Del. Buddy Fowler

Public health emergency; emergency orders andregulations; limitations. Provides that any emergency order orregulation adopted by the Board of Health shall be valid for no morethan 45 days and that such order may be extended by the Board fora subsequent period of 45 days, provided that the Board providesnotice and receives public comment on the order or regulation proposedto be extended, but that in no case shall such emergency order or regulation be valid for more than 18 months from the effective dateof the initial order or regulation. The bill also provides that inany case in which the Commissioner of Health exercises the authorityof the Board to enact an emergency order or regulation, such orderor regulation shall be valid for no more than 45 days from the effectivedate of the order or regulation unless the Board adopts an orderor regulation to such effect. Thebill also limits the duration of an emergency temporary standardadopted by the Safety and Health Codes Board to 45 days and providesfor an extension of such emergency temporary standard for a subsequentperiod of 45 days, provided that the Board provides notice and receivespublic comment on the emergency temporary standard proposed to beextended. However, no emergency temporary order shall be valid fora period of more than six months.

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.

Elections; absentee voting; ballots to be sortedand results to be reported by precinct. Provides that absentee ballots processed at a central absentee precinct must be sorted bythe precinct to which the voter who cast the absentee ballot is assignedand that the resulting vote totals from such ballots must be reportedseparately for each voter precinct.

Procurement of dogs and cats for research.Prohibits any state entity, including a public institution of highereducation, from procuring dogs or cats for research purposes froma person or entity that has received certain citations pursuantto the federal Animal Welfare Act.

Absentee ballots; witness requirement; printedname and residence address. Requires that a witness to a voter's absentee ballot provide, in addition to his signature, his printedname, his date of birth, the last four digits of his social securitynumber, and his residence address.

School principals; incident reports. Requiresthat school principals report to law enforcement certain enumerated acts that may constitute a misdemeanor offense and report to theparents of any minor student who is the specific object of such actthat the incident has been reported to law enforcement. Under currentlaw, principals are required to make such reports only for such actsthat may constitute a felony offense.

Commending Jesse Waltz.

Celebrating the life of the Honorable JohnHowson Rust, Jr.

Falun Gong; Persecution by Chinese CommunistParty. Condemns the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners bythe Chinese Communist Party.

Kratom; prohibited acts; civil penalty.Provides that no person that sells, prepares, manufactures, distributes,or maintains kratom products, as defined in the bill, or advertises,represents, or holds itself out as selling, preparing, manufacturing,distributing, or maintaining kratom products shall prepare, distribute,sell, or expose for sale (i) any kratom product that is includesor is packed with a substance that is not kratom and that affectsthe quality or strength of the kratom product or that contains any poisonous or otherwise deleterious ingredient; (ii) any kratom productthat contains a level of 7-hydroxymitragynine in the alkaloid fractionthat is greater than two percent of the overall alkaloid compositionof the product or any synthetic alkaloids or other synthetically derived compounds of the kratom plant; (iii) any kratom extract thatcontains levels of residual solvents that are higher than is allowedin Chapter 467 of current edition of the United States Pharmacopeia;or (iv) any kratom product that does not provide labeling directionsnecessary for safe and effective use by consumers, including a recommendedserving size. The bill provides that any person that violates theprovisions of the bill shall be subject to a civil penalty in theamount of $100 for a first violation, a civil penalty in the amountof $200 for a second violation, and a civil penalty in the amountof $500 for a third or subsequent violation.