Department of Human Resource Management; employee designation and payment policies; nursing staff at state psychiatric hospitals. Directs the Department of Human Resource Management to amend its policies to authorize the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and state psychiatric hospitals to designate as full-time employees nursing staff and psychiatric technicians who work at least 36 hours per week to permit state hospitals to use 12-hour shifts for such staff. The bill prohibits the Department from requiring reductions in pay or other benefits for such employees based solely on the fact that the employee works 36 hours per week. The bill also directs the Department to examine whether the policy change should be extended to comparable direct care positions in other executive branch agencies to improve recruitment and retention. As introduced,

Uterine Fibroids Awareness Month. Designates July, in 2024 and in each succeeding year, as Uterine Fibroids Awareness Month in Virginia.

Child care; background checks. Allows applicants for employment and applicants to serve as volunteers to work in certain child day centers, family day homes, and family day systems pending the results of a full background check, provided that (i) the applicant has received qualifying results on a fingerprint-based background check through the Central Criminal Records Exchange or the Federal Bureau of Investigation and (ii) the applicant is supervised at all times by a person who received a qualifying result on a full background check within the past five years.

Elections; candidates for office; petition of qualified voters; start date. Clarifies the date from which valid signatures for petitions of qualified voters can be collected for persons seeking to become candidates in certain elections.

Board of Education; high school graduation; alternative pathway to advanced studies diploma and associated diploma seal; career and technical education. Directs the Board of Education to establish an alternative pathway to the advanced studies high school diploma and an associated diploma seal for students who successfully follow and demonstrate excellence on such pathway, that requires advanced coursework in a career and technical education field but does not require coursework in laboratory science. Under current law, one computer science course credit may count as one of the laboratory science course credits required for an advanced studies high school diploma but there is no pathway to an advanced studies diploma that does not require any laboratory science coursework. The bill requires such pathway and associated diploma seal to become effective for the 2025-2026 school year and to be available to any student, regardless of the school year during which the student enters ninth grade.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage; termination by landlord. Requires a landlord, prior to giving a tenant 21 days' notice of his intention to terminate the rental agreement for a dwelling unit that has been damaged or destroyed by fire or casualty, to (i) make a reasonable effort to meet with the tenant to discuss reasonable alternatives and to offer the tenant a substantially similar unit, if one is available, or (ii) determine that the damage was caused by the tenant's failure to maintain the dwelling unit in accordance with certain provisions. Current law allows the landlord to terminate such agreement by giving the tenant 14 days' notice of his intention to terminate on the basis of the landlord's determination that such damage requires the removal of the tenant and that the use of the premises is substantially impaired. The bill requires the landlord, upon receiving a request from the tenant after the tenant has received such notice, to reevaluate the extent of damage and habitability of such unit unless the landlord has determined that the damage was caused by the tenant's failure to maintain the dwelling unit. Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage; termination by landlord. Requires a landlord, prior to giving a tenant 21 days' notice of his intention to terminate the rental agreement for a dwelling unit that has been damaged or destroyed by fire or casualty, to (i) make a reasonable effort to meet with the tenant to discuss reasonable alternatives and to offer the tenant a substantially similar unit, if one is available, or (ii) determine that the damage was caused by the tenant's failure to maintain the dwelling unit in accordance with certain provisions. Current law allows the landlord to terminate such agreement by giving the tenant 14 days' notice of his intention to terminate on the basis of the landlord's determination that such damage requires the removal of the tenant and that the use of the premises is substantially impaired. The bill requires the landlord, upon receiving a request from the tenant after the tenant has received such notice, to reevaluate the extent of damage and habitability of such unit unless the landlord has determined that the damage was caused by the tenant's failure to maintain the dwelling unit.

Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman; created. Creates, within the Office of the State Inspector General, the Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman (the Office) headed by an Ombudsman who is selected by the State Inspector General. The bill creates the Corrections Oversight Committee (the Committee) made up of four members of the General Assembly, nine nonlegislative citizen members appointed by the Governor, subject to criteria described in the bill, and two nonvoting members, appointed as described in the bill, who monitor the activities of the Ombudsman and the Department of Corrections (the Department). The bill provides the Office with authority to conduct inspections at least once every three years and more often when warranted of Department facilities and requires the Office to establish a statewide toll-free telephone number, website, mailing address, and paper and electronic forms for inmates, family members, friends, and advocates to submit complaints and inquiries. In addition, the bill requires the Committee to hold at least two public hearings per year and requires the Office to submit an annual report to be made available online and to be delivered to the Governor, the Attorney General, the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services, the House Committee on Public Safety, the Committee, and the Director of the Department. The bill directs the Office to develop a short-term and long-term strategic plan and to provide a report on its initial activities and strategic plan to the Governor and the General Assembly on or before November 15, 2025.

Virginia Fire and EMS Safety Loan Fund. Creates the Virginia Fire and EMS Safety Loan Fund, to be administered by the Virginia Resources Authority. Under the bill, money in the Fund would be used exclusively for the financing of purchases by local fire and EMS services of at least $50,000 (i) for capital projects to construct or modernize facilities that house firefighting equipment or vehicles or ambulance or rescue vehicles; (ii) of firefighting apparatus, ambulances, or rescue vehicles; and (iii) of protective, accessory, or communication equipment for firefighting or EMS services. The bill also establishes the Joint Fire and EMS Loan Board, which shall be responsible for directing the distribution of loans from the Fund, with an emphasis on localities in need of financing assistance to meet minimum standards.

Department of Education; plan to revise special education staffing requirements; report. Directs the Department of Education, in collaboration with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and any other individuals with expertise in special education as the Department of Education deems appropriate, to develop a plan for revised special education staffing requirements that addresses staffing needs of individual school divisions and the needs of students who receive special education and aims to improve special education teacher recruitment and retention. The bill requires the Department of Education to submit a report on such plan to the Governor, the Senate Committee on Education and Health, and the House Committee on Education by November 1, 2024.

Photo speed monitoring devices; locality-designated highway segments; civil penalty. Authorizes any locality to authorize, by ordinance, its local law-enforcement agency to place and operate photo speed monitoring devices in certain locations named in the ordinance, provided that (i) the highway has a posted speed limit of 35 miles per hour or greater; (ii) the ordinance identifies the locality-designated speeding offense to be enforced by the photo speed monitoring device; (iii) speeding, crash, or fatality data supports the need for stronger enforcement against speeding; and (iv) in counties and towns whose roads are subject to the control and jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation, the locality-designated highway segment is in the secondary state highway system or is designated as a Virginia byway. The bill directs the locality to also identify the speeding violations that may be enforced by photo speed monitoring device. Current law authorizes the use of photo speed monitoring devices in highway work zones and school crossing zones.

Alert for missing or endangered children; Virginia Critical Operation for a Disappeared Child Initiative (Codi) Alert Program. Creates a program for local, regional, or statewide notification of a missing or endangered child. The bill defines a missing or endangered child as a child (i) who is 17 years of age or younger or is currently enrolled in a secondary school in the Commonwealth, regardless of age; (ii) whose whereabouts are unknown; and (iii) whose disappearance is under suspicious circumstances or poses a credible threat as determined by law enforcement to the safety and health of the child and under such other circumstances as deemed appropriate by the Virginia State Police. The bill requires the Virginia State Police to develop, in consultation with representatives of local law-enforcement agencies, including representatives from the Virginia Sheriffs' Association and the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, policies for the establishment of uniform standards for the creation of Codi Alert Programs throughout the Commonwealth.

Alcoholic beverage control; mixed beverage performing arts facility license; Pulaski County. Amends certain provisions related to the granting of a mixed beverage performing arts facility license by the Board of Directors of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to allow certain facilities in Pulaski County to be eligible for such license.

Persons employed to perform forensic science duties; training and certification; policies for reporting wrongdoing or misconduct. Requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to establish a comprehensive framework, in coordination with the Department of Forensic Science and with the approval of the Forensic Science Board, for the employment, job entry training, and certification requirements for any person employed by any state or local law-enforcement agency to perform forensic laboratory services or forensic science duties, including a forensic specialist or forensic analyst, which training and certification shall be administered by the Department of Forensic Science. The bill provides that the comprehensive framework shall include (i) developing policies and procedures for such employees to report instances of wrongdoing or misconduct committed by another such employee, a law-enforcement officer, or an attorney for the Commonwealth; (ii) establishing and publishing a model policy for the employment, job entry training, and certification for such employees; and (iii) establishing compulsory minimum training standards for basic training and recertification of such employees. Persons employed to perform forensic science duties; training and certification; policies for reporting wrongdoing or misconduct. Requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to establish a comprehensive framework, in coordination with the Department of Forensic Science and with the approval of the Forensic Science Board, for the employment, job entry training, and certification requirements for any person employed by any state or local law-enforcement agency to perform forensic laboratory services or forensic science duties, including a forensic specialist or forensic analyst, which training and certification shall be administered by the Department of Forensic Science. The bill provides that the comprehensive framework shall include (i) developing policies and procedures for such employees to report instances of wrongdoing or misconduct committed by another such employee, a law-enforcement officer, or an attorney for the Commonwealth; (ii) establishing and publishing a model policy for the employment, job entry training, and certification for such employees; and (iii) establishing compulsory minimum training standards for basic training and recertification of such employees. Additionally, the bill requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to appoint a policy and curriculum review committee to assist the Department in carrying out its duties in establishing the comprehensive framework and requires that such establishment shall require approval of the majority of the members of the policy and curriculum review committee and is subject to final approval of the Forensic Science Board. The bill requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to establish the comprehensive framework by January 1, 2025, and all law-enforcement agencies to adopt the policies and procedures by July 1, 2025. The bill also requires any person employed by any state or local law-enforcement agency to perform forensic laboratory services or forensic science duties, including a forensic specialist or forensic analyst prior to July 1, 2024, to complete the training required by the bill by January 1, 2026. The bill also requires the Forensic Science Board to develop policies and procedures for employees of the Department of Forensic Science to report instances of wrongdoing or misconduct committed by another employee of the Department of Forensic Science or an employee of an entity for which the Department of Forensic Science has the responsibility to perform forensic laboratory services.

High polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon pavement sealants; prohibition; civil penalty. Prohibits the sale or distribution of any pavement sealant that contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations greater than one percent by weight on or after July 1, 2024, except that a retailer may continue to sell any existing inventory that remains in stock on that date. The bill also prohibits the application or use of such sealants on or after July 1, 2025. Any person who violates either prohibition is subject to a civil penalty of $250, to be paid into the Virginia Environmental Emergency Response Fund.

Collective bargaining by public employees; labor organization representation. Repeals the existing prohibition on collective bargaining by public employees. The bill creates the Public Employee Relations Board, which shall determine appropriate bargaining units and provide for certification and decertification elections for exclusive bargaining representatives of state employees and local government employees. The bill requires public employers and employee organizations that are exclusive bargaining representatives to meet at reasonable times to negotiate in good faith with respect to wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. The bill repeals a provision that declares that, in any procedure providing for the designation, selection, or authorization of a labor organization to represent employees, the right of an individual employee to vote by secret ballot is a fundamental right that shall be guaranteed from infringement. Collective bargaining by public employees; labor organization representation. Repeals the existing prohibition on collective bargaining by public employees. The bill creates the Public Employee Relations Board, which shall determine appropriate bargaining units and provide for certification and decertification elections for exclusive bargaining representatives of state employees and local government employees. The bill requires public employers and employee organizations that are exclusive bargaining representatives to meet at reasonable times to negotiate in good faith with respect to wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. The bill repeals a provision that declares that, in any procedure providing for the designation, selection, or authorization of a labor organization to represent employees, the right of an individual employee to vote by secret ballot is a fundamental right that shall be guaranteed from infringement.