Del. Shelly Simonds

Department of Criminal Justice Services; hotels; human trafficking training. Directs the Department of Criminal Justice Services, under the direction of the Criminal Justice Services Board, to develop an online course to train hotel proprietors and their employees, as defined in the bill, to recognize and report instances of suspected human trafficking. The bill provides that such online course shall be provided at no cost to the hotel proprietors and their employees. The bill requires that every hotel proprietor require its employees to complete such human trafficking training course developed by the Department or an alternative online or in-person training course approved by the Department within six months of being employed by a hotel and thereafter at least once every two years, for as long as the employee is employed by the hotel. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2023.

Selective Service; Two-Year College TransferGrant; Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant Program. Removes therequirement that individuals register for the Selective Service incompliance with federal law in order to be eligible for the Two-YearCollege Transfer Grant and the Virginia Tuition Assistance GrantProgram.

Transit Ridership Incentive Program. Changes from a maximum of 25 percent to a minimum of 25 percent the percentage of Transit Ridership Incentive Program (TRIP) funds required to be used to support the establishment of programs to reduce the impact of fares on low-income individuals. This change expires on July 1, 2024. The bill also requires at least 25 percent of TRIP funds to be used to support regional transit initiatives and provides that the Commonwealth Transportation Board has the discretion to allocate the remaining funds available as authorized by law and based on the programs and initiatives submitted during the application process.

Broadband service; new residential and commercial development; stakeholder advisory group. Provides that the Department of Housing and Community Development shall convene a stakeholder advisory group for the purpose of evaluating local and state policies, procedures, or ordinances to facilitate the expansion of high-speed broadband service and associated infrastructure in new residential and commercial development. The stakeholder advisory group shall be composed of representatives from the commercial and residential land development and construction industry, local government, high-speed broadband providers, and other stakeholders as determined by the Department and shall report its findings and recommendations to the Broadband Advisory Council no later than September 30, 2022. This bill is identical to SB 446.

Public institutions of higher education; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; notice to students; SNAP benefits.Requires each public institution of higher education to ensure thatall students have access to accurate information about the SupplementalNutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), including eligibility and howto apply. The bill also directs each institution to advertise theapplication and process for applying for SNAP prominently on the institution's website, in orientation materials that are distributedto each new student, in at least one campus-wide email per academicyear to all students at such institution, and through other means.

Virginia Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Advisory Board; STEM and Computing (STEM+C); review federal occupational categories; report. Requires the Virginia STEM Education Advisory Board (the Board) to (i) review the occupational categories in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' standard occupational classification system to determine the occupational categories that are not properly captured in the Commonwealth's existing STEM+C workforce profile and the gaps in the Commonwealth's tracking of careers in these occupational categories for the purpose of better aligning K-16 education priorities and the Board's tracking and coordination of STEM+C and (ii) share its findings with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority's Office of Education and Labor Market Alignment (the Office) to include in the Office's efforts to specifically align STEM+C workforce and education. The bill requires the Board, in conducting such review, to focus on occupational categories such as advanced manufacturing, agriculture, financial systems, health care, military, and K-16 education careers that are not currently tracked or categorized by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as STEM+C career fields and to submit its findings and any recommendations to the General Assembly no later than October 1, 2022.

Applications for teacher licensure by reciprocity;military spouses; timeline for determination. Requires the Boardof Education's licensure regulations to provide for licensure by reciprocityfor any spouse of an active duty or reserve member of the Armed Forcesof the United States or a member of the Virginia National Guard whohas obtained a valid out-of-state license, with full credentials andwithout deficiencies, that is in force at the time the applicationfor a Virginia license is received by the Department of Education.Current law requires such regulations to provide for licensure byreciprocity for any spouse of an active duty member of the Armed Forcesof the United States or the Commonwealth. The bill requires such anindividual to submit an official copy of the military permanent assignmentorders of the individual's spouse as part of the complete applicationpacket. The bill requires the Department to determine and communicatesuch individual's eligibility for licensure by reciprocity within15 business days of receipt of the complete application packet. Thisbill is identical to SB 154.

Historical African American cemeteries. Changes the date of establishment that qualifies historical African American cemeteries for appropriated funds to care for such cemeteries from prior to January 1, 1900, to prior to January 1, 1948, and provides that the total number of graves in a qualifying cemetery shall be the number of markers of African Americans who were interred in such cemetery prior to January 1, 1948. Under current law, the total number of graves is the number of markers of African Americans who lived at any time between January 1, 1800, and January 1, 1900. This bill is identical to SB 477.

Institutions of higher education; hazing; policies. Establishes mandates at nonprofit private institutions of higher education and public institutions of higher education relating to hazing and defines different types of organizations at such institutions to which the mandates apply. The bill requires student organizations officially recognized by an institution of higher education structured in such a way that upon invitation for membership, individuals do not automatically become members of such organization and have a period of time between invitation for membership and being initiated into membership, to have an advisor present at all official events where new members and members of the student organization hosting the event are invited or are instructed to attend, except that such advisors may be asked to leave the room during ceremonies, rituals, or other such events that are only permitted to be attended by the new members and members. Such advisors shall provide extensive, current, and in-person education and information on hazing to all members and new members of such organizations. The bill requires the governing board of each institution to include as part of its policy, code, rules, or set of standards governing sexual violence a provision for immunity from disciplinary action based on hazing or personal consumption of drugs or alcohol where such disclosure is made in conjunction with a good faith report of an act of hazing in advance of or during an incident of hazing that causes injury to a person. Beginning with the 2022–2023 academic year, the bill requires each institution to maintain and publicly report actual findings of violations of the institution's code of conduct or of federal or state laws pertaining to hazing that are reported to campus authorities or local law enforcement. This bill shall be known as Adam's Law.

State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act; definition of gift; certain tickets and registration or admission fees. Exempts from the definition of gift tickets and registration or admission fees to an event that are provided by an agency to its own officers or employees for the purposes of performing official duties related to the officer's or employee's public service. This bill is identical to SB 57.