Del. David Bulova

Constitutional amendment (first reference);qualifications of voters; right to vote; persons not entitled tovote. Provides that every person who meets the qualificationsof voters set forth in the Constitution of Virginia shall have thefundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth and that such rightshall not be abridged by law, except for persons who have been convictedof a felony and persons who have been adjudicated to lack the capacityto understand the act of voting. A person who has been convictedof a felony shall not be entitled to vote during any period of incarcerationfor such felony conviction, but upon release from incarceration forthat felony conviction and without further action required of him,such person shall be invested with all political rights, includingthe right to vote. Currently, in order to be qualified to vote a personconvicted of a felony must have his civil rights restored by theGovernor or other appropriate authority. The amendment also providesthat a person adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction aslacking the capacity to understand the act of voting shall not be entitled to vote during this period of incapacity until his capacityhas been reestablished as prescribed by law. Currently, the Constitutionof Virginia provides that a person who has been adjudicated to bementally incompetent is not qualified to vote until his competencyis reestablished.

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provision defining marriage as only a union between one man and one woman as well as the related provisions that are no longer valid as a result of the United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015).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.

Workers' compensation; post-traumatic stressdisorder incurred by dispatchers. Allows dispatchers, as definedin the bill, to claim workers' compensation benefits relating topost-traumatic stress disorder under the Virginia Workers' CompensationAct. Currently, only law-enforcement officers and firefighters mayclaim such benefits.

Celebrating the life of Janet Marie Brooking.

Commending Peter A. Blake.

Commending Scott McGeary.

Department of Environmental Quality; protectionof existing tidal and nontidal wetlands; wetland restoration andcreation; work group; report. Directs the Department of EnvironmentalQuality to establish a work group to develop (i) strategies for protectingthe existing tidal and nontidal wetlands of the Commonwealth and(ii) plans for wetland restoration and creation to address lossesand adverse impacts from human activities and climate change. Thebill specifies that such work group shall include certain relevantstakeholders and will focus on (a) evaluating existing approachesto wetland conservation strategies in the Commonwealth and otherstates, (b) identifying wetlands adaption areas where tidal wetlandscan persist in the landscape, and (c) exploring the circumstancesin which climate can impact the wetlands' health and survival. Thebill requires the work group to report its findings and recommendationsto the Chairs of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservationand Natural Resources and House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeakeand Natural Resources by December 1, 2024.

Reports relating to PFAS; Department of Environmental Quality; one-time report. Requires all facilities that have engaged since January 1, 2021, in the manufacture of or knowing use in the production process of one or more chemicals listed as PFAS target analytes to produce a one-time report on the use of such chemicals. The report shall be limited to facilities that discharge to (i) a surface water under a Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issued by the Department of Environmental Quality (the Department) or (ii) a publicly owned treatment works under an industrial pretreatment program permit or other written authorization issued by a local permit control authority. The report shall be submitted to the Department and, if such facility discharges to a publicly owned treatment works, also to the local permit control authority no later than October 1, 2024. The bill also requires certain facilities to perform a limited PFAS discharge characterization during the one-year period from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025, for each waterway discharge outfall consisting of representative quarterly monitoring using the applicable laboratory test method, as specified in the bill. Such facilities shall report results to the Department and, if the facility discharges to a publicly owned treatment works, also to the local permit control authority, within 30 days after the end of each quarter. This bill was incorporated into HB 1085.

Commending the Honorable Mark C. Simmons.

Commending John T. Frey.