Workers' compensation; presumption for certain cancers; sheriffs and deputy sheriffs. Expands the workers' compensation presumption of compensability for certain cancers causing the death or disability of certain employees who have completed five years of service in their position to include sheriffs or deputy sheriffs.
Virginia Retirement System; enhanced retirement benefits for 911 dispatchers. Allows local governments to provide enhanced retirement benefits for hazardous duty service to full-time salaried 911 dispatchers. The bill provides that such enhanced retirement benefits apply only to service earned as a full-time salaried 911 dispatcher on or after July 1, 2027, but allows an employer, as that term is defined in relevant law, to provide such enhanced retirement benefits for service earned as a full-time salaried 911 dispatcher before July 1, 2027, in addition to service earned on or after that date. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.
Carrying firearms in restricted locations; exception. Provides that the prohibition on carrying a firearm in certain restricted locations does not apply to any woman who is a current victim of family abuse and has an active protective order against a family or household member.
Students who receive home instruction; evaluation letter of student academic progress; qualifications to submit. Permits an evaluation letter submitted as evidence of the academic progress of a student who receives home instruction to be submitted by a licensed teacher or a person with a bachelor's degree or higher in an academic discipline. Current law requires such an evaluation letter to be submitted by a licensed teacher or a person with a master's degree or higher in an academic discipline.
Virginia Retirement System; enhanced retirement benefits for animal control officers and 911 dispatchers. Allows local governments to provide enhanced retirement benefits for hazardous duty service to full-time salaried animal control officers and 911 dispatchers. The bill provides that such enhanced retirement benefits apply only to service earned as a full-time salaried animal control officer or 911 dispatcher on or after July 1, 2027, but allows an employer, as that term is defined in relevant law, to provide such enhanced retirement benefits for service earned as a full-time salaried animal control officer or 911 dispatcher before July 1, 2027, in addition to service earned on or after that date. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.
Review of plats and plans by locality; designated agent. Allows any locality with a population of 20,000 or less to use its planning commission as the designated agent for purposes of reviewing and acting on subdivision plats, site plans, and plans of development. Currently, only localities with a population of 5,000 or less are permitted to use their planning commissions for such purpose.
Statute of limitations; sexual abuse of a minor; act by a person of authority. Provides that an action for an injury to a person resulting from sexual abuse occurring during the infancy of such person by a person of authority may be brought at any time without limitation.
Impact fees; residential development. Authorizes any locality to impose impact fees on certain residential developments in order to defray the costs of constructing public facilities necessitated by those developments. Under current law, such impact fees have limited applicability and may be imposed only by those counties that have established urban transportation service districts.
Sage's Law; minor students experiencing gender incongruence; parental notification of certain requests and parental permission for certain plans required; parental care. Requires each public elementary or secondary school principal or his designee to (i) as soon as practicable, inform at least one parent of a minor student enrolled in such school if such minor requests that any such employee participate while at school in the social affirmation of such minor student's gender incongruence or the transition of such minor student to a sex or gender different from the minor's biological sex, as such terms are defined in the bill, and (ii) request and receive permission from at least one parent of a minor student enrolled at such school prior to the implementation at such school of any plan concerning any gender incongruence experienced by such minor, including any counseling of such minor at school. Any such plan shall include provision for parental participation to the extent requested by the parent. The bill also clarifies, in the definition of the term "abused or neglected child," that in no event shall referring to and raising the child in a manner consistent with the child's biological sex, including related mental health or medical decisions, be considered abuse or neglect.
Electric utilities; renewable portfolio standard program; deficiency payments. Changes from $45 to $0.01 the amount of deficiency payment required by certain electric utilities that are unable to meet the compliance obligations of the renewable energy portfolio standard program requirements and removes provisions requiring a payment of $75 per megawatt-hour of shortfall in procuring renewable energy certificates for solar, wind, or anaerobic digesters.
Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact; criminal background check. Establishes the procedure by which the Board of Dentistry shall fulfill the criminal background check requirement of the Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact. The bill requires applicants for compact-eligible licensure to provide fingerprints and personal identifying information for a criminal background check, directs the Central Criminal Records Exchange to disseminate criminal history information obtained to the Board, and establishes the process by which an applicant may obtain their criminal history record in the event that such applicant disputes the criminal history information on which a denial of licensure is based.
Board of Health; regulations governing waterworks; prohibition on fluoridation of water. Requires the Board of Health to include a prohibition on fluoridation of water in its regulations governing waterworks and requires testing for fluoridation to be included in chemical monitoring requirements for waterworks.
