Del. Irene Shin

Early childhood care and education; child day programs; use of office buildings; waiver of zoning requirements. Permits any locality to by ordinance provide for the waiver of any requirements for zoning permits for the operation of a child day program in an office building, as defined by the bill, provided that such facility satisfies the requirements for state licensure as a child day program. This bill is identical to SB 13.

Assistance for certain voters outside of the polling place; definition of "person with a disability"; training. Amends the definition of "person with a disability" for purposes of the Elections title to mean any person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of his major life activities or who has a record of such impairment. The bill provides that any qualified voter who is a person with a disability shall be eligible for assistance outside of the polling place and makes technical amendments for consistency. The bill requires the training required for all officers of election to include specific training on voting outside of a polling place and directs the Department of Elections to incorporate into guidance documents for election officials the processes and procedures for voting outside of the polling place, including best practices for providing assistance for voters with disabilities. This bill is identical to SB 605.

Unemployment compensation; employer failure to respond torequests for information; claim determination; notice requirements.Provides that an employer's failure to respond timely or adequately to a writtenrequest for information relating to an unemployment claim results in a waiverof all of such employer's rights in connection with the claim, includingparticipation and appeal rights, unless such employer demonstrates that goodcause exists for such failure. The bill requires the Virginia EmploymentCommission to provide written notice for each instance of untimely orinadequate employer response to such requests and specifies that such noticemay be delivered through the Employer Self-Service Tax System websitemaintained by the Commission. The bill also requires the Commission to provideeach employer with information regarding deadlines for timely and adequateresponses to such requests. Such provisions of the bill apply to erroneouspayments established on or after July 1, 2024. The bill also prohibits a deputydesignated by the Commissioner to adjudicate unemployment claims from examiningor considering facts contained within an employer's untimely or inadequateresponse and requires that information or evidence from an employer or thirdparty must be shared with the claimant, who must also be provided a reasonableopportunity to review and respond to such information or evidence. The billrequires such deputy to provide the reasoning behind the decision, as describedin the bill, and a short statement of case-specific facts material to thedetermination together with any notice of determination upon a claim. This billis a recommendation of the Commission on Unemployment Compensation.

Center for Rural Virginia; name change. Renames the Center for Rural Virginia as the Senator Frank M. Ruff, Jr. Center for Rural Virginia. This bill is identical to SB 704.

Public high schools; research-based hazing prevention instruction. Requires the Board of Education to develop Standards of Learning and curriculum guidelines for research-based hazing prevention instruction to be provided as a part of physical or health education instruction provided to students in grade nine or 10. The bill requires such hazing prevention instruction to include age-appropriate, extensive, and current education about hazing, including (i) examples of hazing; (ii) the dangers of hazing, including the consequences of alcohol intoxication; and (iii) school policies and laws related to hazing, including criminal penalties and bystander intervention. The bill requires such research-based hazing prevention instruction to be offered in-person but requires each school board to provide options for virtual participation for any student who is enrolled in an online or virtual physical or health education program. Finally, the bill requires each school board to provide such research-based hazing prevention instruction beginning with the school year following the Board's adoption of revised Standards of Learning for physical and health education for grades nine and 10 incorporating such research-based hazing prevention instruction and directs the Board to, in the intermediary time, develop and post on its website guidance documents for the purpose of making such research-based hazing prevention instruction available to local school boards. This bill is identical to SB 379.

Training standards for law-enforcement officers; comprehensive harm reduction program; drug use. Requires theDepartment of Criminal Justice Services to establish training standardsand publish and periodically update model policies for law-enforcementpersonnel for a comprehensive harm reduction program that promotesscientifically proven methods of mitigating health risks associatedwith drug use and other high-risk behaviors, including the use ofnaloxone or other opioid antagonists to prevent opioid overdose deaths,in coordination with statewide naloxone training programs developedby the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Servicesand the Virginia Department of Health.

Mineral mining and processing; use of cyanideor a cyanide compound prohibited. Prohibits any miner or otherperson from using cyanide or a cyanide compound in any mineral miningor processing operation.

Manufacture, importation, sale, etc., of auto sears; prohibition; penalty. Prohibits the manufacture, importation, sale or offer to sell, possession, transfer, or transportation of an auto sear, defined in the bill as a device, other than a trigger activator, for use in converting a semi-automatic firearm to shoot automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. A violation is punishable as a Class 6 felony. The bill also provides for the forfeiture of any auto sear concealed, possessed, transported, or carried in violation of the prohibition. This bill is identical to SB 210.

Use of canines in correctional and juvenile correctional facilities; prohibited acts. Makes it unlawful for any correctional officer or other employee of a state correctional facility who is permitted to handle canines to use a patrol or security canine in any state correctional facility unless such correctional officer or other employee (i) reasonably believes that the use of a patrol or security canine is immediately necessary to protect any prisoner or any officer or employee from the threat of serious bodily injury or death or (ii) has the prior approval of the warden or a supervisor to use a patrol or security canine to intervene in an altercation, fight, or other incident between three or more prisoners. The bill also makes it unlawful for any juvenile correctional officer or other employee of a juvenile correctional facility to use a patrol or security canine in any juvenile correctional facility. The bill specifies that such provisions shall not apply to the training or use of detector canines or detector canine handlers.

Commending Buta Biberaj.