Commending Ross A. Mugler.

Celebrating the life of Paulina Yager Campbell.

Voluntary contributions of refunds requirements; endowment fund of the Board for the Blind and Vision Impaired. Adds the Board for the Blind and Vision Impaired to the list of organizations and funds that may receive contributions of taxpayer refunds. The bill requires that moneys contributed shall be paid to the endowment fund of the Board for use in its mission in providing quality services to assist citizens of the Commonwealth who are blind, vision impaired, or deafblind in achieving their desired level of employment, education, and personal independence.

Claims; Keshawn Clarence Duffy; compensation for wrongful incarceration. Grants relief in an amount to be appropriated to Keshawn Clarence Duffy, who was wrongly convicted of and subsequently incarcerated for two counts of forcible sodomy.

Labor and employment; protection of employees; restricting use of accrued leave for other employment prohibited; civil penalty. Prohibits an employer from prohibiting any employee from using accrued annual or vacation leave to work on behalf of another employer unless such other employment would create a conflict of interest. The bill permits an employer to prohibit or restrict an employee's use of such employer's property, office space, equipment, materials, trade secrets, confidential information, or other assets for any purpose relating to such employee's employment by another employer. The bill imposes a civil penalty of up to $100 on any employer that knowingly violates the bill's provisions.

School boards; transportation alternatives; two-year pilot in small school divisions. Permits certain school boards to pursue certain student transportation alternatives for the next two school years and requires such school boards to report certain data on the implementation of such initiatives. The bill sets forth certain parameters and requirements for any student transportation alternatives pursued by a school board pursuant to the bill, including a requirement that any entity with which a school board contracts or that any school board utilizes for the purpose of providing any transportation alternative or supplementing any traditional transportation services meet and comply with any state and federal laws and regulations applicable to traditional transportation services, including (i) school bus operator training, hiring, and employment requirements; (ii) minimum insurance coverage requirements for any vehicles provided or utilized for such purposes; and (iii) requirements relating to liability of the school board in the event of any accident, injury, or property damage resulting from the operation of any vehicles provided or utilized for such purposes. Finally, the bill requires the Department of Education to exclude from the re-benchmarking process any additional expenditures relating to school divisions that implement the pilot program pursuant to the bill. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2027.

Virginia State Crime Commission; review panel; cases involving Mary Jane Burton; report. Directs the Virginia State Crime Commission (the Crime Commission) to designate a panel, consisting of members outlined in the bill, to review the following types of cases at the Virginia Department of Forensic Science where testing or analysis was performed by Mary Jane Burton: (i) cases resulting in convictions of persons who are currently incarcerated, or who were executed or exonerated, and (ii) cases where Burton testified, regardless of the final disposition of the case. However, the panel shall prioritize the review of such cases resulting in convictions of persons who are currently incarcerated. The bill provides that the Crime Commission shall provide staff support to the panel, and may request and shall receive support from other state or local government agencies. The bill provides that the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act do not apply to this panel or its review, or to any information received by or disseminated to any state or local government agency, private organization, or other entity for purposes of this review. The bill directs the panel to report on its work to the Crime Commission by the first day of each regular session of the General Assembly until completion of this review. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Virginia State Crime Commission. This bill is identical to SB 1465.

Special license plates; Washington Commanders. Updates provisions related to special license plates issued to supporters of the Washington Redskins to specify that such special license plates shall be issued to supporters of the Washington Commanders. The bill allows special license plates issued to supporters of the Washington Redskins prior to July 1, 2025, to be used until their expiration and renewed if the proper fee is paid, except that $15 from such fee formerly paid to the Washington Redskins Leadership Council Fund is to be paid to the Washington Commanders Foundation Fund.

School-connected student overdoses; policies relating to parental notification. Requires public school principals and heads of private schools in the Commonwealth to report certain information to the parents of enrolled students within 24 hours of a confirmed or suspected school-connected student overdose, as defined in the bill. This bill incorporates HB 2287 and HB 2424 and is identical to SB 1240.

Commending Ross A. Mugler.

Board of Wildlife Resources; creel limits; blue catfish. Requires the Board of Wildlife Resources to amend regulations to remove the one-fish daily limit for blue catfish longer than 32 inches in the Commonwealth.

Bribes to officers or candidates for office; gratuities for previous acts. Clarifies that the term "gratuity" includes any gratuity given for a prior official act of any executive, legislative or judicial officer, sheriff or police officer, or any candidate for such office.

Hospitals and nursing homes; licensure and inspection fees; Hospital and Nursing Home Licensure and Inspection Program Fund established. Directs the State Board of Health to require in its regulations the establishment of fees for the issuance, change, or renewal of a hospital or nursing home license to cover the costs of operating the hospital and nursing home licensure and inspection program in a manner that ensures timely completion of inspections. The bill requires the Board to distribute the costs of operating the hospital and nursing home licensure and inspection program in an equitable manner across all hospitals and nursing homes and specifies that the amount of such fees shall change no more frequently than annually. Such fee changes shall only be initiated under the bill if the expenses are more than 10 percent greater or less than the annual costs of operating the licensure and inspection program in a manner that ensures timely completion of inspections. The bill also creates the Hospital and Nursing Home Licensure and Inspection Program Fund to be used for the purposes of supporting the activities of the licensure and inspections requirements administered pursuant to current law. The bill directs the Board to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill related to the establishment of such fees and specifies that the provisions pertaining to the creation of the Fund shall not become effective until the Board adopts such emergency regulations. This bill is identical to HB 2255.

Board of Dentistry; expedited licensure. Directs the Board of Dentistry to convene a work group including the Virginia Dental Association and the Virginia Dental Hygienists' Association to assess expedited pathways for licensure for dentists and dental hygienists. The bill specifies that the work group shall (i) review the licensure by credentialing statutes governing dentists and the licensure statutes governing dental hygienists and make recommendations on how such statutes can be updated to reflect an expedited pathway for licensure and (ii) study options for and make recommendations on a pathway for qualified internationally trained dentists to practice dental hygiene under the supervision of a licensed dentist.

Charter; City of Richmond. Amends the charter for the City of Richmond by setting out the minimum qualifications for the director of public utilities.