Burial fees for military spouses. Provides that, from such funds as may be appropriated, the Commonwealth shall pay the burial fees charged for the burial at a veterans cemetery operated by the Department of Veterans Services for (i) a member of the National Guard and Reserve, (ii) a spouse of an active duty member or veteran of the United States Armed Forces or a spouse of a member of the National Guard and Reserve, or (iii) a surviving spouse of such member or veteran.

Compensation of public school teachers and other Standards Compensation of public school teachers and other Standards of Quality-funded positions; competitive rate. Requires the Commonwealth to compensate its public school teachers at a rate that is competitive, defined in current law as at or above the national average teacher salary, in order to attract and keep highly qualified teachers. Current law declares it the policy of the Commonwealth to compensate public school teachers at such competitive rate but does not require it. The bill requires the Department of Education to conduct an annual calculation to determine the estimated national average teacher salary for each year of the current budget biennium that relies on the most up-to-date data from the source of the 50-state average salary of K-12 teachers in public school set forth in the annual Virginia Compared with the Other States report published by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission. The bill permits the Department, in making such calculation, to use the trends of the percent change for the national average teacher salaries in the two to four years prior to project averages in each year of the current and upcoming biennia. The bill requires the results of such calculation to be reported to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Board of Education by June 1 of each year. The bill also requires state funding to be provided pursuant to the general appropriation act in a sum sufficient to fund a certain flat percent annual pay increase for each individual employed in a Standards of Quality-funded position. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2024.

Office of Data Governance and Analytics; Chief Data Officer. Repeals the sunset provision enacted in 2021 that created the Office of Data Governance and Analytics (the Office) and the position of Chief Data Officer within the Office of the Secretary of Administration, making both permanent. The provision is currently scheduled to expire on July 1, 2023. The bill also requires the Office to oversee and support any workforce development data systems, to facilitate data sharing, to identify innovative technology solutions, and to support processes that create data-informed decisions.

Electric Vehicle Rural Infrastructure Program and Fund created. Creates the Electric Vehicle Rural Infrastructure Program and Fund to assist private developers with non-utility costs associated with the installation of electric vehicle charging stations. The bill provides that a private developer is eligible to receive grants of 70 percent of such non-utility costs for electric vehicle charging stations installed in a city or county that meets the criteria of a distressed locality as provided in the bill and caps the total amount of grants awarded in any fiscal year at $25 million.

Carrying a firearm or explosive material into a building owned or leased by the Commonwealth; exception for highway rest areas. Provides that the prohibition on carrying a firearm or explosive material in any building owned or leased by the Commonwealth shall not apply to any highway rest area.

Oyster planting grounds; existing leases; transfer or assignment. Removes the requirement that the Marine Resources Commissioner consider certain factors when recording in his office an application for transfer or assignment for an existing lease of oyster-planting grounds.

Child custody, visitation, or support proceedings; educational seminars approved by Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Provides that when the parties to any petition where a child whose custody, visitation, or support is contested are required show proof that they have attended an educational seminar or other like program conducted by a qualified person or organization, such educational seminar or other like program shall be one that has been approved by the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Current law provides that such educational seminars or other like programs are approved by the court. This bill is a recommendation of the Judicial Council of Virginia and the Committee on District Courts.

Writs of actual innocence. Requires the Attorney General to provide written notice of intent to join a petition for a writ of actual innocence to the local attorney for the Commonwealth in the jurisdiction of conviction or adjudication of delinquency. The bill directs the Court of Appeals to dismiss any second or subsequent petition for failure to identify new or different evidence in support of actual innocence or for failure to assert the new or different evidence in a prior petition under circumstances that constitute an abuse of the writ. The bill directs the Attorney General to notify the victim or victim's representative of a hearing scheduled or any oral argument; the victim or victim's representative has the right to attend such hearing or oral argument. Writs of actual innocence. Requires the Attorney General to provide written notice of intent to join a petition for a writ of actual innocence to the local attorney for the Commonwealth in the jurisdiction of conviction or adjudication of delinquency. The bill directs the Court of Appeals to dismiss any second or subsequent petition for failure to identify new or different evidence in support of actual innocence or for failure to assert the new or different evidence in a prior petition under circumstances that constitute an abuse of the writ. The bill directs the Attorney General to notify the victim or victim's representative of a hearing scheduled or any oral argument; the victim or victim's representative has the right to attend such hearing or oral argument.

Sentencing guidelines; written explanation; appeal. Requires that the written explanation the court files with the record of a case when departing from the sentencing guidelines adequately explains the sentence imposed to promote fair sentencing. The bill provides that the failure to follow any of the required sentencing provisions, including the failure to provide a written explanation that adequately explains the sentence imposed, shall be reviewable on appeal or may be the basis of any other post-conviction relief. The bill also provides that the failure to provide a written explanation that adequately explains the sentence imposed is an error that may constitute a basis for resentencing by the trial judge. Under current law, the failure to follow any or all of the provisions of the sentencing guidelines or the failure to follow any or all of such provisions in the prescribed manner is not reviewable on appeal and cannot be the basis of any other post-conviction relief. The provisions of the bill apply only to those sentencing hearings conducted and such sentences imposed on or after July 1, 2023.

Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman; created. Creates the Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman headed by an Ombudsman who is selected by a Corrections Oversight Committee, also created by the bill. The Committee is made up of four members of the General Assembly and 11 nonlegislative citizen members who monitor the activities of the Ombudsman and the Department of Corrections. The bill provides the Office's authority to conduct inspections at least once every three years and more often when warranted of Department or Board of Local and Regional Jails facilities and requires the Office to establish confidential telephone hotlines and online forms for concerns, complaints, and inquiries by inmates, their family members and advocates, and Department employees and contractors. In addition, the bill requires the Committee to conduct quarterly public hearings and submit an annual report to the Governor, the Attorney General, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, the House Committee on Public Safety, and the Director of the Department. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act. Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman; created. Creates the Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman headed by an Ombudsman who is selected by a Corrections Oversight Committee, also created by the bill. The Committee is made up of four members of the General Assembly and 11 nonlegislative citizen members who monitor the activities of the Ombudsman and the Department of Corrections. The bill provides the Office's authority to conduct inspections at least once every three years and more often when warranted of Department or Board of Local and Regional Jails facilities and requires the Office to establish confidential telephone hotlines and online forms for concerns, complaints, and inquiries by inmates, their family members and advocates, and Department employees and contractors. In addition, the bill requires the Committee to conduct quarterly public hearings and submit an annual report to the Governor, the Attorney General, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, the House Committee on Public Safety, and the Director of the Department. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.

Youth Health Protection Act established; civil penalty. Creates the Youth Health Protection Act, which makes it unlawful for any individual to provide gender transition procedures for minors and prohibits the use of public funds for gender transition procedures. The bill allows parents, guardians, or custodians to withhold consent for any treatment, activity, or mental health care services that are designed and intended to form their child's conceptions of sex and gender or to treat gender dysphoria or gender nonconformity. The bill prohibits government agents, other than law-enforcement personnel, from encouraging or coercing a minor to withhold information from the minor's parent. The bill establishes a duty for a government agent with knowledge that a minor has exhibited symptoms of gender dysphoria or gender nonconformity or otherwise demonstrates a desire to be treated in a manner incongruent with the minor's sex to immediately notify each of the minor's parents, guardians, or custodians in writing, with descriptions of relevant circumstances. The bill prohibits discrimination against persons (i) providing information regarding violations of the Act to their employer or specified public entities or (ii) who make disclosures under the Act believed to be (a) any violation of law, rule, or regulation; (b) any violation of any standard of care or other ethical guidelines for the provision of health care service; or (c) gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety. The bill establishes a civil action for any violation of the Act by a clinic, health care system, medical professional, or other responsible person with a two-year statute of limitations. The bill prohibits political subdivisions of the Commonwealth from enacting, adopting, maintaining, or enforcing any measure that interferes with the professional conduct and judgment of a mental health care professional or counselor undertaken within the course of treatment and communication with clients, patients, other persons, or the public. The bill provides for enforcement by the Attorney General or a mental health care professional or counselor through an action for injunctive relief and allows a mental health care professional to recover reasonable attorney fees and reasonable costs incurred in obtaining an injunction. The bill waives sovereign immunity to suit and immunity from liability under this provision of the bill. Youth Health Protection Act established; civil penalty. Creates the Youth Health Protection Act, which makes it unlawful for any individual to provide gender transition procedures for minors and prohibits the use of public funds for gender transition procedures. The bill allows parents, guardians, or custodians to withhold consent for any treatment, activity, or mental health care services that are designed and intended to form their child's conceptions of sex and gender or to treat gender dysphoria or gender nonconformity. The bill prohibits government agents, other than law-enforcement personnel, from encouraging or coercing a minor to withhold information from the minor's parent. The bill establishes a duty for a government agent with knowledge that a minor has exhibited symptoms of gender dysphoria or gender nonconformity or otherwise demonstrates a desire to be treated in a manner incongruent with the minor's sex to immediately notify each of the minor's parents, guardians, or custodians in writing, with descriptions of relevant circumstances. The bill prohibits discrimination against persons (i) providing information regarding violations of the Act to their employer or specified public entities or (ii) who make disclosures under the Act believed to be (a) any violation of law, rule, or regulation; (b) any violation of any standard of care or other ethical guidelines for the provision of health care service; or (c) gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety. The bill establishes a civil action for any violation of the Act by a clinic, health care system, medical professional, or other responsible person with a two-year statute of limitations. The bill prohibits political subdivisions of the Commonwealth from enacting, adopting, maintaining, or enforcing any measure that interferes with the professional conduct and judgment of a mental health care professional or counselor undertaken within the course of treatment and communication with clients, patients, other persons, or the public. The bill provides for enforcement by the Attorney General or a mental health care professional or counselor through an action for injunctive relief and allows a mental health care professional to recover reasonable attorney fees and reasonable costs incurred in obtaining an injunction. The bill waives sovereign immunity to suit and immunity from liability under this provision of the bill.

Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services; Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Commission; membership; sunset. Extends from July 1, 2023, to July 1, 2026, the expiration of the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Commission and expands from 15 to 20 the membership of the Commssion by adding the Commissioner of the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, the Commissioner of Health, the Director of the Department of Medical Assistance Services, the Commissioner of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, and the Commissioner of the Department of Social Services, or their designees, as ex officio members with nonvoting privileges. Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services; Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Commission; membership; sunset. Extends from July 1, 2023, to July 1, 2026, the expiration of the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Commission and expands from 15 to 20 the membership of the Commssion by adding the Commissioner of the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, the Commissioner of Health, the Director of the Department of Medical Assistance Services, the Commissioner of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, and the Commissioner of the Department of Social Services, or their designees, as ex officio members with nonvoting privileges.

Virginia Public Procurement Act; construction management and design-build contracting; applicability. Requires a two-step process consisting of (i) a preconstruction contract and (ii) competitive sealed bidding for construction services for certain projects totaling less than $125 million. Complex projects, defined in the bill, may request an exemption from the provisions of the bill and relevant law from the Secretary of Administration. If a complex project totals more than $125 million, the bill provides that an exemption from the provisions of the bill and relevant law is not required. Finally, the bill states that competitive sealed bidding is the preferred method of procurement for construction services in the Commonwealth. Virginia Public Procurement Act; construction management and design-build contracting; applicability. Requires a two-step process consisting of (i) a preconstruction contract and (ii) competitive sealed bidding for construction services for certain projects totaling less than $125 million. Complex projects, defined in the bill, may request an exemption from the provisions of the bill and relevant law from the Secretary of Administration. If a complex project totals more than $125 million, the bill provides that an exemption from the provisions of the bill and relevant law is not required. Finally, the bill states that competitive sealed bidding is the preferred method of procurement for construction services in the Commonwealth.

Yielding or reducing speed for stationary vehicles; vehicles displaying hazard lights, caution signs, or road flares. Requires drivers to make a lane change or reduce speed when passing stationary vehicles that have activated the vehicular hazard warning signal flashers, displayed caution signs, or been marked with properly lit flares or torches on certain highways when safe and reasonable to do so and makes a violation of this requirement a traffic infraction.

Financial institutions; consumer finance companies; authority of Attorney General to issue civil investigative demand. Authorizes the Attorney General, whenever he has reasonable cause to believe that any person not licensed by the State Corporation Commission has violated any provision relating to consumer finance companies, to issue a civil investigative demand.