SB420 - Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind, Board of Visitors; expands membership, powers & duties.

1 Co-Sponsor

Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind Board of Visitors; membership; powers and duties; meetings. Expands the total membership of the Board of Visitors of the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind from 11 to 15 members by increasing the number of nonlegislative citizen members from seven to 11. The bill provides that of the 11 nonlegislative citizen members, two shall be parents of current students at the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind, of whom (i) one is the parent of a student who is deaf or hard of hearing and one is the parent of a student who is vision impaired and (ii) one represents the Eastern region of the Commonwealth and one represents the Western region of the Commonwealth; two shall be representatives of the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind Alumni Association who are deaf or hard of hearing; and two shall be representatives of the Alumni Association who are vision impaired. Under current law, the requirements for the parent representatives are less specific and there is only one representative of the Alumni Association. The bill also amends the powers and duties of the Board of Visitors to include supervising the superintendent, other officers, and the faculty of the school. The bill provides that, in accordance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, any notice of a meeting of the Board of Visitors shall state whether public comment will be received and, if so, the approximate point at which it will be received. The bill requires that at each meeting at which public comment will be received each interested individual is allotted three minutes to speak and prohibits limiting that allotted time without adequate notice prior to the date of the meeting. The bill also requires the Board of Visitors to meet no less than four times each year. Current law provides that the Board of Visitors shall meet no more than four times each year. Finally, the bill defines the terms "deaf," "hard of hearing," and "vision impaired." Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind Board of Visitors; membership; powers and duties; meetings. Expands the total membership of the Board of Visitors of the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind from 11 to 15 members by increasing the number of nonlegislative citizen members from seven to 11. The bill provides that of the 11 nonlegislative citizen members, two shall be parents of current students at the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind, of whom (i) one is the parent of a student who is deaf or hard of hearing and one is the parent of a student who is vision impaired and (ii) one represents the Eastern region of the Commonwealth and one represents the Western region of the Commonwealth; two shall be representatives of the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind Alumni Association who are deaf or hard of hearing; and two shall be representatives of the Alumni Association who are vision impaired. Under current law, the requirements for the parent representatives are less specific and there is only one representative of the Alumni Association. The bill also amends the powers and duties of the Board of Visitors to include supervising the superintendent, other officers, and the faculty of the school. The bill provides that, in accordance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, any notice of a meeting of the Board of Visitors shall state whether public comment will be received and, if so, the approximate point at which it will be received. The bill requires that at each meeting at which public comment will be received each interested individual is allotted three minutes to speak and prohibits limiting that allotted time without adequate notice prior to the date of the meeting. The bill also requires the Board of Visitors to meet no less than four times each year. Current law provides that the Board of Visitors shall meet no more than four times each year. Finally, the bill defines the terms "deaf," "hard of hearing," and "vision impaired."

SB419 - Family caregiver; creates a nonrefundable income tax credit for taxable years 2024 through 2028.

3 Co-Sponsors

Family caregiver tax credit. Creates a nonrefundable income tax credit for taxable years 2024 through 2028 for expenses incurred by an individual in caring for an eligible family member, defined in the bill, who requires assistance with one or more activities of daily living, also defined in the bill. The credit equals 50 percent of eligible expenditures incurred by the caregiver up to $1,000. In order to qualify for the credit, the family caregiver must (i) not receive any compensation or reimbursement for the eligible expenditures and (ii) have federal adjusted gross income that is no greater than $100,000 for an individual or $200,000 for married persons.

SB469 - Controlled substances; manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing misbranded drugs, etc.

18 Co-Sponsors

Controlled substances; manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing, etc.; adulterated or misbranded drugs; penalties. Makes it a Class 6 felony for any person, except for permitted manufacturers, to possess, purchase, sell, give, distribute, or possess with intent to sell, give, or distribute an encapsulating machine or a tableting machine that manufactures, compounds, converts, produces, processes, prepares, or otherwise introduces into the human body a controlled substance. The bill makes it a Class 5 felony if such person knows, intends, or has reasonable cause to believe that such action will result in the unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance or counterfeit controlled substance that contains (i) a controlled substance classified in Schedule I or Schedule II of the Drug Control Act or (ii) a controlled substance analog as defined in relevant law. Controlled substances; manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing, etc.; adulterated or misbranded drugs; penalties. Makes it a Class 6 felony for any person, except for permitted manufacturers, to possess, purchase, sell, give, distribute, or possess with intent to sell, give, or distribute an encapsulating machine or a tableting machine that manufactures, compounds, converts, produces, processes, prepares, or otherwise introduces into the human body a controlled substance. The bill makes it a Class 5 felony if such person knows, intends, or has reasonable cause to believe that such action will result in the unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance or counterfeit controlled substance that contains (i) a controlled substance classified in Schedule I or Schedule II of the Drug Control Act or (ii) a controlled substance analog as defined in relevant law. The bill also makes it a felony punishable by imprisonment for not less than 10 nor more than 40 years for any person 18 years of age or older to knowingly allow a minor or a mentally incapacitated or physically helpless person of any age to be present during the manufacture or attempted manufacture of any substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl. The bill also increases from a Class 2 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony the penalty for violations related to adulterated or misbranded drugs and cosmetics.

SB416 - Alcoholic beverage control; tied house exception.

1 Co-Sponsor

Alcoholic beverage control; tied house exception. Allows a manufacturer, bottler, broker, importer, or wholesaler to sponsor or provide support, including equipment, staff, financial, and other support, for a special event for which a nonprofit organization has been issued a banquet license and partners with a governmental entity that holds a mixed beverage caterer's license, provided that the mixed beverage caterer's license held by the governmental entity is not used in coordination with such special event.

SB417 - Adult protective services; created central registry of substantiated complaints of adult abuse, etc.

1 Co-Sponsor

Adult protective services; central registry. Creates a central registry of substantiated complaints of adult abuse, neglect, and exploitation to be maintained by the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services. The bill establishes (i) investigation requirements for local departments of social services related to reports of adult abuse, neglect, and exploitation; (ii) record retention and disclosure requirements for the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services and local departments of social services; (iii) notice requirements related to findings by local departments and central registry entries; and (iv) an appeals process to contest the findings of a local department related to substantiated reports of adult abuse, neglect, or exploitation. The bill directs the Commissioner for Aging and Rehabilitative Services to adopt regulations to implement the provisions of the bill and exempts the Commissioner's initial adoption of such regulations from the provisions of the Administrative Process Act. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.

SB414 - Tire stewardship program; established, report.

1 Co-Sponsor

Tire stewardship program established; report. Requires producers of tires sold in the Commonwealth to join a tire stewardship organization on or before January 1, 2026, which must submit a plan to the Department of Environmental Quality for the establishment of an approved tire stewardship program. Such tire stewardship program shall establish a statewide collection system for discarded tires to facilitate higher rates of recycling and resale for such tires. The bill establishes reporting requirements for tire stewardship organizations and provides that the Office of the Attorney General may, at the request of the Department, enforce the provisions of the bill.

SR26 - Commending Margaret L. Sanner.

33 Co-Sponsors

SJR43 - Celebrating the life of Janet Marie Brooking.

37 Co-Sponsors

SB39 - Kinship foster care; placement of child with foster parent.

6 Co-Sponsors

Kinship foster care; alternative living arrangements; Parental Child Safety Placement Program established. Establishes the Parental Child Safety Placement Program to promote and support placements of children with relatives by local boards of social services in order to avoid foster care. The bill establishes the requirements for a parental child safety placement agreement, the procedure for assessing a proposed caregiver, and the process for terminating the placement.

SJR63 - Commending Peter A. Blake.

40 Co-Sponsors