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.

SB624 - Public education; student literacy measures.

2 Co-Sponsors

Public education; student literacy measures. Clarifies several provisions of the Virginia Literacy Act (the Act), enacted during the 2022 Regular Session of the General Assembly and effective with the 2024-2025 school year, including (i) clarifying that the term "evidence-based literacy instruction" does not include practices that instruct students to gain meaning from print through the use of (a) three-cueing, which includes semantic, syntactic, and graphophonic cues; (b) meaning, structure, and visual cues; or (c) visual memory for word recognition; (ii) removing the option to use a literacy screener approved by the Department of Education for certain purposes enumerated in the Act; (iii) requiring the Department to develop a list of core literacy curricula for students in kindergarten through grade five and supplemental instruction practices and programs and intervention programs for students in kindergarten through grade eight that consist of evidence-based literacy instruction aligned with science-based reading research; and (iv) requiring each divisionwide literacy plan to address how the local school board will align (a) core reading and literacy curriculum for students in kindergarten through grade five and (b) screening, supplemental instruction, and interventions for students in kindergarten through grade eight with evidence-based literacy instruction practices aligned with science-based reading research.

SB119 - Drug manufacturers; permitting and registration, certain conditions related to 340B-covered drugs.

7 Co-Sponsors

Drug manufacturers; permitting and registration; certain conditions related to 340B-covered drugs. Requires a drug manufacturer, as a condition of obtaining a permit or as a condition of registration or renewal of registration, to certify that it does not limit the number of contract pharmacies or covered entities, as defined in relevant law, to which it ships 340B-covered drugs and that it does not impose requirements, exclusions, reimbursement terms, or other conditions on a contract pharmacy or covered entity that differ from those applied to pharmacies or entities that are not contract pharmacies or covered entities on the basis that the pharmacy or entity is a contract pharmacy or covered entity or that the pharmacy or entity dispenses 340B-covered drugs.

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

SJR28 - Public transit systems, joint subcommittee to study funding needs.

15 Co-Sponsors

Study; joint subcommittee; funding needs in certain Study; joint subcommittee; funding needs in certain transit systems; report. Establishes a joint subcommittee to study long-term, sustainable, dedicated funding and cost-containment controls and strategies to ensure the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the Virginia Railway Express, and the public transit systems that serve the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission transportation districts meet the growing needs of public transit in the region.

SB623 - Firefighters and emergency medical services; collective bargaining by providers.

5 Co-Sponsors

Collective bargaining by firefighters and emergency medical services providers. Authorizes firefighters and emergency medical services providers employed by a political subdivision of the Commonwealth to engage in collective bargaining through labor organizations or other designated representatives. The bill provides for the appointment of a three-member board of arbitration regarding any dispute arising between an employer and firefighters or emergency medical services providers. Under the bill, determinations made by such board of arbitration are final on a disputed issue and are binding on the parties involved. Collective bargaining by firefighters and emergency medical services providers. Authorizes firefighters and emergency medical services providers employed by a political subdivision of the Commonwealth to engage in collective bargaining through labor organizations or other designated representatives. The bill provides for the appointment of a three-member board of arbitration regarding any dispute arising between an employer and firefighters or emergency medical services providers. Under the bill, determinations made by such board of arbitration are final on a disputed issue and are binding on the parties involved.

SB373 - Paid family and medical leave insurance program; notice requirements, civil action.

21 Co-Sponsors

Paid family and medical leave insurance program; notice requirements; civil action. Requires the Virginia Employment Commission to establish and administer a paid family and medical leave insurance program with benefits beginning January 1, 2027. Under the program, benefits are paid to covered individuals, as defined in the bill, for family and medical leave. The bill specifies that covered individuals shall not include state employees, constitutional and other local officers, and employees of local school divisions and that funding for the program is provided through premiums assessed to employers and employees beginning January 1, 2026. The bill provides that the amount of a benefit is 80 percent of the employee's average weekly wage, not to exceed 80 percent of the state weekly wage, which amount is required to be adjusted annually to reflect changes in the statewide average weekly wage. The bill caps the duration of paid leave at 12 weeks in any application year and provides self-employed individuals the option of participating in the program. Finally, the bill requires the Commission to update its 2021 Paid Family and Medical Leave study to include an assessment of the budgetary impacts of extending the benefits of the program to exempt individuals. Paid family and medical leave insurance program; notice requirements; civil action. Requires the Virginia Employment Commission to establish and administer a paid family and medical leave insurance program with benefits beginning January 1, 2027. Under the program, benefits are paid to covered individuals, as defined in the bill, for family and medical leave. The bill specifies that covered individuals shall not include state employees, constitutional and other local officers, and employees of local school divisions and that funding for the program is provided through premiums assessed to employers and employees beginning January 1, 2026. The bill provides that the amount of a benefit is 80 percent of the employee's average weekly wage, not to exceed 80 percent of the state weekly wage, which amount is required to be adjusted annually to reflect changes in the statewide average weekly wage. The bill caps the duration of paid leave at 12 weeks in any application year and provides self-employed individuals the option of participating in the program. Finally, the bill requires the Commission to update its 2021 Paid Family and Medical Leave study to include an assessment of the budgetary impacts of extending the benefits of the program to exempt individuals.

SB30 - Budget Bill.

1 Co-Sponsor

Budget Bill. Provides for all appropriations of the Budget submitted by the Governor of Virginia in accordance with the provisions of § 2.2-1509 of the Code of Virginia, and provides a portion of revenues for the two years ending respectively on the thirtieth day of June 2025 and the thirtieth day of June 2026.

SB212 - Virginia Small Business Economic Development Act; established.

5 Co-Sponsors

Virginia Small Business Economic Development Act established; regulation of skill game machines; penalties. Establishes the Virginia Small Business Economic Development Act for the purpose of providing a regulatory and registration scheme for skill game machines in the Commonwealth. The bill authorizes and specifies the registration requirements for the distribution, operation, hosting, and play of skill game machines, as defined in the bill. The bill imposes a 25 percent tax on the gross receipts from the play of each skill game machine from each distributor and provides for the use of such tax proceeds, with most being deposited into the PreK-12 Priority Fund, established in the bill. The bill directs the Virginia Lottery Board to promulgate regulations no later than January 1, 2027, to implement the provisions of the bill and authorizes the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to grant a provisional registration, beginning July 1, 2024, to any entity that provides a laboratory certification from a laboratory approved by the Authority that the game being distributed, operated, or placed in an establishment meets the definition and requirements of a skill game machine. Virginia Small Business Economic Development Act established; regulation of skill game machines; penalties. Establishes the Virginia Small Business Economic Development Act for the purpose of providing a regulatory and registration scheme for skill game machines in the Commonwealth. The bill authorizes and specifies the registration requirements for the distribution, operation, hosting, and play of skill game machines, as defined in the bill. The bill imposes a 25 percent tax on the gross receipts from the play of each skill game machine from each distributor and provides for the use of such tax proceeds, with most being deposited into the PreK-12 Priority Fund, established in the bill. The bill directs the Virginia Lottery Board to promulgate regulations no later than January 1, 2027, to implement the provisions of the bill and authorizes the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to grant a provisional registration, beginning July 1, 2024, to any entity that provides a laboratory certification from a laboratory approved by the Authority that the game being distributed, operated, or placed in an establishment meets the definition and requirements of a skill game machine.