RICHMOND, VA, 16 FEBRUARY 2022: On the day when the House of Delegates approved and Governor Glenn Youngkin signed Senate Bill 739 ending mask mandates in schools, the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus marked its progress at Crossover, the halfway mark of the 2022 General Assembly session.

Below is a select list of bills, sponsored by members of the Senate Republican Caucus and grouped by topic, that were approved by the Senate of Virginia by Crossover.

Expanding Opportunity through Education

SB 36 (Norment)                                                                                            Passed Senate 26-14

Requires school principals report to law enforcement acts that may constitute an offense and report to the parents of any minor student who is the specific object of the offense that the incident has been reported to law enforcement.

SB 598 (Pillion)                                                                                              Passed Senate 36-4

Lab schools. Permits any public institution of higher education, private institution of higher education, or private business to apply to the Board of Education to establish a college partnership laboratory school as a new school or through the conversion of all or part of an existing school.

SB 656 (Dunnavant)                                                                                       Passed Senate 20-18

Requires the Department of Education to develop and each local school board to adopt model policies for ensuring parental notification of any instructional material that includes sexually explicit content.

SB 739 (Dunnavant)                                                                                       Passed Senate 21-17

                                                                                                                        Passed House 52-48

                                                                                                                        Signed by Governor

Ensures Virginia schools will be open five days a week for in-person learning and requires parents be permitted to have their child opt-out of mask mandates imposed by the local school board.

Increasing Access to Quality Health Care

SB 321 (Vogel)                                                                                               Passed Senate 39-0

Broadens and expands the definition of autism, allowing insurance coverage for more afflicted with disorder.

SB 594 (Pillion)                                                                                              Passed Senate 40-0

Prohibits licensed providers from requiring payment from Medicaid participants for medication-assisted treatment of opioid addiction, regardless of whether the provider participates in the state plan for medical assistance.

Protecting Virginians & Supporting Law Enforcement

SB 17 (Hackworth)                                                                                         Passed Senate 40-0

Allows a retired law-enforcement officer to continue to receive his service retirement allowance during a subsequent period of employment by a state and local law-enforcement agency.

SB 124 (Obenshain)                                                                                       Passed Senate 40-0

Criminalizes agents who take advantage of an incapacitated individual while working on behalf of that individual.

SB 227 (Obenshain)                                                                                       Passed Senate 40-0

Increase the statute of limitations for sex with a minor as an adult from 1 year to 5 years after the minor reaches the majority.

SB 327 (Reeves)                                                                                             Passed Senate 39-0

Prohibits any state agency employing law-enforcement officers, any sheriff, any police force or the Department of State Police from establishing a formal or informal quota that requires a law-enforcement officer to make a specific number of arrests or issue a specific number of summonses.

SB 467 (Vogel)                                                                                               Passed Senate 40-0

Requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to establish training standards for law-enforcement personnel regarding the recognition, prevention, and reporting of human trafficking.

SB 593 (Newman)                                                                                          Passed Senate 40-0

Allows auxiliary police officers to execute emergency custody orders and provide transportation for a person subject to an emergency custody or temporary detention order.

SB 675 (Reeves)                                                                                             Passed Senate 40-0

Provides that the purchase of a service weapon by a retired law-enforcement officer is not subject to a criminal history record information check.

SB 700 (DeSteph)                                                                                           Passed Senate 40-0

Provides that any person who intentionally covers, removes, damages, renders inoperable or otherwise obscures a security camera is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Supporting our Military and Veterans

SB 212 (Kiggans)                                                                                           Passed Senate 40-0

Authorizes the issuance of revenue-sharing special license plates with a design that incorporates the emblem of the United States Navy to active members and certain veterans of the United States Navy for the benefit of the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society Fund.

SB 529 (Reeves)                                                                                             Passed Senate 40-0

Directs the Board of Education to permit all active-duty members of the Armed Forces of the United States who serve as caregivers to dependents to apply for the Child Care Subsidy Program.

SB 572 (Kiggans)                                                                                           Passed Senate 40-0

Directs the Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs and the Secretary of Commerce and Trade, in conjunction with the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity, to examine the waiving of fees associated with permits necessary to establish a small business for veteran-owned small businesses.

SB 618 (Stuart)                                                                                               Passed Senate 40-0

Exempts members of military color guards, honor guards, veterans service organization, or similar organizations from the crime of unlawful paramilitary activity when such member is participating in a training or education exercise, funeral, or public ceremony on behalf of such military honor guard or veterans service organization.

SB 719 (Cosgrove)                                                                                         Passed Senate 40-0

Gives the Department of Military Affairs the power to pay the employer portion of health care insurance premiums for any member of the Virginia National Guard or Virginia Defense Force during states of emergency.

Securing Election Integrity

SB 3 (Suetterlein)                                                                                           Passed Senate 40-0

Requires absentee votes be reported by precinct.

SB 80 (Stanley)                                                                                              Passed Senate 40-0

Prohibits elections officials from soliciting, accepting, using, or disposing of any moneys, grants, property, or services given by a private individual.

SB 211 (Kiggans)                                                                                           Passed Senate 32-8

Requires the State Registrar of Vital Records to transmit to the Department of Elections a weekly list of decedents from the previous week and requires general registrars promptly cancel the registration of a person on the list.

SB 652 (Vogel)                                                                                               Passed Senate 29-11

Requires an applicant for an absentee ballot to provide on the application the last 4 digits of their social security number.

Providing Tax Relief and Strengthening Businesses

SB 12 (Suetterlein)                                                                                         Passed Senate 39-0

Gives localities the ability to return surplus personal property tax revenues to taxpayers. Under current law, localities may return only surplus real property tax revenues.

SB 127 (Obenshain)                                                                                       Passed Senate 40-0

Redefines small business to a business with less than 250 employees or an average of $10 million or less in annual gross receipts.

SB 185 (Ruff)                                                                                                 Passed Senate 40-0

Extends the sunset of the major business facility job tax credit from July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2025.

SB 380 (McDougle)                                                                               Incorporated into SB451

Passed Senate 37-3

Exempts food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products (the grocery tax) from all state, regional, and local sales taxes.

SB 579 (Hanger)                                                                                             Passed Senate 40-0

Provides an income tax refund of up to $300 for individuals and up to $600 for married persons filing a joint return for taxable year 2021.

Ensuring Government Transparency and Accountability

SB 4 (Suetterlein)                                                                                           Passed Senate 29-11

Limits the duration of any executive order issued by the Governor pursuant to his powers under the Emergency Services and Disaster Law to no more than 45 days from the date of issuance.

SB 5 (Suetterlein)                                                                                           Passed Senate 37-3

The votes of the members of the Virginia Parole Board will be public records and subject to the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.

SB 38 (Norment)                                                                                            Passed Senate 39-0

Grants the Capitol Square Preservation Council the authority to review and approve all plans or proposals for alterations, improvements, additions, or renovations to, or other disposition of, any monuments, statuary, artwork, or other historical artifacts contained within the Capitol Building.

SB 172 (Peake)                                                                                               Passed Senate 39-1

Requires county boards of supervisors, prior to July 1 of each year, to set a maximum annual compensation, which will become effective as of January 1 of the year following the next regularly scheduled elections.

SB 547 (DeSteph)                                                                                           Passed Senate 40-0

Requires the Virginia Parole Board to publish a statement regarding any action taken by the Board on the parole of a prisoner within 30 days.

SB 769 (Reeves)                                                                                             Passed Senate 40-0

Reforms the Virginia Employment Commission, requiring them to conduct all mandatory and recommended program integrity activities as identified by the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

###