Del. Sam Rasoul

Department of Human Resource Management; employee designation and payment policies; nursing staff at state psychiatric hospitals. Directs the Department of Human Resource Management to amend its policies to authorize the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and state psychiatric hospitals to designate as full-time employees nursing staff and psychiatric technicians who work at least 36 hours per week to permit state hospitals to use 12-hour shifts for such staff. The bill prohibits the Department from requiring reductions in pay or other benefits for such employees based solely on the fact that the employee works 36 hours per week. The bill also directs the Department to examine whether the policy change should be extended to comparable direct care positions in other executive branch agencies to improve recruitment and retention. As introduced, this bill is a recommendation of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission and the Behavioral Health Commission and is identical to SB 177.

Public schools; certain local school divisions; youth and community violence prevention; Community Builders Pilot Program established; report. Establishes the Community Builders Pilot Program for the purpose of reducing youth involvement in behaviors that lead to gun violence and increasing community engagement among public school students by providing to students who are entering the eighth grade and enrolled in Roanoke City Public Schools and Petersburg City Public Schools opportunities during the school year after regular school hours and during the summer months for community engagement, workforce development, postsecondary education exploration, and social-emotional education and development. The bill provides that the school boards of Roanoke City Public Schools and Petersburg City Public Schools shall be responsible for the administration of the Program and are directed to collect data and report to the Governor and relevant committees of the General Assembly by November 1 of each year on the progress of the Program. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2027. This bill is identical to SB 484.

Department of Medical Assistance Services;credentialed addiction treatment professionals; licensed behavioranalysts; definition. Directs the Department of Medical AssistanceServices to amend in its regulations the definition of "credentialedaddiction treatment professional" to include licensed behavior analysts.

Department of Medical Assistance Services; annual review of medication and treatment for sickle cell disease; report. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to conduct an annual review of all medications and forms of treatment for sickle cell disease, and services for enrollees with a diagnosis of sickle cell disease, that are eligible for coverage under the state plan for medical assistance services. The bill requires the Department to report its findings and recommendations by November 15 each year to the Chairmen of the House Committee of Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committee on Education and Health and to the Joint Commission on Health Care.

Public defender offices; City of Harrisonburgand County of Rockingham. Establishes a public defender officefor the City of Harrisonburg and the County of Rockingham.

Cruelty to elephants; pain-inflicting training tools prohibited; actions for attachment; civil penalty. Prohibits using devices such as a bullhook, axe handle, or block and tackle or engaging in certain practices in order to discipline, train, or control the behavior of an elephant. The bill provides that any person who uses such devices or engages in certain practices that inflict fear or pain on or cause physical injury to an elephant is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $2,500 for the first offense and not to exceed $5,000 for subsequent violations. Finally, the bill provides that an action in equity may be brought to request an attachment for any devices prohibited by the bill against a person violating the provisions of the bill.

Department of Environmental Quality; Department of Health; PFAS; identification; monitoring; PFAS Expert Advisory Council established; report. Requires, for every public water system, as defined in the bill, the Department of Health (VDH) to assist the Department of Environmental Quality (the Department) by transferring to the Department quarterly all validated monitoring results available to VDH that indicate PFAS maximum containment level, as defined in the bill, exceedances. In such circumstances, the bill provides that the Department is required to develop and implement a plan to prioritize and conduct PFAS assessments for identifying significant sources of PFAS in such public water system's raw water source or sources. The bill requires any facility, if deemed by the Department to be a potentially significant source of PFAS in the public water system's raw water source, (i) to perform and promptly report the results of quarterly discharge monitoring for one year and (ii) to report to the Department, within 90 days after being directed by the Department, its manufacture or use of PFAS. The bill establishes a PFAS Expert Advisory Committee to assist the Department and VDH in its PFAS-related efforts and requires the Committee to meet at least two times per year through June 30, 2027. The bill requires the Department to annually report certain information to the Governor and the General Assembly by October 1. This bill incorporates HB 245 and is identical to SB 243.

Adult wellness screening; sickle cell disease or sickle cell trait. Provides that every adult resident of the Commonwealth may be offered screening tests for sickle cell disease or the sickle cell trait and requires that the health care professional in charge of an adult's annual health examination provide education and appropriate counseling regarding the results of any such test that is performed.

Dangerous dog; extending the time for adjudication. Requires the court, unless good cause is determined by the court,to hold the evidentiary hearing pursuant to the dangerous dog summonswithin 30 days or as soon as practicable from the issuance of thesummons. Under current law, the court is required to hold such hearingnot more than 30 days from the issuance of the summons.

Center for Rural Virginia; name change. Renames the Center for Rural Virginia as the Senator Frank M. Ruff, Jr. Center for Rural Virginia. This bill is identical to SB 704.