Unaccompanied homeless youth; consent to medicalcare. Provides that except for the purposes of sterilizationor abortion, a minor who is 14 years of age or older and who is an unaccompanied homeless youth shall be deemed an adult for the purposeof consenting to surgical or medical examination or treatment, includingdental examination and treatment, for himself or his minor child.The bill describes evidence sufficient to determine that a minoris an unaccompanied homeless youth and provides that no health careprovider shall be liable for any civil or criminal action for providingsurgical or medical treatment to an unaccompanied homeless youthor his minor child without first obtaining the consent of his parentor guardian provided in accordance with the law, with the exceptionof liability for negligence in the diagnosis or treatment of suchunaccompanied homeless youth.
Sponsored bills
Public school buses; seat belts. Requiresthe Board of Education to make regulations to require each new publicschool bus purchased for the transportation of students to be equippedwith a seat belt consisting of a lap belt and shoulder strap or harnessin every seat. The bill requires each school board to ensure thatno later than July 1, 2040, each school bus that it uses for thetransportation of students is equipped with a seat belt in every seat.
State parks; free entry for veterans. Establishesa Veteran's Passport program for veterans of the Armed Forces of theUnited States or members of the Virginia National Guard that entitlesthe bearer to enter state parks in the Commonwealth without the paymentof a parking or admission fee.
Additional local sales and use tax to support schools. Authorizes all counties and cities to impose an additional local sales and use tax at a rate not to exceed one percent, with the revenue used only for capital projects for the construction or renovation of schools. Under the bill, the tax can only be imposed if it is initiated by a resolution of the local governing body and approved by the voters in a referendum. The bill requires the governing body to specify in the enacting ordinance the time period, not to exceed 20 years, for which the tax would be imposed, and revenue from the tax is required to be used solely for capital projects for new construction or major renovation of schools in the locality enacting the tax. Under current law, only Charlotte County, Gloucester County, Halifax County, Henry County, Mecklenburg County, Northampton County, Patrick County, Pittsylvania County, and the City of Danville are authorized to impose such a tax.
Stormwater management service districts; rateof taxation. Provides that if a locality located within a stormwatermanagement service district requires, by ordinance, that certainproperty owners maintain private stormwater management facilities,the rate of tax imposed by such service district on such propertyowners shall be half of the amount imposed on property owners not required to maintain private stormwater management facilities.
Commonwealth College Completion Fund and Program; established. Establishes the Commonwealth College CompletionFund (the Fund) and Program (the Program) for the purpose of administering funds to students enrolled as full-time or part-time students atpublic and nonprofit private institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth. Under the bill, such funds shall be administered toassist students with satisfying non-tuition financial transactionsand costs that are preventing such students from reenrolling or signingup for courses with the institution required to complete the student'scertification or degree. The bill requires the State Council of HigherEducation for Virginia to administer the Program and with input fromthe institutions of higher education, set guidelines for (i) whattypes of financial transactions and costs are eligible to be coveredthrough the Program, (ii) criteria that students must satisfy tobe eligible for the Program; and (iii) any limits on money to be disbursed through the Fund per person or per covered cost.
Literary Fund; loans; application process; maximum loan amounts; rates of interest; closing costs; waiting lists. Makes several changes to the provisions relating to loans from the Literary Fund to finance the construction and renovation of public elementary and secondary school buildings in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the Board of Education (the Board) to establish an annual open application process for Literary Fund loans to occur during the period that the Board deems most suitable. The bill increases from $7.5 million to $25 million the maximum Literary Fund loan amount and permits the Board to increase such maximum to up to $35 million for loans for any school construction or renovation project that facilitates the consolidation of schools. The bill requires the Board to fix the interest rate on all loans made from the Literary Fund at not less than one percent per year, not more than three percent per year, and at increments of one half of one percent per year between such minimum and maximum rates, payable annually, and to utilize a sliding scale based on the local school division's composite index of local ability to pay to determine the interest rate on each such loan. Under current law, such rates are required to be set between two and six percent per year. The bill requires the Board to establish a competitive program for the award of up to $25,000 to a school division that receives a Literary Fund loan for the purpose of subsidizing all or a portion of the closing costs for such loan. The bill also permits the Board to remove any project that has been inactive for at least five years from any Literary Fund loan project waiting list that it maintains. This bill is a recommendation of the Commission on School Construction and Modernization.
Study; Apprenticeship Council; electric vehicle charging infrastructure apprenticeship programs; report. Requests the Virginia Apprenticeship Council to study the need for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and maintenance and repair of EV infrastructure apprenticeship programs in the Commonwealth, noting the stated goal of the Commonwealth to reduce carbon emissions intensity across all sectors, including the transportation industry. In conducting its study, the Apprenticeship Council should consider a number of factors in studying the need for such apprenticeship programs. The Apprenticeship Council is further requested to report the results of an in-depth study of similar apprenticeship programs in other states to the General Assembly and to convene a stakeholder advisory group to discuss the need for electric vehicle charging infrastructure apprenticeship programs in the Commonwealth. The bill directs the Apprenticeship Council to complete its meetings by November 30, 2022, and report its findings to the Governor and the Chairmen of the Senate Committees on Education and Health and Commerce and Labor and the House Committees on Education and Labor and Commerce.
Transportation funding; statewide prioritizationprocess; resiliency. Adds resiliency, defined in the bill, tothe list of factors to be considered during the statewide transportationfunding prioritization process commonly known as SMART SCALE. Thebill also requires that the factors of congestion mitigation, economicdevelopment, accessibility, safety, resiliency, and environmentalquality be considered relative to the anticipated life-cycle costof the project or strategy under consideration.
Anti-Human Trafficking and Survivor Trust Fund.Creates the Anti-Human Trafficking and Survivor Trust Fund, whichshall be administered by a Board of Trustees and used for the supportand development of services for the prevention of human traffickingand the treatment and support of human trafficking victims.