Public charter schools; applications; reviewand approval. Permits the Board of Education (the Board) to receive, review, and rule upon applications for public charter schools andenter into agreements for the establishment of public charter schools.Under current law, the power to grant or deny a public charter schoolapplication and enter into an agreement for the establishment ofa public charter school rests solely with local school boards. Thebill also provides that the decision of the Board or a local schoolboard to grant or deny a public charter school application or to revoke or fail to renew a public charter school agreement is finaland is not subject to appeal. Current law contains an appeal processfor such decisions.
Public charter schools; applications; reviewand approval. Permits the Board of Education (the Board) to receive, review, and rule upon applications for public charter schools andenter into agreements for the establishment of public charter schools.Under current law, the power to grant or deny a public charter schoolapplication and enter into an agreement for the establishment ofa public charter school rests solely with local school boards. Thebill also provides that the decision of the Board or a local schoolboard to grant or deny a public charter school application or to revoke or fail to renew a public charter school agreement is finaland is not subject to appeal. Current law contains an appeal processfor such decisions.
Prescriptions; off-label use. Provides thata licensed health care provider with prescriptive authority may prescribe,administer, or dispense a drug that has been approved for a specificuse by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for an off-label usewhen the health care provider determines, in his professional judgment,that such off-label use is appropriate for the care and treatmentof the patient and prohibits a pharmacist from refusing to dispensea drug for off-label use if a valid prescription is presented.
Killing the fetus of another; manslaughter;penalties. Provides that any person who kills the fetus of anotherby an intentional act committed while in the sudden heat of passion upon reasonable provocation is guilty of voluntary manslaughter,which is punishable as a Class 5 felony. The bill also provides thatany person who kills the fetus of another accidentally, contraryto the intention of the parties and while engaged in conduct so gross,wanton, and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life,is guilty of involuntary manslaughter, which is also punishable asa Class 5 felony.
COVID-19 immunization; prohibition on requirement;discrimination prohibited. Prohibits the State Health Commissionerand the Board of Health, the Board of Behavioral Health and DevelopmentalServices, the Department of Health Professions and any regulatoryboard therein, and the Department of Social Services from requiringany person, including any child, to undergo vaccination for COVID-19and prohibits discrimination based on a person's COVID-19 vaccinationstatus (i) with regard to education, employment, or issuance of adriver's license or other state identification or (ii) in numerous other contexts.
Virginia Retirement System and local retirementsystems; fossil fuel divestment; report. Requires the VirginiaRetirement System and local retirement systems to divest from fossil fuel companies by January 1, 2027.
Custody and visitation; grandparents; mediation. Requires any case in which a grandparent petitions the court forcustody or visitation of a minor grandchild to be referred by thecourt to mediation. The bill requires the petitioning party to paythe fee of the mediator.
Department of Education; task bank for performance-based assessments. Requires the Department of Education to developa task bank for performance-based assessments that is built usingvetted tasks that have been developed by practitioners and alignswith (i) the Department's Virginia Quality Criteria Review Tool forPerformance Assessments, (ii) the content in the standards of quality,and (iii) the skills in the Profile of a Graduate. The bill providesthat school divisions may select tasks from the task bank.
Division of marital property; military retainerpay. Provides that, for the purposes of dividing maritalproperty, military retainer pay shall be classified as separate property.
Certificate of public need; expedited review process; work group; report. Requires the Department of Health to establish an expedited review process for certain projects involving the addition of imaging equipment, a new ambulatory or outpatient surgery center, operating rooms at an existing ambulatory or outpatient surgery center, and psychiatric beds or conversion of existing beds at a medical care facility to psychiatric beds and requires the Board of Health to include in regulations governing the certificate of public need program a provision for the development of review criteria and standards for specific medical care facilities and health care services for each health planning region that take into account the unique needs and characteristics of such region. The bill also amends the definition of "charity care" and defines "health care service" and "indigent." Additionally, the bill directs the Department of Health to convene a work group to make recommendations of funding options to alleviate the risk of financial insolvency for public and private hospitals with fewer than 100 licensed beds in the event of a future public health emergency. The bill requires the work group to report its recommendations to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions by November 1, 2022.
Marijuana tax; revenue allocations. Reallocates revenues from the state marijuana tax so that the 30 percent currentlyallocated to the Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund would be reallocatedto the general fund.
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative; preexisting contracts. Establishes a reserve account for the purchase of Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) allowances by an entity that has a preexisting contractual arrangement related to a power purchase entered into on or before May 16, 2017, and continuing in effect on July 1, 2020, through December 31, 2025. Such entity is authorized under the bill to purchase RGGI credits at a discounted rate, subject to conditions set forth in the bill, if, because of the preexisting contractual arrangement, the entity is unable to pass through or recover its RGGI costs.
