Del. Destiny LeVere Bolling

Alzheimer's disease and dementia training fordispatchers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel. Requirescertain agencies in the Commonwealth to develop curricula and providetraining related to Alzheimer's disease and dementia to dispatchersemployed by or in any local or state government agency, firefighters,and emergency medical services personnel. This bill is a recommendationof the Virginia Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Commissionand the Commonwealth Council on Aging.

Compensation of court-appointed counsel. Raises the limitation of fees that court-appointed counsel can receive for representation on various offenses in district and circuit courts. The bill also limits the fees charged for the cost of court-appointed counsel or public defender representation to persons determined to be indigent to an amount no greater than the amount such person would have owed if such fees had been assessed on or before June 30, 2024. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025. This bill is identical to SB 356.

High school graduation requirements; satisfaction of certain course credits with workforce credentials; development and maintenance of list of accepted credentials. Requires the Board of Education, in collaboration with the Virginia Community College System, Career and Technical Education directors, and industry partners, to develop and maintain a current, comprehensive, and uniform list of industry-recognized workforce credentials that students may take as a substitute for certain units of credit required for graduation, including such credentials that are accepted as substitutes for electives credits and credentials completed outside of regular school hours. The bill requires each school board to accept as a substitute for a required credit any credential listed as an accepted substitute for such required credit. The bill also requires any College and Career Access Pathways Partnership entered into between a school board and a comprehensive community college to specify, consistent with the list, industry-recognized credentials that are accepted as substitutes for certain credits required for high school graduation. Finally, the bill requires the Board, in establishing graduation requirements, to permit any student to substitute elective credits for completion of any industry-approved workforce credential that is included on the list as an accepted substitute for such credits. This bill incorporates HB 1009 and is identical to SB 199.

School boards; state funding for public education;student transportation; innovative alternatives to school buses.Provides that no school board that implements innovative low-costor no-cost alternatives to transporting students to and from schoolon school buses, including organizing or otherwise facilitating,encouraging, or supporting bike buses whereby groups of studentsride bicycles to and from school, shall be penalized in the calculationof the prevailing costs of student transportation for the purposeof providing state funding to support the cost of public education.

Line of Duty Act; payment of benefits. Increases from $25,000 to $75,000 the death benefit payout under the Virginia Line of Duty Act for a death caused by occupational cancer, respiratory disease, or hypertension or heart disease for those deaths that will occur on or after January 1, 2025. This bill is identical to SB 649.

Institutions of higher education; students who report act of hazing or bullying experienced as result of report of act of hazing; on-campus mental and behavioral health support. Requires each public institution of higher education and nonprofit private institution of higher education to provide information about on-campus individuals or entities that are qualified to provide the appropriate ongoing mental and behavioral health support to any student who reports to the institution an act of hazing or an act of bullying experienced as the result of a report of an act of hazing.

Local government employee insurance programs. Authorizes any locality to include in its group life, accident, andhealth insurance programs any person to whom coverage could be extendedunder the provision of current law that sets out who may be coveredunder a private group accident and sickness insurance policy.

Interference with commercial fishing vessel;penalties. Provides that a person who approaches a commercialfishing vessel without the consent of the owner or person in chargeof such vessel with the intent to coerce, intimidate, or harass thecaptain or crew of such vessel or interfere with the operations ofsuch vessel is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill makes ita Class 6 felony to communicate to another person by any means any threat to (i) kill or do bodily injury to a person or persons engagedin the activity of commercial fishing on the waters of the Commonwealthor (ii) bomb, burn, destroy, or in any manner damage any commercialfishing vessel, and increases this penalty to a Class 5 felony ifsuch threat places the captain or crew in reasonable apprehensionof death or bodily injury. The bill makes it a Class 6 felony tointentionally or recklessly damage, injure, tamper with, deface,or destroy a commercial fishing vessel or any associated gear. Finally,the bill deems a person to be ineligible for any hunting or fishinglicense for a certain period of time if such person is found guiltyof an offense set out in the bill.

Health insurance; coverage for doula care services. Requires health insurers, corporations providing health care subscription contracts, and health maintenance organizations whose policy, contract, or plan includes coverage for obstetrical services to provide coverage for doula care services provided by a state-certified doula. The bill requires such coverage to include coverage for at least eight visits during the antepartum or postpartum period and support during labor and delivery. The bill provides that health insurance carriers are (i) not required to pay for duplicate services actually rendered by both a state-certified doula and another health care provider and (ii) prohibited from requiring supervision, signature, or referral by any other health care provider as a condition of reimbursement for doula care services, except when those requirements are also applicable to other categories of health care providers. Such provisions of the bill are subject to a reenactment clause. The bill also requires the Health Insurance Reform Commission to consider coverage for doula care services in its review of the essential health benefits benchmark plan and to include such coverage in its recommendation to the General Assembly unless a compelling reason for excluding such coverage is identified. This bill is identical to SB 118.

Child labor offenses; civil penalties. Increasesfrom $10,000 to $25,000 the civil penalty for each violation of childlabor laws that results in the employment of a child who is seriouslyinjured or dies in the course of employment. The bill also increasesfrom $1,000 to $2,500 the maximum civil penalty for each other violationof child labor laws and provides that such civil penalty shall notbe less than $500. The bill directs the Department of Labor and Industry to convene a stakeholder work group to develop education and outreach plans to inform young workers and employers about child labor laws.