Del. Dan Helmer

Search warrants, subpoenas, court orders, or other process; menstrual health data prohibited. Prohibits the issuance of a search warrant, subpoena, court order, or other process for the purpose of the search and seizure or production of menstrual health data, as defined in the bill, including data stored on a computer, computer network, or other device containing electronic or digital information. This bill incorporates HB 1359 and is identical to SB 16.

Sickle cell disease; statewide registry; collectionof sickle cell disease case information; penalties; notification;annual report. Creates a statewide registry of sickle cell diseasepatients to be maintained by the State Health Commissioner. The billestablishes: (i) standards and selection criteria for the collectionof sickle cell disease information; (ii) penalties for unauthorizeduse of data from such registry; and (iii) notice requirements forpatients whose personal identifying information has been submittedto such registry. The bill allows patients diagnosed with sicklecell disease to self-report information to the sickle cell diseaseregistry. Under the bill, a patient has the right to opt out of havinghis information reported to the statewide sickle cell disease registry.The bill also directs the Commissioner to submit an annual reportof the information obtained from the sickle cell disease registryto the Governor and the General Assembly by December 1 of each year.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program;Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children;applications. Prohibits the Board of Social Services from requiringpersons applying to participate or renewing their participation inthe Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to appear in person.The bill also codifies the Department of Health's authority to implementa Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, andChildren (WIC Program), which is currently authorized by regulation,and prohibits the Department of Health from requiring persons applyingto participate or renewing their participation in the WIC Programto appear in person.

Alpha-gal syndrome; Board of Health; reportable disease list. Directs the Board of Health to adopt regulations to include alpha-gal syndrome on the list of diseases that shall be required to be reported in accordance with the Code of Virginia. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025.

Child labor offenses; civil penalties. Increasesfrom $10,000 to $25,000 the civil penalty for each violation of childlabor laws that results in the employment of a child who is seriouslyinjured or dies in the course of employment. The bill also increasesfrom $1,000 to $2,500 the maximum civil penalty for each other violationof child labor laws and provides that such civil penalty shall notbe less than $500. The bill directs the Department of Labor and Industry to convene a stakeholder work group to develop education and outreach plans to inform young workers and employers about child labor laws.

Hate crimes and discrimination; ethnic animosity; penalties. Provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to safeguard all individuals within the Commonwealth from unlawful discrimination in employment and in places of public accommodation because of such individual's ethnic origin and prohibits such discrimination. The bill also adds victims who are intentionally selected because of their ethnic origin to the categories of victims whose intentional selection for a hate crime involving assault, assault and battery, or trespass for the purpose of damaging another's property results in a higher criminal penalty for the offense. The bill also provides that no provider or user of an interactive computer service on the Internet shall be liable for any action voluntarily taken by it in good faith to restrict access to material that the provider or user considers to be intended to incite hatred on the basis of ethnic origin. This bill is identical to SB 7.

Office of Data Governance and Analytics; reciprocal data-sharing agreements; veteran-specific data. Allows the Officeof Data Governance and Analytics to enter into reciprocal data agreementswith state agencies for the purpose of sharing veteran-specific datain order to support data-informed outreach plans for veterans.

Military leaves of absence for employees of Commonwealth or political subdivisions; professional firefighters. Provides that any person who is employed by the Commonwealth or a political subdivision of the Commonwealth as a professional firefighter shall receive paid leaves of absence for up to 388 work hours that a leave of absence is required, regardless of whether such amount of work hours exceeds 21 workdays per federal fiscal year, during which such person is engaged in federally funded military duty, to include training duty, or is called forth by the Governor for military duty. Under current law, employees of the Commonwealth or a political subdivision of the Commonwealth are limited to an eight-hour, 21-workday cap, which equates to seven workdays for such employees working in 24-hour shifts. The 388-work-hour cap would provide leave for a little over 16 workdays for such employees working in 24-hour shifts. This bill is identical to SB 401.

Center for Rural Virginia; name change. Renames the Center for Rural Virginia as the Senator Frank M. Ruff, Jr. Center for Rural Virginia. This bill is identical to SB 704.

Manufacture, importation, sale, etc., of auto sears; prohibition; penalty. Prohibits the manufacture, importation, sale or offer to sell, possession, transfer, or transportation of an auto sear, defined in the bill as a device, other than a trigger activator, for use in converting a semi-automatic firearm to shoot automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. A violation is punishable as a Class 6 felony. The bill also provides for the forfeiture of any auto sear concealed, possessed, transported, or carried in violation of the prohibition. This bill is identical to SB 210.