Del. Hala S. Ayala

Workers' compensation; presumption of compensability for certain diseases; local authority to apply to certain emergency services personnel. Adds full-time, salaried emergency medical services personnel employed by any locality that has authorized such presumption by ordinance to the list of persons to whom, after five years of service, the occupational disease presumption for death caused by hypertension or heart disease applies. This bill was incorporated into HB 1818.

Study; JLARC; remote sales and use tax distributionto localities; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit andReview Commission (JLARC) to study the distribution of remote salesand use taxes to localities. JLARC shall determine whether currentpractices are distributing the proper amount of revenue to each localityand recommend to the General Assembly any changes needed to improvethe system.

Paid family and medical leave program. Requires the Virginia Employment Commission to establish and administera paid family and medical leave program with benefits beginning January 1, 2024. Under the program, benefits are paid to eligible employees for family and medical leave. Funding for the program isprovided through premiums assessed to employers and employees beginningin 2023. The amount of a benefit is 80 percent of the employee'saverage weekly wage, not to exceed 80 percent of the state weeklywage, which amount is required to be adjusted annually to reflectchanges in the statewide average weekly wage. The measure caps theduration of paid leave at 12 weeks in any application year. The billprovides self-employed individuals the option of participating inthe program.

Study; Virginia State Crime Commission; preventionof girls who are victims of violence from entering the juvenile justicesystem; report. Directs the Virginia State Crime Commission tostudy methods and solutions to prevent girls who are victims of violencefrom entering the juvenile justice system. The Commission shall collectand disaggregate data that assists the Commission in developing recommendationsfor policies to ensure that girls are provided with the servicesand support needed for healing from violence when such girls comeinto contact with the juvenile justice system and policies that prevent girls who experience violence from coming into contact with the juvenile justice system.

Teacher compensation; at or above national average.Requires that public school teachers be compensated at a rate thatis at or above the national average. Under current law, compensationat such rate is aspirational. The bill requires state funding tobe provided pursuant to the general appropriation act in a sum sufficientto fund a 4.5 percent annual increase for public school teacher salaries,effective from the 2022-23 school year through the 2026-27 schoolyear. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2022.

Presidential electors; National Popular VoteCompact. Enters Virginia into an interstate compact known asthe Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by NationalPopular Vote. Article II of the Constitution of the United Statesgives the states exclusive and plenary authority to decide the mannerof awarding their electoral votes. Under the compact, Virginia agreesto award its electoral votes to the presidential ticket that receivesthe most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.The compact goes into effect when states cumulatively possessinga majority of the electoral votes have joined the compact. A statemay withdraw from the compact; however, a withdrawal occurring withinsix months of the end of a President's term shall not become effectiveuntil a President or Vice President has qualified to serve the next term.

Celebrating the life of the Honorable BernardS. Cohen.

Commending Homework Helpers Organization.

Commending Redella S. Pepper.

Commending Aquatech.