Emergency Services and Disaster Law; Commissioner of Health; emergency orders and regulations; limitations; civil penalty. Provides that neither the Board of Health nor the Commissioner of Health shall make any emergency order or regulation unless, on the basis of the evidence available to the Board, (i) such order or regulation is necessary to suppress a nuisance dangerous to the public health or a communicable, contagious, or infectious disease or other danger to the public life and health; (ii) no alternatives to the proposed order or regulation that are reasonable in light of the impact on quality of life and economic well-being exist; and (iii) the provisions of such order or regulation are narrowly tailored to address the nuisance dangerous to the public health or a communicable, contagious, or infectious disease or other danger to the public life and health. The bill also provides that the Governor shall not issue any emergency rule, regulation, or order unless, on the basis of the evidence available to the Governor, (a) such rule, regulation, or order is necessary to address a compelling circumstance; (b) no alternatives to the proposed rule, regulation, or order that are reasonable in light of the impact on quality of life and economic well-being exist; and (c) the provisions of such rule, regulation, or order are narrowly tailored to address the compelling circumstance. The bill provides that any order that limits the number of individuals who may gather together in person, in public or private, or categorizes individuals on the basis of their relationship to or association with such individuals and limits the categories of individuals with whom an individual who is not known or reasonably suspected to have been exposed to or infected with a communicable disease of public health threat may associate is presumed to negatively impact quality of life and economic well-being. The bill also limits the duration of any emergency rule, regulation, or order to 15 days; provides for one extension of such rule, regulation, or order; and provides that any person who violates such rule, regulation, or order shall be subject to a civil penalty of no more than $100 per violation. Under current law, any person who violates the provisions of an executive order is subject to a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Sponsored bills
Empowerment Scholarship Accounts established.Permits the parents of certain children to apply to the schooldivision in which the child resides for a one-year, renewable EmpowermentScholarship Account that consists of an amount that is equivalentto a certain percentage of all applicable annual Standards of Qualityper pupil state funds appropriated for public school purposes andapportioned to the resident school division in which the studentresides, including the per pupil share of state sales tax funding in basic aid and any state per pupil share of special education fundingfor which the student is eligible. The bill permits the parent touse the moneys in such account for certain education-related expenses of the student, including tuition and fees at a private elementaryschool or secondary school that is located in the Commonwealth. Thebill also contains provisions relating to auditing, rescinding, andreviewing expenses made from such accounts.
Conduct of elections; vote counting; requiredlive video recording. Requires the general registrar of each county and city to provide for a live video recording of each pollingplace while absentee ballots are cast, votes are counted, and returnsare completed, and of each central absentee precinct while ballots are handled and returns are completed. The general registrars arerequired to ensure the video coverage is recorded and retained untilthe deadline to request a recount has passed and, if any contestor recount is pending thereafter, until it has been concluded. The bill provides that each live video recording must include date andtime indicators and be linked to the official website of the countyor city. The Department of Elections is required to post links onits official website to the video coverage for viewing by the public.The bill provides that any disruption in video coverage shall notaffect or prevent the continued casting of absentee ballots, countingof votes, or completion of returns, and is not grounds for an electioncontest.
COVID-19 vaccination; voluntary. Expressesthe sense of the General Assembly that any vaccination for the COVID-19virus shall be voluntary within the Commonwealth of Virginia andthat it fully supports the practice of medical informed consent.
Constitutional amendment (first reference);right of parents. Adds to the Constitution of Virginia the fundamentalright of parents to direct the upbringing, education, and care oftheir children. The amendment prohibits the Commonwealth from infringingthese rights without demonstrating that the governmental interestas applied to the person is of the highest order and not otherwiseserved. This section shall not be construed to apply to a parentalaction or decision that would physically harm or end the life ofthe child.
Group Violence Intervention Board; Divisionof Group Violence Intervention; Project Ceasefire Grant Fund; ProjectExit Grant Fund. Establishes the Group Violence Intervention Boardto coordinate and assist federal, state, and local group violenceintervention efforts. The bill also establishes within the Departmentof Criminal Justice Services (the Department) the Division of Group Violence Intervention (the Division), to be headed by an executivedirector appointed by the Director of the Department. The bill providesthat the Division is responsible for (i) coordinating the effortsof members of state and local law enforcement, community members,and social services providers to combat group violence; (ii) servingas a clearinghouse for research, best practices, and strategies thatmay be utilized in the implementation, execution, and evaluationof group violence interventions; and (iii) implementing and administeringvarious federal, state, and local grant funds that aid group violence intervention efforts. Finally, the bill creates the Project CeasefireGrant Fund, which provides money to organizations that are involvedin group violence intervention efforts, and creates the Project Exit Grant Fund, which provides money to organizations that assist formergang members or individuals attempting to leave gangs.
COVID-19 immunization; prohibition on requirement; discrimination prohibited. Prohibits the State Health Commissionerand the Board of Health, the Board of Behavioral Health and DevelopmentalServices, the Department of Health Professions and any regulatory board therein, and the Department of Social Services from requiringany person to undergo vaccination for COVID-19 and prohibits discriminationbased on a person's vaccination status with respect to any COVID-19vaccine (i) with regard to education, employment, insurance, or issuanceof a driver's license or other state identification or (ii) in numerousother contexts. The bill also prohibits the inclusion of any patient immunization information in the Virginia Immunization InformationSystem (VIIS) unless the patient has consented, in writing, to inclusionof his information in the VIIS.
Family life education curriculum guidelines;human reproduction; viewing of ultrasound video recording. Requiresthe instruction on human reproduction contained in the Board of Education'sfamily life education curriculum guidelines to include the viewingof a video recording of an ultrasound of a live unborn human in theuterus.
Celebrating the life of the Honorable AugustusBenton Chafin, Jr.
Celebrating the life of the Honorable AugustusBenton Chafin, Jr.