Del. Josh Cole

Campaign finance; prohibited contributions from corporations; civil penalty. Prohibits contributions from anynon-tax-exempt corporation to any candidate, campaign committee,political committee, or political party committee. The bill imposesa civil penalty of up to twice the amount of the contribution fora violation of the prohibition, to be levied and collected by theState Board of Elections.

Denouncing racism and racist ideologies.Condemns all forms of racism, hate, bigotry, and discrimination,including physical or verbal attacks that target people on the basisof racial or ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, or genderidentity.

Study; Secretary of Health and Human Resources; pharmaceutical distribution payment system; report. Requeststhe Secretary of Health and Human Resources to convene a work groupto examine the pharmaceutical distribution payment system in the Commonwealth and innovative solutions to address the cost of prescriptiondrugs to Virginians at the point of sale.

Recognizing that global warming caused by humanactivity has resulted in a climate and ecological emergency.Expresses the sense of the General Assembly in recognizing that global warming caused by human activity that increases emissions of greenhousegases has resulted in a climate and ecological emergency.

Intentional injury to property or amonument or memorial; penalty. Reduces from a Class 6 felony toa Class 1 misdemeanor the penalty for damages of $1,000 or morefor the crime of intentional injury or destruction of (i) any property,real or personal, not his own or (ii) a monument or memorial forwar veterans, a monument erected to mark the site of an engagementfought during the Civil War, or a memorial to designate the boundaryof a city, town, or tract of land.

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.

Required release of video or audio recording;discharge of firearm or use of stun weapon or chemical irritant by law-enforcement officer. Requires that, whenever a law-enforcementofficer (i) discharges a firearm or (ii) uses a stun weapon or chemicalirritant on a person resulting in death or serious bodily injury,any video or audio recording that relates to such incident producedor obtained by a law-enforcement officer be open to inspection andavailable for release and posted on a website that is maintained by the law-enforcement agency or on any other website on which the law-enforcement agency generally posts information and that is availableto the public or that clearly describes how the public may accesssuch data within 15 days of producing or obtaining such video oraudio recording. The bill includes exceptions to such release. Thebill also provides that any person denied the rights and privilegesconferred may proceed to enforce such rights and privileges by filinga petition for mandamus or injunction pursuant to the Virginia Freedomof Information Act.

Creation of regional transportation authorities. Authorizes two or more adjacent counties or cities to form a regional transportation authority to engage in regional transportation projects.The bill sets forth the procedures for forming such authority anddetermining the membership of its governing board. Ordinances adoptedby each member of such authority would set forth the local taxes,fees, and revenues to be contributed by each locality to such authority.

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.

Group Violence Intervention Board; Divisionof Group Violence Intervention; Project Ceasefire Grant Fund; ProjectExit Grant Fund. Establishes the Group Violence Intervention Boardto coordinate and assist federal, state, and local group violenceintervention efforts. The bill also establishes within the Departmentof Criminal Justice Services (the Department) the Division of Group Violence Intervention (the Division), to be headed by an executivedirector appointed by the Director of the Department. The bill providesthat the Division is responsible for (i) coordinating the effortsof members of state and local law enforcement, community members,and social services providers to combat group violence; (ii) servingas a clearinghouse for research, best practices, and strategies thatmay be utilized in the implementation, execution, and evaluationof group violence interventions; and (iii) implementing and administeringvarious federal, state, and local grant funds that aid group violence intervention efforts. Finally, the bill creates the Project CeasefireGrant Fund, which provides money to organizations that are involvedin group violence intervention efforts, and creates the Project Exit Grant Fund, which provides money to organizations that assist formergang members or individuals attempting to leave gangs.