Constitutional amendment (first reference); marriage between two individuals; repeal of same-sex marriage prohibition; affirmative right to marry. Repeals the constitutional provision defining marriage as only a union between one man and one woman as well as the related provisions that are no longer valid as a result of the United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015). The amendment provides that the right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of persons and prohibits the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions from denying the issuance of a marriage license to two parties contemplating a lawful marriage on the basis of the sex, gender, or race of such parties. The Commonwealth and its political subdivisions are required to recognize any lawful marriage between two parties and to treat such marriages equally under the law, regardless of the sex, gender, or race of such parties. The amendment provides that religious organizations and clergy acting in their religious capacity have the right to refuse to perform any marriage.
Del. Rod Willett
Sponsored bills
Board of Medicine; Board of Nursing; joint licensing of advanced practice registered nurses and licensed certified midwives. Moves the professions of advanced practice registered nurses and licensed certified midwives from being licensed jointly by the Board of Medicine and the Board of Nursing to being licensed by the Board of Nursing only.
Family caregiver tax credit. Creates a nonrefundable income tax credit for taxable years 2024 through 2028 for expensesincurred by an individual in caring for an eligible family member,defined in the bill, who requires assistance with one or more activitiesof daily living, also defined in the bill. The credit equals 50 percentof eligible expenditures incurred by the caregiver up to $1,000. In order to qualify for the credit, the family caregiver must (i) notreceive any compensation or reimbursement for the eligible expendituresand (ii) have federal adjusted gross income that is no greater than$100,000 for an individual or $200,000 for married persons. The billrequires the Tax Commissioner to establish guidelines for claimingthe credit and provides that any unused credit may be carried forwardby the taxpayer for five taxable years following the taxable yearfor which the credit was issued.
Public school staffing ratios; specializedstudent support positions. Increases the number of specialized student support positions required to be employed by each local schoolboard from at least three to at least four such positions per 1,000students in the local school division. Such specialized student supportpositions include school social workers, school psychologists, schoolnurses, licensed behavior analysts, licensed assistant behavior analysts,and other licensed health and behavioral positions.
Unaccompanied homeless youth; consent to surgicalor medical care. Provides that except for the purposes of sexualsterilization or abortion, a minor who is 14 years of age or olderand who is an unaccompanied homeless youth shall be deemed an adult for the purpose of consenting to surgical or medical examinationor treatment, including dental examination and treatment, for himselfor his minor child. The bill describes evidence sufficient to determinethat a minor is an unaccompanied homeless youth and provides thatno health care provider shall be liable for any civil or criminalaction for providing surgical or medical treatment to an unaccompaniedhomeless youth or his minor child without first obtaining the consentof his parent or guardian provided in accordance with the law, withthe exception of liability for negligence in the diagnosis or treatmentof such unaccompanied homeless youth.
Photo speed monitoring devices; location.Authorizes the governing body of any county, city, or town to provideby ordinance for the placement and operation of photo speed monitoringdevices on any highway in such locality with a speed limit of 45 milesper hour or less that is located in a priority pedestrian corridoras identified by the Department of Transportation in the statewidePedestrian Safety Action Plan or other high-risk pedestrian corridoras designated by the Commissioner of Highways for the purposes ofrecording violations resulting from the operation of a vehicle inexcess of the speed limit. The bill provides the same requirementsfor such devices, information collected from such devices, and any enforcement actions resulting from information collected from suchdevices as current law applies to the use of such devices in schoolcrossing zones and highway work zones. The bill requires that twosigns, rather than one, be placed warning of such device if the deviceis placed somewhere other than a school crossing zone or highwaywork zone.
Celebrating the life of Janet Marie Brooking.
Commending Peter A. Blake.
Commending Scott McGeary.
Board of Pharmacy; pharmacy technician profession;work group; report. Requires the Board of Pharmacy to convenea work group of relevant stakeholders to review and make recommendationsrelated to the regulatory framework for the pharmacy technician profession,educational barriers to the pharmacy technician profession, compensationof pharmacy technicians, and the educational requirements of pharmacytechnicians. The bill requires the Board to report its findings andrecommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Healthand Human Services and the Senate Committee on Education and Healthby November 1, 2024. The bill also requires the Board to promulgateemergency regulations within 280 days of the work group's completion based on the work group's recommendations.