Department of Taxation; free tax filing. Directs the Tax Commissioner to terminate the Virginia Free File Program and related agreement with the Consortium of Virginia. The bill also requires the Tax Commissioner to reinstate the iFile program or to develop and offer a substantially similar program that offers electronic filing services directly to Virginia individual taxpayers without monetary charge beginning in taxable year 2024. The bill contains technical amendments that remove obsolete language regarding fillable forms.

Virginia Retirement System; return to work for law-enforcement officers; report. Directs the Virginia Retirement System and the Department of Criminal Justice Services, in consultation with the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, to analyze and report on options for allowing law enforcement officers to return to work as law-enforcement officers after retirement and continue to receive their retirement benefits. Virginia Retirement System; return to work for law-enforcement officers; report. Directs the Virginia Retirement System and the Department of Criminal Justice Services, in consultation with the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, to analyze and report on options for allowing law enforcement officers to return to work as law-enforcement officers after retirement and continue to receive their retirement benefits.

Business park electric infrastructure program. Makes permanent and amends certain provisions of the Code related to the business park electric infrastructure program conducted by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership. The bill requires that the program be conducted in the service territory or transmission zone of each Phase I and Phase II Utility and permits costs incurred by the utility in installing the business park electric infrastructure to be recovered pursuant to a rate adjustment clause approved by the State Corporation Commission. The bill also requires a utility to obtain a certificate from the Commission prior to constructing business park electric infrastructure and requires the Commission to institute a rulemaking proceeding by September 1, 2023, to establish requirements for the program.

Certain student assessment results; availability. Requires each school board to provide teachers, parents, principals, and other school leaders with their students' results on any Standards of Learning assessment or Virginia Alternate Assessment Program assessment as soon as practicable after the assessment is administered.

Energy planning and electric utility oversight. Increases from 10 to 14 the membership of the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation (the Commission) by adding three nonlegislative citizen members with expertise in ratepayer advocacy and the Attorney General or his designee from the Division of Consumer Counsel as an ex officio member; requires the Commission to annually elect a chairman and vice-chairman, meet twice annually, and receive an annual report from the State Corporation Commission by November 1 regarding the implementation of the Virginia Electric Utility Regulation Act; requires newly appointed members of the Commission to receive an orientation on electric utility regulation from the State Corporation Commission annually; authorizes the Commission to employ an executive director and such other persons as it deems necessary and to employ experts who have knowledge of the issues before it; and extends the expiration of the Commission from July 1, 2024, to July 1, 2029. The bill requires the Commission to (i) monitor applications by the Commonwealth for grants and awards for energy projects from the federal government, (ii) consider legislation referred to it during any session of the General Assembly or other requests by members of the General Assembly, and (iii) conduct studies and gather information and data in order to accomplish its purposes. Energy planning and electric utility oversight. Increases from 10 to 14 the membership of the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation (the Commission) by adding three nonlegislative citizen members with expertise in ratepayer advocacy and the Attorney General or his designee from the Division of Consumer Counsel as an ex officio member; requires the Commission to annually elect a chairman and vice-chairman, meet twice annually, and receive an annual report from the State Corporation Commission by November 1 regarding the implementation of the Virginia Electric Utility Regulation Act; requires newly appointed members of the Commission to receive an orientation on electric utility regulation from the State Corporation Commission annually; authorizes the Commission to employ an executive director and such other persons as it deems necessary and to employ experts who have knowledge of the issues before it; and extends the expiration of the Commission from July 1, 2024, to July 1, 2029. The bill requires the Commission to (i) monitor applications by the Commonwealth for grants and awards for energy projects from the federal government, (ii) consider legislation referred to it during any session of the General Assembly or other requests by members of the General Assembly, and (iii) conduct studies and gather information and data in order to accomplish its purposes. The bill requires the Division of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency of the Department of Energy to present the final version of the Virginia Energy Plan to the Commission at a public meeting. The bill also requires the Commission, upon request by the Chairman of the House Committee on Commerce and Energy or the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor, to prepare a ratepayer impact statement for any proposed legislation related to electric utility regulation specified by such Chairman. Each such Chairman may request up to five ratepayer impact statements in any given regular or special session of the General Assembly. Additionally, the Commission, upon the request of any member of the General Assembly and at the Commission's discretion, may prepare a ratepayer impact statement for any proposed legislation related to electric utility regulation specified by such member. The bill changes the date by which an electric utility is required to file its updated integrated resource plan from May 1 to October 15, in each year immediately preceding the year the utility is subject to a review of rates for generation and distribution services filing, and provides that after January 1, 2024, each electric utility not subject to an annual review shall file an annual update to the integrated resource plan by October 15, in each year that the utility is subject to review of rates for generation and distribution services filing. The bill requires electric utilities, as part of preparing any integrated resource plan, to conduct outreach to engage the public in a stakeholder review process and provide opportunities for the public to contribute information, input, and ideas on the utility's integrated resource plan including the plan's development methodology, modeling inputs, and assumptions, as well as the ability for the public to make relevant inquiries, to the utility when formulating its integrated resource plan and to report its public outreach efforts to the Commission.

Treatment services for sexual assault survivors; emergency contraception; provision by health care providers, payment from fund. Requires the State Board of Health to adopt regulations that provide for the administration of emergency contraception by health care providers to survivors of sexual assault if the survivor requests it. The bill modifies the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund so that it pays for such emergency contraception.

Notifying the Governor of organization. Notifying the Governor of organization.

Criminal appeals; duties of the Attorney General and attorney for the Commonwealth. Provides that in all criminal cases before the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court of Virginia in which the Commonwealth is a party or is directly interested, the Attorney General shall appear and represent the Commonwealth upon receipt of the record in the appellate court. The bill provides that the attorney for the Commonwealth shall continue to represent the Commonwealth in any appeal regarding bail, bond, or recognizance before the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court for which he was the prosecuting attorney. Under current law, the Attorney General assumes representation of the Commonwealth upon the filing of the notice of appeal. Criminal appeals; duties of the Attorney General and attorney for the Commonwealth. Provides that in all criminal cases before the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court of Virginia in which the Commonwealth is a party or is directly interested, the Attorney General shall appear and represent the Commonwealth upon receipt of the record in the appellate court. The bill provides that the attorney for the Commonwealth shall continue to represent the Commonwealth in any appeal regarding bail, bond, or recognizance before the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court for which he was the prosecuting attorney. Under current law, the Attorney General assumes representation of the Commonwealth upon the filing of the notice of appeal. The bill provides that the attorney for the Commonwealth shall represent the Commonwealth before the appellate courts on criminal pretrial petitions for appeal. The bill also provides that any appeal from any action collaterally attacking a criminal conviction lies directly to the Supreme Court. The bill eliminates the requirement that four copies of each brief shall be filed and three copies shall be mailed or delivered to opposing counsel on or before the date of filing in criminal pretrial appeals.

Motor carriers; financial responsibility. Requires motor carriers when operating a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of 7,500 pounds or less in intrastate commerce when available to transport property for compensation but not actively transporting such property to be covered by the same financial responsibility requirements as all other motorists. Current law sets such minimum liability requirements at $25,000 per person, $50,000 per incident for death and bodily injury, and $20,000 for property damage.

School psychologists; staffing flexibility. Provides that in order to fill vacant school psychologist positions, any local school board may employ, under a provisional license issued by the Department of Education for three school years with an allowance for an additional two-year extension with the approval of the division superintendent, clinical psychologists licensed by the Board of Psychology, provided that any such individual makes progress toward completing the requirements for full licensure as a school psychologist during such period of employment. The bill requires the Department to consult the Virginia Academy of School Psychologists, and other stakeholders as necessary, to ensure that the process and criteria for provisionally licensed school psychologists to obtain full licensure as school psychologists appropriately address the challenges that are unique to school psychology training requirements and the school psychology profession generally. School psychologists; staffing flexibility. Provides that in order to fill vacant school psychologist positions, any local school board may employ, under a provisional license issued by the Department of Education for three school years with an allowance for an additional two-year extension with the approval of the division superintendent, clinical psychologists licensed by the Board of Psychology, provided that any such individual makes progress toward completing the requirements for full licensure as a school psychologist during such period of employment. The bill requires the Department to consult the Virginia Academy of School Psychologists, and other stakeholders as necessary, to ensure that the process and criteria for provisionally licensed school psychologists to obtain full licensure as school psychologists appropriately address the challenges that are unique to school psychology training requirements and the school psychology profession generally.

Study; Secretary of Public Safety; emergency response vehicles; report. Requests the Secretary of Public Safety to study the impact of federal emissions standards on the quality, cost, and availability of emergency response vehicles.

Study; DHCD; opportunities for rural areas of the Commonwealth to upgrade their public water and sewer systems; report. Requests the Department of Housing and Community Development to conduct a study of opportunities for rural areas of the Commonwealth to upgrade their public water and sewer systems. Technical assistance shall be provided by the Virginia Department of Health and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

Commending Colonel Anthony Steven Pike.

Purchase, possession, sale, transfer, etc., of assault firearms and certain ammunition feeding devices prohibited; penalty. Creates a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person who imports, sells, manufactures, purchases, possesses, transports, or transfers an assault firearm, as that term is defined in the bill, and prohibits a person who has been convicted of such violation from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm for a period of three years from the date of conviction. The bill provides that an assault firearm does not include any firearm that is an antique firearm, has been rendered permanently inoperable, is manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action, or was manufactured before July 1, 2023. The bill also prohibits the sale of a large capacity ammunition feeding device, as that term is defined in the bill. The bill provides that any person who willfully and intentionally (i) sells an assault firearm to another person or (ii) purchases an assault firearm from another person is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor and that any person who imports, sells, barters, or transfers a large capacity ammunition feeding device is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill also makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person younger than 21 years of age to import, sell, manufacture, purchase, possess, transport, or transfer an assault firearm regardless of the date of manufacture of such assault firearm. Purchase, possession, sale, transfer, etc., of assault firearms and certain ammunition feeding devices prohibited; penalty. Creates a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person who imports, sells, manufactures, purchases, possesses, transports, or transfers an assault firearm, as that term is defined in the bill, and prohibits a person who has been convicted of such violation from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm for a period of three years from the date of conviction. The bill provides that an assault firearm does not include any firearm that is an antique firearm, has been rendered permanently inoperable, is manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action, or was manufactured before July 1, 2023. The bill also prohibits the sale of a large capacity ammunition feeding device, as that term is defined in the bill. The bill provides that any person who willfully and intentionally (i) sells an assault firearm to another person or (ii) purchases an assault firearm from another person is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor and that any person who imports, sells, barters, or transfers a large capacity ammunition feeding device is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill also makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person younger than 21 years of age to import, sell, manufacture, purchase, possess, transport, or transfer an assault firearm regardless of the date of manufacture of such assault firearm.

Department of Motor Vehicles; driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or a combination thereof; data collection and reporting. Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to collect and disseminate, on an annual basis, statewide and locality-level data related to driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or a combination thereof. The bill requires the Department to submit an annual report on the data collected on or before October 1 to the General Assembly, the Governor, and the Virginia State Crime Commission and to make such data available to the public on the website of the Department. The bill provides that the Department shall not be required to submit the first annual report prior to October 1, 2024, and that the first annual report shall include data from calendar year 2019 through calendar year 2023. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Virginia State Crime Commission.