Virginia Real Estate Time-Share Act; recordkeeping by resellers. Removes the requirement under the Virginia Real Estate Time-Share Act that, if contact information has been obtained by a reseller of a time-share from any source, such reseller and the lead dealer of such time-share maintain a copy of a current government-issued photographic identification of the lead dealer who provided the contact information.
Violations of protective orders; preliminary child protective order; penalties. Changes the punishment and sentencing requirements for a violation of a preliminary child protective order to the same penalties as violations of preliminary, emergency, and permanent family abuse protective orders, including enhanced penalties for certain violations. Under current law, (i) the maximum penalty for violations of child protective orders constitutes contempt of court; however, if the violation involves an act or acts of commission or omission that endanger the child's life or health, or results in bodily injury to the child, it is punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor and (ii) the court is not required to enter a permanent family abuse protective order (i.e., a protective order with a maximum duration of two years) upon a conviction of a violation of a preliminary child protective order.
Use of unmanned aircraft systems by law-enforcement officers; search warrants. Expedites the issuance of a search warrant for unmanned aircraft systems by law-enforcement officers in critical situations. The bill permits the use of unmanned aircraft systems without a search warrant when law enforcement is surveying the scene of a crime, to locate a person when such person has fled the offense location, or to provide real-time aerial observation to rapidly assess incident scenes, deliver essential supplies, and enhance the response to emergency calls. The bill also authorizes the use of unmanned aircraft systems by law enforcement during large public gatherings, demonstrations, disturbances, or other similar events.
Consumer Data Protection Act; social media; parental consent. Requires any social media platform, defined in the bill, that is subject to the provisions of the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act to obtain verifiable parental consent prior to permitting any minor to create an account with such social media platform and, with such account, use such social media platform. The bill requires such social media platform to give the parent or legal guardian of such minor the option to consent to the collection and use of the minor's personal data without consenting to the disclosure of such minor's personal data to third parties.
Grandparent; petition for visitation. Provides that in any case or proceeding in which a grandparent has petitioned the court for visitation with a minor grandchild, the court may consider whether (i) the marriage of the parents of such child has been dissolved, (ii) a parent of the child has abandoned such child, (iii) the child was born while the parents were not married, or (iv) a parent of the child has prevented the grandparent from visitation at any hearing in such a case or proceeding held to determine the best interest of the child.
Certain child day centers operated by religious institutions; exemption from licensure by Superintendent of Public Instruction. Exempts fully from the statutory requirement to be licensed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction any child day center that (i) exclusively serves children over the age of two, (ii) is operated or conducted under the auspices of a religious institution, and (iii) (a) has tax exempt status as a nonprofit religious institution in accordance with § 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended, or (b) owns and exclusively occupies real property that is exempt from local taxation. Under current law, such child day centers are exempt from licensure but are still subject to several enumerated requirements. The bill, however, preserves the requirement for such child day centers to conduct background checks for employees and volunteers and prohibits the employment or service at such child day centers of any such individual who has been convicted of any barrier crime as defined in relevant law or who is the subject of a founded complaint of child abuse or neglect.
Department of Medical Assistance Services; Medicaid; Social Security Disability Insurance. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to seek federal authorization to provide Medicaid coverage, regardless of income or assets, to individuals who receive Social Security Disability Insurance but are not yet eligible for Medicare coverage.
Virginia Community College System; certain dual enrollment instructors; certain flexibility in qualifications. Permits the requirement for an individual to have completed 18 credit hours of course work in the relevant career and technical education (CTE) content area in order to qualify as an instructor of CTE dual enrollment courses that are transferrable to a baccalaureate public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth to be waived in any case in which the employing comprehensive community college determines that such individual has sufficient and specific occupational experience in such content area. The bill requires each comprehensive community college in the Virginia Community College System to work with its institutional accreditor to remove any barriers to the full implementation of the aforementioned flexibility.
Income tax; energy-efficient homes tax credits. Authorizes an eligible contractor, defined in the bill, or an eligible purchaser, also defined in the bill, to claim a nonrefundable income tax credit, during taxable years 2025 through 2029, in an amount equal to $2,000 per construction or purchase of a qualified new energy-efficient home and $4,000 per construction or purchase of a zero energy ready home, as those terms are defined in the bill. The bill clarifies that either an eligible contractor or an eligible purchaser, but not both, shall be able to claim the credit for any single qualified new energy-efficient or zero energy ready home, as applicable, and establishes a maximum credit amount that an eligible contractor may claim per taxable year of $500,000.
Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact. Enters the Commonwealth into the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact, the purpose of which is to facilitate the mobility of teachers across the member states, with the goal of supporting teachers through a new pathway to licensure. The Compact is presently in effect, as it has reached the enactment threshold of 10 state members.
Public school teachers; teacher compensation; Professionally Licensed Teacher Supplemental Pay Program established. Establishes the Professionally Licensed Teacher Supplemental Pay Program (the Program) for the purpose of addressing shortages of professionally licensed teachers and reducing reliance on provisionally licensed teachers in public schools in the Commonwealth by providing, with such funds as are appropriated for such purpose, an annual supplemental payment to each professionally licensed teacher, as that term is defined by the bill, employed in any high-vacancy public school in the Commonwealth, defined as any public school that, based on the most recent data in the positions and exits collection, has a teacher vacancy rate that places it in the top 10 percent of public schools with the highest teacher vacancy rates in the Commonwealth. The bill directs the Department of Education to administer and oversee the Program and, in doing so, requires it to (i) identify and develop a list, every four years, of each high-vacancy public school in the Commonwealth; (ii) ensure that, each year, such funds are disbursed in a timely manner and in an amount sufficient to provide the supplemental payment to each professionally licensed teacher employed in a high-vacancy public school in each school division; and (iii) annually submit to the Governor and publish on its website a report detailing the effect of the Program on recruitment and retention of professionally licensed teachers and the overall success of the Program in addressing teacher vacancy rates.
Modification of sentence for marijuana-related offenses. Creates a process by which persons convicted of certain felony offenses involving the possession, manufacture, selling, giving, distribution, transportation, or delivery of marijuana committed prior to July 1, 2021, who remain incarcerated or on community supervision on July 1, 2025, may receive an automatic hearing to consider modification of such person's sentence. The provisions of this bill sunset on July 1, 2028. This bill was incorporated into HB 2555.
