Sen. Travis Hackworth

Celebrating the life of Mark E. Skiles.

Celebrating the life of Rebecca Kellam Chalmers.

Public elementary and secondary schools and public school-based early childhood care and education programs; student instruction; masks; emergency. Requires, except in the case of the 10 unscheduled remote learning days otherwise permitted by law or in certain cases of student discipline, each school board to offer in-person instruction, as defined in the bill, to each student enrolled in the local school division in a public elementary or secondary school for at least the minimum number of required annual instructional hours and to each student enrolled in the local school division in a public school-based early childhood care and education program for the entirety of the instructional time provided pursuant to such program. The bill permits, notwithstanding any other provision of law or any regulation, rule, or policy implemented by a school board, school division, school official, or other state or local authority, the parent of any child enrolled in a public elementary or secondary school, or in any school-based early childhood care and education program, to elect for such child to not wear a mask while on school property. The bill provides that no parent making such an election shall be required to provide a reason or any certification of the child's health or education status and no student shall suffer any adverse disciplinary or academic consequences as a result of this parental election. The bill requires each local school division to comply with the foregoing provisions relating to masks no later than March 1, 2022. The bill clarifies that none of the foregoing provisions shall be construed to affect the authority granted to the Governor to achieve the purposes of relevant emergency services and disaster law with regard to a communicable disease of public health threat. The bill contains an emergency clause.

Commending Jesse Waltz.

Commending James A. Baldwin.

Commending Virginia Polytechnic Institute andState University.

Celebrating the life of the Honorable HarryRussell Potts, Jr.

Flood Relief Fund established. Establishesthe Flood Relief Fund (the Fund), funded by reducing the allocationof Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) funds to the CommunityFlood Preparedness Fund from 45 to 40 percent and allocating the fivepercent to the Fund. The Flood Relief Fund is administered by theVirginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) and used to makepayments to owners of property that is damaged by a flood, landslide,or mudslide for which the President declares a major disaster underthe federal Stafford Act. Under the bill, claims are paid at 175 percentof property value in a double distressed locality, 150 percent ofproperty value in a distressed locality, and 100 percent of propertyvalue in all other localities. Claims are limited to $1 million forcommercial properties and $500,000 for residential properties andare exempt from individual and corporate income tax. If there areno flood disasters, VDEM will award grants for flood prevention effortsto applicants in double distressed localities. The bill provides thatif Virginia withdraws from RGGI, $50 million of any unobligated auctionproceeds will be reallocated to the Fund from the accounts establishedfor flood preparedness and low-income energy efficiency programs.

Commending Rita Carter Forrester.

Income tax; military benefits subtraction; emergency. Establishes an income tax subtraction for up to $20,000 of militarybenefits in taxable year 2021, up to $30,000 in taxable year 2022,and up to $40,000 in taxable year 2023 and each year thereafter.The bill defines military benefits to include military retirementincome and benefits paid to the surviving spouse of a veteran. The bill contains an emergency clause.