence; technical violations. Provides that when conductinga revocation hearing, the court shall consider at the same revocation hearing all alleged technical violations that occurred prior to such revocation hearing and have not been previously considered by thecourt. The bill also requires that when a defendant has been takeninto custody for an alleged first or second technical violation forwhich the court may only impose up to 14 days of active incarceration,the court shall adjudicate such violation within 14 days of the defendantbeing taken into custody. The bill states that if such violationis not adjudicated within 14 days of the defendant being taken intocustody, the defendant shall be admitted to bail, unless (i) suchdefendant consents to being further detained while awaiting adjudicationor sentencing or (ii) the Commonwealth has established, by clear and convincing evidence, that the defendant presents a significantrisk of harm to himself or the community based on substance use disorderor serious mental illness and has been referred for residential treatment.Notwithstanding the foregoing, the bill provides that no such defendantshall be held in custody awaiting adjudication of or sentencing onsuch alleged technical violation for longer than 30 days.
Firearm transfers to another person from a prohibited person. Provides that a person who is prohibited from possessing a firearm because such person is subject to a protective order or has been convicted of an assault and battery of a family or household member may transfer a firearm owned by such prohibited person to any person who is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing such firearm, provided that such person who is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing such firearm is 21 years of age or older and does not reside with the person who is subject to the protective order. Under current law, there is no requirement that such transferee cannot be younger than 21 years of age and cannot reside with such prohibited person. The bill also provides that such prohibited person who transfers, sells, or surrenders a firearm pursuant to the provisions of the bill shall inform the clerk of the court of the name and address of the transferee, the federally licensed firearms dealer, or the law-enforcement agency in possession of the firearm and shall provide a copy of such form to the transferee. The bill also provides that a person who is prohibited from possessing a firearm because such person is subject to a protective order or has been convicted of an assault and battery of a family or household member shall be advised that a law-enforcement officer may obtain a search warrant to search for any firearms from such person if such law-enforcement officer has reason to believe that such person has not relinquished all firearms in his possession. This bill is identical to HB 46.