Makes numerous changes to the laws governing the provision of foster care services in the Commonwealth. Among other things, the bill (i) allows the Commissioner of Social Services to develop and implement a corrective action plan for or assume temporary control over the foster care services of a local board of social services upon determining that the local board (a) has failed to provide foster care services or make placement and removal decisions in accordance with applicable laws or regulations or (b) has taken any action that poses a substantial risk to the health, safety, or well-being of any child under its supervision and control; (ii) requires the Commissioner to create within the State Department of Social Services (the Department) a foster care health and safety director position; (iii) directs the Commissioner to establish and maintain a confidential hotline to receive reports and complaints from foster parents and other persons regarding violations of laws or regulations applicable to foster care and any other matters related to the health, safety, or well-being of children in foster care; (iv) directs the Department to develop and implement a more reliable, structured, and comprehensive case review and quality improvement process to monitor and improve foster care services provided by local boards and departments of social services; and (v) requires the Department to establish and update annually a caseload standard that limits the number of foster care cases that may be assigned to each foster care caseworker. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.
Sponsored bills
. Directs the Department of Taxation (the Department) to require a remote seller to collect sales and use tax if the seller has more than $100,000 in annual gross revenue from sales in Virginia or at least 200 sales transactions in Virginia and requires a marketplace facilitator, which enables marketplace sellers to sell in Virginia through its marketplace, to collect sales and use tax if its annual gross revenue from facilitated sales in Virginia exceeds $100,000 or it facilitates at least 200 sales transactions in Virginia. The bill provides that the obligation of remote sellers and marketplace facilitators to collect sales and use tax shall not apply to transactions occurring before July 1, 2019.
Increases annually the amount of the health insurance credit for retirees who rendered at least 30 years of creditable service in the Virginia Retirement System. The bill increases the credit by the same percentage as any annual post-retirement supplement that is calculated for employees hired on or after July 1, 2010. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.
Requires, in any contract for a major information technology project, terms and conditions relating to the indemnification obligations and liability of a supplier to be reasonable and to not exceed in aggregate twice the value of the contract. The bill also provides that there is be no limitation on the liability of a supplier for (i) any intentional or willful misconduct, fraud, or recklessness of a supplier or any employee of a supplier or (ii) claims for bodily injury, including death, and damage to real property or tangible personal property resulting from the negligence of a supplier or any employee of a supplier. The bill provides an exception to such conditions where the Secretary of Administration approves a reasonable maximum alternative limitation of liability amount recommended by the CIO based on a risk assessment showing exceptional risk to the Commonwealth.
Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Commissioner of Social Services to (i) convene a stakeholder group to consider the development of a statewide unified public-private system for early childhood care and education in the Commonwealth and (ii) collaborate to develop a uniform quality rating and improvement system with required participation by publicly funded early childhood care and education programs and voluntary participation by privately funded providers.
Increases the scholarship amount available for an eligible student with a disability from 100 percent to 300 percent of the per pupil amount distributed to the local school division as the state's share of the standards of quality costs, or the actual qualified educational expenses of the student, whichever is less. The bill broadens the definition of "eligible student with a disability" to include any child who is a resident of Virginia for whom an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) has been written and finalized in accordance with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In addition, the family household income of the eligible student with a disability who is receiving the scholarship must not exceed 400 percent of the federal poverty level.