Del. Ibraheem S. Samirah

Child abuse and neglect; valid report or complaint;alleged abuser. Requires a local department of social servicesto conduct an investigation or family assessment when, among otherthings, a report or complaint of child abuse or neglect is receivedin which the alleged abuser (i) is the child's relative by blood,marriage, or adoption; (ii) is the child's caretaker or has supervisorycontrol over such child; or (iii) resides or is regularly presentin the same household as the child. The bill also amends the definitionof "abused or neglected child" to accommodate this directive. Undercurrent law, local departments are only required to conduct an investigationor family assessment when the alleged abuser is the child's parentor other caretaker.

Department of Education; discrimination againststudents; investigation and resolution of complaints. Requiresthe Department of Education to establish a procedure for the receipt,investigation, and resolution of student complaints alleging discriminationon any basis that is prohibited by state or federal law, includingdiscrimination on the basis of sex as prohibited by Title IX (20U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.).

Relocation of call centers to a foreign country; notification requirements. Requires certain call centers thatintend to relocate operations from the Commonwealth to a foreigncountry to give the Commissioner of Labor and Industry at least 120days' prior notice. The measure requires the Commissioner to compilea semiannual list of all employers that relocate a call center fromthe Commonwealth to a foreign country and to distribute the list to state agencies. Subject to exceptions, an employer that appears onthe list is (i) ineligible for five years for any direct or indirectgrants of state funds, any loans from or guaranteed by the state,or any tax credit or reduction in tax liability and (ii) requiredto repay any financial incentives the employer has previously received.The measure requires new state agency contracts for the performanceof state business-related call center and customer service work toprovide that such work will be performed entirely within the Commonwealth.

Office of the Independent Living Community Ombudsman. Establishes, in the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services,the Office of the Independent Living Community Ombudsman, to promoteand protect the interests of residents of independent living communitiesin the Commonwealth. The bill defines "independent living community"as any congregate care housing arrangement reserved for residents55 years of age or older who do not require assistance with activitiesof daily living from staff of the independent living community and that includes the provision of two or more of the following services:meals, transportation, laundry, or housekeeping, when such servicesare provided pursuant to an agreement between the resident and the congregate care housing provider or between the resident and a thirdparty that delivers such services at the premises of the independentliving community.

Study; JLARC; reinstatement of discretionaryparole; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and ReviewCommission to study the reinstatement of discretionary parole, whichwas abolished in 1995.

Study; Department of Rail and Public Transportation; commuter rail system in the Commonwealth; report. Requests theDepartment of Rail and Public Transportation to study and developbest practices for constructing, operating, and maintaining commuterrail systems in the Commonwealth.

Battery against a sports official; penalty.Provides that if any person commits a battery against another knowingor having reason to know that such other person is a sports officialengaged in the performance of his duties as such, he is guilty ofa Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill also provides that the sentenceof such person upon conviction shall include a mandatory minimum fine of $500 and such person shall be ordered to perform a mandatory minimumof 20 hours of community service as a condition of probation supervision.A "sports official" is defined in the bill as a coach, umpire, referee,line judge, or other person employed or volunteering in a similarcapacity during an amateur or professional sporting event.

Campaign finance; prohibited contributions tocandidates. Prohibits any candidate from soliciting or acceptinga contribution from any public service corporation, as defined in§ 56-1, or any political action committee established and administeredby such a corporation.

Public school buses; seat belts. Requiresthe Board of Education to make regulations to require each new publicschool bus purchased for the transportation of students to be equippedwith a seat belt consisting of a lap belt and shoulder strap or harnessin every seat. The bill requires each school board to ensure thatno later than July 1, 2038, each school bus that it uses for thetransportation of students is equipped with a seat belt in every seat.

Celebrating the life of Debra Sue Maurer.