Secretary of Public Safety; firearm violence. Directs the Secretary of Public Safety to convene a work group to develop policy and legislative recommendations to establish the Virginia Gun Violence Prevention Center. The bill allows the work group to (i) meet both in-person and virtually, (ii) have small group breakouts for the purpose of advancing work in a timely and efficient manner, and (iii) collaborate with experts and other representatives as needed. The bill requires the work group to report its findings and any legislative and policy recommendations to the General Assembly by December 15, 2026. This bill is identical to SB 364.
Obstructing reproductive health care facility; penalties. Creates a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person who (i) by force or threat of force, or by physical obstruction, intentionally injures, intimidates, or interferes with, or attempts to injure, intimidate, or interfere with, another person because such other person is or has been, or in order to intimidate such person or any other person or any class of persons from, obtaining or providing reproductive health services, defined in the bill, or (ii) intentionally damages or destroys, or attempts to damage or destroy, a reproductive health care facility, defined in the bill, because such facility provides reproductive health services. The bill also provides that the provisions of the bill shall not be construed to place any restriction on the content of any message that anyone may wish to communicate to anyone else, either inside or outside the regulated areas.
Head Start State Collaboration Office; state of Head Start and Early Head Start in the Commonwealth; report. Requires the Head Start State Collaboration Office at the Department of Education, no later than December 1, 2026, to develop and recommend to the Commission on Early Childhood Care and Education for endorsement a report summarizing the state of Head Start and Early Head Start in the Commonwealth that is required to address several topics enumerated in the bill.
Department of Education; School Health Services Committee; annual mental health screenings for public school students in grades six through 12; recommendations on guidance and best practices. Directs the School Health Services Committee (the Committee), in collaboration with the Department of Education, to study and make recommendations on best practices for annual mental health screenings for public school students in grades six through 12 that utilize evidence-based tools. The bill directs the Committee to include its findings and recommendations in its annual report required pursuant to applicable law.
Paid family and medical leave insurance program; notice requirements; civil action. Requires the Virginia Employment Commission to establish and administer a paid family and medical leave insurance program with benefits beginning April 1, 2028. Under the program, benefits are paid to covered individuals, as defined in the bill, for family and medical leave. Funding for the program is provided through premiums assessed to employers and employees beginning April 1, 2028. The bill provides that the amount of a benefit is 80 percent of the employee's average weekly net earnings, not to exceed 100 percent of the statewide average weekly net earnings, which amount is required to be adjusted annually to reflect changes in the statewide average weekly wage. The bill caps the duration of paid leave at 12 weeks in any application year and provides self-employed individuals the option of participating in the program. This bill is identical to SB 2.
Department of Education; culturally responsive and language-appropriate mental health support and services; guidance and policies. Requires, no later than October 1, 2027, the Department of Education to develop, adopt, and provide to each local school board guidance on the adoption of policies governing the provision of culturally responsive and language-appropriate mental health support and services for students in the local school division and permits any school board to develop and adopt policies in the local school division that are consistent with the guidelines adopted and provided by the Department of Education.
Weapons; possession prohibited in a hospital that provides mental health services or developmental services; penalty. Makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person to knowingly and intentionally possess in the building of any hospital that provides mental health services or developmental services in the Commonwealth, including an emergency department or other facility rendering emergency medical care, a (i) firearm, (ii) knife with a blade over three and one-half inches, or (iii) other dangerous weapon, including explosives and stun weapons. The bill also provides that notice of such prohibitions shall be posted conspicuously at each public entrance of any hospital and that no person shall be convicted of the offense if such notice is not posted, unless such person had actual notice of the prohibitions. The bill provides that such firearm, knife, explosive, or weapon shall be subject to seizure by a law-enforcement officer and forfeited to the Commonwealth and specifies certain exceptions to the prohibition. This bill is identical to HB 229.
Paid family and medical leave insurance program; notice requirements; civil action. Requires the Virginia Employment Commission to establish and administer a paid family and medical leave insurance program with benefits beginning April 1, 2028. Under the program, benefits are paid to covered individuals, as defined in the bill, for family and medical leave. Funding for the program is provided through premiums assessed to employers and employees beginning April 1, 2028. The bill provides that the amount of a benefit is 80 percent of the employee's average weekly net earnings, not to exceed 100 percent of the statewide average weekly net earnings, which amount is required to be adjusted annually to reflect changes in the statewide average weekly wage. The bill caps the duration of paid leave at 12 weeks in any application year and provides self-employed individuals the option of participating in the program. This bill is identical to HB 1207.
Medical malpractice information disclosures; report. Requires insurers who issue medical malpractice liability insurance polices covering health care providers in the Commonwealth to disclose, for the preceding calendar year, information regarding (i) premiums; (ii) claims activity; (iii) claim payments and litigation costs; and (iv) insurer financial condition. The bill further requires every hospital or health system licensed in the Commonwealth that maintains self-insurance, captive insurance, risk retention arrangements, or other retained financial risk for medical malpractice liability to disclose information regarding (a) the numbers of physicians and health care providers covered under the malpractice liability program; (b) claims activity; (c) malpractice expenditures; and (d) the total malpractice liability expenditures for the reporting year. The bill further requires such insurers, hospitals, and health care systems to provide a list of verdicts during the reporting year in medical malpractice actions in which the jury verdict exceeded the medical malpractice limitation on recovery. The bill provides that such disclosures and information be submitted to the Chairs of the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice and to the ranking Delegate and Senator of the minority party serving on such Committees on or before September 1, 2026, for the 2025 calendar year and on or before March 31 of each year thereafter for the preceding calendar year.
Employment; paid sick leave; civil penalties; civil actions. Requires one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked for all employees of private employers and state and local governments, with certain exceptions. The bill requires that employees who are employed and compensated on a fee-for-service basis accrue paid sick leave in accordance with regulations adopted by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry. The bill provides that employees transferred to a separate division or location remain entitled to previously accrued paid sick leave and that employees retain their accrued paid sick leave under any successor employer. The bill allows employers to provide a more generous paid sick leave policy than prescribed by its provisions and specifies that employees, in addition to using paid sick leave for their physical or mental illness or to care for a family member, may use paid sick leave to seek or obtain certain services or to relocate or secure an existing home due to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking. The bill requires the Commissioner to promulgate regulations for the implementation and enforcement of the bill's provisions by July 1, 2027.The bill authorizes the Commissioner, in the case of a knowing violation, to subject an employer to a civil penalty not to exceed $150 for the first violation, $300 for the second violation, and $500 for each successive violation. The Commissioner or Attorney General may commence administrative proceedings or bring a civil action to enforce the bill's provisions. Additionally, the bill authorizes an aggrieved employee to bring a civil action against the employer in which he may recover double the amount of any unpaid sick leave and the amount of any actual damages suffered as the result of the employer's violation. Certain provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027. This bill is identical to SB 199.
