Rep. Mark L. Keam

Commission on Updating Virginia Law to Reflect Federal Recognition of Virginia Tribes; established; report. Establishes the Commission on Updating Virginia Law to Reflect Federal Recognition of Virginia Tribes in the legislative branch of state government for the purpose of performing a comprehensive review of Virginia law to assess ways in which it must be revised to include federally recognized Tribal Nations located in the Commonwealth as distinct governments with the right to exercise general sovereignty and powers of government. The Commission is required to submit an annual report on its interim activities and work by the first day of each regular session of the General Assembly. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2024.

Public accommodations, employment, and housing;prohibited discrimination on the basis of religion; includes outwardreligious expression. Clarifies that "religion" as it relatesto freedom of expression includes any outward expression of religiousfaith in contexts where discrimination on the basis of religion isprohibited.

Chief Resilience Officer. Clarifies the designation and role of the Chief Resilience Officer by moving the position from under the responsibility of the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources and adding provisions related to the role of the Chief Resilience Officer in creating and overseeing the implementation of a Virginia Flood Protection Master Plan and a Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan. Under current law, the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources is designated the Chief Resilience Officer. This bill is a Chesapeake Bay Commission initiative.

Certain student-athletes; compensation forname, image, or likeness. The bill prohibits any (i) high school student-athlete who participates in interscholastic athletic competitionfrom entering into any contract to receive compensation in exchangefor the use of such student's name, image, or likeness and (ii) student-athleteenrolled at an institution of higher education in the Commonwealthwho participates in intercollegiate athletic competition from enteringinto any contract to receive compensation in exchange for the useof such student's name, image, or likeness, the duration of whichextends beyond the student's enrollment at such institution.

Virginia Employment Commission; administrative reforms; reporting requirements; electronic submissions; Unemployment Compensation Ombudsman established; emergency. Requires the Virginia Employment Commission to calculate and report the (i) average unemployment insurance benefit levels, (ii) average income replacement of unemployment insurance benefits, and (iii) recipiency rate for unemployment insurance benefits in the Commonwealth as part of the Commission's annual balance sheet. The bill also requires the Commission, as part of its biennial strategic plan submitted to the Department of Planning and Budget, to develop and maintain an unemployment insurance Resiliency Plan that describes the specific actions the agency would take, depending on the level of increase in unemployment insurance (UI) claims, to address staffing, communications, and other relevant aspects of operations to ensure continued efficient and effective administration of the UI program.The bill creates within the Commission on Unemployment Compensation a subcommittee that shall be responsible for monitoring the Virginia Employment Commission's management of the unemployment insurance program. The subcommittee shall meet at least once each quarter and shall report annually, beginning on December 1, 2022, to the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Commerce and Energy, the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor, and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations. The bill also directs the Commission to convene an advisory committee composed of stakeholders and subject matter experts to review information related to UI claims.The bill requires employers to submit claim-related forms and separation information electronically, as well as other information and electronic tax payments upon the Commission's request, unless the employer has received a waiver by the Commission. The bill provides that a claim for unemployment benefits that has been determined invalid by the Virginia Employment Commission as a result of the claimant's monetary ineligibility shall first be reviewed upon a request for redetermination prior to filing an appeal. The bill also creates an Unemployment Compensation Ombudsman position for the purpose of providing information and assistance to persons seeking assistance in the unemployment compensation process and exempts confidential case files of the Unemployment Compensation Ombudsman from the mandatory disclosure provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The bill directs the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management to lead a multiagency work group to discuss strategies for staffing assistance and support for agencies that might need staffing assistance during emergencies. Additionally, the Virginia Employment Commission is directed to task its internal audit division to review and revise documents and online resources related to unemployment compensation. The bill contains an emergency clause and is identical to SB 219.

Department of Criminal Justice Services; hotels; human trafficking training. Directs the Department of Criminal Justice Services, under the direction of the Criminal Justice Services Board, to develop an online course to train hotel proprietors and their employees, as defined in the bill, to recognize and report instances of suspected human trafficking. The bill provides that such online course shall be provided at no cost to the hotel proprietors and their employees. The bill requires that every hotel proprietor require its employees to complete such human trafficking training course developed by the Department or an alternative online or in-person training course approved by the Department within six months of being employed by a hotel and thereafter at least once every two years, for as long as the employee is employed by the hotel. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2023.

Medicaid; program information; accessibility. Directs the Board of Medical Assistance Services to require every person that  provides program information to ensure that all program information, defined in the bill, be made available in a manner that is accessible to (i) individuals with limited English proficiency through the provision of language access services, including oral interpretation and written translations, and (ii) individuals with disabilities through the provision of auxiliary aids services, when doing so is a reasonable step to providing meaningful access to health care coverage. The bill provides that language access services and auxiliary aids services shall be provided free of charge to such individuals and that information regarding how to receive the language access services and auxiliary aids services shall be included with program information documents on a website maintained by the Department of Medical Assistance Services and on the website of every agency of the Commonwealth and person with whom the Department has entered into a contract that disseminates program information. The bill also requires every person that makes program information available to use an objective readability measure approved by the Department to test the readability of its program information documents and requires such persons to make program information documents available to the Department for review upon request. Under current law, use of a specific readability formula is required and a minimum total readability score is prescribed.

Transit Ridership Incentive Program. Changes from a maximum of 25 percent to a minimum of 25 percent the percentage of Transit Ridership Incentive Program (TRIP) funds required to be used to support the establishment of programs to reduce the impact of fares on low-income individuals. This change expires on July 1, 2024. The bill also requires at least 25 percent of TRIP funds to be used to support regional transit initiatives and provides that the Commonwealth Transportation Board has the discretion to allocate the remaining funds available as authorized by law and based on the programs and initiatives submitted during the application process.