Commonwealth Public Safety
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
School protection officers; employment in public schools. [SB-440]
Employment of school protection officers in public schools. Permits any local law-enforcement agency to employ in any public elementary or secondary school in the local school division, pursuant to an agreement with the local school board, a school protection officer, defined in the bill as a retired law-enforcement officer hired by the local law-enforcement agency on a part-time basis to provide limited law-enforcement and security services to public elementary and secondary schools in the Commonwealth. The bill requires each such school board
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Sponsored by: Sen. Tara Durant
Left In Education And Health on 11/19/2024
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Gettr Virginia 2025 Regular Session
School resource officers; establishment of minimum employment qualifications prohibited. [HB-676]
Department of Criminal Justice Services; school resource officers; establishment of minimum employment qualifications prohibited. Prohibits the Department of Criminal Justice Services from establishing minimum qualifications for the employment of school resource officers, including any minimum age or experience requirement, or providing guidance or standards or adopting regulations relating to such minimum qualifications unless expressly authorized by law.
Sponsored by: Rep. Chris Runion
Left In Education on 11/18/2024
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Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Veterinary medicine; exceptions for care of animals injured in line of duty. [HB-1387]
Department of Health Professions; veterinary medicine; exceptions for care of animals injured in line of duty. Provides an exception to the unauthorized practice of veterinary medicine for any law-enforcement officer, firefighter, or emergency medical services personnel who provides emergency treatment to any animal in his care that is injured in the line of duty.
Sponsored by: Rep. James Leftwich
Left In Health And Human Services on 11/18/2024
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Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Human trafficking investigators; licensing by the Department of Criminal Justice Services. [HB-859]
Human trafficking investigators; licensing by the Department of Criminal Justice Services. Authorizes the Department of Criminal Justice Services to register and issue licenses for human trafficking investigators. The bill provides that a human trafficking investigator is a private investigator who is GSA compliant and engages in the business of, or accepts employment to make, investigations to obtain information on sex trafficking or severe forms of trafficking as defined in the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and in the federal
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Sponsored by: Rep. James Leftwich
Left In Public Safety on 11/18/2024
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Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Firearm Violence Intervention and Prevention, Virginia Center for, etc.; created. [HB-602]
Virginia Center for Firearm Violence Intervention and Prevention; Virginia Firearm Violence Intervention and Prevention Fund; creation. Creates the Virginia Center for Firearm Violence Intervention and Prevention (the Center) within the Department of Criminal Justice Services and the Virginia Firearm Violence Intervention and Prevention Fund, to be administered by the Center, to replace the existing Virginia Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention Fund.
Sponsored by: Rep. Marcia Price
Left In Appropriations on 11/18/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Virginia Public Safety Communications Infrastructure Fund and Program; established. [HB-1484]
Virginia Public Safety Communications Infrastructure Fund and Program; established. Establishes the Virginia Public Safety Communications Infrastructure Fund and Program, to be administered by the Department of Emergency Management and financially managed by the Virginia Resources Authority, for the purpose of making loans and awarding grants to local governments to assist with improvement projects relating to public safety radio and communications infrastructure. Virginia Public Safety Communications Infrastructure Fund and Program; established.
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Sponsored by: Rep. Ellen Campbell
Left In Appropriations on 02/13/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Surveillance technology; reporting by state & local law-enforcement agencies, etc. [HB-1496]
Surveillance technology reporting by state and local law-enforcement agencies and sheriff's departments. Requires all state and local law-enforcement agencies and sheriff's departments to provide to the Department of Criminal Justice Services (the Department) a list of surveillance technologies, defined in the bill, procured by such agencies and departments on an annual basis by November 1 of each year. The bill requires the Department to provide such information to the Virginia State Crime Commission and the Joint Commission on Technology and Science.
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Sponsored by: Rep. Sam Rasoul
Governor: Acts Of Assembly Chapter Text (chap0614) on 04/08/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Line of Duty Act; clarifies definition of eligible dependent. [HB-1433]
Line of Duty Act; eligible dependent. Provides that for purposes of continued health insurance pursuant to the Line of Duty Act, an eligible dependent means the natural or adopted child or children of a deceased person or disabled person or of a deceased or disabled person's eligible spouse, provided that any such natural child is born as the result of a pregnancy that occurred prior to, or no later than six months after, the time of the employee's death or disability and that any such adopted child is (i) adopted prior to, or no later than six
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Sponsored by: Rep. M. Keith Hodges
Governor: Acts Of Assembly Chapter Text (chap0560) on 04/05/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Criminal justice training academies; curriculum. [HB-1369]
Criminal justice training academies; curriculum. Provides that an approved criminal justice training academy may utilize an alternative curriculum and lesson plans that meet or exceed the compulsory minimum training standards without seeking a waiver from the Department of Criminal Justice Services. Under current law, the Department is required to develop a uniform curriculum to be used at all criminal justice training academies unless a waiver to the uniform curriculum is granted by the Department. Criminal justice training academies; curriculum.
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Sponsored by: Rep. Paul Krizek
Governor: Acts Of Assembly Chapter Text (chap0556) on 04/05/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Law-Enforcement Officers Procedural Guarantee Act; hearing panel decisions. [SB-659]
Law-Enforcement Officers Procedural Guarantee Act; hearing panel decisions. Provides that for the purposes of the Law-Enforcement Officers Procedural Guarantee Act a majority decision of a hearing panel shall be binding on the employing agency. Under current law, such decisions are advisory recommendations only. The bill also provides that a hearing panel's decision may be appealed to the circuit court in the jurisdiction where the grievance arose. Lastly, the bill provides that the third member of the hearing panel shall not be from within the
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Sponsored by: Sen. Bryce Reeves
Failed To Report (defeated) In Courts Of Justice (5-y 8-n) on 02/05/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Line of Duty Act; increases payment of benefits. [SB-649]
Line of Duty Act; payment of benefits. Increases from $25,000 to $75,000 the death benefit payout under the Virginia Line of Duty Act for a death caused by occupational cancer, respiratory disease, or hypertension or heart disease for those deaths that will occur on or after January 1, 2025.
Sponsored by: Sen. Adam Ebbin
Governor: Acts Of Assembly Chapter Text (chap0381) on 04/04/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Law-Enforcement Officers Procedural Guarantee Act; hearing panel decisions. [HB-1341]
Law-Enforcement Officers Procedural Guarantee Act; hearing panel decisions. Provides that for the purposes of the Law-Enforcement Officers Procedural Guarantee Act a majority decision of a hearing panel shall be binding on the employing agency. Under current law, such decisions are advisory recommendations only. The bill also provides that a hearing panel's decision may be appealed to the circuit court in the jurisdiction where the grievance arose. Lastly, the bill provides that the third member of the hearing panel shall not be from within the
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Sponsored by: Rep. Thomas Garrett
Left In Public Safety on 02/13/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Local government; ongoing health care for employees exposed to toxic materials. [SB-650]
Department of Fire Programs; work group; options for local government employees who respond to emergencies with toxic material exposure. Directs the Department of Fire Programs to convene a work group to identify and analyze options to help ensure that local government employees who respond to emergencies that expose them to toxic materials have appropriate preemptive and ongoing health care and are able to pay any health expenses related to such emergency and its aftereffects that are not covered by relevant health insurance plans. The work group
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Sponsored by: Sen. Aaron Rouse
Governor: Acts Of Assembly Chapter Text (chap0363) on 04/02/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
School protection officers; employment in public schools. [SB-440]
Employment of school protection officers in public schools. Permits any local law-enforcement agency to employ in any public elementary or secondary school in the local school division, pursuant to an agreement with the local school board, a school protection officer, defined in the bill as a retired law-enforcement officer hired by the local law-enforcement agency on a part-time basis to provide limited law-enforcement and security services to public elementary and secondary schools in the Commonwealth. The bill requires each such school board
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Sponsored by: Sen. Tara Durant
Continued To 2025 In Education And Health (15-y 0-n) on 02/08/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Line of Duty Act; benefits for campus and private police officers. [SB-466]
Line of Duty Act; campus police officers; private police officers. Provides employees of contributing nonprofit private institutions of higher education, defined in the bill, and contributing private police departments, defined in the bill, with the benefits granted to employees of participating employers under the Line of Duty Act. The bill clarifies that the Line of Duty Act shall not apply to any private institution of higher education or private police department that is not a contributing nonprofit private institution of higher education or
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Sponsored by: Sen. Mark Obenshain
Left In Appropriations on 03/05/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Virginia Public Safety Communications Infrastructure Fund; definitions, created. [SB-573]
Virginia Public Safety Communications Infrastructure Fund and Program established. Establishes the Virginia Public Safety Communications Infrastructure Fund and Program, to be administered by the Department of Emergency Management and financially managed by the Virginia Resources Authority, for the purpose of making loans and awarding grants to local governments for the purpose of assisting with improvement projects relating to public safety radio and communications infrastructure.
Sponsored by: Sen. Mark Obenshain
Left In Appropriations on 03/05/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Law-enforcement training; communication with individuals with autism spectrum disorder. [SB-547]
Law-enforcement training; individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to establish compulsory minimum and in-service training standards for law-enforcement officers on communicating with individuals with an intellectual disability or a developmental disability, such as autism spectrum disorder, which shall include (i) an overview and behavioral recognition of autism spectrum disorder, (ii) best practices for crisis prevention and de-escalation techniques, (iii) an objective review of any relevant
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Sponsored by: Sen. Lamont Bagby
Governor: Acts Of Assembly Chapter Text (chap0773) on 04/08/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Commonwealth Public Safety Medal of Valor; medal may be awarded to dispatcher. [SB-630]
Public safety officer; Commonwealth Public Safety Medal of Valor; dispatcher. Adds a dispatcher, including a dispatcher employed by the Department of State Police, to the definition of a public safety officer for purposes of possible selection by the Governor for the Commonwealth Public Safety Medal of Valor, presented for performance above and beyond the call of duty involving extraordinary valor in the face of grave danger, at great personal risk. A dispatcher is defined in relevant law as an individual employed by a public safety answering point,
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Sponsored by: Sen. John McGuire
Governor: Acts Of Assembly Chapter Text (chap0253) on 03/28/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Law-enforcement training; communication with individuals with autism spectrum disorder. [HB-1246]
Law-enforcement training; individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to establish compulsory minimum and in-service training standards for law-enforcement officers on communicating with individuals with an intellectual disability or a developmental disability, such as autism spectrum disorder, which shall include (i) an overview and behavioral recognition of autism spectrum disorder, (ii) best practices for crisis prevention and de-escalation techniques, (iii) an objective review of any relevant
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Sponsored by: Rep. Alfonso Lopez
Governor: Acts Of Assembly Chapter Text (chap0742) on 04/08/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Line of Duty Act; benefits for campus and private police officers. [HB-751]
Line of Duty Act; campus police officers; private police officers. Provides employees of contributing nonprofit private institutions of higher education, defined in the bill, and contributing private police departments, defined in the bill and including airport police officers employed by the Lynchburg Regional Airport Police Department, with the benefits granted to employees of participating employers under the Line of Duty Act. The bill clarifies that the Line of Duty Act shall not apply to any private institution of higher education or private
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Sponsored by: Rep. Chris Runion
Left In Public Safety on 02/13/2024