Del. Betsy Carr

Administration of government; language accessequity; report. Establishes the Interagency Language Access WorkingGroup in the Office of the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusionwith the following membership: the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the Director of the Office of the Children's Ombudsman, the Governor's Secretaries, and six nonlegislative citizen membersrepresenting organizations that represent individuals with languageaccess needs. The Working Group is established for the purpose ofmaximizing state policies, resources, technical assistance, and procurementpractices to further language access and equity in the Commonwealthand its state government agencies. The bill also requires each stateagency to designate a language access coordinator who will be responsiblefor the agency's annual language access report, the requirements ofwhich are set out in the bill. The Secretary of Administration isdirected to establish criteria for state agencies to procure languageinterpretation and translation services and to establish a policyfor compensating multilingual state employees who are required aspart of their job to provide interpretation, translation, or otherbilingual skills at least once a month.

Use of confidential informants in drug-related investigations. Directs the Department of Criminal Justice Servicesto establish a model policy for the use of confidential informantsin drug-related investigations and to include in such model policythat (i) no individual currently on probation may serve as a confidentialinformant without notice to his probation or parole officer, (ii)no individual who has recently violated the terms of his probationor parole shall serve as a confidential informant, (iii) law-enforcementpersonnel shall obtain approval from the appropriate local attorneyfor the Commonwealth prior to working with a confidential informant,and (iv) such confidential informant shall not unlawfully use orpossess any controlled substances.

School boards; teachers; planning time and planning periods. Requires each local school board to ensure that eachelementary school teacher is provided an average of one 45-minuteperiod per school day of planning time and that each middle and high school teacher is provided an average of one planning period perschool day, which shall be at least 45 minutes or one class period,whichever is longer. The bill permits local school boards and teachersto enter into an appropriate contractual arrangement providing forcompensation in lieu of such planning time or period. Under currentlaw, public elementary school teachers are guaranteed at least anaverage of 30 minutes of planning time per school day during a schoolweek.

Duties of drivers of vehicles approaching stationary vehicles displaying certain warning lights; penalty. Establishesa minimum fine of $500 for a violation of the requirement for driversto make a lane change or proceed with caution when approaching stationaryvehicles displaying certain warning lights, commonly known as the"Move Over" law. The bill requires a driver who cannot change lanessafely to pass the stationary vehicle at no more than 10 miles perhour.

Unaccompanied homeless youth; consent to medicalcare. Provides that except for the purposes of sterilizationor abortion, a minor who is 14 years of age or older and who is an unaccompanied homeless youth shall be deemed an adult for the purposeof consenting to surgical or medical examination or treatment, includingdental examination and treatment, for himself or his minor child.The bill describes evidence sufficient to determine that a minoris an unaccompanied homeless youth and provides that no health careprovider shall be liable for any civil or criminal action for providingsurgical or medical treatment to an unaccompanied homeless youthor his minor child without first obtaining the consent of his parentor guardian provided in accordance with the law, with the exceptionof liability for negligence in the diagnosis or treatment of suchunaccompanied homeless youth.

Produce Rx Program established; report.Directs the Department of Social Services to establish a Produce Rx Program as a three-year pilot program to incentivize consumptionof qualifying fruits and vegetables by eligible individuals for whomincreased consumption of fruits and vegetables is recommended bya qualified care provider, as such terms are defined in the bill,and to report to the Governor and the General Assembly by December1 of each year on the operation of the Program.

Public school buses; seat belts. Requiresthe Board of Education to make regulations to require each new publicschool bus purchased for the transportation of students to be equippedwith a seat belt consisting of a lap belt and shoulder strap or harnessin every seat. The bill requires each school board to ensure thatno later than July 1, 2040, each school bus that it uses for thetransportation of students is equipped with a seat belt in every seat.

Unemployment compensation; invalid claims.Provides that a claim for unemployment benefits that has been determinedinvalid by the Virginia Employment Commission as a result of theclaimant's monetary ineligibility is not eligible for appeal throughthe Commission's appeals division.

Unemployment insurance; Resiliency Plan. Requiresthe Virginia Employment Commission, as part of its biennial strategicplan submitted to the Department of Planning and Budget, to developand maintain an unemployment insurance Resiliency Plan that describesthe specific actions the agency would take, depending on the levelof increase in unemployment insurance (UI) claims, to address staffing,communications, and other relevant aspects of operations to ensurecontinued efficient and effective administration of the UI program.

Department of Health; evidence-based best practicesfor opioid-related emergencies in the emergency department. Requireshospitals to establish and implement policies and protocols consistentwith evidence-based best practices for opioid-related emergenciesin the emergency department published and regularly updated by theDepartment of Health.