Rep. Wren Williams

Immunizations; authority of the Commissionerof Health; religious exception. Exempts a person, including aparent or guardian on behalf of a child, who objects to administrationof a vaccine on religious grounds from mandatory immunization requirementsduring an epidemic. Currently, exemption from mandatory immunizationrequirements during an epidemic is available only to those personsto whose health the administration of the vaccine would be detrimental,as certified in writing by a licensed physician.

Prohibition on mask mandates. Prohibitsthe Board of Health, Commissioner of Health, and Governor from issuingany rule, regulation, or order that requires (i) individuals to wearmasks or other face coverings or (ii) businesses to require customersto wear masks or other face coverings while on the premises of suchbusiness and prohibits any local school board from requiring anystudent enrolled at a public elementary or secondary school in thelocal school division to wear a mask, face covering, or other coveringof the student's nose and mouth at school, on a school bus, or ata school-sponsored activity.

Pretrial Intervention and Diversion Program.Authorizes the attorney for the Commonwealth for each judicialcircuit of the Commonwealth to create and administer a Pretrial Interventionand Diversion Program for the purpose of providing an alternativeto prosecuting offenders in the criminal justice system. The billprovides that entry into such program shall be at the discretionof the attorney for the Commonwealth based upon written guidelines and that no attorney for the Commonwealth shall accept any offenderinto such program for an offense for which punishment includes amandatory minimum sentence of imprisonment.

Emergency Services and Disaster Law; Commissioner of Health; emergency orders and regulations; limitations; civil penalty. Provides that neither the Board of Health nor the Commissioner of Health shall make any emergency order or regulation unless, on the basis of the evidence available to the Board, (i) such order or regulation is necessary to suppress a nuisance dangerous to the public health or a communicable, contagious, or infectious disease or other danger to the public life and health; (ii) no alternatives to the proposed order or regulation that are reasonable in light of the impact on quality of life and economic well-being exist; and (iii) the provisions of such order or regulation are narrowly tailored to address the nuisance dangerous to the public health or a communicable, contagious, or infectious disease or other danger to the public life and health. The bill also provides that the Governor shall not issue any emergency rule, regulation, or order unless, on the basis of the evidence available to the Governor, (a) such rule, regulation, or order is necessary to address a compelling circumstance; (b) no alternatives to the proposed rule, regulation, or order that are reasonable in light of the impact on quality of life and economic well-being exist; and (c) the provisions of such rule, regulation, or order are narrowly tailored to address the compelling circumstance.The bill provides that any order that limits the number of individuals who may gather together in person, in public or private, or categorizes individuals on the basis of their relationship to or association with such individuals and limits the categories of individuals with whom an individual who is not known or reasonably suspected to have been exposed to or infected with a communicable disease of public health threat may associate is presumed to negatively impact quality of life and economic well-being.The bill also limits the duration of any emergency rule, regulation, or order to 15 days; provides for one extension of such rule, regulation, or order; and provides that any person who violates such rule, regulation, or order shall be subject to a civil penalty of no more than $100 per violation. Under current law, any person who violates the provisions of an executive order is subject to a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Family life education curriculum guidelines;human reproduction; viewing of ultrasound video recording. Requiresthe instruction on human reproduction contained in the Board of Education'sfamily life education curriculum guidelines to include the viewingof a video recording of an ultrasound of a live unborn human in theuterus.

Voter identification; identification containinga photograph required. Requires presentation of a form of identificationcontaining a photograph in order to vote. The bill repeals the provisionsof law permitting a voter who does not have one of the required formsof identification to vote after signing a statement, subject to felonypenalties for false statements, that he is the named registered voterhe claims to be. Instead, the bill provides that such voter is entitledto cast a provisional ballot.

Public elementary and secondary schools; curriculaand instruction including inherently divisive concepts prohibited.Requires each public elementary or secondary school principalto ensure that no curriculum utilized or instruction delivered inthe school includes inherently divisive concepts, as that term isdefined in the bill, regardless of whether such curriculum or instructionis provided by a school board employee or any other individual orentity.

Public education; parental rights; access to certain facilities and accommodations; instructional content; bullying. Declares that the parent of any student enrolled in a public elementary or secondary school in the Commonwealth has the right to (i) obtain and review any educational material and curriculum utilized in any class or course in which the student is enrolled; (ii) opt his child out of any class or course activity, lesson, or reading assignment or the use of any audiovisual material or library book to which the parent objects; (iii) easily access a list of the title and author of each book in each classroom and each library in the school in which the student is enrolled; (iv) receive notice of and attend any public meeting of the school board governing the local school division in which the student is enrolled; (v) review the annual school division budget and expenditures; (vi) send his child to attend school in a safe environment; and (vii) be updated by the school principal on any violent activity in the school in which the student is enrolled. The bill requires each school board to adopt policies to require each student and school board employee to have access to restrooms, locker rooms, and other changing facilities in public school buildings that are shared only by members of the same biological sex; lodging accommodations during school-sponsored trips that are shared only by members of the same biological sex; and a single-user restroom, locker room, or other changing facility in a public school building, upon request, if the school can reasonably accommodate such a request. The bill also prohibits any school board employee or individual who provides any school-sponsored program from teaching or promoting to any student or school board employee the concept that (a) any race is inherently superior or inferior; (b) any individual is racist, privileged, oppressive, biased, or responsible for actions committed by others of the same race or skin color by virtue of the individual's race or skin color; (c) the United States is fundamentally racist; or (d) market-based economics is inherently racist. The bill finally requires each school board to implement policies and procedures to educate school board employees about bullying and the need to create a school environment in which all individuals are treated with dignity and respect and any incident of bullying is taken seriously and handled in a robust manner.

Local school boards; requirement for studentsto wear masks or other face coverings; evidentiary substantiation.Prohibits any local school board from requiring any student enrolledat a public elementary or secondary school in the local school divisionto wear a mask, face covering, or other covering of the student'snose and mouth at school, on a school bus, or at a school-sponsoredactivity unless the local school board substantiates such requirementwith evidence that (i) such requirement is necessary to suppress a nuisance dangerous to the public health or a communicable, contagious,or infectious disease or other danger to the public life and health;(ii) no reasonable alternatives to such requirement exist in lightof the impact on quality of life and economic well-being; and (iii)such requirement is narrowly tailored to address the nuisance dangerousto the public health or the communicable, contagious, or infectiousdisease or other danger to the public life and health.

Family life education instruction; school yeartime limit. Requires each school board that offers a family lifeeducation curriculum to limit instruction delivered to students pursuantto such curriculum to one hour per school year in each grade level.