Del. Candi King

Toll relief; maximum charges. Limits to$200 per month the tolls charged to residents of the Commonwealthvia electronic toll collection devices for the use of toll bridges,toll ferries, toll tunnels, or toll roads in the Commonwealth. Thebill prohibits misusing, sharing, or transferring an electronic toll collection device for the purpose of (i) generating tolls to reachthe toll limit or (ii) obtaining toll-free use of toll facilitiesin the Commonwealth. The bill authorizes the free use of all tollbridges, toll roads, and other toll facilities in the Commonwealthfor drivers who are recipients of Temporary Assistance for NeedyFamilies (TANF) benefits.

Study; JLARC; Department of Juvenile Justice;report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission,in conjunction with the Office of the Secretary of Public Safetyand Homeland Security and the Office of the Secretary of Health andHuman Resources, to conduct a study to determine the feasibilityand benefits of transferring responsibility for the Department ofJuvenile Justice from the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to the Secretary of Health and Human Resources.

Fetal and Infant Mortality Review Team established;penalty; report. Establishes the Fetal and Infant Mortality ReviewTeam to develop and implement procedures to ensure that fetal andinfant deaths occurring in the Commonwealth are analyzed in a systematicway. The bill requires the Team to compile triennial statisticaldata regarding fetal and infant deaths and to make such data availableto the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Department of Health.The bill provides that information and records obtained or createdby the Team and portions of meetings of the Team at which individualfetal and infant deaths are discussed shall be confidential.

High-occupancy toll lanes; disabled veteranlicense plates. Provides that, on Interstate 95, vehicles displayinga disabled veteran license plate meet the high-occupancy requirementfor high-occupancy toll lanes, regardless of the number of occupantsin the vehicle.

Conveyance of easement. Authorizes the Departmentof Conservation and Recreation to grant and convey a temporary constructionand ingress and egress easement over Neabsco Road at LeesylvaniaState Park to the Newport Estates Homeowners Association, Inc. Theeasement will allow ingress and egress for the repairs and restorationto a slope failure due to poor soils on the neighborhood open spaceproperty by the Newport Estates Homeowners Association.

Home Visiting Program established; report. Establishes the Home Visiting Program within the Department of Social Services to support pregnant people and parents with young children who face greater risks and barriers to achieving positive maternal and child health outcomes. The bill directs the Department to operate in accordance with the Virginia Plan for Home Visiting established by Early Impact Virginia, a consortium of government and private entities. The purpose of the Program is to (i) promote the health and well-being of pregnant people and parents, (ii) improve infant and child health and development, (iii) strengthen family functioning, (iv) promote school readiness, (v) reduce child maltreatment, (vi) promote economic mobility, and (vii) cultivate strong communities. The bill requires the Department to report biennially to the Governor and the General Assembly on outcomes for Program participants.

Insurrections; elections; prohibition from serving in position of public trust; civil penalty. Prohibits any person from serving in any position of public trust within the Commonwealth for life if such person is convicted of certain offenses related to rioting and unlawful assembly or any substantially similar offense under the laws of the United States or any of its states or territories when such offense occurs (i) at a polling place, a voter satellite office, or any other location being used for voting or registration purposes; (ii) during the certification of an election; or (iii) at any other official proceeding related to an election. The bill provides that any person who violates such prohibition shall be subject to a civil penalty of $1,000, and such person shall also immediately resign from any such position of public trust such person holds. The bill authorizes the attorney for the Commonwealth and their assistants to enforce these provisions.The bill defines "position of public trust" as any position in which a person performs work that involves a significant degree of public trust and confidence that such person will carry out the work in accordance with applicable laws, regulation, and guidelines. Such positions may involve policy making, major program responsibility, fiduciary responsibilities, or other duties demanding a significant degree of public trust and shall include positions in administering or conducting elections, public safety or public health, law enforcement, and education.The bill also provides a procedure for any person prohibited from serving in any position of public trust within the Commonwealth to petition the circuit court of the jurisdiction in which he resides or, if the person is not a resident of the Commonwealth, the circuit court of any county or city where such person was last convicted of a disqualifying offense, for a restoration order that unconditionally authorizes his ability to serve in a position of public trust within the Commonwealth.Lastly, the bill provides that the attack on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, constitutes an insurrection, and the provisions of the bill shall apply to any person convicted of an offense in relation to such insurrection.

Health insurance; coverage option for fertility services; essential health benefits benchmark plan. Requires health insurance policies, subscription contracts, and health care plans to offer and make available coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of infertility and for standard fertility preservation procedures, as defined in the bill. Such coverage includes coverage for in vitro fertilization, provided that procedures are performed at medical facilities or clinics that conform to guidelines published by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology or the American Fertility Society for in vitro fertilization procedures. The bill also requires the Health Insurance Reform Commission to consider such coverage in its 2025 review of the essential health benefits benchmark plan. The bill directs the Commission to include such coverage in its recommendation to the General Assembly for a new essential health benefits benchmark plan unless the Commission identifies a compelling reason to exclude such coverage.

School meals; availability at no cost to students. Provides that each school board shall require each public elementary and secondary school in the local school division to participate in the federal National School Lunch Program and the federal School Breakfast Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture or in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) as provided in relevant law, if applicable, and to make lunch and breakfast available to any student who requests such a meal at no cost to the student, unless the student's parent has provided written permission to the school board to withhold such a meal from the student. The bill also requires the Department of Education to reimburse each public elementary and secondary school for each school breakfast and lunch served to a student, with a maximum of one breakfast and one lunch per student per school day, and provides the formula for determining the state reimbursement rate for such meals. The bill contains provisions directing each school board to adopt policies and procedures aimed at maximizing access to federal funds available for the cost of participating in school breakfast and lunch programs and maximizing determinations of student eligibility for federal free or reduced cost meal reimbursements rates and participation in CEP. The bill also lowers the minimum identified student percentage for a school to be eligible to participate in CEP from 40 to 25 percent in accordance with the updated federal CEP regulations (7 C.F.R. § 245.9(f)(3)(i)). The bill also requires the Secretary of Education, in coordination with the Secretary of Finance, to convene a stakeholder work group to study and make recommendations on ways to avoid or mitigate the impact of offering statewide free school breakfast and lunches on other state-funded programs and to submit a report on such findings and recommendations by January 15, 2025, to the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Education. The bill also repeals provisions of law relating to the federal School Breakfast Program and to school meal debt that are rendered obsolete by the provisions of the bill.

Commending the Suffolk Alumnae Chapter of DeltaSigma Theta Sorority, Inc.