Del. Rod Willett

Commending Robert Eugene Foster, Jr.

Celebrating the life of Alan Arnold Diamonstein.

State, regional, and local planning; climatechange. Establishes a policy of the Commonwealth to prevent andto minimize actions that contribute to the detrimental effects ofanthropogenic climate change in the Commonwealth. The bill requiresany state agency to examine any new regulation or policy involvingstate action or funds in relation to its impact on climate changeand its effects thereof prior to adopting or implementing such regulationor policy. The bill requires local and regional planning commissionsto consider the impacts from and causes of climate change in adoptinga comprehensive plan, regional strategic plan, or zoning ordinance.

Commending the Douglas S. Freeman High School"We the People" team.

Celebrating the life of the Honorable GeraldL. Baliles.

Health insurance; mandated coverage for hearing aids for minors. Requires health insurers, health maintenance organizations, and corporations providing health care coverage subscription contracts to provide coverage for hearing aids and related services for children 18 years of age or younger when a licensed audiologist prescribes such hearing aids and related services. The coverage includes one hearing aid per hearing-impaired ear, up to a cost of $1,500, every 24 months. The measure applies to policies, contracts, and plans delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed on and after January 1, 2021.

Virginia Minimum Wage Act; exclusions. Eliminatesthe exclusion in the Virginia Minimum Wage Act for persons whoseemployment is covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of1938 (FLSA) and for persons whose earning capacity is impaired byphysical deficiency, mental illness, or intellectual disability.The measure also exempts, until July 1, 2024, from the Virginia MinimumWage Act any person who is paid pursuant to a special certificatethat provides for the employment of individuals whose earning orproductive capacity is impaired by age, physical or mental deficiency,or injury at wages lower than the minimum wage otherwise requiredby the FLSA.

Holding handheld personal communications devices whiledriving a motor vehicle. Prohibits any person from holding a handheldpersonal communications device while driving a motor vehicle. Current lawprohibits (i) the reading of any email or text message and manually enteringletters or text in such a device as a means of communicating and (ii) holding apersonal communications device while driving in a work zone. The bill expandsthe exemptions to include handheld personal communications devices that arebeing held and used (a) as an amateur radio or a citizens band radio or (b) forofficial Department of Transportation or traffic incident management services.This bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2021. This bill wasincorporated into HB 874.

Commending The Faison Center.

Commemorating the life and legacy of Dr. RobertRussa Moton.