Employers; reporting outbreaks of COVID-19. Requires that, upon determination that a worksite cluster of COVID-19 has occurred at a workplace with 50 or more employees, the Department of Health (the Department) shall make a report available to the public on a website maintained by the Department that includes (i) the name of the employer at which a worksite cluster has been reported and (ii) the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported by such employer. The Department shall also report when previously reported outbreaks are under control. The bill defines "worksite cluster" as five or more cases with illness onset or initial positive results within a 14-day period and a likely epidemiologic linkage between cases. The bill provides that the provisions of the act shall expire upon expiration of the Governor's declared state of emergency in response to the continued spread of the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus, or COVID-19. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.
Sponsored bills
Elimination of mandatory minimum sentences;modification of sentence to mandatory minimum term of confinementfor felony offenses. Eliminates all mandatory minimum sentencesof confinement from the Code of Virginia. The bill also providesa petition process for a person who was convicted or adjudicateddelinquent of a felony offense committed prior to July 1, 2021, exceptfor a Class 1 felony or any felony that was punishable by a mandatory minimum term of confinement for life, and sentenced to a mandatoryminimum term of confinement for such felony offense and who remainsincarcerated in a state or local correctional facility serving themandatory minimum term of confinement for such felony offense topetition the circuit court that entered the original judgment ororder to (i) suspend the unserved portion of such mandatory minimumsentence, (ii) place such person on probation for such time as thecourt shall determine, or (iii) otherwise modify the sentence imposed. The bill provides that such petition shall be filed by July 1, 2024.This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia State Crime Commission.
Compensation Board determining staffing and salaries for an attorney for the Commonwealth. Provides that the Compensation Board shall consider workload totals comprehensively, including the use of diversion programs and specialty dockets, when determining staffing and funding levels for an attorney for the Commonwealth and the office. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.
Study; Department of Rail and Public Transportation; transit equity and modernization; report. Requests the Department of Rail and Public Transportation to conduct a two-year study of transit equity and modernization in the Commonwealth,with emphasis on transit services and engagement opportunities for underserved and underrepresented communities.
Campaign finance; prohibited personal use; child care exception. Prohibits any person from converting any moneys, securities, or like intangible personal property contributed to a candidate or a candidate's campaign committee to his personal use, the personal use of the candidate, or the personal use of a member of the candidate's immediate family. Current law prohibits such conversion of contributions to personal use specifically with regard to disbursement of surplus funds at the dissolution of a campaign or political committee. The bill provides that a contribution is considered to have been converted to personal use if the contribution, in whole or in part, is used to fulfill any commitment, obligation, or expense that would exist irrespective of the person's seeking, holding, or maintaining public office but excepts from "personal use" the ordinary and accepted expenses related to campaigning for or holding elective office, including the use of campaign funds to pay for the candidate's child care expenses that are incurred as a direct result of campaign activity. The bill directs the Attorney General to issue an advisory opinion explaining the provisions of the Campaign Finance Disclosure Act of 2006 (§ 24.2-945 et seq.) that prohibit the personal use of campaign funds. The bill directs the State Board of Elections to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill and to provide an updated summary of Virginia campaign finance law that reflects the Attorney General's opinion and any new regulations promulgated by the Board.
Virginia Fair Housing Law; reasonable accommodations; disability-related requests for parking. Provides that for thepurposes of the Virginia Fair Housing Law, when a person receivesa request for accessible parking to accommodate a disability, theperson receiving the request shall treat such request as a reasonable accommodation, and any costs, fees, or charges related to the installation, designation, marking, or reconfiguration of a parking space relatedto such reasonable accommodation request shall be borne by the personreceiving the request. The bill provides that it is declarative ofexisting law.
Virginia Freedom of Information Act; electronic meetings. Authorizes a public body to conduct through electronic communication means a meeting for which, on or before the day of the meeting, a member of the public body holding the meeting notifies the chair that such member is unable to attend the meeting due to a family member's medical condition that requires the member to provide care for such family member, thereby preventing the member's physical attendance. The bill also clarifies that participation in an electronic meeting by a member of a public body due to the inability to attend because of a personal matter is limited each calendar year to two such meetings, which is current law, or 25 percent of the meetings held that calendar year rounded up to the next whole number, whichever is greater. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council.
Nurse practitioners; practice without a practice agreement. Reduces from five to two the number of years of full-time clinical experience a nurse practitioner must have to be eligible to practice without a written or electronic practice agreement. The provisions of the bill expire on July 1, 2022.
Emergency Services and Disaster Law; local andinterjurisdictional emergency operations plans. Requires localand interjurisdictional agencies to include provisions in their emergency operations plans to ensure that such plans are applied equitablyand that the needs of minority and vulnerable communities are metduring emergencies.
Student driver education program; parent participation exemption. Exempts students who are (i) at least 18 years old,(ii) emancipated minors, or (iii) unaccompanied minors who are notin the physical custody of their parent or guardian from the requirementthat the student's parent participate in the parent/student componentof a school's driver education program. This parent/student componentis required in Planning District 8, where the component must be in-persontraining. In the other school divisions that choose to offer thisoptional parent/student component, the parent/student component maybe administered either in person or online.