Del. Ibraheem S. Samirah

Commending the Washington Nationals.

Constitution of the United States; Equal RightsAmendment. Ratifies the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitutionof the United States that was proposed by Congress in 1972. The jointresolution advocates the position that the 1972 Equal Rights Amendmentremains viable and may be ratified notwithstanding the expirationof the 10-year ratification period set out in the resolving clause,as amended, in the proposal adopted by Congress.

Absentee voting; no excuse required. Permits any registered voter to vote by absentee ballot in any election in which he is qualified to vote. The bill removes the current list of statutory reasons under which a person may be entitled to vote by absentee ballot and removes references to those reasons from other sections of the Code. This bill was incorporated into HB 1.

Allowing access to firearms by children; recklessly leaving loaded, unsecured firearm in manner that endangers child under 14; penalty. Increases from a Class 3 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony the penalty for recklessly leaving a loaded, unsecured firearm in such a manner as to endanger the life or limb of any person under the age of 14. The bill contains technical amendments. This bill was incorporated into HB 1083.

Workers' compensation; retaliatory dischargeof employee. Prohibits an employer or other person from dischargingan employee if the discharge is motivated to any extent by knowledgeor belief that the employee has filed a claim or taken or intendsto take certain other actions under the Virginia Workers' CompensationAct. Currently, retaliatory discharges are prohibited only if theemployer or other person discharged an employee solely because theemployee has taken or intends to take such an action.

Workers' compensation; presumption of compensabilityfor certain diseases. Adds cancers of the colon, brain, and testes to the list of cancers that are presumed to be an occupationaldisease covered by the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act when firefightersand certain employees develop the cancer.

Ultrasound prior to abortion; physician civil penalty exemption. Provides that no physician shall be subject to a civil penalty for failure to perform or supervise the performance of the ultrasound imaging required prior to an abortion if, in his medical judgment, such ultrasound imaging is not medically necessary. Currently, any physician who violates any provision of the abortion informed consent statute is subject to a $2,500 civil penalty. This bill was incorporated into HB 980.

Health insurance; coverage for mammograms.Requires health insurers, on and after January 1, 2021, to providecoverage for low-dose screening mammograms at rates that are more frequent than is currently required if the covered individual hasa family history of breast cancer. If the individual has a familyhistory of breast cancer, the bill requires coverage for annual mammogramsfrom age 30 through 49 and biannual mammograms starting at age 50.However, the age at which such coverage of annual mammograms startsshall be younger than 30 if the covered individual's mother was diagnosedwith breast cancer at an age earlier than 40, in which event coveragestarts during the year that the individual attains an age that is10 years younger than the age of the individual's mother at thetime of her diagnosis.

Open-end credit plans. Prohibits a creditorfrom extending credit under an open-end credit plan at an annualrate that exceeds 36 percent unless the credit is extended by theseller of personal, family, or household goods for the sole purposeof financing the purchase price.

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.