Del. Shelly Simonds

Commending Scott McGeary.

Commending the John J. Wright Educational andCultural Center.

Weapons; possession or transportation; facility that provides mental health services or developmental services; penalty. Makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person to possess in or transport into any facility that provides mental health services or developmental services in the Commonwealth, including a hospital or an emergency department or other facility rendering emergency medical care, any (i) firearm or other weapon designed or intended to propel a missile or projectile of any kind; (ii) knife, except a pocket knife having a folding metal blade of less than three inches; or (iii) other dangerous weapon, including explosives and stun weapons. The bill provides that any such firearm, knife, explosive, or weapon is subject to seizure by a law-enforcement officer and specifies exceptions to the prohibition.

Conservation of trees during land development process; authorized localities. Allows any locality to adopt an ordinance providing for the conservation of trees during the land development process. Under current law, only a locality within Planning District 8 (Northern Virginia) that meets certain population density and nonattainment classification criteria is authorized to adopt such an ordinance. This bill was incorporated into HB 1100.

Study; JLARC; waiver of tuition and mandatoryfees at certain comprehensive community colleges; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study the feasibilityof waiving tuition and mandatory fees for Virginia students who attendMountain Empire Community College, Southwest Virginia Community College,and Virginia Highlands Community College and report its findingsand recommendations to the General Assembly no later than November30, 2024.

JLARC; Department of Human Resource Management;Grievance Procedure Manual; report. Directs the Joint LegislativeAudit and Review Commission (JLARC) to conduct a review of the Departmentof Human Resource Management's Grievance Procedure Manual as it relatesto the Department of Corrections and Department of Juvenile Justice. The bill requires that JLARC evaluate the effectiveness of such proceduresand report its findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of theSenate Committee on General Laws and Technology and the House Committeeon General Laws by November 1, 2024.

Department of Environmental Quality; protectionof existing tidal and nontidal wetlands; wetland restoration andcreation; work group; report. Directs the Department of EnvironmentalQuality to establish a work group to develop (i) strategies for protectingthe existing tidal and nontidal wetlands of the Commonwealth and(ii) plans for wetland restoration and creation to address lossesand adverse impacts from human activities and climate change. Thebill specifies that such work group shall include certain relevantstakeholders and will focus on (a) evaluating existing approachesto wetland conservation strategies in the Commonwealth and otherstates, (b) identifying wetlands adaption areas where tidal wetlandscan persist in the landscape, and (c) exploring the circumstancesin which climate can impact the wetlands' health and survival. Thebill requires the work group to report its findings and recommendationsto the Chairs of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservationand Natural Resources and House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeakeand Natural Resources by December 1, 2024.

Study; Board of Workforce Development; adequacyof the funding model for noncredit workforce credential programs;work group; report. Requests the Virginia Board of WorkforceDevelopment to study the current funding model for noncredit workforcecredential programs offered at comprehensive community colleges inorder to identify areas of inadequacy and make recommendations on options for reforming the funding model to address those inadequaciesand improve the sustainability of offering and providing noncreditworkforce credential programs to ensure that the Virginia CommunityCollege System as a whole is capable of continuing to meet the increasingdemand for highly skilled credentialed workers in the Commonwealth.

Commissioner of Health; work group to studythe occurrence of microplastics in the Commonwealth's public drinkingwater; report. Directs the Commissioner of Health to convene awork group to study the occurrence of microplastics in the Commonwealth'spublic drinking water and develop recommendations for the reduction of microplastics in the Commonwealth's public drinking water. Thebill requires the work group to report its findings and recommendationsto the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committees on Agriculture,Chesapeake and Natural Resources and Health, Welfare and Institutionsand the Senate Committees on Agriculture, Conservation and NaturalResources and Education and Health by December 1, 2024.

Task Force on Maternal Health Data and QualityMeasures; report. Directs the State Health Commissioner to reestablishthe Task Force on Maternal Health Data and Quality Measures for the purpose of evaluating maternal health data collection processes toguide policies in the Commonwealth to improve maternal care, quality,and outcomes for all birthing people in the Commonwealth. The billdirects the Task Force to report its findings and conclusions tothe Governor and General Assembly by December 1 of each year regardingits activities. This bill reestablishes the Task Force on MaternalHealth Data and Quality Measures that concluded on December 1, 2023.