Del. Kim Taylor

Commending Ryan Zimmerman.

Abortion; born alive infant; treatment and care; penalty. Requires every health care provider licensed by the Board of Medicine who attempts to terminate a pregnancy to (i) exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of an infant who has been born alive following such attempt as a reasonably diligent and conscientious health care practitioner would render to any other child born alive at the same gestational age and (ii) take all reasonable steps to ensure the immediate transfer of the infant who has been born alive to a hospital for further medical care. A health care provider who fails to comply with the requirements of this act is guilty of a Class 4 felony and may be subject to disciplinary action by the Board of Medicine. The bill also requires every hospital licensed by the Department of Health to establish a protocol for the treatment and care of an infant who has been born alive following performance of an abortion and for the immediate reporting to law enforcement of any failure to provide such required treatment and care.

Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; feasibility study; Catawba Hospital; substance abuse treatment and recovery services. Directs the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to study the feasibility of transforming Catawba Hospital into a state-of-the-art facility at which a continuum of substance abuse treatment and recovery services, including long-term, short-term, acute, and outpatient services, is provided in addition to the array of behavioral health and other services currently provided to geriatric individuals in need of mental health care, and to identify state hospitals in other regions of the Commonwealth that may be appropriate for transformation into facilities at which a continuum of such services is provided in addition to the array of behavioral health and other services currently provided to individuals in need of mental health care. The Department shall report its findings, conclusions, and recommendations to the Governor and the Chairmen of the Senate Committees on Education and Health and Finance and Appropriations and the House Committees on Appropriations and Health, Welfare and Institutions by December 1, 2022.

Department of Planning and Budget; Regulatory Budget Program; report. Directs the Department of Planning and Budget, under the direction of the Secretary of Finance, to establish a continuous Regulatory Budget Program with the goal of setting a two-year target for each executive branch agency subject to the Administrative Process Act to (i) reduce regulations and regulatory requirements, (ii) maintain the current number of regulations and regulatory requirements, or (iii) allow regulations and regulatory requirements to increase by a specific amount over a two-year period. The bill requires the Secretary of Finance to report to the Speaker of the House of Delegates and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules on the status of the Program no later than October 1 of each odd-numbered year. Finally, the bill provides that the Department, in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General, shall, by March 1, 2023, issue guidance for agencies regarding the Program and how an agency can comply with the requirements of the Program.

Russia; boycott of goods and services. Encouragingall residents of the Commonwealth of Virginia to boycott all goodsand services originating in Russia.

Parental Choice Education Savings Accounts established.Permits the parents of qualified students, defined in the bill, to apply to the school division in which the qualified student residesfor a one-year, renewable Parental Choice Education Savings Accountthat consists of an amount that is equivalent to a certain percentage of all applicable annual Standards of Quality per pupil state funds appropriated for public school purposes and apportioned to the residentschool division in which the qualified student resides, includingthe per pupil share of state sales tax funding in basic aid and any state per pupil share of special education funding for which thequalified student is eligible. The bill permits the parent of thequalified student to use the moneys in such account for certain education-relatedexpenses of the qualified student, including tuition, deposits, fees,and required textbooks at a private elementary school or secondaryschool that is located in the Commonwealth. The bill also contains provisions relating to auditing, rescinding, and reviewing expensesmade from such accounts.

Coastal Virginia Resiliency Authority; established.Establishes the Coastal Virginia Resiliency Authority (the Authority)as a body politic and corporate, a political subdivision of the Commonwealth.The bill provides that the Authority shall be governed by a 17 memberBoard of Directors as follows: (i) the Secretary of Natural and HistoricResources or his designee; (ii) the Secretary of Transportation orhis designee; (iii) the Chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture,Conservation and Natural Resources or his designee; (iv) the Chairof the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resourcesor his designee; (v) a member of the Senate appointed by the SenateCommittee on Rules; (vi) three members of the House of Delegatesappointed by the Speaker of the House; (vii) an Officer, defined inthe bill, from the each of the Hampton Roads, Crater, Richmond Region, Middle Peninsula, Northern Neck, and Accomack-Northampton PlanningDistrict Commissions selected by the Governor; and (viii) threenonlegislative members who reside in the Hampton Roads, Crater, Richmond Region, Middle Peninsula, Northern Neck, or Accomack-NorthamptonPlanning District Commissions appointed by the Joint Rules Committee.Certain portions of the bill have a delayed effective date of January1, 2023.

Behavior Analysis Week. Designates the weekof March 20, in 2022 and in each succeeding year, as Behavior AnalysisWeek in Virginia.

World Polio Day. Designates October 24,in 2022 and in each succeeding year, as World Polio Day in Virginia.

Rate of tax on gasoline and diesel fuel. Lowers the rate of tax on gasoline and diesel fuel on July 1, 2022, from 26.2 cents per gallon to 21.2 cents per gallon on gasoline and from 27 cents per gallon to 20.2 cents per gallon on diesel fuel, the rates that were in effect before July 1, 2021. The bill provides that the rate of tax on gasoline and diesel fuel will return to 26.2 and 27 cents per gallon, respectively, on July 1, 2023, and will be indexed based on the change in the United States Average Consumer Price Index for both 2021 and 2022; thereafter, the rate will be indexed annually.