SB704 - Rural Virginia, Center for; renames Center the Senator Frank M. Ruff, Jr. Center for Rural Virginia.

40 Co-Sponsors

Center for Rural Virginia; name change. Renames the Center for Rural Virginia as the Senator Frank M. Ruff, Jr. Center for Rural Virginia.

SB608 - Community Schools, Office of; established within Department of Education.

2 Co-Sponsors

Public education; community schools; Office of Community Schools at Department of Education. Requires the Department of Education to establish the Office of Community Schools as an office within the Department for the purpose of supporting the development and growth of community schools throughout the Commonwealth in accordance with the Virginia Community School Framework.

SB477 - Blighted and derelict properties in certain localities; rate of tax.

1 Co-Sponsor

Blighted and derelict properties in certain localities; rate of tax. Allows the governing body of a locality with a score of 100 or higher on the fiscal stress index to levy a real property tax on blighted and derelict properties at a rate exceeding the rate applicable to the general class of real property by up to 15 percent on blighted properties and by up to 30 percent on derelict properties. Blighted and derelict properties in certain localities; rate of tax. Allows the governing body of a locality with a score of 100 or higher on the fiscal stress index to levy a real property tax on blighted and derelict properties at a rate exceeding the rate applicable to the general class of real property by up to 15 percent on blighted properties and by up to 30 percent on derelict properties.

SB2 - Assault firearms & certain ammunition, etc.; purchase, possession, sale, transfer, etc., prohibited.

18 Co-Sponsors

Purchase, sale, transfer, etc., of assault firearms and certain ammunition feeding devices prohibited; penalty. Creates a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person who imports, sells, manufactures, purchases, or transfers an assault firearm, as that term is defined in the bill, and prohibits a person who has been convicted of such violation from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm for a period of three years from the date of conviction. The bill provides that an assault firearm does not include any firearm that is an antique firearm, has been rendered permanently inoperable, is manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action, or was manufactured before July 1, 2024. The bill also prohibits the sale of a large capacity ammunition feeding device, as that term is defined in the bill. The bill provides that any person who willfully and intentionally (i) sells an assault firearm to another person or (ii) purchases an assault firearm from another person is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor and that any person who imports, sells, barters, or transfers a large capacity ammunition feeding device is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill also makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person younger than 21 years of age to import, sell, manufacture, purchase, possess, transport, or transfer an assault firearm regardless of the date of manufacture of such assault firearm.

SJR67 - Commending Sandra Gioia Treadway.

40 Co-Sponsors

SB484 - Public schools; youth and community violence prevention.

2 Co-Sponsors

Public schools; certain local school divisions; youth and community violence prevention; Community Builders Pilot Program established; report. Establishes the Community Builders Pilot Program for the purpose of reducing youth involvement in behaviors that lead to gun violence and increasing community engagement among public school students by providing to students who are entering the eighth grade and enrolled in Roanoke City Public Schools and Petersburg City Public Schools opportunities during the school year after regular school hours and during the summer months for community engagement, workforce development, postsecondary education exploration, and social-emotional education and development. The bill provides that the school boards of Roanoke City Public Schools and Petersburg City Public Schools shall be responsible for the administration of the Program and are directed to collect data and report to the Governor and relevant committees of the General Assembly by November 1 of each year on the progress of the Program. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2027.

SB488 - 1915(c) Home and Community Based Services Medicaid Waivers; state plan amdmts., prog. modifications.

3 Co-Sponsors

Department of Medical Assistance Services; Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; 1915(c) Home and Community Based Services Medicaid Waivers; state plan amendments; program rule modifications. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to seek federal authority through the necessary state plan amendments under Titles XIX and XXI of the Social Security Act to modify the program rules for certain 1915(c) Home and Community Based Services Medicaid Waivers to (i) modify the 40-hour-per-week work limit to allow legally responsible individuals with more than one waiver-receiving child to receive reimbursement for 40 hours of work per week per child receiving a waiver; (ii) eliminate the requirement that, in order for a legally responsible individual to receive reimbursement for personal care services, no one else be available to provide services to the member; and (iii) modify the program rules to allow a legally responsible individual or stepparent to be the employer of record. The bill directs DMAS to evaluate the possibility of allowing for respite services under certain 1915(c) Home and Community Based Services Medicaid Waivers and submit its recommendations, cost estimate, and methodology used for obtaining the cost estimate to the General Assembly no later than November 1, 2024.

SB609 - At-Risk Program; established, public school funding.

3 Co-Sponsors

Public school funding; At-Risk Program established. Establishes the At-Risk Program, defined in the bill as any state funding provided for programs of prevention, intervention, or remediation or pursuant to the at-risk add-on for the purpose of supporting programs for students who are educationally at risk. The bill requires (i) the determination of the amount of state funding for which a school division is eligible pursuant to the At-Risk Program to be based on the school division's identified student percentage, defined in the bill as the fraction, expressed as a percentage, that results from dividing the number of identified students enrolled in a school division by the total number of students enrolled in such school division, weighted by the factor of 1.5, and then adjusted by the addition of a percentage that corrects for undercounting English language learner students as identified students and (ii) such funding to be distributed as follows: 60 percent on a flat per-student rate and 40 percent on a variable rate set out in the general appropriation act based on the concentration of poverty in the school division. The bill provides that any school division that would have received more state funds for the at-risk add-on and programs of prevention, intervention, or remediation than it would pursuant to the consolidation of such state funding sources under the At-Risk Program established in the bill shall be held harmless and shall not have its share of such state funding reduced, effective for the 2024–2025 school year through the 2026–2027 school year.

SJR23 - Black Maternal Health Week; designating as April 11-17, 2024, and each succeeding year thereafter.

2 Co-Sponsors

Black Maternal Health Week. Designates April 11 through April 17, in 2024 and in each succeeding year, as Black Maternal Health Week in Virginia.

SJR21 - Secretariat of Rural Affairs; JLARC to study need for and feasibility of creating position.

2 Co-Sponsors

Study; JLARC; creation of Secretariat of Rural Study; JLARC; creation of Secretariat of Rural Affairs; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study the need for and feasibility of creating a Secretariat of Rural Affairs in the Commonwealth.