Del. Shelly Simonds

State Board of Health regulations; standards for levels of neonatal care. Directs the State Board of Health to establish standards for designation of care in neonatal services consistent with, but not necessarily identical to, standards published by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The bill directs the Board of Health to promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of the bill by July 1, 2027, and prohibits enforcement of such regulations until July 1, 2029. This bill is identical to SB 291.

Board of Education; high school graduation; simultaneous completion of International Baccalaureate diploma and advanced studies diploma. Requires the Board of Education to permit any student who (i) during or after grade 10, transferred into a public high school in the Commonwealth and (ii) is simultaneously pursuing an advanced studies diploma and an International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma to complete certain courses or sequences of courses required for an IB diploma, as approved by the Board, including substitutes for the Virginia and U.S. history and government courses and for the economics and personal finance credit requirement. The bill also directs the Board to grant a waiver from the training in emergency first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and the use of automated external defibrillators required for graduation to any student who (a) pursuant to his individualized education program or Section 504 Plan cannot successfully complete the training or (b) after grade 10, transfers from a school or other education program that does not require or give credit for such training. This bill incorporates HB 132 and is identical to SB 63.

Appointment of youth representative to local governing body. Allows a local governing body to appoint a youth representative to serve as a nonvoting member of the governing body.

Board for Contractors; examinations; alternative languages. Provides that any exam offered by the Board for Contractors that averaged over 50 administrations per year over the preceding four-year period shall be made available in any language that meets the threshold for having election materials printed in that language pursuant to state election law.

Commission on School Construction and Modernization; revisions; elimination of sunset. Eliminates the expiration date of the Commission on School Construction and Modernization, which, pursuant to current law, is set to expire on July 1, 2026. The bill also directs the Commission to (i) meet at least four times each year and post notice of the date, time, and location of each meeting on the central, publicly available electronic calendar maintained by the Commonwealth in accordance with applicable law; (ii) update annually the statewide needs estimate for construction and modernization of school facilities; (iii) develop and deliver by November 1, 2026, a 10-year capital roadmap; and (iv) collaborate with early childhood care and education Ready Regions and comprehensive community colleges in the Commonwealth to collect and evaluate data relating to Ready Region and comprehensive community college facility usage, availability, and needs. Finally, the bill directs the Department of Education, in order to assist the Commission with its work, to update and make available to the Commission an inventory of all public school facilities in the Commonwealth by September 1, 2026. This bill is identical to SB 498.

Restaurants; certain facilities or programs; exemptions. Exempts certain facilities that provide custodial care to 12 or fewer adults or children in a home from regulations applicable to restaurants. This bill is identical to SB 677.

Alyssa's Law; public schools; wearable panic alarm systems permitted. Permits any school board to provide any school board employee in a public elementary or secondary school building in the local school division with a wearable panic alarm system, defined in the bill as a security system that is capable of being worn on the body of the user and by which the user manually activates a device that sends (i) a signal to the local 9-1-1 public safety answering point that indicates a school security emergency that requires immediate response and assistance from such public safety answering point and (ii) a multisensory schoolwide school security emergency notification, when appropriate.

Constitutional amendment (second reference); fundamental right to reproductive freedom. Provides that every individual has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom and that such right shall not be, directly or indirectly, denied, burdened, or infringed upon unless justified by a compelling state interest, as defined in the amendment, and achieved by the least restrictive means. The amendment specifies that, notwithstanding the other provisions of the amendment, the Commonwealth may regulate the provision of abortion care in the third trimester, provided that in no circumstance shall the Commonwealth prohibit an abortion (i) that in the professional judgment of a physician is medically indicated to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual or (ii) when in the professional judgment of a physician the fetus is not viable.

Constitutional amendment (second reference); apportionment; congressional districts; limited authority of the General Assembly to modify. Proposes an amendment to the Constitution of Virginia related to the establishment of congressional districts. The amendment provides explicit authority for the General Assembly to modify one or more congressional districts, outside of the standard decennial redistricting cycle, in the event that any other state conducts a redistricting of the state's congressional districts outside of the standard decennial redistricting cycle or for any purpose other than complying with a state or federal court order to remedy an unlawful or unconstitutional district map. Additionally, an amendment to the Schedule of the Constitution of Virginia is proposed to specify the period of time to which such authorization is limited.

Constitutional amendment (second reference); qualifications of voters and the right to vote; persons not entitled to vote. Provides that every person who meets the qualifications of voters set forth in the Constitution shall have the fundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth and that such right shall not be abridged by law, except for persons who have been convicted of a felony and persons who have been adjudicated to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting. A person who has been convicted of a felony shall not be entitled to vote during any period of incarceration for such felony conviction, but upon release from incarceration for that felony conviction and without further action required of him such person shall be invested with all political rights, including the right to vote. Currently, in order to be qualified to vote a person convicted of a felony must have his civil rights restored by the Governor or other appropriate authority. The amendment also provides that a person adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction as lacking the capacity to understand the act of voting shall not be entitled to vote during this period of incapacity until his capacity has been reestablished as prescribed by law. Currently, the Constitution provides that a person who has been adjudicated to be mentally incompetent is not qualified to vote until his competency is reestablished.