Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence VictimFund; funding for sexual assault services. Adds payments to sexualassault service providers and hospitals for the purpose of providingsalaries and equipment for sexual assault nurse examiners and pediatricforensic nurses to the list of purposes for which funds from theVirginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Victim Fund may be used andrequires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to prioritizefunding to sexual assault service providers and hospitals that providesexual assault nurse examiner services and pediatric forensic nurse services in rural and underserved communities when making fundsavailable for such purpose. The bill also increases the amount apportionedto the Fund from the fixed-fee assessment for misdemeanors and trafficinfractions tried in district court.
Sponsored bills
Burial fees for military spouses. Providesthat, from such funds as may be appropriated, the Commonwealth shallpay the burial fees for any spouse or surviving spouse of an activeduty member or veteran of the United States Armed Forces buried ata veterans cemetery operated by the Department of Veterans Services.
Virginia Center for Firearm Violence Interventionand Prevention; Virginia Firearm Violence Intervention and PreventionFund; creation. Establishes the Virginia Center for Firearm ViolenceIntervention and Prevention (the Center) within the Department ofCriminal Justice Services and transfers to the Center the administrationof the existing Virginia Gun Violence Intervention and PreventionFund.
Native plant species; state agencies. Directsthe Secretaries of Natural and Historic Resources, Agriculture andForestry, and Administration to coordinate the development of strategicactions for state agencies to take to prioritize the use of nativeplant species on state properties.
State plan for medical assistance services;violence interruption services. Directs the Board of MedicalAssistance Services to amend the state plan for medical assistanceservices to include a provision for the payment of medical assistancefor violence interruption services for an individual who receivesmedical treatment for an injury sustained as a result of communityor interpersonal violence and who is determined by a health careprovider to be at risk of retaliation related to such community orinterpersonal violence or future injury as a result of communityor interpersonal violence.
Health insurance; coverage for the diagnosisof and treatment for infertility and standard fertility preservationservices. Requires health insurance policies, subscription contracts,and health care plans to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of infertility and for standard fertility preservation procedures,defined in the bill.
Paid sick leave; penalty; state tax deduction. Requires employers, as defined in the bill, to provide 40 hours of paid sick leave, prorated to reflect the average number of hours worked per week by each employee, as defined in the bill, in the previous 12 months, for all existing eligible employees and eligible employees that have been employed for at least 12 months. For eligible employees who have been employed for less than 12 months, employers must provide 20 to 40 hours of paid sick leave, prorated to reflect the expected number of hours worked per week by each employee, as determined by the employer. Employers with at least 25 but not more than 49 full-time employees receive a nonrefundable state tax deduction equivalent to 120 percent of the value of any paid sick leave provided by an employer to an employee. Employers with existing paid sick leave policies providing at least 40 hours per year of paid sick leave are exempt from the requirements of the bill. The bill allows employers to request a hardship waiver from the Department of Labor and Industry for certain circumstances and requires employers to provide a written notice of information related to paid sick leave to each employee at the commencement of employment or by January 1, 2023. The bill requires that sick leave be available for any eligible employee to use at the commencement of employment and provides that paid sick leave may be used (i) for an employee's mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition, an employee's need for medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition, or an employee's need for preventive medical care or (ii) to provide care to a family member under similar circumstances. The law prohibits employers from taking certain retaliatory actions against employees related to paid sick leave, and the bill authorizes the Department, in the case of a knowing violation, to subject an employer to a penalty not to exceed $150 for the first violation, $300 for the second violation, and $500 for each successive violation, if the second or successive violation occurs within two years of the previous violation. The Commissioner of Labor and Industry may institute proceedings on behalf of an employee to enforce compliance with the bill and to collect specified amounts from the employer, which shall be awarded to the employee. Many of the provisions of the bill currently apply to certain home health workers. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2023.
Campaign advertisements; independent expenditures; electioneering communications; disclaimer requirements. Broadensthe scope of disclaimer requirements for campaign advertisementsto include electioneering communications, as defined in the bill,and messages advocating for the passage or defeat of a referendum.The bill also requires an advertisement that is an independent expenditureor expressly advocates for the passage or defeat of a referendum,to contain a disclaimer providing the names of the sponsor's three largest contributors or individuals representing a contributor thatis not an individual.
Constitutional amendment (second reference);marriage; repeal of same-sex marriage prohibition; affirmative rightto marry. Repeals the constitutional provision defining marriageas only a union between one man and one woman as well as the relatedprovisions that are no longer valid as a result of the United StatesSupreme 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 requires the Commonwealthand its political subdivisions and agents to issue marriage licenses,recognize marriages, and treat all marriages equally under the law,regardless of the sex or gender of the parties to the marriage. Religiousorganizations and clergy acting in their religious capacity havethe right to refuse to perform any marriage.
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act;terms and conditions of rental agreement; automatic renewal; noticeof rent increase. Requires a landlord that owns more than fourrental dwelling units to, in the case of any rental agreement thatprovides for automatic renewal of such agreement, provide separatewritten notice to the tenant notifying the tenant of any increasein rent. The bill provides that such notice shall be provided tothe tenant no less than 30 days before the automatic renewal takeseffect.