Rep. Marty Martinez

Commending Peter A. Blake.

Commending Scott McGeary.

Commending the S. Delois Mayes Scholarship Foundation.

Weapons; possession or transportation; facility that provides mental health services or developmental services; penalty. Makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person to possess in or transport into any facility that provides mental health services or developmental services in the Commonwealth, including a hospital or an emergency department or other facility rendering emergency medical care, any (i) firearm or other weapon designed or intended to propel a missile or projectile of any kind; (ii) knife, except a pocket knife having a folding metal blade of less than three inches; or (iii) other dangerous weapon, including explosives and stun weapons. The bill provides that any such firearm, knife, explosive, or weapon is subject to seizure by a law-enforcement officer and specifies exceptions to the prohibition.

Civilian deaths in custody; report. Requires every law-enforcement agency and correctional facility to report to the Department of Criminal Justice Services certain information regarding the death of any person who is detained, under arrest or in the process of being arrested, en route to be incarcerated, incarcerated, or otherwise in the custody of such law-enforcement agency or correctional facility. The bill provides that any law-enforcement agency or correctional facility that fails to comply may, at the discretion of the Department, be declared ineligible for state grants or funds. The bill also requires the Department to analyze the submitted data to (i) determine the means by which such information can be used to reduce the number of such deaths and (ii) examine the relationship, if any, between the number of such deaths and the actions of management of such law-enforcement agencies and correctional facilities. Finally, the bill requires the Director of the Department to annually report the findings and recommendations resulting from the analysis and interpretation of the data to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Attorney General beginning on or before July 1, 2025, and each July 1 thereafter. This bill was incorporated into HB 611.

Physicians; informed consent; procedure observationby students or trainees for teaching purposes. Requires physiciansto notify patients that students or trainees may observe a procedureand requires physicians to obtain informed consent before such observationmay occur.

Establishment of Asian American and PacificIslander Heritage Commission; report. Establishes the 16-memberAsian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Commission as an advisorycommission in the executive branch of state government for the purpose of advising the Board of Education on the implementation of educationalstandards regarding Asian or Asian American and Pacific Islander contributions, culture, history, heritage, and language. The billrequires annual reports on the Commission's interim activities andwork to the Governor and General Assembly and has an expiration dateof July 1, 2027.

Health insurance; coverage for therapeutic daytreatment services. Requires health insurers providing healthcare plans to provide coverage for therapeutic day treatment servicesfor children with serious emotional disturbances, defined in thein bill as children who have a mental illness diagnosis and haveexperienced functional limitations due to emotional disturbance,including experiencing a school shooting or the loss of a loved onein a school setting, over the past 12 months on a continuous or intermittentbasis. Under the bill, "therapeutic day treatment services" are treatmentprograms that combine psychotherapeutic interventions with education and mental health and may include evaluation; medication educationand management; opportunities to learn and use daily living skillsand to enhance social and interpersonal skills; and individual, group,and family counseling. The bill applies to plans delivered, issuedfor delivery, or renewed on and after January 1, 2025.

Paid sick leave; health care providers and grocerystore workers. Requires employers to provide paid sick leaveto health care providers and grocery store workers. Under currentlaw, employers are only required to provide paid sick leave to certainhome health workers. The bill removes requirements that workers workon average at least 20 hours per week or 90 hours per month to beeligible for paid sick leave. The bill provides that certain healthcare providers may waive their right to accrue and use paid sick leave and provides an exemption for employers of certain other healthcare providers. The bill requires the Department of Labor and Industryto develop guidelines for retail employers that sell groceries toprovide sick leave and to publish such guidelines by December 1,2024. The provisions of the bill other than the requirement for theDepartment of Labor and Industry to develop guidelines have a delayedeffective date of January 1, 2025.

Public deposits; credit unions. Authorizescredit unions to hold public deposits and become qualified publicdepositories. The bill provides that the Commonwealth and counties, cities, towns, and other political subdivisions of the Commonwealthmay become members of a credit union for the purposes of placingdeposits in and receiving services from the credit union. The billdirects the Treasury Board to designate a rating service to evaluatethe creditworthiness of any credit union seeking to become a qualified public depository within 180 days of enactment. The bill also requiresthe Treasury Board to promulgate emergency regulations to implementthe provisions of the bill.