HB516 - Prescription drugs; labels provided for blind and disabled users.

7 Co-Sponsors

Prescription drugs; labels; blind and disabled users. Requires pharmacies to notify each person who identifies themselves or a patient as blind, visually impaired, or otherwise print disabled to whom a prescription drug is dispensed that an accessible prescription label or alternate accommodation is available to the person upon request at no additional cost. The bill requires the Board of Pharmacy to promulgate regulations implementing the provisions of the bill no later than December 31, 2024. Prescription drugs; labels; blind and disabled users. Requires pharmacies to notify each person who identifies themselves or a patient as blind, visually impaired, or otherwise print disabled to whom a prescription drug is dispensed that an accessible prescription label or alternate accommodation is available to the person upon request at no additional cost. The bill requires the Board of Pharmacy to promulgate regulations implementing the provisions of the bill no later than December 31, 2024.

HB351 - Firearm; locking device required for purchase, households where minor resides, penalty.

24 Co-Sponsors

Firearm locking device required for purchase of a firearm; warning against accessibility to children; penalty. Requires any person who purchases a firearm to either (i) obtain or purchase from a licensed dealer a locking device for such firearm if a minor is present in such person's residence for 14 days or more in a calendar month or (ii) complete a certification statement on a form provided by the Department of State Police certifying that a minor is not present in such person's residence for 14 days or more in a calendar month, with exceptions enumerated in the bill. Accordingly, the bill provides that it is unlawful for any licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, or licensed dealer to sell, deliver, or transfer any firearm to any person, other than a licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, or licensed dealer, unless (a) the firearm is accompanied by a warning, in conspicuous and legible type in capital letters printed on a separate sheet of paper included within the packaging enclosing the firearm, that firearms should be locked and kept away from children and that there may be civil and criminal liability for failing to do so and (b) the transferee (1) obtains or purchases a locking device for such firearm if a minor is present in such person's residence for 14 days or more in a calendar month or (2) completes the certification statement. A violation of either provision is a Class 3 misdemeanor. Firearm locking device required for purchase of a firearm; warning against accessibility to children; penalty. Requires any person who purchases a firearm to either (i) obtain or purchase from a licensed dealer a locking device for such firearm if a minor is present in such person's residence for 14 days or more in a calendar month or (ii) complete a certification statement on a form provided by the Department of State Police certifying that a minor is not present in such person's residence for 14 days or more in a calendar month, with exceptions enumerated in the bill. Accordingly, the bill provides that it is unlawful for any licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, or licensed dealer to sell, deliver, or transfer any firearm to any person, other than a licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, or licensed dealer, unless (a) the firearm is accompanied by a warning, in conspicuous and legible type in capital letters printed on a separate sheet of paper included within the packaging enclosing the firearm, that firearms should be locked and kept away from children and that there may be civil and criminal liability for failing to do so and (b) the transferee (1) obtains or purchases a locking device for such firearm if a minor is present in such person's residence for 14 days or more in a calendar month or (2) completes the certification statement. A violation of either provision is a Class 3 misdemeanor.

HB857 - Fines and costs; changes period of limitations for collection.

5 Co-Sponsors

Fines and costs; period of limitations on collection; deferred payment agreement. Changes the period of limitations for the collection of court fines and costs from within 60 years from the date of the offense or delinquency giving rise to imposition of such penalty if imposed by a circuit court or within 30 years if imposed by a general district court to within 10 years from the date of the judgment whether imposed by a circuit court or general district court. The bill provides that upon the expiration of the period of limitations, no action shall be brought to collect the debt. Fines and costs; period of limitations on collection; deferred payment agreement. Changes the period of limitations for the collection of court fines and costs from within 60 years from the date of the offense or delinquency giving rise to imposition of such penalty if imposed by a circuit court or within 30 years if imposed by a general district court to within 10 years from the date of the judgment whether imposed by a circuit court or general district court. The bill provides that upon the expiration of the period of limitations, no action shall be brought to collect the debt. The bill also provides that for any defendant sentenced to an active term of incarceration and ordered to pay any fine, cost, forfeiture, or penalty related to the charge that such defendant is incarcerated for, or any other charge for which such defendant was sentenced on the same day, the court shall enter such defendant into a deferred payment agreement for such fines, costs, forfeitures, or penalties. The bill requires the due date for such deferred payment agreement to be set no earlier than the defendant's scheduled release from incarceration on the charge for which such defendant received the longest period of active incarceration.

HB267 - Assault or assault and battery; affirmative defense, penalty.

2 Co-Sponsors

Assault and battery; affirmative defense; penalty. Provides an affirmative defense to prosecution of an individual for assault or assault and battery of certain specified individuals for which the enhanced Class 6 felony and six month mandatory minimum apply if such individual proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, that at the time of the assault or assault and battery (i) the individual's behaviors were a result of (a) mental illness or (b) a neurocognitive disorder, including dementia, or a neurodevelopmental disability, including a developmental disability or intellectual disability, such as autism spectrum disorder, as defined in the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association or (ii) the individual met the criteria for issuance of an emergency custody order. Assault and battery; affirmative defense; penalty. Provides an affirmative defense to prosecution of an individual for assault or assault and battery of certain specified individuals for which the enhanced Class 6 felony and six month mandatory minimum apply if such individual proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, that at the time of the assault or assault and battery (i) the individual's behaviors were a result of (a) mental illness or (b) a neurocognitive disorder, including dementia, or a neurodevelopmental disability, including a developmental disability or intellectual disability, such as autism spectrum disorder, as defined in the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association or (ii) the individual met the criteria for issuance of an emergency custody order. The bill provides that if such individual does not prove that his behaviors were a result of his mental illness, intellectual disability, developmental disability, or neurocognitive disorder but the evidence establishes that his mental illness, intellectual disability, developmental disability, or neurocognitive disorder otherwise contributed to his behaviors, the finder of fact may find the accused guilty of a misdemeanor assault or assault and battery. The bill also provides that such affirmative defense shall not be construed to allow an affirmative defense for voluntary intoxication.

HR375 - Commending the Honorable Kathleen J. Murphy.

100 Co-Sponsors

HB187 - Teachers; process and timeline for increasing salary.

29 Co-Sponsors

Average teacher salary in the Commonwealth; national average. Requires the Governor's introduced budget bills for the 2025, 2026, and 2027 Regular Sessions of the General Assembly to propose funding for, and state funding to be provided pursuant to the general appropriation act enacted during any regular or special session of the General Assembly during 2025, 2026, or 2027 to fund, the Commonwealth's share of compensation supplement incentives for Standards of Quality-funded instructional and support positions sufficient to increase the average teacher salary in the Commonwealth to at least the national average teacher salary by the end of the 2026–2028 biennium and establishes a detailed timeline and process for satisfying such requirement.

HB827 - On-campus food insecurity; SCHEV to survey institutions to determine how they are addressing issue.

14 Co-Sponsors

State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; survey on campus food insecurity; report. Requires the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to (i) survey each public institution of higher education to determine how each such institution is addressing on-campus food insecurity, including specific methods, programs, sources of funding, expenditures, communications strategies, and staffing; (ii) compile and make available to each such institution a guidance document containing best practices for leveraging all available resources and opportunities, including public benefits programs and donation programs, to ensure that students do not face food insecurity on campus; and (iii) report its findings and any recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Education, the Senate Committee on Education and Health, and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations no later than November 1, 2024. State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; survey on campus food insecurity; report. Requires the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to (i) survey each public institution of higher education to determine how each such institution is addressing on-campus food insecurity, including specific methods, programs, sources of funding, expenditures, communications strategies, and staffing; (ii) compile and make available to each such institution a guidance document containing best practices for leveraging all available resources and opportunities, including public benefits programs and donation programs, to ensure that students do not face food insecurity on campus; and (iii) report its findings and any recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Education, the Senate Committee on Education and Health, and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations no later than November 1, 2024.

HB825 - At-Risk Program; established, public school funding.

16 Co-Sponsors

Public school funding; At-Risk Program established. Establishes the At-Risk Program for the purpose of supporting programs and services for students who are educationally at risk, including prevention, intervention, or remediation activities required pursuant to Standard 1 (§ 22.1-253.13:1); teacher recruitment programs and incentives; Dropout Prevention; community and school-based truancy officer programs; Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID); Project Discovery; programs for English language learners; the hiring of additional school counselors, testing coordinators, and licensed behavior analysts; and programs relating to increasing the success of disadvantaged students in completing a high school degree and providing opportunities to encourage further education and training and requires a portion of the state funding provided for such At-Risk Program to be allocated to school divisions on a flat per-student percentage rate set out in the general appropriation act and a portion of such funding to be allocated to school divisions on a variable rate set out in the general appropriation act based on the concentration of poverty in the school division. Public school funding; At-Risk Program established. Establishes the At-Risk Program for the purpose of supporting programs and services for students who are educationally at risk, including prevention, intervention, or remediation activities required pursuant to Standard 1 (§ 22.1-253.13:1); teacher recruitment programs and incentives; Dropout Prevention; community and school-based truancy officer programs; Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID); Project Discovery; programs for English language learners; the hiring of additional school counselors, testing coordinators, and licensed behavior analysts; and programs relating to increasing the success of disadvantaged students in completing a high school degree and providing opportunities to encourage further education and training and requires a portion of the state funding provided for such At-Risk Program to be allocated to school divisions on a flat per-student percentage rate set out in the general appropriation act and a portion of such funding to be allocated to school divisions on a variable rate set out in the general appropriation act based on the concentration of poverty in the school division.

HB398 - Public elementary and secondary schools; student discipline, etc.

12 Co-Sponsors

Public elementary and secondary schools; student discipline; evidence-based restorative disciplinary practices. Prohibits, except in certain cases involving specific offenses enumerated in applicable law or in cases in which the division superintendent or his designee finds that aggravating circumstances, as defined by the Department of Education, exist, any public elementary or secondary school student from being suspended, expelled, or excluded from attendance at school without first considering at least one evidence-based restorative disciplinary practice such as community conferencing, community service, mentoring, a peer jury, peer mediation, positive behavioral interventions and supports, a restorative circle, or the Virginia Tiered Systems of Supports. The bill also requires the Department to add as part of the student behavior and administrative response collection required pursuant to relevant law the use of evidence-based restorative disciplinary practices as a behavioral intervention in order to evaluate the use and effectiveness of such practices.

HB108 - Shared solar programs; SCC to establish by regulation, etc.

6 Co-Sponsors

Shared solar programs; American Electric Power; minimum bill; capacity. Requires the State Corporation Commission to establish by regulation a shared solar program, as defined in the bill, through which customers of American Electric Power may purchase electric power through a subscription in a shared solar facility, as defined in the bill. The bill requires the Commission to establish a minimum bill, which shall include the costs of all utility infrastructure and services used to provide electric service and administrative costs of the shared solar program, taking into account certain considerations. The bill directs the Commission to initiate a proceeding to recalculate such minimum bill within 30 days of its final order in a proceeding establishing the value of a solar renewable energy certificate as required by relevant law. The bill specifies that the Commission shall establish the shared solar program consistent with the requirements of the bill by January 1, 2025, and shall require each utility to file any associated tariffs, agreements, or forms necessary for implementing the program by July 1, 2025. Additionally, the bill requires the Department of Energy to convene a stakeholder work group to determine the amounts and forms of certain project incentives and to submit a written report to the Chairs of the House Committee on Labor and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor no later than November 30, 2024.