Criminal cases; sentencing by jury. Provides that if a jury finds a person guilty of a criminal offense, such jury shall ascertain the punishment of the offense. Under current law, unless the accused has requested that the jury ascertain punishment, the court shall fix punishment after the accused has been found guilty by a jury.

Voter registration; registration permitted up to and including the day of the election. Repeals a provision that would permit any person who is qualified to register to vote to register to vote in person up to and including the day of the election, notwithstanding any deadline for the close of registration records. The repeal will limit the persons who are entitled to register to vote after the close of registration records to (i) any member of a uniformed service of the United States who is on active duty, (ii) any person residing temporarily outside of the United States, and (iii) the spouse or dependent residing with someone listed in (i) or (ii).

Commending The Arc of Northern Virginia.

School boards; production of public records; fee schedules. Requires each school board to develop and post or otherwise make publicly available a fee schedule governing charges for the release of public records to be used by each school within its school division when responding to requests for public records pursuant to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The bill requires such fee schedule to be based on the most recent estimate of the aggregate costs incurred by each school within a school board's division in accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for requested public records. Finally, the bill provides that a school board shall review and update the fee schedule at least annually.

Distrained or levied on personal property; auctioneers or auction firms outside the county or city of an officer. Allows for the use of a Virginia-licensed auctioneer or auction firm in selling distrained or levied on personal property and the transportation of such property to an auction site for such sale, regardless of whether the auction site is within or outside the county or city of the officer responsible for selling such property. Under current law, an officer who distrains or levies on personal property is not allowed to remove such property from his county or city.

Campaign advertisements; independent expenditures; electioneering communications; disclaimer requirements. Broadens the scope of disclaimer requirements for campaign advertisements to include electioneering communications, as defined in the bill, and messages advocating for the passage or defeat of a referendum. The bill also requires an advertisement that is an independent expenditure or expressly advocates for the passage or defeat of a referendum, to contain a disclaimer providing the names of the sponsor's three largest contributors or individuals representing a contributor that is not an individual.

Electric utilities; adjustment of rates. Provides that if the State Corporation Commission (the Commission) determines that the regulation of rates of investor-owned incumbent electric utilities under certain procedures of the Virginia Electric Utility Regulation Act results in rates that are not just and reasonable, then the Commission may, in any triennial review, adjust such rates to ensure that such rates (i) are just and reasonable and (ii) provide the utility the opportunity to recover its costs and earn its authorized rate of return.

Writ of actual innocence; previously unknown or unavailable nonbiological evidence; contents and form of petition. Changes the requirement that a petitioner allege in a writ of actual innocence based on nonbiological evidence previously unknown or unavailable that such previously unknown or unavailable evidence is such as could not, by the exercise of diligence, have been discovered or obtained before the expiration of 21 days following entry of the final order of conviction or adjudication of delinquency by the circuit court to instead require that the petitioner allege such evidence was not discovered or obtained prior to such expiration of 21 days.

Park authorities; electric vehicle charging stations. Gives park authorities created by a locality the authority to locate, operate, regulate the use of, and install signage relating to electric vehicle (EV) charging stations on property under its jurisdiction. The bill adds park authorities to the list of entities for which provision of electricity for EV charging is exempt from the definition of retail sale of electricity. The bill adds park authorities to the list of entities that the State Corporation Commission cannot regulate or prescribe the rates, charges, and fees for retail EV charging service.

Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Victim Fund; purpose; fee apportionment. Provides that the Department of Criminal Justice Services shall adopt guidelines to make funds from the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Victim Fund, which is used to support the prosecution of domestic violence cases and victim services, available to sexual assault service providers and hospitals for the purpose of funding the cost of salaries and equipment for sexual assault forensic examiners, sexual assault nurse examiners, and pediatric forensic nurses, with priority for funding such costs given to such forensic examiners, nurse examiners, and forensic nurses serving rural and underserved communities. The bill also increases the amount apportioned to the Fund from the fixed-fee assessments for misdemeanors and traffic infractions tried in district court.

Local school boards; teacher career ladder compensation programs. Requires each local school board to establish a teacher career ladder compensation program (program) whereby each rung on the ladder corresponds to a specific teacher career and compensation level as determined by the local school board. The bill requires each local school board to design and implement its own program, provided, however, that each program shall include the following principles and components: (i) each teacher shall provide increasing levels of student academic progress as measured by objective criteria before the teacher progresses to the next rung of the ladder; (ii) each teacher shall demonstrate improvement in teaching skills before the teacher progresses to the next rung of the ladder; (iii) each teacher shall assume additional teaching and other responsibilities such as curriculum development, team teaching, mentoring, and professional development activities before the teacher progresses to the next rung of the ladder; (iv) the local school board is responsible for providing teachers in the program with appropriate professional growth and development opportunities; and (v) the local school board shall ensure that equal pay is provided to teachers in the program who are performing at the same level. The bill provides that teacher participation in a teacher career ladder compensation program is optional and any teacher may opt to be compensated pursuant to the local school board's standard salary scale.

Supplementing compensation of public defender. Requires the governing body of any county or city that elects to supplement the compensation of the attorney for the Commonwealth, or any of his deputies or his employees, above the salary of any such officer, deputy, or employee to supplement the compensation of the public defender, or any of his deputies or employees. The bill provides that such supplemental compensation is proportional if the public defender, his deputies, and his other employees are each paid in amounts commensurate to the closest equivalent position in the local Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney, as adjusted for seniority and experience level. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2024.

Alcoholic beverage control; delivery of alcoholic beverages; third-party delivery license; container. Creates a third-party delivery license that authorizes the licensee to deliver alcoholic beverages purchased by consumers from other retail licensees. The bill establishes conditions for the issuance of third-party delivery licenses, imposes eligibility requirements for delivery personnel, and sets forth requirements for a delivery to be made by such delivery personnel. The bill imposes a $2,500 fine for first-time violations of the delivery requirements and a $5,000 fine for second and subsequent violations. The bill also establishes container requirements for certain alcoholic beverages sold for off-premises consumption or delivery. The bill requires that such alcoholic beverages, if not contained in the manufacturer's original sealed container, (i) be enclosed in a container that has no straw holes or other openings and is sealed in a manner that allows a person to readily discern whether the container has been opened or tampered with; (ii) display the name of the licensee from which the alcoholic beverages were purchased; (iii) be clearly marked with the phrase "contains alcoholic beverages"; (iv) have a maximum volume of 16 ounces per beverage for certain beverages; and (v) be stored in the trunk of the vehicle, in an area that is rear of the driver's seat, in a locked container or compartment, or, in the case of delivery by bicycle, in a compartment behind the bicyclist during delivery. The bill also excludes from the rebuttable presumption in current law that a person is consuming alcohol while driving any person who is delivering an alcoholic beverage in accordance with the provisions of the bill. The bill directs the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to collect data regarding the compliance of third-party delivery licensees with the provisions of the bill and report such data to the Chairmen of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services by November 1, 2023. The bill extends from July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2024, the sunset on prior legislation that allowed certain licensees to sell mixed beverages for off-premises consumption.

Public institutions of higher education; Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program; established. Establishes the Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program (the Program) to address student hunger at public institutions of higher education. The bill provides that the Program shall be managed by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and available for participation by public institutions of higher education; however, participation in the Program shall be optional for such institutions. Under the bill, if a public institution of higher education satisfies certain criteria set out in the bill, including creating initiatives on campus to address student hunger, it shall be designated as a "Hunger-Free Campus" and the Council shall award a grant to such institution. A public institution of higher education that receives a grant under the bill shall utilize the funds to support on-campus efforts and initiatives to eliminate student hunger at such institution. The bill requires the Council to submit a report to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Education no later than two years after the establishment of the Program that shall include (i) the total number and amounts of grant awards, (i) information about the impact that the Program has had on establishing additional hunger-free campuses at public institutions of higher education and reducing the number of students experiencing food insecurity, and (iii) recommendations regarding the potential establishment of an annual appropriation for the Program. Public institutions of higher education; Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program; established. Establishes the Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program (the Program) to address student hunger at public institutions of higher education. The bill provides that the Program shall be managed by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and available for participation by public institutions of higher education; however, participation in the Program shall be optional for such institutions. Under the bill, if a public institution of higher education satisfies certain criteria set out in the bill, including creating initiatives on campus to address student hunger, it shall be designated as a "Hunger-Free Campus" and the Council shall award a grant to such institution. A public institution of higher education that receives a grant under the bill shall utilize the funds to support on-campus efforts and initiatives to eliminate student hunger at such institution. The bill requires the Council to submit a report to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Education no later than two years after the establishment of the Program that shall include (i) the total number and amounts of grant awards, (i) information about the impact that the Program has had on establishing additional hunger-free campuses at public institutions of higher education and reducing the number of students experiencing food insecurity, and (iii) recommendations regarding the potential establishment of an annual appropriation for the Program.

Certain school board employees; dismissal; grounds; continuing contract study; report. Prohibits school board employees who are not required to hold a valid license issued by the Board of Education and public school teachers from being dismissed based on a last-hired, first-fired dismissal policy or any other similar policy that mandates that, when considering more than one such employee for dismissal, the seniority of each such employee shall be the sole determinative factor in the dismissal decision. The bill also requires the Board of Education, the House Committee on Education, and the Senate Committee on Education and Health, in consultation with local school boards, to study and make recommendations to the General Assembly no later than November 1, 2022, regarding effective, alternative ways in which the performance of teachers may be evaluated for the purpose of awarding or rescinding continuing contract status.