Del. Hala S. Ayala

Virginia Missing Person with Autism Alert Program.Renames the Virginia Missing Child with Autism Alert Program to theVirginia Missing Person with Autism Alert Program and expands itto apply to any missing person with autism, regardless of age. Thebill defines "a missing person with autism" as any person (i) whosewhereabouts are unknown; (ii) who has been diagnosed with autismspectrum disorder as defined by the Code of Virginia; and (iii) whosedisappearance poses a credible threat to the safety and health of the person.

State plan for medical assistance; payment of medical assistance; 12-month supply of hormonal contraceptives. Directs the Board of Medical Assistance Services to include in the state plan for medical assistance a provision for the payment of medical assistance for the dispensing or furnishing of up to a 12-month supply of hormonal contraceptives at one time for Medicaid and Family Access to Medical Insurance Security (FAMIS) enrollees. The bill prohibits the Department of Medical Assistance Services from imposing any utilization controls or other forms of medical management limiting the supply of hormonal contraceptives that may be dispensed or furnished to an amount less than a 12-month supply. The bill provides that the bill shall not be construed to (i) require a provider to prescribe, dispense, or furnish a 12-month supply of self-administered hormonal contraceptives at one time or (ii) exclude coverage for hormonal contraceptives as prescribed by a prescriber, acting within his scope of practice, for reasons other than contraceptive purposes.

Central Virginia Transportation Authority; membership. Adds the Executive Director of the Virginia Port Authority, or hisdesignee, as a nonvoting ex officio member of the Central Virginia Transportation Authority.

Assistance for certain voters; curbside voting. Clarifies that any voter with a permanent physical disability, temporary physical disability, or injury is entitled to vote outside of thepolling place. The bill further provides that during a declared stateof emergency related to a communicable disease of public health threat,any voter shall be entitled to vote outside of the polling place.The bill requires that the area designated for voting outside ofthe polling place be clearly marked and instructions on how the voteris to notify an officer of election of his request to vote outsideof the polling place be prominently displayed. The bill makes technical amendments for clarity and organizational purposes.

Task Force on Maternal Health Data and Quality Measures; report. Directs the State Health Commissioner to establish the Task Force on Maternal Health Data and Quality Measures for the purpose of evaluating maternal health data collection processes to guide policies in the Commonwealth to improve maternal care, quality, and outcomes for all birthing people in the Commonwealth. The bill directs the Task Force to report its findings and conclusions to the Governor and General Assembly by December 1 of each year regarding its activities and states that the Task Force shall conclude its work by December 1, 2023.

Voter registration; preregistration for persons 16 years of age or older. Permits a person who is otherwise qualified to register to vote and is 16 years of age or older, but who will not be 18 years of age on or before the day of the next general election, to preregister to vote. The preregistration does not entitle such person to vote in any election except as already permitted by law. The bill requires the Department of Elections to maintain a record of all preregistered voters in the Virginia voter registration system, which shall automatically register a person who is preregistered upon that person reaching 18 years or age or becoming eligible for advance registration as already permitted by law, whichever comes first. The bill requires the Department to provide to the general registrars voter confirmation documents for such voters. The bill has a delayed effective date of October 1, 2022.

Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles;powers and duties. Authorizes the Commissioner of the Departmentof Motor Vehicles, for the duration of a declared state of emergencyand for up to 90 days after it has been rescinded or expires, to(i) extend the validity or delay the cancellation of driver's licenses, special identification cards, and vehicle registrations; (ii) extendthe time frame during which a driver improvement clinic or paymentplan may be completed; (iii) extend the maximum number of days ofresidency permitted before a new resident must be licensed in Virginiato operate a motor vehicle in the Commonwealth; and (iv) extend thetime frame during which a new resident may operate a motor vehiclein the Commonwealth that has been registered in another jurisdictionbefore registering the vehicle in the Commonwealth.

School board policies; school meal debt; enforcement. Requires each school board to adopt a policy that prohibits the board from filing a lawsuit against a student or the student's parent because the student cannot pay for a meal at school or owes a school meal debt.

Pretrial data collection. Requires the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission to collect and disseminate, on an annual basis, statewide and locality-level data related to adults charged with criminal offenses punishable by confinement in jail or a term of imprisonment. The bill provides that any personal or case identifying information within the data shall not be subject to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and shall not be made publicly available. The bill provides that the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission shall not be required to submit such annual report prior to December 1, 2022. Additionally, the bill requires the Virginia State Crime Commission to provide the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission with the final dataset of all adults charged with a criminal offense punishable by confinement in jail or a term of imprisonment in October 2017 and that the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission make such statewide and locality-level data publicly available on a website established and maintained by the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission as (i) an electronic dataset, excluding any personal and case identifying information, that may be downloaded by members of the public by October 1, 2021, and (ii) an electronic interactive data dashboard tool that displays aggregated data based on characteristics or indicators selected by the user, by December 1, 2022. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Virginia State Crime Commission. The bill incorporates HB 1945.

Department of Education; guidelines on excused student absences; civic or political engagement. Provides that, subject to guidelines established by the Department of Education, each school board (i) shall permit one school day-long excused absence per school year for any middle school or high school student in the local school division who is absent from school to engage in a civic or political event and (ii) may permit additional excused absences for such students who are absent for such purposes.