Capitol Police; concurrent jurisdiction. Provides that a Capitol Police officer who is a detector canine handler has concurrent jurisdiction with the law-enforcement officers of another jurisdiction that has requested the assistance of the Capitol Police in the detection of firearms, ammunition, explosives, propellants, or incendiaries. This bill is identical to HB 1626.
Firearms; removal from persons posing substantial risk; penalties. Creates a procedure by which any attorney for the Commonwealth or law-enforcement officer may apply to a general district court, circuit court, or juvenile and domestic relations district court judge or magistrate for an emergency substantial risk order to prohibit a person who poses a substantial risk of injury to himself or others from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm. Upon service of an emergency substantial risk order, the person who is subject to the order shall be given the opportunity to voluntarily relinquish any firearm. An emergency substantial risk order shall expire on the fourteenth day following issuance of the order. The bill requires a court hearing in the circuit court for the jurisdiction where the order was issued within 14 days from issuance of an emergency substantial risk order to determine whether a substantial risk order should be issued. Seized firearms shall be retained by a law-enforcement agency for the duration of an emergency substantial risk order or a substantial risk order or, for a substantial risk order and with court approval, may be transferred to a third party 21 years of age or older chosen by the person from whom they were seized. The bill allows the complainant of the original warrant to file a motion for a hearing to extend the substantial risk order prior to its expiration. The court may extend the substantial risk order for a period not longer than 180 days. The bill provides that persons who are subject to a substantial risk order, until such order has been dissolved by a court, are guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor for purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm; are disqualified from having a concealed handgun permit; and may not be employed by a licensed firearms dealer. The bill also provides that a person who transfers a firearm to a person he knows has been served with a warrant or who is the subject of a substantial risk order is guilty of a Class 4 felony. The bill creates a computerized substantial risk order registry for the entry of orders issued pursuant to provisions in the bill. This bill is identical to SB 240.
Charter; Town of Bluefield. Amends the town's charter by (i) increasing the number of council members from five to six, (ii) allowing the mayor to vote only to break ties rather than on all matters, (iii) clarifying that the council may act by motion in addition to ordinance and resolution, and (iv) making technical amendments. This bill is identical to HB 171.
Charter; Town of Middleburg. Amends the charter of the Town of Middleburg by clarifying the powers and duties of the mayor, the town council, and the appointed town officials. This bill is identical to HB 441.
English language learner students; guidance, information,programs, and policies. Requires the Superintendent of Public Instructionto (i) develop guidance for school boards to improve the process for theidentification of English language learner students for eligibility for giftedand talented programs and address the underrepresentation of such students insuch programs that includes methods for recognizing and addressing potentialchallenges in such process and facilitating professional development for andcollaboration among the teachers involved in such process, including teachersin English language learner programs and teachers in gifted and talentedprograms; (ii) encourage any school board of a local school division in whichEnglish language learner students struggle to achieve at a high level toprioritize the utilization of the state funds available to the school board toimprove such levels of achievement; and (iii) in consultation with experts whopossess knowledge and experience in assessing the language proficiency andacademic performance of English language learner students, annually collect andreport data on the English proficiency level, program placement, and academiclanguage development, including oral academic language, of each Englishlanguage learner student and appropriate and effective measures for improvingassessments for and the English proficiency of English language learnerstudents. The bill requires the school board in any school division in which 20or more English language learner students in one language classification areenrolled at any grade level in kindergarten through grade five, to provide aone-way or two-way dual language immersion program or early exit or late exittransitional bilingual program for such students, as such programs are definedby the Board of Education pursuant to regulation. The bill requires each schoolboard to provide a content-based or pull-out English as a second languageprogram, as such programs are defined by the Board of Education pursuant toregulation, for all other enrolled English language learner students. The billrequires each school board to adopt policies to (a) support oral and writtencommunication between school board employees and the parents of each enrolledstudent in such parents' native language; (b) pursue community support toaccelerate the literacy and achievement of English language learner students;(c) conduct school satisfaction surveys in the native language of each surveyedindividual, when practicable; and (d) ensure that literacy strategies sent tothe parents of enrolled English language learner students who read below gradelevel are tailored to promote reading proficiency in English and the student'snative language. The bill also requires any Head Start program offered in theCommonwealth to provide the parents of English language learner students withoral and written information to monitor the program's impact on theirchildren's English and native language proficiency and development.
Fairfax County; policemen's pension and retirementboard. Increases from seven to eight the number of members onthe policemen's pension and retirement board created in a countythat has adopted the urban county executive form of government (FairfaxCounty) and increases from two to three the number of members ofsuch board who shall be members of such retirement system and employedby the county police department as sworn police officers and whohave been elected by the members of the retirement system who areemployed by the police department as sworn police officers.
Early childhood care and education; licensing. Requires the Board of Education to establish a statewide unified public-private system for early childhood care and education in the Commonwealth to be administered by the Board of Education, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Department of Education. The bill transfers the authority to license and regulate child day programs and other early child care agencies from the Board of Social Services and Department of Social Services to the Board of Education and Department of Education. The bill maintains current licensure, background check, and other requirements of such programs. Such provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2021. The bill requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish a plan for implementing the statewide unified early childhood care and education system and requires the Department of Social Services and the Department of Education to enter into a cooperative agreement to coordinate the transition. The bill also requires the Board of Education to establish, no later than July 1, 2021, a uniform quality rating and improvement system designed to provide parents and families with information about the quality and availability of certain publicly funded early childhood care and education providers and to publish the initial quality ratings under such system in the fall of 2023. This bill is identical to HB 1012.
Grantor's tax and regional transportation improvementfee. Provides that, for purposes of the grantor's tax and regionaltransportation improvement fee (the regional WMATA capital fee),the grantor and grantee may arrange that the grantee pay all or aportion of the tax or fee. Current law requires the grantor to paythe tax or fee.
Zoning; development approvals. Providesfor the transition of certain existing development approvals whena subject property shifts from one jurisdiction to another due toannexation, boundary adjustment, or other cause. The bill containsa grandfather clause for certain existing provisions.
Fair Employment Contracting Act; sexual harassment policy. Requires contracting agencies that employ more than five employees and that enter into government contracts of over $10,000 to include a provision in the contract requiring (i) the contractor to provide training on the contractor's sexual harassment policy to all supervisors and employees providing services in the Commonwealth that have not received such training or any sexual harassment training required by the Department of Human Resource Management within the year in which the contract is signed and (ii) that the contractor agree to post the contractor's sexual harassment policy in a conspicuous public place in each building located in the Commonwealth owned or leased by the contractor for business purposes or in the contractor's employee handbook.
Governor's required submission of capital outlayplan bills. Modifies the requirements of the Governor's submissionof capital outlay plan bills to require that the Governor ensurethat prefiled capital outlay plan bills are submitted to the Chairmenof the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees by theprefiling deadline established by a procedural resolution of theGeneral Assembly.
Community Services Efficiency Act; Departmentof Education; community schools. Requires the Department of Educationto establish an interagency task force composed of state and local agencies and entities in the areas of early childhood development, health, social services, community engagement, family engagement,higher education, communities in schools, and workforce developmentfor the purpose of developing a program for the establishment of community schools whereby public elementary and secondary schoolsserve as centers for the provision of such community programs andservices to students and their families as may be necessary on thebasis of the unique needs of the student population to be served. The bill requires such program to include a process by which schoolboards and community partnerships may apply to the Department ofEducation to designate an elementary or secondary school in the localschool division as a community school. The bill also establishesa special nonreverting fund in the state treasury for the purposeof providing planning grants for school boards and community partnershipsthat seek to apply to the Department of Education through such programfor community school designation.
