Del. Patrick Hope

Unpaid family bereavement leave; required; remedies. Requires that an employer that employs 50 or more employees provide eligible employees, defined in the bill, with up to 10 days of unpaid family bereavement leave in any 12-month period to (i) attend the funeral or funeral equivalent of a covered family member; (ii) make arrangements necessitated by the death of a covered family member; (iii) grieve the death of a covered family member; or (iv) be absent from work due to (a) a miscarriage, (b) an unsuccessful round of intrauterine insemination or of an assisted reproductive technology procedure, (c) a failed adoption match or an adoption that is not finalized because it is contested by another party, (d) a failed surrogacy agreement, (e) a diagnosis that negatively impacts pregnancy or fertility, or (f) a stillbirth. The bill requires the employee to provide notice of his intent to take the leave if reasonable and practicable and provides that an employer may require reasonable documentation of the death or event. The bill requires the employer to restore the employee's position following the leave, to continue to provide coverage for the employee under any health benefit plan, and to pay the employee any commission earned prior to the leave. The bill prohibits the employer from taking retaliatory action against the employee for taking family bereavement leave and provides that, if an employer fails to provide unpaid family bereavement leave or engages in such prohibited retaliatory action, an employee may bring an action against the employer in a court of competent jurisdiction.

Home-based firearms dealers; prohibited nearschools; penalties. Provides that no home-based firearms dealer,as defined in the bill, shall be engaged in the business of selling,trading, or transferring firearms at wholesale or retail within 1.5miles of any elementary or middle school, including buildings andgrounds. The bill provides that any person who willfully violatessuch prohibition is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor for a first offenseand guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor for a second or subsequent offense.

Carrying assault firearms in public areas prohibited; penalty. Prohibits the carrying of certain semi-automatic center-fire rifles and shotguns on any public street, road, alley, sidewalk, or public right-of-way or in any public park or any other place of whatever nature that is open to the public, with certain exceptions. Under current law, the current prohibition on carrying certain shotguns and semi-automatic center-fire rifles and pistols applies to a narrower range of firearms, only in certain localities, and only when such firearms are loaded. This bill is identical to HB 175.

Firearm locking device required for purchase of a firearm; warning against accessibility to children; penalty. Requires any person who purchases a firearm to either (i) obtain or purchase from a licensed dealer a locking device for such firearm if a minor is present in such person's residence for 14 days or more in a calendar month or (ii) complete a certification statement on a form provided by the Department of State Police certifying that a minor is not present in such person's residence for 14 days or more in a calendar month, with exceptions enumerated in the bill. Accordingly, the bill provides that it is unlawful for any licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, or licensed dealer to sell, deliver, or transfer any firearm to any person, other than a licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, or licensed dealer, unless (a) the firearm is accompanied by a warning, in conspicuous and legible type in capital letters printed on a separate sheet of paper included within the packaging enclosing the firearm, that firearms should be locked and kept away from children and that there may be civil and criminal liability for failing to do so and (b) the transferee (1) obtains or purchases a locking device for such firearm if a minor is present in such person's residence for 14 days or more in a calendar month or (2) completes the certification statement. A violation of either provision is a Class 3 misdemeanor.

Public schools; mental health awareness trainingand instruction; requirements. Requires the health educationprogram required for each public school to include, at such gradelevels as the Board of Education deems appropriate, an age-appropriateprogram of instruction on suicide prevention and awareness, consistentwith curriculum guidelines developed by the Board and approved bythe State Board of Health, that includes instruction on the importanceof safe and healthy choices in relation to mental health wellness,healthy coping strategies, and strategies and resources for seekinghelp when a student is or knows someone who is experiencing thoughtsor ideations of suicide or self-harm. The bill requires the Boardto develop and the State Board of Health to approve curriculum guidelinesfor such program of instruction on suicide prevention and awareness.The bill also requires each teacher and other relevant personnel,as determined by the applicable school board, employed on a full-timebasis to complete mental health awareness training that addressesthe needs of youth populations that are at a high risk of experiencingmental health challenges and disorders. Current law requires suchteachers and personnel to complete mental health awareness trainingbut does not contain any requirements relating to the specific topicssuch training must address.

Restorative housing and isolated confinement; restrictions on use. Prohibits the use of isolated confinement, defined in the bill, in state correctional facilities, subject to certain exceptions. The bill requires that before placing an incarcerated person in restorative housing or isolated confinement for his own protection, the facility administrator shall place an incarcerated person in a less-restrictive setting, including by transferring such person to another institution or to a special-purpose housing unit for incarcerated persons who face similar threats. The bill requires that if an incarcerated person is placed in restorative housing or isolated confinement, such placement shall be reviewed every 48 hours and the facility administrator shall ensure that the incarcerated person receives a medical and mental health evaluation from certified medical and mental health professionals within one working day of placement in restorative housing or any form of isolated confinement. The bill also requires the facility administrator to notify the regional administrator in writing that an incarcerated person was placed in restorative housing or isolated confinement within 24 hours of such placement. Finally, the bill requires that formal reviews of an incarcerated person's placement in any form of isolated confinement shall be held in such person's presence, inform him of any reason or reasons administrative officials believe isolated confinement remains necessary, and give the incarcerated person an opportunity to respond to those reasons, and a formal ruling shall be provided to the incarcerated individual within 24 hours. This bill is identical to SB 719.

Health insurance; coverage for contraceptivedrugs and devices. Requires health insurance carriers to providecoverage, under any health insurance contract, policy, or plan thatincludes coverage for prescription drugs on an outpatient basis,for contraceptive drugs and contraceptive devices, as defined inthe bill, approved for use as prescribed products or for over-the-counteruse. The bill prohibits a health insurance carrier from imposingupon any person receiving contraceptive benefits pursuant to theprovisions of the bill any copayment, coinsurance payment, or fee, except in certain circumstances. The provisions of the bill applyto health insurance contracts, policies, or plans delivered, issuedfor delivery, or renewed on and after January 1, 2025.

Concealed handgun permit applications; fingerprints required by local governments. Requires an applicant for a concealed handgun permit or a renewal of such permit to submit fingerprints as part of the application. The bill provides that any demonstrated administrative costs associated with such fingerprints taken shall be the responsibility of and shall be assessed to the applicant. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025.

Equity in public school funding; student need; English language learner, special education, and at-risk students. Places several parameters on Standards of Quality funding calculations performed by the Department of Education, including (i) requiring the Department, when calculating the cost of salaries under the Standards of Quality funding formula, to include facilities staff and transportation staff salaries in the calculation of any cost of competing adjustment to salaries for instructional and support positions that is provided as part of the state share of basic aid pursuant to the general appropriation act; (ii) requiring the Department, when estimating the cost of any compensation supplement for instructional and support positions under the Standards of Quality funding formula, to include and estimate the cost of such a compensation supplement for facilities staff; (iii) prohibiting the Department from applying any cap on inflation rate adjustments to non-personal cost categories during the biennial process of rebenchmarking the direct aid to public education budget; and (iv) requiring the Department to utilize a three-year average of the most recently available data to calculate the composite index of local ability-to-pay for each school division. The bill also amends Standard of Quality 2 by (a) including in the definition of "support services position" any central office clerical position that is not otherwise set forth in such definition, (b) requiring a per-pupil Standards of Quality funding add-on to be provided for English language learner and special education students, (c) requiring, in addition to the positions supported by basic aid, state funding, pursuant to the general appropriation act, to be provided to cover the actual average school division cost to educate children with disabilities, and (d) establishing the At-Risk Program, defined in the bill as any state funding provided for programs of prevention, intervention, or remediation or pursuant to the at-risk add-on for the purpose of supporting programs for students who are educationally at risk. The bill requires (1) the determination of the amount of state funding for which a school division is eligible pursuant to such At-Risk Program to be based on the school division's identified student percentage, defined in the bill as the fraction, expressed as a percentage, that results from dividing the number of identified students enrolled in a school division by the total number of students enrolled in such school division, weighted by the factor of 1.5, and then adjusted by the addition of a percentage that corrects for undercounting English language learner students as identified students and (2) such funding to be distributed as follows: 60 percent on a flat per-student rate and 40 percent on a variable rate set out in the general appropriation act based on the concentration of poverty in the school division. The bill is a recommendation of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission.

Minimum wage; farm laborers or farm employees;temporary foreign workers. Eliminates the exemptions from Virginia'sminimum wage requirements for (i) persons employed as farm laborers or farm employees and (ii) certain temporary foreign workers. This bill incorporates HB 866.