Del. Patrick Hope

Permit applications for natural gas pipelines; State Water Control Law. Requires applicants for federal licenses or permits for natural gas transmission pipelines with an inside diameter of at least 24 inches to submit a separate application, erosion and sediment control plan, and stormwater management plan to the Department of Environmental Quality concurrently with a Joint Permit Application. Current law requires such application standards for pipelines with an inside diameter of greater than 36 inches. The provisions of the bill apply to any natural gas transmission pipeline project of at least 24 inches in inside diameter that is subject to a certificate of public convenience and necessity under the federal Natural Gas Act and that has not commenced construction by July 1, 2024, notwithstanding any previous certification previously issued or waived by the Department of Environmental Quality or the State Water Control Board.

Board of Medicine; continuing education; implicitbias and cultural competency in health care. Requires the Boardof Medicine to adopt and implement policies that require each practitionerlicensed by the Board who has direct contact with persons who areor may become pregnant to complete two hours of continuing educationrelated to implicit bias, defined in the bill, and cultural competencyin health care at least once every other license renewal cycle.

Celebrating the life of Charles Cragg Hines.

Commending the Culpeper County Volunteer FireDepartment.

Commending Sandra Gioia Treadway.

Public secondary schools; naloxone procurement, possession, and administration; school board employee training and certification; opioid overdose prevention and reversal training program; guidelines and requirements. Requires each local school board to develop, in accordance with the guidelines developed by the Department of Health in collaboration with the Department of Education, plans and policies for each secondary school relating to opioid overdose prevention and reversal, including: (i) the procurement, storage, and maintenance of at least two unexpired doses of naloxone at each such secondary school; (ii) the possession and administration of naloxone by school board employees; (iii) the requirement that each faculty and staff member employed at each secondary school complete training and certification in the administration of naloxone; (iv) the development and implementation of an opioid overdose prevention and reversal training program to be completed by each secondary school student by grade 10; and (v) the provision of disciplinary immunity for a student who, on school grounds and during regular school hours, has been found in possession of naloxone or has administered naloxone in the event of a life-threatening opioid overdose, provided that such student has completed the opioid overdose prevention and reversal training program and is 16 years of age or older.The bill contains provisions requiring each local school board and each secondary school to implement the applicable provisions of the bill. The bill also modifies the individuals who are authorized to administer naloxone or other opioid antagonists to include any school board employee who has completed training and is certified in the administration of naloxone by an organization authorized by DBHDS to provide such training and certification and to include any student enrolled at a public secondary school who has completed and received certification through the opioid overdose prevention and reversal training program and is 16 years of age or older. Current law limits such authorization to school nurses or school board employees contracted by a school board to provide school health services.Finally, the bill directs the Department of Health and the Department of Education to collaborate to develop guidelines and policies for the implementation of the provisions of the bill and for the Department of Education to submit such guidelines to the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Education, the Senate Committee on Education and Health, and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations by January 1, 2025. The bill requires such guidelines and policies to be implemented by each school board by the beginning of the 2025–2026 school year.

Stillbirth Support Grant Program. Establishesthe Stillbirth Support Grant Program for the purpose of providinggrants to individuals who delivered a stillborn child, as definedby the bill, to assist with out-of-pocket costs associated with suchdelivery. Under the bill, an application for such a grant must besubmitted within the same calendar year as such delivery of a stillborn child occurs.

Celebrating the life of Joseph Brian Hannigan.

Constitutional amendment (first reference); marriage between two individuals; repeal of same-sex marriage prohibition; affirmative right to marry. Repeals the constitutional provision defining marriage as only a union between one man and one woman as well as the related provisions that are no longer valid as a result of the United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015). The amendment provides that the right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of persons and prohibits the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions from denying the issuance of a marriage license to two parties contemplating a lawful marriage on the basis of the sex, gender, or race of such parties. The Commonwealth and its political subdivisions are required to recognize any lawful marriage between two parties and to treat such marriages equally under the law, regardless of the sex, gender, or race of such parties. The amendment provides that religious organizations and clergy acting in their religious capacity have the right to refuse to perform any marriage.

Breach of a contract; attorney fees; factors.Provides that, for any contract entered into on or after July 1,2024, if such contract contains a provision allowing the award ofattorney fees to a party when the other party to such contract breachessuch contract, the court may also allow reasonable attorney feesto be awarded to the party that prevails in any action, whether asplaintiff or defendant, with respect to such contract. The bill requiresthe court to take into account certain factors in determining such reasonable attorney fees.