Virginia Freedom of Information Act; training for local officials; members of park authorities' boards. Adds members of any boards governing any authority established pursuant to the Park Authorities Act to the list of persons to whom the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council or the local government attorney is required to provide training. The bill requires such members to complete such training sessions within two months after assuming the local elected office and requires the clerk of each governing body or school board to maintain records indicating the names of such members and the dates of training completion.

Correctional facilities; use of restorative housing. Prohibits the use of restorative housing, defined in the bill, in state correctional facilities, subject to certain exceptions. The bill requires that an incarcerated person who has been placed in restorative housing be offered a minimum of four hours of out-of-cell programmatic interventions or other congregate activities per day aimed at promoting personal development or addressing underlying causes of problematic behavior. The bill also requires the facility administrator to have a defined and publicly available policy and procedure for the process of transitioning an incarcerated person placed in restorative housing out of such housing and back to the general population of the facility.

Department of Labor and Industry; workplace poster for veterans benefits and services. Directs the Department of Labor and Industry, in consultation with the Department of Veterans Services, to create a poster describing benefits and services available to veterans and allows employers to request and display such poster in the workplace. The bill enumerates a minimum group of resources the poster shall include, including (i) Department of Veterans Services' programs, contact information, and website address; (ii) substance abuse and mental health treatment resources; (iii) educational, workforce, and training resources; (iv) tax benefits; (v) eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits; (vi) legal services; and (vii) the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Crisis Line.

Celebrating the life of Carl E. McAfee.

Commending James Pest Control.

Certain student loans; default; institutional liability. Requires the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to develop procedures for (i) identifying each individual who has defaulted on any loan agreement that he entered into in order to finance all or any portion of the cost of tuition or mandatory fees to attend the baccalaureate public institution of higher education at which he earned his degree within five years of earning such degree and (ii) determining which such loan defaults qualify for repayment by the baccalaureate public institution of higher education at which the individual earned his degree. The bill requires any individual determined pursuant to such procedures developed by the Council to have a qualifying loan default to be repaid by the baccalaureate public institution of higher education at which he earned his degree a sum sufficient to cover 50 percent of the original principal amount of the loan.

Control of firearms by state agencies; rights of employees. Prohibits state agencies other than the Department of Corrections, Department of Juvenile Justice, and Virginia Port Authority and public institutions of higher education from adopting any regulation or workplace rule preventing officers or employees of such agencies from storing a lawfully possessed firearm and ammunition in a locked private motor vehicle at their workplace unless the adoption of the regulation is expressly authorized by statute. The bill also provides that any such regulation or rule adopted prior to July 1, 2023, is invalid.

Department of Conservation and Recreation; two-year pilot program; all-terrain power wheelchairs in state parks. Provides that the Department of Conservation and Recreation shall establish a two-year pilot program beginning October 1, 2023, and ending September 30, 2025, to enhance accessibility for individuals with limited mobility in Virginia's state parks by providing all-terrain power wheelchairs that may be used by such persons during their visits. The bill permits the Department to choose the locations for the pilot program and enter into a contract for the purchase of all-terrain power wheelchairs to be used in the pilot program. The bill allows the Department to adopt regulations to administer the pilot program and requires the Department to submit a report on the outcomes of the pilot program to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources by November 1, 2025.

Celebrating the life of Priscilla Juliette Davenport.

Sales tax; additional local tax for schools. Adds the City of Newport News to the list of localities that, under current law, are authorized to impose an extra one percent local sales tax to provide revenue for constructing or renovating schools.

Lymphedema Awareness Day. Designates March 6, in 2023 and in each succeeding year, as Lymphedema Awareness Day in Virginia.

Charitable gaming; regulations related to electronic devices; prohibited practices. Prohibits the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services from promulgating regulations that prohibit devices that (i) display spinning, rotating, or rolling reels or animations, flashing lights, or any other form of enhanced animation or (ii) accept tickets. The bill also repeals the provisions that, under current law, prohibit a qualified organization from using any part of its gross receipts or electronic gaming adjusted gross receipts for any purpose other than (a) gaming expenses; (b) reasonable and proper business expenses; and (c) those lawful religious, charitable, community, or educational purposes for which the organization is specifically chartered or organized, and that prohibit an organization from using any part of its charitable gaming gross receipts for such organization's social or recreational activities. Finally, the bill exempts progressive prizes from certain progressive pull tab games and statewide progressive pull tab games from the provision that places a limit on the amount of any prize money or value of any merchandise an organization may award as a prize from the conduct of certain charitable gaming activities.

Secretary of Finance; COVID-19 penalty reimbursements; sunset. Requires all state agencies to report to the Secretary of Finance the total amount of fines, fees, and interest imposed on individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations, including any withdrawal, suspension, or cancellation of an individual's license or certification, resulting from violations of the Commonwealth's COVID-19 practices, guidelines, rules, or operating procedures and any state contracts that were not awarded as a result of noncompliance with the Commonwealth's COVID-19 guidelines. The bill also requires all state agencies to include in such report the fund into which such amounts were deposited. The bill directs the Secretary of Finance, in consultation with the Cabinet Secretaries with responsibility for the impacted agencies, to develop a procedure to provide reimbursement to such individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations up to the amount of fines, fees, or interest previously paid for such violations. The bill specifies that the procedure developed by the Secretary of Finance shall provide for the reimbursement to such individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations of such amounts from the fund into which the original amounts were deposited. The bill has a sunset date of July 1, 2025. Secretary of Finance; COVID-19 penalty reimbursements; sunset. Requires all state agencies to report to the Secretary of Finance the total amount of fines, fees, and interest imposed on individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations, including any withdrawal, suspension, or cancellation of an individual's license or certification, resulting from violations of the Commonwealth's COVID-19 practices, guidelines, rules, or operating procedures and any state contracts that were not awarded as a result of noncompliance with the Commonwealth's COVID-19 guidelines. The bill also requires all state agencies to include in such report the fund into which such amounts were deposited. The bill directs the Secretary of Finance, in consultation with the Cabinet Secretaries with responsibility for the impacted agencies, to develop a procedure to provide reimbursement to such individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations up to the amount of fines, fees, or interest previously paid for such violations. The bill specifies that the procedure developed by the Secretary of Finance shall provide for the reimbursement to such individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations of such amounts from the fund into which the original amounts were deposited. The bill has a sunset date of July 1, 2025.

Concealed handgun permits; Virginia Criminal Information Network; disclosure of information. Limits the exception to the requirement that the State Police withhold from public disclosure concealed handgun permittee information submitted to the State Police for purposes of entry into the Virginia Criminal Information Network provided under current law for any law-enforcement agency, officer, or authorized agent thereof acting in the performance of official law-enforcement duties or an entity that has a valid contract with any local, state, or federal law-enforcement agency for the purpose of performing official duties of the law-enforcement agency to apply only when such permittee information is related to an ongoing criminal investigation or prosecution. Concealed handgun permits; Virginia Criminal Information Network; disclosure of information. Limits the exception to the requirement that the State Police withhold from public disclosure concealed handgun permittee information submitted to the State Police for purposes of entry into the Virginia Criminal Information Network provided under current law for any law-enforcement agency, officer, or authorized agent thereof acting in the performance of official law-enforcement duties or an entity that has a valid contract with any local, state, or federal law-enforcement agency for the purpose of performing official duties of the law-enforcement agency to apply only when such permittee information is related to an ongoing criminal investigation or prosecution.

Commending the City of Manassas.