Del. Liz Guzmán

Department of Human Resource Management; requiredonline training for LGBTQ cultural competency. Requires theDepartment of Human Resource Management to develop an online trainingmodule addressing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer(LGBTQ) cultural competency. The bill requires all state employeescommencing or recommencing employment with the Commonwealth on orafter January 1, 2021, to complete such training within 90 days ofcommencing or recommencing such employment and all persons employedwith the Commonwealth on January 1, 2021, to complete such trainingno later than April 1, 2021.

Recounts; special election to be held in the case of a tie vote. Provides that if, after a recount of an election, the recount court finds that each party to the recount has received an equal number of votes, there shall be a special election to determine which candidate is elected to the office. This provision would not apply in cases of tie votes occurring after a recount of an election for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or Attorney General, which the Constitution of Virginia provides for, or for electors of President and Vice President of the United States, which will continue to be determined by lot. This bill incorporates HB 178 and HB 692.

Workers' compensation; presumption of compensability for certain diseases. Adds cancers of the colon, brain, or testes to the list of cancers that are presumed to be an occupational disease covered by the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act when firefighters or certain employees develop the cancer. The presumption shall not apply for any individual who was diagnosed with one of the conditions before July 1, 2020. The measure removes the compensability requirement that the employee who develops cancer had contact with a toxic substance encountered in the line of duty. The bill also reduces the number of years of service needed to qualify for the presumption from 12 to five for various types of cancer. For hypertension or heart disease, the bill adds a requirement that an individual complete five years of service in their position in order to qualify. This bill is identical to SB 9.

Offshore oil and gas drilling; prohibition on leases; policy. Prohibits the granting of a lease, easement, or permit on the beds of the coastal waters of the Commonwealth that would allow any infrastructure for conveying to shore oil or gas produced from offshore drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf Planning Area and removes any oil or gas lease granted on such beds from the mandate that such lease include a royalty payment requirement. The bill removes policy statements supporting federal efforts to permit oil and gas development 50 miles or more off the Atlantic shoreline. This bill incorporates HB 1016.

School boards; mental health awareness training. Requires each school board to (i) adopt and implement policies that require each teacher and other relevant personnel, as determined by the school board, employed on a full-time basis, to complete a mental health awareness training or similar program at least once and (ii) provide such training, which may be provided pursuant to a contract with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, a community services board, a behavioral health authority, a nonprofit organization, or other certified trainer or via an online module. This bill incorporates HB 716 and HB 1554 and is identical to SB 619.

Legal holidays; Lee-Jackson Day; Election Day. Designates Election Day, the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, as a state holiday and removes Lee-Jackson Day as a state holiday. This bill is identical to SB 601.

Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Securityand the Office of the Executive Secretary; creation and implementationof policies for people with developmental disabilities. Requiresthe Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to create andimplement policies that recognize and make accommodations for peopleencountering the criminal justice system with developmental disabilities.The bill also requires the Office of the Executive Secretary to createand implement policies that recognize and make accommodations forpeople with developmental disabilities, for use by judges in determiningcase outcomes.

Green Job Creation Tax Credit; sunset date.Extends the sunset date of the green job creation tax credit from January 1, 2021, to January 1, 2026. The bill contains technicalamendments.

Tax credit for participating landlords; eligible housing areas. Expands the definition of "eligible housing area" for the housing choice voucher tax credit to include Virginia census tracts in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria Metropolitan Statistical Area in which less than 10 percent of the population lives below the poverty level. Landlords who rent qualified housing units within such areas are eligible for an income tax credit. Current law only applies to such areas within the Richmond and Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News Metropolitan Statistical Areas.The bill establishes a 2025 sunset date on the credit. The bill incorporates HB 1014 and is identical to SB 200.

Eligibility for food stamps and TANF; drug-related felonies. Provides that a person who is otherwise eligible to receive food stamp benefits shall not be denied such assistance solely because he has been convicted of a drug-related felony. Under current law, such individuals may not be denied food stamp benefits based on a felony conviction of possession of a controlled substance in violation of § 18.2-250, provided that such person is complying with, or has already complied with, all obligations imposed by the criminal court, is actively engaged in or has completed a substance abuse treatment program, participates in periodic drug screenings, and meets any other obligations as determined by the Department of Social Services. The bill also provides that a person who is otherwise eligible to receive TANF benefits shall not be denied such assistance solely because he has been convicted of a drug-related felony. This bill incorporates HB 391, HB 786, HB 814, and HB 1130 and is identical to SB 124.