Del. Cia Price

Criminal history background checks. Movesto separate sections of the Code of Virginia provisions governingbackground checks for individuals providing substance abuse and mentalhealth services for adults. Currently, provisions governing backgroundchecks for individuals providing substance abuse and mental healthservices for adults are included together with provisions governingbackground checks for providers of substance abuse and mental healthservices for children and providers of developmental services for individuals of all ages.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act;landlord remedies; noncompliance with rental agreement. Increasesfrom five days to 14 days the mandatory waiting period after a landlordserves written notice on a tenant notifying the tenant of his nonpaymentof rent and of the landlord's intention to terminate the rental agreementif rent is not paid before the landlord may pursue remedies for terminationof the rental agreement.

Fines, costs, forfeitures, penalties, and restitution; collection fees; assessment against incarcerated individuals. Providesthat notwithstanding any other provision of law, no collection fees,including the fees of any private attorneys or collection agencies,administrative fees, or any other fees related to collection activities,shall be assessed for the collection of any fines, costs, forfeitures,penalties, or restitution imposed in a criminal case or in a caseinvolving a traffic infraction (i) for any period during which thedefendant is incarcerated and (ii) for a period of 90 days followingthe date of the defendant's release from incarceration if the sentenceincludes an active term of incarceration.

Commending Virginia Polytechnic Institute andState University.

Conduct of law-enforcement officers; establishmentof an Early Identification System. Requires the Department ofCriminal Justice Services (the Department) to establish a best practicesmodel for the implementation, training, and management of an EarlyIdentification System (EIS). The bill defines an EIS as a systemthrough which a law-enforcement agency collects and manages datato identify and assess patterns of behavior, including misconductand high-risk behavior, or performance of law-enforcement officersand law-enforcement agency employees. The bill directs each sheriffor chief of police to implement an EIS by July 1, 2024, and requiresthat law-enforcement officers receive training prior to implementationof the EIS and annually thereafter. The bill also directs the Departmentto establish and administer written policies and procedures for law-enforcementagencies to report to the Office of the Attorney General all judgmentsor settlements in cases relating to negligence or misconduct of a law-enforcement officer.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act;landlord obligations; tenant safety. Requires a landlord whoowns more than four rental dwelling units, or more than a 10 percentinterest in more than four rental dwelling units, to require allemployees and applicants for employment to submit to fingerprintingand provide personal descriptive information to be forwarded alongwith the employee's or applicant's fingerprints through the CentralCriminal Records Exchange and the Federal Bureau of Investigationfor the purpose of obtaining criminal history record informationregarding such employee or applicant. The bill allows a landlordto disqualify from employment any person who has been convicted ofor found guilty of, or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendereto, regardless of adjudication, a violent crime committed in anyjurisdiction. The bill also provides that a landlord must (i) establishwritten policies and procedure for the storage and management of,access to, and return of all keys for each rental dwelling unit;(ii) regulate the secure storage of and access to unissued keys;and (iii) maintain a written log for the issuance and return of allkeys. Finally, pursuant to the bill, all relevant landlords must submit certain information on a quarterly basis to the Department of Housingand Community Development to prove compliance with the provisionsoutlined in the bill.

Commending the Richmond Free Press.

Board of Medicine; implicit bias and culturalcompetency. Requires all practitioners licensed by the Boardof Medicine to complete two hours of continuing education in eachbiennium on topics related to implicit bias and cultural competency.

Perinatal health care providers; implicit biastraining. Requires the Board of Health to amend its regulationsto require that each hospital develop and implement policies requiringall perinatal health care providers to complete an in-person andinteractive training on implicit bias.

Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy. Requiresthe Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to take certain actionsupon the finding that an individual died from Sudden Unexpected Deathin Epilepsy (SUDEP). The bill directs the Office of the Chief MedicalExaminer to publish information on SUDEP and a SUDEP death investigationform on its website. Additionally, the bill requires the Chief MedicalExaminer and local medical examiners to complete training providedby The Epilepsy Foundation of Virginia. The bill has a delayed effectivedate of January 1, 2023.