Establishment of Asian American and PacificIslander Heritage Commission; report. Establishes the 16-memberAsian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Commission as an advisorycommission in the executive branch of state government for the purpose of advising the Board of Education on the implementation of educationalstandards regarding Asian or Asian American and Pacific Islander contributions, culture, history, heritage, and language. The billrequires annual reports on the Commission's interim activities andwork to the Governor and General Assembly and has an expiration dateof July 1, 2027.
Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Securityand the Secretary of Health and Human Resources; work group; report.Directs the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security andthe Secretary of Health and Human Resources to convene a work groupto study and make recommendations on procedures for requiring healthcare providers or facilities to report to a law-enforcement officerin order to initiate procedures for the issuance of a substantialrisk order. The bill requires the work group to report its findingsand recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly by November1, 2024.
Study; Joint Commission on Health Care; impactsof cell phone possession and use on students in public schools; report.Directs the Joint Commission on Health Care to study the impactsof cell phone possession and use in public schools on student learningoutcomes, including the quality of learning and the ability of studentsto retain and recall information, student attention and focus, andstudent mental and behavioral health.
Financial institutions; reporting financialexploitation of elderly or vulnerable adults. Permits a financial institution, as defined in the bill, to allow an elderly or vulnerableadult, as defined in the bill, to submit and periodically updatea list of trusted persons whom such financial institution or financialinstitution staff, as defined in the bill, may contact in the caseof suspected financial exploitation of such adult. In such a case,the bill also allows a financial institution or financial institutionstaff to convey such suspicion to one or more certain individuals,provided that the recipient of such conveyance is not the suspectedperpetrator of financial exploitation. The bill provides that a financialinstitution or financial institution staff shall be immune from any criminal, civil, or administrative liability for any act taken oromission made in accordance with the bill's provisions.
Virginia State Crime Commission; benefits ofviolence interrupters; impact of barrier crime statutes; report.Directs the Virginia State Crime Commission, in consultation withstakeholders, to assess (i) the benefits of violence interruptersand (ii) the impact barrier crimes statutes have on the recruitmentand retention rates of violence interrupters in the Commonwealth.The bill requires the Crime Commission to report its findings andany recommendations to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and the House Committee for Courts of Justice by November1, 2024.
Health insurance; coverage for therapeutic daytreatment services. Requires health insurers providing healthcare plans to provide coverage for therapeutic day treatment servicesfor children with serious emotional disturbances, defined in thein bill as children who have a mental illness diagnosis and haveexperienced functional limitations due to emotional disturbance,including experiencing a school shooting or the loss of a loved onein a school setting, over the past 12 months on a continuous or intermittentbasis. Under the bill, "therapeutic day treatment services" are treatmentprograms that combine psychotherapeutic interventions with education and mental health and may include evaluation; medication educationand management; opportunities to learn and use daily living skillsand to enhance social and interpersonal skills; and individual, group,and family counseling. The bill applies to plans delivered, issuedfor delivery, or renewed on and after January 1, 2025.
Advisory Council on Breakthrough Therapiesfor Veteran Suicide Prevention; established; report. Establishesthe Advisory Council on Breakthrough Therapies for Veteran SuicidePrevention to advise the State Health Commissioner on the regulationsand infrastructure necessary to support clinical access to and trainingfor medication-assisted U.S. Food and Drug Administration breakthroughtherapies for veteran suicide prevention. The bill requires the Commissionerof Health to report annually by December 1 to the Governor and theGeneral Assembly regarding its activities and recommendations. TheCouncil has a sunset date of July 1, 2027.
Study; Department of Energy; local governments;purchases of clean energy; report. Requests the Department ofEnergy to study the barriers for local governments to directly purchaseclean energy or to facilitate the purchase of clean energy by their constituents. In conducting its study, the Department shall considerexisting ways for local governments to purchase clean energy andpromote access to clean energy for their constituents, evaluate barriersand develop recommendations relating to reducing such barriers forlocal governments to purchase clean energy and encouraging the purchaseof and access to clean energy by local governments and their constituents,and consult with relevant stakeholders as needed.
Department of Environmental Quality; protectionof existing tidal and nontidal wetlands; wetland restoration andcreation; work group; report. Directs the Department of EnvironmentalQuality to establish a work group to develop (i) strategies for protectingthe existing tidal and nontidal wetlands of the Commonwealth and(ii) plans for wetland restoration and creation to address lossesand adverse impacts from human activities and climate change. Thebill specifies that such work group shall include certain relevantstakeholders and will focus on (a) evaluating existing approachesto wetland conservation strategies in the Commonwealth and otherstates, (b) identifying wetlands adaption areas where tidal wetlandscan persist in the landscape, and (c) exploring the circumstancesin which climate can impact the wetlands' health and survival. Thebill requires the work group to report its findings and recommendationsto the Chairs of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservationand Natural Resources and House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeakeand Natural Resources by December 1, 2024.
Study; State Council of Higher Education forVirginia; offering reduced rate in-state tuition rates at publicinstitutions of higher education in the Commonwealth to dependentsof public school instructional, administrative, and supportpersonnel in the Commonwealth; report. Requests the State Councilof Higher Education for Virginia to study, in collaboration withthe Department of Education, the feasibility and efficacy of offeringthe dependents of public school instructional, administrative, andsupport personnel in the Commonwealth reduced rate in-state tuitionat public institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth for the purpose of improving retention rates of public school instructional, administrative, and support personnel in the Commonwealth.
Study; Department of State Police; Starr AlertProgram; report. Requests the Department of State Police to studythe need for an alert program, to be known as the Starr Alert Program,to notify vehicle repair shops of nearby hit-and-run incidents.
Paid sick leave; health care providers and grocerystore workers. Requires employers to provide paid sick leaveto health care providers and grocery store workers. Under currentlaw, employers are only required to provide paid sick leave to certainhome health workers. The bill removes requirements that workers workon average at least 20 hours per week or 90 hours per month to beeligible for paid sick leave. The bill provides that certain healthcare providers may waive their right to accrue and use paid sick leave and provides an exemption for employers of certain other healthcare providers. The bill requires the Department of Labor and Industryto develop guidelines for retail employers that sell groceries toprovide sick leave and to publish such guidelines by December 1,2024. The provisions of the bill other than the requirement for theDepartment of Labor and Industry to develop guidelines have a delayedeffective date of January 1, 2025.
