Sen. Jennifer A. Kiggans

Use of handheld personal communications devices; school zones and school property; penalty. Adds school crossing zones and school property to the locations in which a driver is prohibited from holding a handheld personal communications device in his hand while driving a motor vehicle, with certain exceptions. The bill provides that a violation is punishable by a mandatory fine of $250. Current law prohibits (i) the reading of an email or text message on the device and manually entering letters or text in the device as a means of communicating and (ii) the holding of a handheld personal communication device in a highway work zone, with the same exceptions.

Celebrating the life of the Honorable Eva MaeFleming Scott.

Commending the Know Before You Fly campaign.

Release of balloons; prohibition.Reduces the number of balloons per hour that a person may releasewithout penalty from 49 to one.

Commending the Virginia Maritime Association.

Memorializing Congress; improvement of privatizedhousing for families living on military bases. Urges the Congressof the United States to address substandard housing conditions for families living on military bases through increased funding andholding the owners of privatized housing accountable.

Constitutional amendment (first resolution);immunity of legislators. Limits the immunity of legislators byallowing the arrest of a member of the General Assembly during thesessions of the respective houses upon issuance of process for arrestby a judge with authorization of the attorney for the Commonwealthor the law-enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the offense.

Higher education; in-state tuition. Provides that ifthe Average Consumer Price Index for all items, all urban consumers (CPI-U), aspublished by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor,from January 1 through December 31 of the year immediately preceding theaffected academic year, is less than or equal to zero, no governing board of abaccalaureate public institution of higher education shall increase thein-state tuition rate charged to undergraduate students for such academic year.The bill provides that if the CPI-U is greater than zero, (i) the governingboard of a baccalaureate public institution of higher education at which thein-state tuition rate charged to undergraduate students does not meet or exceedthe average undergraduate tuition rate across all baccalaureate publicinstitutions of higher education may increase the in-state tuition rate in anamount not to exceed the product of the CPI-U and the average undergraduatetuition rate across all baccalaureate public institutions of higher educationand (ii) the governing board of a baccalaureate public institution of highereducation at which the in-state tuition rate charged to undergraduate studentsmeets or exceeds the average undergraduate tuition rate across allbaccalaureate public institutions of higher education may increase the in-statetuition rate at a percentage not to exceed the CPI-U. The bill also providesthat the foregoing provisions shall apply to the Virginia Community CollegeSystem if the tuition charged to any Virginia student at a comprehensivecommunity college meets or exceeds the lowest in-state tuition rate charged toundergraduate students at a baccalaureate public institution of highereducation.

Commending the Know Before You Fly campaign.

Commending William H. Goodwin, Jr.