Virginia 2023 Regular Session All Bills
VA
Virginia 2023 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1172
Introduced
1/10/23
Refer
1/10/23
Report Pass
2/2/23
Engrossed
2/6/23
Refer
2/10/23
Report Pass
2/15/23
Enrolled
2/23/23
Chaptered
3/22/23
Passed
3/22/23
Virginia Community College System; work group on standardized registered nursing curriculum; the Passport Nursing Program. Requires the Virginia Community College System (the System), in collaboration with the Board of Nursing, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), and representatives from for-profit and private not-for-profit institutions offering registered nursing (RN) degree or diploma programs, to standardize the core curriculum for all RN degree or diploma programs in the Commonwealth in name, content, rigor, and credits such that all classes and credits are stackable, transferrable, and universally accepted. The bill provides that such standardized RN core curriculum is to be called the Passport Nursing Program. The bill directs the System, in collaboration with the Board of Nursing, SCHEV, the Virginia Nurses Association, and other relevant stakeholders, to convene a work group, consisting of several representatives enumerated in the bill, to develop the Passport Nursing Program and the system by which all RN education and diploma programs offered in the Commonwealth will be standardized under the Passport Nursing Program. The bill directs the work group to (i) determine and define what classes constitute the RN core curriculum and (ii) develop a system to standardize such RN core curriculum in name, content, rigor, and credits to ensure that all credits earned toward an RN degree or diploma program are stackable, transferrable, and universally accepted across all such programs. The bill requires the work group to submit its report to the Governor, the Chairmen of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health, and the Board of Nursing by November 1, 2023.
VA
Virginia 2023 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1173
Introduced
1/10/23
Refer
1/10/23
Board of Education; advanced academic opportunity programs; guidelines and policies; availability. Requires the Board of Education to develop guidelines for advanced academic opportunity programs, as defined in the bill, offered at the secondary school level (i) requiring any advanced academic opportunity program offered at any public secondary school in the Commonwealth to accept any eligible student and (ii) prohibiting the imposition of arbitrary class sizes or any other limitation that would impede the access of any otherwise eligible student to such program. The bill defines an "eligible student" as any student who has demonstrated an ability to participate and succeed in advanced academic opportunities, as determined by (a) such student's performance on a merit-based application, (b) such student's aptitude based on grades or exam results, or (c) the recommendation of a teacher. The bill requires each local school board to adopt policies that are consistent with and at least as rigorous as the guidelines developed by the Board. Finally, the bill requires the Board to develop and make available to each local school board the guidelines for advanced academic opportunity programs by the 2023-2024 school year and requires each local school board to develop and implement policies in accordance with the Board's guidelines by the 2025-2026 school year. Board of Education; advanced academic opportunity programs; guidelines and policies; availability. Requires the Board of Education to develop guidelines for advanced academic opportunity programs, as defined in the bill, offered at the secondary school level (i) requiring any advanced academic opportunity program offered at any public secondary school in the Commonwealth to accept any eligible student and (ii) prohibiting the imposition of arbitrary class sizes or any other limitation that would impede the access of any otherwise eligible student to such program. The bill defines an "eligible student" as any student who has demonstrated an ability to participate and succeed in advanced academic opportunities, as determined by (a) such student's performance on a merit-based application, (b) such student's aptitude based on grades or exam results, or (c) the recommendation of a teacher. The bill requires each local school board to adopt policies that are consistent with and at least as rigorous as the guidelines developed by the Board. Finally, the bill requires the Board to develop and make available to each local school board the guidelines for advanced academic opportunity programs by the 2023-2024 school year and requires each local school board to develop and implement policies in accordance with the Board's guidelines by the 2025-2026 school year.
VA
Virginia 2023 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1174
Introduced
1/10/23
Refer
1/10/23
Expedited diversion to court-ordered treatment in lieu of criminal adjudication. Establishes a process where a defendant who is charged with certain misdemeanor violations and appears to have a mental illness, and such charged conduct appears to be associated with that mental illness, may be considered for transfer from criminal court to civil process for court-ordered mental health treatment without any adjudication on such misdemeanor charges.
VA
Virginia 2023 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1175
Introduced
1/10/23
Refer
1/10/23
Report Pass
1/19/23
Report Pass
1/31/23
Engrossed
2/2/23
Refer
2/9/23
Report Pass
2/13/23
Engrossed
2/17/23
Engrossed
2/20/23
Enrolled
2/23/23
Chaptered
3/26/23
Passed
3/26/23
Student literacy measures; scope; students in grades four through eight. Expands several provisions of the Virginia Literacy Act, enacted during the 2022 Regular Session of the General Assembly, effective with the 2024–2025 school year, and currently applicable to students in kindergarten through grade three, to students in grades four through eight, including (i) requiring each local school board to provide a program of literacy instruction to such students that is aligned with science-based reading research and provides evidenced-based literacy instruction; (ii) requiring each local school board to provide reading intervention services to such students who demonstrate substantial deficiencies based on their individual performance on the Standards of Learning reading assessment or a literacy screener provided or approved by the Department of Education; (iii) permitting the reading plan required for certain students in grades six through eight to include a literacy course, in addition to the course required by the Standards of Learning in English, that provides the specific evidence-based literacy instruction identified in such plan; (iv) requiring the Department to develop a list of core literacy curricula, supplemental instruction practices and programs, and intervention programs that consist of evidence-based literacy instruction aligned with science-based reading research for such students; (v) requiring each local school board to employ one reading specialist for each 550 students in kindergarten through grade five and for each 1,100 students in grades six through eight; (vi) requiring the Board of Education to provide guidance on and each local school board to provide high-quality professional development and training in science-based reading research and evidence-based literacy instruction for certain middle school personnel; and (vii) requiring each divisionwide comprehensive plan to include a divisionwide literacy plan for such students. Student literacy measures; scope; students in grades four through eight. Expands several provisions of the Virginia Literacy Act, enacted during the 2022 Regular Session of the General Assembly, effective with the 2024–2025 school year, and currently applicable to students in kindergarten through grade three, to students in grades four through eight, including (i) requiring each local school board to provide a program of literacy instruction to such students that is aligned with science-based reading research and provides evidenced-based literacy instruction; (ii) requiring each local school board to provide reading intervention services to such students who demonstrate substantial deficiencies based on their individual performance on the Standards of Learning reading assessment or a literacy screener provided or approved by the Department of Education; (iii) permitting the reading plan required for certain students in grades six through eight to include a literacy course, in addition to the course required by the Standards of Learning in English, that provides the specific evidence-based literacy instruction identified in such plan; (iv) requiring the Department to develop a list of core literacy curricula, supplemental instruction practices and programs, and intervention programs that consist of evidence-based literacy instruction aligned with science-based reading research for such students; (v) requiring each local school board to employ one reading specialist for each 550 students in kindergarten through grade five and for each 1,100 students in grades six through eight; (vi) requiring the Board of Education to provide guidance on and each local school board to provide high-quality professional development and training in science-based reading research and evidence-based literacy instruction for certain middle school personnel; and (vii) requiring each divisionwide comprehensive plan to include a divisionwide literacy plan for such students.
VA
Virginia 2023 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1176
Introduced
1/10/23
Refer
1/10/23
Virginia Public Procurement Act; preference for products made or manufactured in Virginia and the U.S.; recyclable content; report. Provides preference for a bidder who is a resident of Virginia over a bidder who is a resident of any other state in determining the award for any contract for goods, services, or construction under the Virginia Public Procurement Act. The bill requires a state agency to decrease by seven percent the price of any offer for a Virginia end product, defined in the bill, and to decrease by two percent the price of any offer for a U.S. end product, defined in the bill, when evaluating bids for purposes of making an award determination. When the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, after price preferences have been taken into account, is a resident of Virginia and the offer price is within $10,000 or five percent, whichever is less, of the lowest responsive and responsible bidder who is a resident of another state, the Virginia resident shall be given the option to match the price of the nonresident bidder. Current allowance for granting price preferences to Virginia residents is made mandatory by the bill. The bill directs the Secretary of Commerce and Trade to convene a stakeholder work group to recommend revisions to the recyclable materials tax credit and report on the work group's recommendations by November 1, 2023. This bill is a recommendation of the Manufacturing Development Commission.
VA
Virginia 2023 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1177
Introduced
1/10/23
Refer
1/10/23
Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; licensed provider reporting requirements. Directs the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to amend its regulations to require providers licensed by the Department to report allegations of abuse, neglect, and exploitation and incidents classified as Level II and Level III incidents by the end of the next business day following the receipt of the allegation or discovery of the Level II or Level III incident.
VA
Virginia 2023 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1178
Introduced
1/10/23
Refer
1/10/23
Report Pass
1/31/23
Engrossed
2/3/23
Refer
2/7/23
Report Pass
2/8/23
Enrolled
2/15/23
Chaptered
3/22/23
Passed
3/22/23
Department of Environmental Quality; stormwater management and erosion and sediment control plans; gravel access roads; electric utilities. Directs the Department of Environmental Quality to include specifications regarding certain activities for stormwater management and erosion and sediment control related to the installation of permanent gravel access roads by an electric utility in the next publication of the Department's Virginia Stormwater Management Handbook (the Handbook). The bill permits any electric utility that complies with such specifications to be deemed to satisfy the water quantity technical criteria in the Stormwater Management Act. The bill further allows, until the effective date of the next publication of the Handbook, any new permanent gravel access road associated with the construction and maintenance of electric transmission lines by an electric utility to be deemed to have satisfied the required water quantity technical criteria if certain requirements are met.
VA
Virginia 2023 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1179
Introduced
1/10/23
Refer
1/10/23
Education improvement scholarships tax credits; eligible student with a disability. Removes, beginning in taxable year 2024, the requirement that an eligible student with a disability also qualify as a student under the education improvement scholarships tax credit program and expands eligibility of students with disabilities to include those who are residents of Virginia and for whom an Individualized Education Plan has been written and finalized. The bill also provides that beginning in taxable year 2024 the aggregate amount of scholarships provided to each eligible student with a disability for a single school year from eligible donations shall not exceed the lesser of (i) the actual qualified educational expenses of the eligible student with a disability or (ii) 300 percent of the per pupil amount distributed to the local school division (in which the eligible student with a disability resides) for the state's share of the standards of quality costs using the composite index of local ability-to-pay. Such scholarships may only be provided to an eligible student with a disability who is attending a school licensed by the Department of Education to serve students with disabilities that complies with nonpublic school accreditation requirements, is exempt from taxation as a § 501(c)(3) organization, and does not receive public funds to supplement the cost of the education of the eligible student with a disability who is receiving the scholarship.
VA
Virginia 2023 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1180
Introduced
1/10/23
Refer
1/10/23
Report Pass
1/24/23
Engrossed
2/1/23
Engrossed
2/2/23
Refer
2/8/23
Elections administration; acceptance of certain services permitted. Provides that (i) the acceptance of technical assistance, research, or subject matter expertise regarding election law, policies, and administration by any state or local elections officials; (ii) the acceptance or use of money or grants given by a private individual or nongovernmental entity when such money or grant is received and disbursed by the treasurer for the locality or provided through the regular process for appropriating public funds; and (iii) voter registration drives are not prohibited under the general prohibition on the solicitation or acceptance by such officials of money, grants, property, or services given by a private individual or nongovernmental entity for the purpose of funding voting-related programs. Elections administration; acceptance of certain services permitted. Provides that (i) the acceptance of technical assistance, research, or subject matter expertise regarding election law, policies, and administration by any state or local elections officials; (ii) the acceptance or use of money or grants given by a private individual or nongovernmental entity when such money or grant is received and disbursed by the treasurer for the locality or provided through the regular process for appropriating public funds; and (iii) voter registration drives are not prohibited under the general prohibition on the solicitation or acceptance by such officials of money, grants, property, or services given by a private individual or nongovernmental entity for the purpose of funding voting-related programs.
VA
Virginia 2023 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1181
Introduced
1/10/23
Refer
1/10/23
Report Pass
1/23/23
Report Pass
1/25/23
Engrossed
1/27/23
Refer
2/8/23
Sale, transfer, or purchase of unfinished frames or receivers and unserialized firearms; penalty. Creates a Class 1 misdemeanor, which is punishable as a Class 4 felony for a second or subsequent offense, for any person to knowingly sell, offer to sell, transfer, or purchase an unfinished frame or receiver, as defined in the bill, unless the party selling, offering to sell, transferring, or purchasing the unfinished frame or receiver is a federal firearms importer, manufacturer, or dealer or the unfinished frame or receiver is required by federal law to be, and has been, imprinted with a serial number by a federal firearms importer, manufacturer, or dealer.
VA
Virginia 2023 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1182
Introduced
1/10/23
Refer
1/10/23
Report Pass
1/31/23
Engrossed
2/2/23
Refer
2/8/23
Report Pass
2/8/23
Enrolled
2/15/23
Chaptered
3/17/23
Passed
3/17/23
Bank franchise tax; report. Provides for the electronic filing of bank franchise tax returns through a secure online portal maintained by the Department of Taxation and extends the time to file such tax return by 60 days. The bill also requires localities to provide banks access to real estate assessment records upon request. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025, and directs the Department to convene a work group to assess potential alternative methods for the filing and allocation of bank franchise tax revenues.
VA
Virginia 2023 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1183
Introduced
1/10/23
Refer
1/10/23
Report Pass
1/25/23
Report Pass
2/2/23
Engrossed
2/6/23
Refer
2/9/23
Report Pass
2/10/23
Enrolled
2/20/23
Chaptered
3/17/23
Passed
3/17/23
Applicant Fingerprint Database; participation in FBI Next Generation Identification Rap Back Service, through Virginia Rap Back Service, for fingerprint-based criminal history record monitoring; penalty. Requires the Department of State Police to participate in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Next Generation Identification Record of Arrest and Prosecution (Rap) Back Service, through the Virginia Rap Back Service, for the purpose of allowing those agencies and governmental entities that require a fingerprint-based criminal background check as a condition of (i) providing care to (a) children, (b) the disabled, or (c) the elderly or (ii) (a) licensure, (b) certification, (c) employment, or (d) volunteer service to be advised when an individual subject to such screening is arrested for, or convicted of, a criminal offense. The bill provides that fingerprints submitted to the FBI through the Virginia Rap Back Service may be used for future searches, including latent searches. Applicant Fingerprint Database; participation in FBI Next Generation Identification Rap Back Service, through Virginia Rap Back Service, for fingerprint-based criminal history record monitoring; penalty. Requires the Department of State Police to participate in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Next Generation Identification Record of Arrest and Prosecution (Rap) Back Service, through the Virginia Rap Back Service, for the purpose of allowing those agencies and governmental entities that require a fingerprint-based criminal background check as a condition of (i) providing care to (a) children, (b) the disabled, or (c) the elderly or (ii) (a) licensure, (b) certification, (c) employment, or (d) volunteer service to be advised when an individual subject to such screening is arrested for, or convicted of, a criminal offense. The bill provides that fingerprints submitted to the FBI through the Virginia Rap Back Service may be used for future searches, including latent searches. The bill requires the Department to ensure that notification is made to the participating entity, defined in the bill, when an FBI Rap Back report is received. Any unauthorized use of the information submitted to the Service is prohibited; any willful violation with the intent to harass or intimidate another is a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill requires the Department to promulgate regulations governing the Service and the removal and destruction of records on persons who are deceased or are no longer enrolled in the Service. The bill provides that such regulations shall provide that a participating entity shall disenroll any individual who is deceased or is no longer an individual, as defined in the bill, within 30 days of death or such event that no longer requires such individual to be enrolled in the Virginia Rap Back Service in order to ensure the prompt removal and destruction of records from the Virginia Rap Back Service. The bill authorizes the Department to charge a $12 fee per individual enrolled in the Service, paid by any participating entity enrolling the individual in the Service, and provides that when more than one participating agency enrolls the same individual in the Service, both entities shall be responsible for paying the full cost for maintenance and notification. The bill requires that any fees collected shall be deposited in a special account to offset costs of subscription fees, maintenance fees, and enhancements related to the Criminal and Rap Back Information Service. Under current law, the Department maintains an Applicant Fingerprint Database that functions similarly to the Service. The bill transitions the Department from using the Database and requires the Service to be operational no later than July 1, 2025, contingent upon appropriation of funds.
VA
Virginia 2023 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1184
Introduced
1/10/23
Refer
1/10/23
Report Pass
1/30/23
Report Pass
2/2/23
Engrossed
2/6/23
Refer
2/9/23
Report Pass
2/20/23
Engrossed
2/23/23
Failed
2/25/23
Hate crimes and discrimination; anti-Semitism; penalties. Provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to safeguard all individuals within the Commonwealth from unlawful discrimination in employment and in places of public accommodation because of such individual's ethnic origin. The bill also adds victims who are intentionally selected because of their ethnic origin to the categories of victims whose intentional selection for a hate crime involving assault, assault and battery, or trespass for the purpose of damaging another's property results in a higher criminal penalty for the offense. The bill also provides that no provider or user of an interactive computer service on the Internet shall be liable for any action voluntarily taken by it in good faith to restrict access to material that the provider or user considers to be intended to incite hatred on the basis of ethnic origin. Hate crimes and discrimination; anti-Semitism; penalties. Provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to safeguard all individuals within the Commonwealth from unlawful discrimination in employment and in places of public accommodation because of such individual's ethnic origin. The bill also adds victims who are intentionally selected because of their ethnic origin to the categories of victims whose intentional selection for a hate crime involving assault, assault and battery, or trespass for the purpose of damaging another's property results in a higher criminal penalty for the offense. The bill also provides that no provider or user of an interactive computer service on the Internet shall be liable for any action voluntarily taken by it in good faith to restrict access to material that the provider or user considers to be intended to incite hatred on the basis of ethnic origin.
VA
Virginia 2023 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1185
Introduced
1/10/23
Refer
1/10/23
Report Pass
1/30/23
Engrossed
2/1/23
Refer
2/8/23
Report Pass
2/10/23
Enrolled
2/20/23
Chaptered
3/23/23
Passed
3/23/23
Annexation; extension of current moratorium. Extends by eight years, from 2024 to 2032, the current moratorium on city annexations and county immunity actions. Provisions that would trigger the early expiration of the moratorium if the General Assembly fails to appropriate certain amounts for local law-enforcement expenditures are exempted through the 2030-2032 biennium.
VA
Virginia 2023 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1186
Introduced
1/10/23
Refer
1/10/23
K-12 schools and institutions of higher education; K-12 schools and institutions of higher education; designation of interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, and club athletic teams and sports based on biological sex; student participation in female teams or sports; civil cause of action. Requires each interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic team or sport sponsored by a public elementary or secondary school or by a public institution of higher education to be expressly designated as one of the following based on biological sex: (i) males, men, or boys; (ii) females, women, or girls; or (iii) coed or mixed if participation on such team or sport is open to both (a) males, men, or boys and (b) females, women, or girls. The bill requires identification of the student's biological sex on an athletics eligibility form signed by a licensed physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant to be submitted by any such student who desires to try out for or participate in an interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic team or sport. The bill prohibits any such team or sport that is expressly designated for females, women, or girls from being open to students whose biological sex is male. The bill prohibits any government entity, licensing or accrediting organization, or athletic association or organization from entertaining a complaint, opening an investigation, or taking any other adverse action against public school or institution of higher education based on a violation of the provisions of the bill and creates a cause of action for any school or institution of higher education that suffers harm as a result of a violation of the bill. Finally, the bill creates a civil cause of action for any student that suffers harm as a result of a knowing violation of a provision of the bill by a school or institution or as a result of the student's reporting a violation of a provision of the bill by a school, institution, athletic association, or organization.