Parole Board; eligibility determinations; reports. Removes provisions that exempted from the mandatory disclosure provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act the records of the Parole Board. The bill requires the Board to (i) adopt rules regarding parole eligibility as set forth in the bill; (ii) publish the statement of actions taken by the Board by the fifteenth day of each month; (iii) include in such statement individualized reasons for the granting or denial of parole and the vote of each member; (iv) conduct final deliberations and votes on parole decisions at public meetings; (v) publish an annual report that summarizes actions taken by the Board during the prior year; and (vi) provide a prisoner or his attorney with all information, other than the personal information of the victim, gathered by the Board during an investigation, provided that such information shall not be further disclosed, reproduced, copied, or disseminated. Parole Board; eligibility determinations; reports. Removes provisions that exempted from the mandatory disclosure provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act the records of the Parole Board. The bill requires the Board to (i) adopt rules regarding parole eligibility as set forth in the bill; (ii) publish the statement of actions taken by the Board by the fifteenth day of each month; (iii) include in such statement individualized reasons for the granting or denial of parole and the vote of each member; (iv) conduct final deliberations and votes on parole decisions at public meetings; (v) publish an annual report that summarizes actions taken by the Board during the prior year; and (vi) provide a prisoner or his attorney with all information, other than the personal information of the victim, gathered by the Board during an investigation, provided that such information shall not be further disclosed, reproduced, copied, or disseminated. The bill provides that final discharges may be issued by the Board only upon approval by a majority of Board members and requires the Board to publish an annual report regarding such final discharges, with items specified in the bill. The bill also requires the Board, prior to making any decision to grant discretionary parole to an inmate, to have discussed and debated such decision at a meeting at which a majority of the Board members were present. The bill requires, in cases in which the Board grants discretionary parole to an inmate, each Board member to identify his reasoning for such decision at the time such member's vote is cast. The bill requires that parole review hearings include a live interview of the prisoner, which may be conducted in person or by videoconference or telephone, and, absent imminent death or other extraordinary circumstances, prohibits the Board from granting parole to any prisoner who has not received a live interview within the prior calendar year. The bill also allows the victim of the crime for which the prisoner is incarcerated to present testimony to the Board by virtual means. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2024.

Virginia Public Procurement Act; public institutions of higher education; prohibition on boycotting Israel; civil penalty. Prohibits public bodies from entering into a contract in excess of $100,000 with any contractor having more than an average of 10 employees for the previous 12 months that boycotts Israel. The bill requires any such contractor seeking to contract with a public body under the provisions of the Virginia Public Procurement Act to certify in writing that it will not, during the performance of the contract, boycott Israel. The bill provides that any contractor that violates the provisions of the bill shall be debarred from contracting with all public bodies of the Commonwealth until it can prove that it no longer boycotts Israel. Such contractor is also subject to a civil penalty in an amount equal to three times the amount of the contract. Public bodies are required to maintain and report to the Department of General Services, for inclusion in a publicly available online database, a list of contractors that violated the prohibition and have been debarred. The bill also prohibits public institutions of higher education from boycotting Israel and directs the governing board of each public institution of higher education to establish guidelines that require (i) any entity under the control of the governing board to certify in writing that it shall not boycott Israel; (ii) a quarterly review and report by the governing board of all such entities to determine whether any such entity has boycotted Israel; (iii) appropriate penalties for any entity that has boycotted Israel; and (iv) all written certifications, quarterly reports, and penalty information to be sent to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia for inclusion in a publicly available online database. Virginia Public Procurement Act; public institutions of higher education; prohibition on boycotting Israel; civil penalty. Prohibits public bodies from entering into a contract in excess of $100,000 with any contractor having more than an average of 10 employees for the previous 12 months that boycotts Israel. The bill requires any such contractor seeking to contract with a public body under the provisions of the Virginia Public Procurement Act to certify in writing that it will not, during the performance of the contract, boycott Israel. The bill provides that any contractor that violates the provisions of the bill shall be debarred from contracting with all public bodies of the Commonwealth until it can prove that it no longer boycotts Israel. Such contractor is also subject to a civil penalty in an amount equal to three times the amount of the contract. Public bodies are required to maintain and report to the Department of General Services, for inclusion in a publicly available online database, a list of contractors that violated the prohibition and have been debarred. The bill also prohibits public institutions of higher education from boycotting Israel and directs the governing board of each public institution of higher education to establish guidelines that require (i) any entity under the control of the governing board to certify in writing that it shall not boycott Israel; (ii) a quarterly review and report by the governing board of all such entities to determine whether any such entity has boycotted Israel; (iii) appropriate penalties for any entity that has boycotted Israel; and (iv) all written certifications, quarterly reports, and penalty information to be sent to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia for inclusion in a publicly available online database.

Operation of the City of Alexandria local health department. Allows the City of Alexandria to enter into a contract with the Department of Health for the local administration of local health services. Operation of the City of Alexandria local health department. Allows the City of Alexandria to enter into a contract with the Department of Health for the local administration of local health services.

Development of offshore wind capacity; cost recovery. Requires the State Corporation Commission, in conducting its review of requests for cost recovery by a Phase II Utility for costs associated with generating facilities utilizing energy derived from offshore wind, to give due consideration to the economic development benefits of the project for the Commonwealth, including capital investments and job creation, arising from project construction and operation and the manufacture of wind turbine generator components and subcomponents. The bill also accelerates the timeline from 2034 to 2032 for public utilities to construct or purchase one or more offshore wind generation facilities located off the Commonwealth's Atlantic shoreline or in federal waters and interconnected directly into the Commonwealth.

Immunizations; authority of the Commissioner of Health; religious exception. Exempts a person, including a parent or guardian on behalf of a child, who objects to administration of a vaccine on religious grounds from mandatory immunization requirements issued by the Commissioner of Health during an epidemic. Currently, exemption from mandatory immunization requirements during an epidemic is available only to those persons to whose health the administration of the vaccine would be detrimental, as certified in writing by a licensed physician. Immunizations; authority of the Commissioner of Health; religious exception. Exempts a person, including a parent or guardian on behalf of a child, who objects to administration of a vaccine on religious grounds from mandatory immunization requirements issued by the Commissioner of Health during an epidemic. Currently, exemption from mandatory immunization requirements during an epidemic is available only to those persons to whose health the administration of the vaccine would be detrimental, as certified in writing by a licensed physician.

Virginia College Savings Plan; hybrid schools; classification. Provides that the Virginia College Savings Plan shall consider any hybrid public-private elementary or secondary school to be a public elementary or secondary school or a private elementary or secondary school such that a beneficiary's account under a qualified tuition program established and maintained by the Plan may be used to cover up to $10,000 in expenses in any taxable year for tuition in connection with the beneficiary's enrollment or attendance at such a hybrid school as permitted pursuant to the relevant provision of § 529 of the federal Internal Revenue Code.

Registered apprentices; children 16 years of age or older; barbershop or cosmetology salon. Permits children 16 years of age or older who are registered apprentices to serve in a barbershop or cosmetology salon licensed by the Board for Barbers and Cosmetology in accordance with the Board's regulations.

Firearms-related offenses; mandatory minimum sentences; penalty. Increases from three to five years for a first offense and from five to 10 years for a second or subsequent offense the mandatory minimum sentences for use or display of a firearm during the commission of certain felonies. The bill also increases the punishment from a Class 6 felony to a Class 5 felony and increases from five to 10 years the mandatory minimum sentence for knowingly possessing any firearm within the building of a child day center or public, private, or religious preschool, elementary, middle, or high school and intending to use, or attempting to use, such firearm, or displaying such weapon in a threatening manner. The bill also increases the punishment from a Class 6 felony to a Class 5 felony and increases from five to 10 years for a person previously convicted of a violent felony and from two to five years for a person previously convicted of any other felony within the prior 10 years the mandatory minimum sentences for knowingly and intentionally possessing or transporting any firearm.

Department of Human Resource Management; health insurance coverage for employees of multijurisdictional community services boards. Adds employees of community services boards that serve more than one locality to the definition of "state employee" for the purpose of allowing such employees to be eligible for the health insurance coverage provided to state employees by the Department of Human Resource Management.

Purchase of handguns or other weapons of certain officers; Department of State Police. Provides that the Department of State Police may allow any law-enforcement officer formerly employed by the Department who had at least 10 years of service with the Department and has been elected to a constitutional office to purchase his service handgun, with the approval of the Superintendent of State Police, at a fair market price. Purchase of handguns or other weapons of certain officers; Department of State Police. Provides that the Department of State Police may allow any law-enforcement officer formerly employed by the Department who had at least 10 years of service with the Department and has been elected to a constitutional office to purchase his service handgun, with the approval of the Superintendent of State Police, at a fair market price.

Cutting of grass and weeds on certain property; localities in Planning District 22. Exempts localities located in Planning District 22 from provisions that exclude agricultural land from requirements related to the cutting of grass and weeds when such land is one acre or less and is located in an area that is used for a residential purpose. Cutting of grass and weeds on certain property; localities in Planning District 22. Exempts localities located in Planning District 22 from provisions that exclude agricultural land from requirements related to the cutting of grass and weeds when such land is one acre or less and is located in an area that is used for a residential purpose.

Fiscal impact statements; formula for estimated appropriations. Establishes a formula for determining the estimated appropriations in a fiscal impact statement of any bill that adds a new felony for which imprisonment or commitment is authorized.

Prostitution; solicitation; penalties. Increases the penalty for a third or subsequent offense of solicitation of prostitution from an adult from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony. Prostitution; solicitation; penalties. Increases the penalty for a third or subsequent offense of solicitation of prostitution from an adult from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony.

Cattle Industry Board; collection and disposition of assessment by handler. Extends from July 1, 2023, to July 1, 2028, the $0.50 per head assessment from the sale of cattle in the Commonwealth that is collected and deposited in the Virginia Cattle Industry Fund to support the activities of the Cattle Industry Board.

Water control; agricultural exemptions; terracing. Establishes a definition for "terrace" as used in the agricultural exemptions to the prohibition on land-disturbing activities in the Stormwater Management Act and the Erosion and Sediment Control Law. The bill provides that such exemptions do not apply to any activity that involves bringing onto the property more than 5,000 cubic yards of fill material in any 12-month period or raising the ground surface more than three feet above the existing ground surface.