Requires the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority and the Virginia Employment Commission to post notice of the existence of a human trafficking hotline in government stores, except for government stores established on a distiller's licensed premises, and in employment offices, respectively, to alert possible witnesses or victims of human trafficking to the availability of a means to report crimes or gain assistance.
Sponsored bills
Changes the special license plates for members of the International Association of Fire Fighters from nonrevenue sharing to revenue sharing and provides for the moneys to support the efforts of various charitable organizations supported by the firefighters throughout the Commonwealth. This bill is identical to
Allows the sale of mixed beverages by licensed restaurants and the sale of alcoholic beverages by the Board of Directors of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority in any county, town, or supervisor's election district unless a referendum is held and a majority of the voters voting in such referendum vote to prohibit such sales. Under current law, such sales are prohibited unless they have been approved through the referendum process. The bill includes a grandfathering provision that allows the granting of a mixed beverage license to any establishment described in § 4.1-126, as it was in effect prior to the effective date of this bill, notwithstanding the provisions of the bill related to local referendums but subject to other applicable laws and regulations. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2020, but allows localities to hold anticipatory referendums between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020, and provides that the results of such referendums shall become valid and enforceable on July 1, 2020. The bill provides that the result of any referendum held prior to July 1, 2019, shall remain valid and enforceable for a period of five years. This bill is identical to
Establishes the Commission on Student Behavioral Health as a legislative branch commission. The purpose of the Commission shall be to (i) assess the efficacy of developing and implementing a statewide behavioral health and suicide prevention hotline that students may use to report threats of violence or receive real-time counseling services; (ii) review the current school counselor-to-student ratio, and whether the realignment of counseling responsibilities proposed by the House Select Committee on School Safety is improving schools' ability to provide counseling services to students; (iii) review the current roles and responsibilities of school nurses, psychologists, and social workers in schools and determine whether a realignment of responsibilities could improve or streamline behavioral health services offered to students; (iv) evaluate the efficacy and costs of providing enhanced behavioral health services in schools delivered through partnerships established between school divisions and local departments of social services and community services boards; (v) assess the effectiveness of de-escalation and other alternative disciplinary policies when interacting with students suffering from behavioral health challenges; (vi) examine the value of additional teacher training requirements on student behavioral health, such as mental health first aid; and (vii) examine other topics related to student behavioral health identified by the Commission. The Commission shall consist of 12 members as follows: seven members of the House of Delegates, of whom two shall be members of the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions, two shall be members of the House Committee on Education, two shall be members of the House Committee on Appropriations, and one shall be a member at-large, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates; and five members of the Senate, of whom two shall be members of the Senate Committee on Education and Health, two shall be members of the Senate Committee on Finance, and one shall be a member at-large, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules. The Commission may appoint, employ, and remove an executive director and such other persons as it deems necessary and determine their duties and fix their salaries or compensation within the amounts appropriated therefor. The Commission may also employ experts who have special knowledge of the issues before it. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Commission, upon request. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2021.
Increases from a Class 3 felony to a Class 2 felony and imposes a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 25 years for the following crimes if minors under 15 years of age are involved: (i) pandering; (ii) receiving money for procuring a person for the purpose of prostitution, forced labor, or child pornography; (iii) receiving money from the earnings of a person engaged in prostitution; and (iv) commercial sex trafficking.