Board of Pharmacy; written certification forthe use of cannabis products. Requires the Board of Pharmacyto provide a form for practitioners to issue as written certificationfor the use of cannabis products. Current law requires the Officeof the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court to provide the form.
Study; JLARC; Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to, by November 30, 2022, (i) review general operations of the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission, including (a) procedures and persons responsible for reviewing complaints received and determining whether to dismiss or investigate such complaints, (b) processes for determining whether to conduct informal or formal hearings, and (c) any informal or established rules used to determine disciplinary action imposed on a judge or justice; (ii) consider the requirements for election of members of the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission and determine whether (a) the current number of members and (b) the qualifications of members elected are adequate to ensure proper judicial oversight and accountability; (iii) identify areas of weakness and potential areas of improvement; (iv) research best practices for judicial accountability and discipline; (v) provide recommendations to increase transparency, eliminate actual or perceived bias, increase efficiency and establish deadlines or specific timeframes for resolving complaints, provide effective interventions prior to the need for disciplinary action, and establish rules surrounding the types of disciplinary actions taken and when to take specific disciplinary action; and (vi) keep confidential all records, transcripts, papers, investigatory notes, files, or other confidential information provided by the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission.
Alleged wrongdoing of law-enforcement employees. Requires that all law-enforcement agencies that employ at least two law-enforcement officers, reduced from at least 10 under current law, ensure that, in the case of all written citizen complaints or complaints submitted in an electronic format, the agency (i) allows for the submission of citizen complaints through the agency's website or other electronic format; (ii) provides a receipt or written acknowledgment confirming the submission of the complaint to the individual filing such complaint; (iii) provides a written response to any individual who has filed a complaint within 30 days of the filing of such complaint indicating the status of such complaint; (iv) provides a written response to any individual who has filed a complaint within 60 days of the filing of such complaint indicating the final disposition of such complaint and if any action, including disciplinary action, was taken as a result of such complaint or, if after 60 days a resolution of the complaint has not occurred, the law-enforcement agency provides a written response indicating the reason for the delay in reaching a final disposition and an anticipated date of completion; (v) for any complaint that is not resolved within 60 days, provides a written response to any individual who has filed a complaint upon the resolution of such complaint indicating the final disposition of such complaint and if any action, including disciplinary action, was taken as a result of such complaint; and (vi) provides notice to any individual who has filed a complaint if an investigation into a previously filed complaint has been reopened upon the submission of new materials after a final resolution for the previously filed complaint has been reached. The bill also provides that all complaints, investigative materials associated with such complaints, and any dispositional information may be disclosed to the attorney for the Commonwealth when such materials are requested by the attorney for the Commonwealth and relate to a law-enforcement officer's credibility, integrity, or honesty or may constitute exculpatory or impeachment evidence.
Sentencing proceeding by jury after conviction; relevant mitigating evidence. Provides that relevant evidence that may be admissible by the defendant during the sentencing phase by a jury may include the circumstances surrounding the offense, the history and background of the defendant, and any other facts in mitigation of the offense. The bill also provides various examples of facts in mitigation of the offense. The bill also provides that any relevant evidence and facts in mitigation that may be considered by a jury when ascertainment of punishment by jury has been requested by the accused also may be considered by the court when the court fixes punishment.
Barrier crimes. Eliminates certain crimes from the definition of "barrier crime" and requires the State Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, the Board of Education, the State Board of Health, and the State Board of Social Services to each adopt regulations that develop and implement a waiver process for individuals who have been convicted of a barrier crime and who serve in a position or seek to serve in a position with any qualified entity subject to the regulations of the board. The bill eliminates current exceptions and time limit mandates, as such information is required to be set out in each agency's waiver process. The bill sets out information to be included in the regulations of the individual boards. The bill also directs the Departments of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, Education, Health, and Social Services to each publish information about the agency's waiver process in an easily accessible format on a website maintained by the department. The bill includes additional requirements for each waiver process, such as if an individual's application for a waiver is denied, the department must state the basis for denial in writing and provide such explanation to the individual. The bill provides that although a waiver granted to an individual by one department shall not be transferrable to a position under another department, proof of receipt of a waiver from one department shall be considered positively by another department when reviewing an application for a waiver. Additionally, each department is required to notify the Department of State Police when a waiver has been granted within 10 days of issuing the decision in writing to the person who was subject to the waiver. In cases where a waiver has been granted, the bill also prohibits any business screening service from disseminating information regarding the barrier crime conviction that was the subject of such waiver unless it is clearly indicated that the waiver was granted, and the bill sets out a penalty for any business screening service that violates that prohibition. The bill prohibits any qualified entity from discharging or otherwise discriminating against a person for any reason concerning solely the barrier crime conviction that was the subject of a waiver that has been granted. The bill also exempts all documents relating to a waiver application from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act except for an application cover sheet and whether the waiver has been granted or denied or if the application is pending. Additionally, the bill eliminates the state-level barrier crimes requirements for foster and adoptive parents and provides that a child-placing agency shall not approve a foster or adoptive home if any individual has been convicted of crimes prohibited under federal law or is the subject of a founded complaint of abuse or neglect as maintained in registries pursuant to state and federal law. The bill has a delayed effective date of the earlier of (i) the first day of the fourth month following notification of the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and the House Committee for Courts of Justice by the Superintendent of State Police that the Department of State Police has implemented the necessary system upgrades as required by this act or (ii) July 1, 2025; however, the provisions related to foster and adoptive parents become effective on July 1, 2022. The bill requires the Boards of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, Education, Health, and Social Services to promulgate regulations by December 1, 2024, to implement the provision of the bill. The bill also requires the Secretaries of Education, Health and Human Resources, and Labor to provide recommendations on the development of a navigation system no later than July 1, 2024, for assisting applicants in navigating the waiver processes across each department. Individuals with barrier crime convictions serving in a position pursuant to a currently existing exception, waiver, or screening process that the bill eliminates shall continue to be subject to such exception, waiver, or screening process and shall not be terminated upon enactment of the bill or required to apply for a barrier crime conviction waiver so long as he continues to be employed by the same employer. The bill also permits the boards to have a phased implementation of the regulations not to exceed two years after the bill's enactment in order to prevent overwhelming department resources for receiving applications and to ensure that applications are answered in a timely manner. The bill also directs the Department of State Police to implement any necessary enhancements to the Criminal History and Rap Back Information System by the effective date of the first enactment of this act.
Virginia Elections Commission; establishment;purpose. Establishes the Virginia Elections Commission as anadvisory commission in the legislative branch for the purpose ofstudying and making recommendations on matters related to the administrationand conduct of elections in the Commonwealth in order to ensure theaccessibility, integrity, efficiency, and security of elections inthe Commonwealth. The Commission will be composed of 15 members, includingmembers of local electoral boards, general registrars, and membersof the General Assembly, and shall employ an executive director andother persons as it deems necessary to assist in carrying out itsduties.
State Council of Higher Education for Virginia;statewide strategic plan; report. Endorses the framework of mission,vision, goals, and strategies for the statewide strategic plan forhigher education developed and approved by the State Council of HigherEducation for Virginia (SCHEV) as the Commonwealth's vision and planfor higher education and requires SCHEV to report annually for sixyears on the Commonwealth's progress toward achieving the plan'sgoals to the Governor, the General Assembly, institutions of highereducation, and the public.
Budget Bill. Provides for all appropriations of the Budget submitted by the Governor of Virginia in accordance with the provisions of § 2.2-1509 of the Code of Virginia, and provides a portion of revenues for the two years ending respectively on the thirtieth day of June 2023 and the thirtieth day of June 2024.
Virginia African Diaspora Advisory Board. Establishes the Virginia African Diaspora Advisory Board to advise the Governor on ways to improve economic and cultural links between the Commonwealth and African nations, with a focus on the areas of commerce and trade, agriculture, art, education, and government. The Board is composed of 18 nonlegislative citizen members, of whom at least 15 must be persons who identify as part of the African diaspora, to be appointed by the Governor. The Secretaries of Agriculture and Forestry, Commerce and Trade, and Education or their designees serve as ex officio members.
School boards and local governing bodies; unexpended local funds; school maintenance, renovation, and construction. Encourages each local governing body and local school board to enter into a collaborative agreement to set aside in a separate fund any sums, exclusive of the required local effort and required local match as stated in the general appropriation act, appropriated to the school board by the local governing body that are unexpended by the school board in any year in order to use such sums to finance school maintenance, renovation, or construction in the local school division. The bill provides that any such agreement may permit the local school board to retain and make authorized expenditures from such separate fund. As introduced, this bill is a recommendation of the Commission on School Construction and Modernization and incorporates SB 276.
Workers' compensation; anxiety disorder or depressive disorder incurred by law-enforcement officers and firefighters.Provides that an anxiety disorder or depressive disorder, as both are defined in the bill, incurred by a law-enforcement officer or firefighter is compensable under the Virginia Workers' CompensationAct on the same basis as post-traumatic stress disorder. The billprovides that a mental health professional must diagnose the law-enforcementofficer or firefighter as suffering from anxiety disorder or depressivedisorder as a result of a qualifying event, as defined in the Code,and includes other conditions for compensability.
Transit Transition Fund and Program; established.Establishes the Transit Transition Fund and Program, administeredby the Department of Rail and Public Transportation, to provide grantsto state, regional, and local public entities to support the transitionof public transit fleets to zero-emission and low-emission fleets.The Director of the Department is directed by the bill to report annually to the Governor and the chairmen of the House Committeeon Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriationsby November 1 of each year. The bill also directs 7.5 percent ofthe revenues collected from the tax on sports betting permitteesto the Fund, reducing the share of the tax revenue allocated to thegeneral fund.
