SB633 - Court fines and fees; indigent defendant, waiver of fees.

2 Co-Sponsors

Court fines and fees; indigent defendant; waiver of fees. Provides that in any criminal or traffic case, the court may waive the assessment of certain fees specified in the bill, either wholly or in part, if the court determines the defendant to be indigent pursuant to relevant law and is unable to pay such fee. The bill provides that the court may make such determination upon motion of the defendant at any time prior to the entry of order for which such fee is assessed or final order has been entered.

SB590 - Community services boards; emergency services and core of services.

2 Co-Sponsors

Community services boards; core of services. Adds to the list of the core services to be provided by community services boards (i) crisis services for individuals with a mental illness or substance use disorder, (ii) outpatient mental health and substance abuse services, (iii) psychiatric rehabilitation services, (iv) peer support and family support services, (v) mental health services for members of the armed forces located 50 miles or more from a military treatment facility and veterans located 40 miles or more from a Veterans Health Administration medical facility, and (vi) care coordination services. The bill removes language that conditions the duty of community services boards to provide case management services on the availability of funding. The bill further requires community services boards to provide any such services (a) to every adult who has a serious mental illness, child who has or is at risk of serious emotional disturbance, and individual who has a substance use disorder and (b) in a timely manner and at a location that is near the individual. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026, for most provisions. Community services boards; core of services. Adds to the list of the core services to be provided by community services boards (i) crisis services for individuals with a mental illness or substance use disorder, (ii) outpatient mental health and substance abuse services, (iii) psychiatric rehabilitation services, (iv) peer support and family support services, (v) mental health services for members of the armed forces located 50 miles or more from a military treatment facility and veterans located 40 miles or more from a Veterans Health Administration medical facility, and (vi) care coordination services. The bill removes language that conditions the duty of community services boards to provide case management services on the availability of funding. The bill further requires community services boards to provide any such services (a) to every adult who has a serious mental illness, child who has or is at risk of serious emotional disturbance, and individual who has a substance use disorder and (b) in a timely manner and at a location that is near the individual. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026, for most provisions.

SB451 - Income tax, corporate; distribution of revenues to state parks.

2 Co-Sponsors

Corporate income tax; distribution of revenues; state parks. Requires five percent beginning July 1, 2024, of all corporate income tax revenues to be distributed to the State Park Conservation Resources Fund to provide (i) free entry to Virginia state parks and (ii) the conservation, development, maintenance, and operations of state parks acquired or held by the Department of Conservation and Recreation as provided in the appropriation act. The bill provides that such distribution shall not reduce the total amount of annual appropriations for the Department and the Fund below the total amounts appropriated for the most recent fiscal year ending before July 1, 2024, except as provided by a subsequent appropriation act.

SB567 - Siting of energy facilities; approval by the State Corporation Commission.

1 Co-Sponsor

Siting of energy facilities; approval by the State Corporation Commission. Establishes a procedure under which an electric utility or independent power provider (applicant) is able to obtain approval for a certificate from the State Corporation Commission for the siting of an energy facility rather than from the governing body of a locality. Under the bill, applicants are authorized to submit an application to the Commission if (i) the locality fails to timely approve or deny an application; (ii) the application complies with certain requirements for Commission approval, but a host locality denies the application; or (iii) the locality amends its zoning ordinance after it has notified the applicant that its requirements are compatible with the requirements for Commission approval, and the amendment imposes additional requirements that are more restrictive. The bill provides that an applicant who is issued a certificate by the Commission for an energy facility is exempt from obtaining approvals or permits, including any land use approvals or permits under the regulations and ordinances of the locality. The bill applies to any solar energy facility with a capacity of 50 megawatts or more, any wind energy facility with a capacity of 100 megawatts or more, and any energy storage facility with a nameplate capacity of 50 megawatts or more and an energy discharge capability of 200 megawatt hours or more.

SB312 - Independent Living Community Ombudsman, Office of; established.

2 Co-Sponsors

Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services; Office of the Independent Living Community Ombudsman established. Establishes the Office of the Independent Living Community Ombudsman, with the purpose of receiving, recording, and responding to concerns related to independent living communities. The bill directs the Office to operate a complaint line to receive, record, and respond to such concerns.

SB418 - Virginia Museum of Transportation; established.

1 Co-Sponsor

Virginia Museum of Transportation; established. Establishes the Virginia Museum of Transportation as a public entity and educational institution under the Commonwealth. The bill provides that the Museum is governed by a 15-member board of trustees.

SB124 - Sports betting; permitted on Virginia college sports.

1 Co-Sponsor

Sports betting; Virginia college sports. Permits betting, with the exception of proposition betting, on Virginia college sports. Under current law, betting other than proposition betting is allowed on all college sports except Virginia college sports.

SR109 - Commending the Charles J. Colgan Sr. High School girls' soccer team.

1 Co-Sponsor

SB140 - Fetal and Infant Mortality Review Team; created, penalty, report.

1 Co-Sponsor

Fetal and Infant Mortality Review Team established; penalty; report. Establishes the Fetal and Infant Mortality Review Team to develop and implement procedures to ensure that fetal and infant deaths occurring in the Commonwealth are analyzed in a systematic way. The bill requires the Team to compile triennial statistical data regarding fetal and infant deaths and to make such data available to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Department of Health. The bill provides that information and records obtained or created by the Team and portions of meetings of the Team at which individual fetal and infant deaths are discussed shall be confidential.

SB714 - Vehicle exhaust systems; inspection and administrative fee.

2 Co-Sponsors

Vehicle exhaust systems; inspection and administrative fee. Prohibits passenger vehicle exhaust systems from emitting noise in excess of 95 decibels in Planning District 8 on a highway; any driveway or premises of a church, school, recreational facility, or business; any governmental property open to the public; any industrial establishment providing parking space for customers, patrons, or employees; and any highway under construction or not yet open to the public. Vehicle exhaust systems; inspection and administrative fee. Prohibits passenger vehicle exhaust systems from emitting noise in excess of 95 decibels in Planning District 8 on a highway; any driveway or premises of a church, school, recreational facility, or business; any governmental property open to the public; any industrial establishment providing parking space for customers, patrons, or employees; and any highway under construction or not yet open to the public. The bill allows, in Planning District 8, a law-enforcement officer to stop a passenger vehicle he determines is emitting exhaust system noise in excess of such limit and issue a notice of an administrative fee of $250 to be assessed at the time of the vehicle's next registration renewal and establishes a process for inspecting such vehicle. The bill has a contingent effective date of January 1, 2025, provided that the Department of Environmental Quality has received the necessary funding to supply the necessary equipment for such vehicle exhaust system inspections to inspection stations. The bill sunsets on July 1, 2027.

SB631 - VNG; efforts to make state-sponsored group term life insurance offered to members.

1 Co-Sponsor

Authorize the Adjutant General to facilitate and coordinate efforts to promote participation in the state-sponsored group term life insurance program offered to members of the Virginia National Guard.

SB183 - Income tax, state; eligible low-income taxpayers to claim a refundable tax credit.

1 Co-Sponsor

Earned income tax credit. Allows eligible low-income taxpayers to claim a refundable income tax credit equal to 20 percent of the federal earned income tax credit claimed that year by the taxpayer for the same taxable year. The bill also states that individuals who would have been entitled to the federal equivalent of this credit but for the fact that the individual, the individual's spouse, or one or more of the individual's children does not have a valid social security number are eligible to claim this credit. Earned income tax credit. Allows eligible low-income taxpayers to claim a refundable income tax credit equal to 20 percent of the federal earned income tax credit claimed that year by the taxpayer for the same taxable year. The bill also states that individuals who would have been entitled to the federal equivalent of this credit but for the fact that the individual, the individual's spouse, or one or more of the individual's children does not have a valid social security number are eligible to claim this credit.

SB682 - Health professions; universal licensure, requirements.

1 Co-Sponsor

Health professions; universal licensure; requirements. Requires health regulatory boards within the Department of Health Professions to recognize licenses or certifications issued by other United States jurisdictions, as defined in the bill, as fulfillment for licensure or certification in the Commonwealth if certain conditions are met. The bill also requires such health regulatory boards to recognize work experience as fulfillment for licensure or certification in the Commonwealth if certain conditions are met. The bill does not apply to licensure for physicians or dentists.

SB137 - Electric utilities; SCC to ensure energy policy at lowest reasonable cost.

1 Co-Sponsor

Electric utilities; State Corporation Commission; energy policy of the Commonwealth. Requires the State Corporation Commission to ensure that the Commonwealth implements the energy policy of the Commonwealth, as defined by relevant law, at the lowest reasonable cost, taking into account all cost-effective demand-side management options and the security and reliability benefits of the regional transmission entity that each incumbent electric utility has joined. The bill establishes a rebuttable presumption that plans, petitions, or proposals from utilities that do not ensure such implementation at the lowest reasonable cost are not in the public interest.

SB315 - Voter registration; registration of DMV customers, updates to existing registration.

1 Co-Sponsor

Voter registration; registration of Department of Motor Vehicles customers, automatic update. Provides that the information gathered by the Department of Motor Vehicles for a person who is already registered to vote is to be automatically transmitted to the Department of Elections for the purpose of updating an existing voter registration record name or address change and to return a voter to active status from inactive status, as appropriate. Under current law, a person must be presented with the option to decline to have his information transmitted to the Department of Elections before such information may be transmitted. Voter registration; registration of Department of Motor Vehicles customers, automatic update. Provides that the information gathered by the Department of Motor Vehicles for a person who is already registered to vote is to be automatically transmitted to the Department of Elections for the purpose of updating an existing voter registration record name or address change and to return a voter to active status from inactive status, as appropriate. Under current law, a person must be presented with the option to decline to have his information transmitted to the Department of Elections before such information may be transmitted.