Drug Control Act; Schedule I; Schedule II; Schedule IV; Schedule V. Adds certain chemicals to the Drug Control Act. The Board of Pharmacy has added these substances in an expedited regulatory process. A substance added via this process is removed from the schedule after 18 months unless a general law is enacted adding the substance to the schedule.

Absentee voting; permanent absentee voter list; annual notice required; reasons for removal. Requires general registrars to send, by December 15 of each year, notice to each voter enrolled on the permanent absentee voter list that the voter is currently enrolled on the permanent absentee voter list and will remain enrolled on such list unless the voter requests to be removed. The notice shall include a return card, properly addressed and postage prepaid, by which the voter may request to be removed. The bill also requires the removal of a voter enrolled on the permanent absentee voter list if such voter offers to vote absentee in person for any election.

Land preservation program. Allows a locality, by ordinance, to provide that a parcel of real property shall not be removed from the land use program for delinquent taxes if such taxes are paid no later than December 31 of the year in which the taxes became delinquent. The bill further provides that no parcel of real property shall be removed from the land use program for delinquent taxes if (i) such taxes become delinquent during a state of emergency declared by the Governor, (ii) the treasurer determines that the emergency has caused hardship for the taxpayer, and (iii) the taxes are paid no later than 90 days after the original deadline.

Prescription of opioids; sunset. Repeals sunset provisions for the requirement that a prescriber registered with the Prescription Monitoring Program request information about a patient from the Program upon initiating a new course of treatment that includes the prescribing of opioids anticipated, at the onset of treatment, to last more than seven consecutive days.

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.

K-12 funding. Provides that for any year in which there is a surplus, the Governor shall include in his proposed budget an appropriation of five percent of such surplus for the operational costs of local school divisions. The bill provides for an equivalent decrease in the amount of operational costs funded by the Lottery Proceeds Fund and an equivalent increase in the amount of funds in the Fund restricted exclusively for local school divisions' capital construction and renovation costs. If the restricted amount is equal to or greater than the amount in the Fund, the increases and decreases are no longer required under the bill.

Department of Military Affairs; recruitment. Authorizes the Department of Military Affairs to utilize grant funding to recruit qualified applicants for service in the Virginia National Guard. The bill states that the yearly funding amount for such recruitment shall be at the discretion of the Adjutant General and the Department of Military Affairs and not exceed $50,000 per fiscal year.

Evaluation of legislation increasing or beginning regulation of an occupation; committee chairman to request. Provides that when any bill that would require the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation to increase or begin regulation of an occupation is filed, the chairman of the committee having jurisdiction over the bill shall forward it to the Board for Professional and Occupational Regulation for evaluation. The Board shall complete such evaluation by November 1 of the same year for requests received during a regular session or as soon as practicable for requests received during a special session. Currently, the Division of Legislative Services identifies and forwards such bills to the Board for evaluation.

Electric cooperatives; rate adjustment clause; broadband. Authorizes an electric cooperative to petition the State Corporation Commission for approval of one or more rate adjustment clauses for the timely and current recovery of costs from customers of one or more projects for the provision of broadband. The bill provides that a cooperative may recover the costs of the broadband projects in a rate adjustment clause including the construction work in progress and allowance for funds used during construction, planning, and development of associated infrastructure.

Juvenile and domestic relations district courts; Department of Juvenile Justice; extending jurisdiction in delinquency matters to persons 18 years of age or older but less than 21 years of age. Raises the maximum age for delinquency matters in juvenile and domestic relations district courts from persons under 18 years of age to persons under 21 years of age. The bill defines "underage person" as an individual who is 18 years of age or older but less than 21 years of age. The bill adds underage persons to all provisions regarding delinquency proceedings in juvenile and domestic relations district courts, the transfer of delinquency matters to circuit courts, and criminal procedure as currently applies to juveniles only. The bill differentiates between juveniles and underage persons in specific circumstances, including consent for medical or mental health records or procedures, mental health screenings in secure detention facilities, and provisions regarding release on bail or recognizance. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2024, and provides that the provisions of the bill shall apply prospectively and only to conduct or an offense that occurs on or after January 1, 2024. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act. Juvenile and domestic relations district courts; Department of Juvenile Justice; extending jurisdiction in delinquency matters to persons 18 years of age or older but less than 21 years of age. Raises the maximum age for delinquency matters in juvenile and domestic relations district courts from persons under 18 years of age to persons under 21 years of age. The bill defines "underage person" as an individual who is 18 years of age or older but less than 21 years of age. The bill adds underage persons to all provisions regarding delinquency proceedings in juvenile and domestic relations district courts, the transfer of delinquency matters to circuit courts, and criminal procedure as currently applies to juveniles only. The bill differentiates between juveniles and underage persons in specific circumstances, including consent for medical or mental health records or procedures, mental health screenings in secure detention facilities, and provisions regarding release on bail or recognizance. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2024, and provides that the provisions of the bill shall apply prospectively and only to conduct or an offense that occurs on or after January 1, 2024. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.

Absentee voting; permanent absentee voter list repealed. Repeals the provisions of law by which any registered voter may apply to receive absentee ballots for all elections in which he is eligible to vote and remains on the list until the voter requests in writing to be removed from the list, the voter's registration is canceled or placed on inactive status pursuant to law, or the voter moves to a different address not in the same county or city of his registration.

Killing the fetus of another; manslaughter; penalties. Provides that any person who kills the fetus of another by an intentional act committed while in the sudden heat of passion upon reasonable provocation is guilty of voluntary manslaughter, which is punishable as a Class 5 felony. The bill also provides that any person who kills the fetus of another accidentally, contrary to the intention of the parties and while engaged in conduct so gross, wanton, and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life, is guilty of involuntary manslaughter, which is also punishable as a Class 5 felony.

Public elementary and middle schools; student growth assessments. Requires the Board of Education, in implementing the through-year growth assessment system for the administration of reading and mathematics assessments in grades three through eight, to seek input and suggestions from each interested local school division in the Commonwealth regarding ways in which the administration of such assessments and the reporting of assessment results can be improved, and shall, to the extent possible, incorporate such input and suggestions into the through-year growth assessment system. Public elementary and middle schools; student growth assessments. Requires the Board of Education, in implementing the through-year growth assessment system for the administration of reading and mathematics assessments in grades three through eight, to seek input and suggestions from each interested local school division in the Commonwealth regarding ways in which the administration of such assessments and the reporting of assessment results can be improved, and shall, to the extent possible, incorporate such input and suggestions into the through-year growth assessment system.

Sale and transfer of firearms; criminal history record information check delay. Decreases from five business days to three business days the time provided for the Department of State Police to complete a background check before a firearm may be transferred. If a dealer who has otherwise fulfilled all requirements is told by the State Police that a response will not be available by the end of the dealer's third business day, the dealer may complete the sale or transfer without being deemed in violation.

Financial institutions; qualified education loan servicers; definition. Provides that "qualified education loan servicer" means any person that meets all of the following criteria: (i) receives any scheduled periodic payments from a qualified education loan borrower or notification of such payments or applies payments to the qualified education loan borrower's account pursuant to the terms of the qualified education loan or the contract governing the servicing; (ii) during a period when no payment is required on a qualified education loan, maintains account records for the qualified education loan and communicates with the qualified education loan borrower regarding the qualified education loan, on behalf of the qualified education loan's holder; and (iii) interacts with a qualified education loan borrower, which includes conducting activities to help prevent default on obligations arising from qualified education loans or to facilitate certain activities. Under current law, "qualified education loan servicer" means a person that meets any one or more of such criteria. Financial institutions; qualified education loan servicers; definition. Provides that "qualified education loan servicer" means any person that meets all of the following criteria: (i) receives any scheduled periodic payments from a qualified education loan borrower or notification of such payments or applies payments to the qualified education loan borrower's account pursuant to the terms of the qualified education loan or the contract governing the servicing; (ii) during a period when no payment is required on a qualified education loan, maintains account records for the qualified education loan and communicates with the qualified education loan borrower regarding the qualified education loan, on behalf of the qualified education loan's holder; and (iii) interacts with a qualified education loan borrower, which includes conducting activities to help prevent default on obligations arising from qualified education loans or to facilitate certain activities. Under current law, "qualified education loan servicer" means a person that meets any one or more of such criteria. The bill provides that "servicing" means undertaking all of the following activities: (a) receiving any scheduled periodic payments from a qualified education loan borrower or notification of such payments or applying the payments of principal and interest and such other payments, with respect to the amounts received from a qualified education loan borrower, as may be required pursuant to the terms of a qualified education loan; (b) during a period when no payment is required on a qualified education loan, maintaining account records for the loan and communicating with the qualified education loan borrower regarding the qualified education loan, on behalf of the qualified education loan's holder; and (c) interacting with a qualified education loan borrower, including conducting activities to help prevent default on obligations arising from qualified education loans or to facilitate any such activity. Under current law, "servicing" means undertaking any one or more of such activities.