Racism; public health crisis. Recognizesthat racism is a public health crisis in Virginia.
Virginia Redistricting Commission; removal of commissioners; emergency. Provides for the removal of a commissioner from the Virginia Redistricting Commission for neglect of duty or gross misconduct. Removal would require affirmative votes of at least six of the eight legislative commissioners and at least six of the eight citizen commissioners. Such a vote is required to be recorded and taken in a public meeting. The bill contains an emergency clause.
Repeal of the Virginia Highway Corporation Act of 1988; roadways operating under the Highway Corporation Act of 1988 to operate under the Public-Private Transportation Act of 1995. Directs the Commissioner of Highways to evaluate whether it is in the public interest for any roadway operated pursuant to the Virginia Highway Corporation Act of 1988 (HCA) to operate instead under the authority and requirements provided by the Public-Private Transportation Act of 1995 (PPTA). The bill authorizes the Commissioner, if he determines it is in the public interest for any such roadway to operate under the PPTA and the Secretary of Transportation and the Transportation Public-Private Partnership Steering Committee concur, to negotiate and execute a new comprehensive agreement with the operator of such roadway to operate under the authority and requirements provided by the PPTA and to cease to operate pursuant to the HCA. The bill provides for the repeal of the HCA upon the execution of a comprehensive agreement between the Department of Transportation and the operator of the Dulles Greenway for the Dulles Greenway to operate pursuant to the PPTA.
Status offenders; willful and material violation of court order or terms of probation; notice; orders of disposition for violation. Removes the option for a court to order that a status offender be detained in a secure facility for a willful and material violation of a court order or term of probation.
Secretary of Health and Human Resources; contractfor study of options for financing universal health care. Directsthe Secretary of Health and Human Resources to enter into a contractwith a qualified entity to study options for financing universalhealth care in the Commonwealth. The Secretary shall report the findings,conclusions, and recommendations of the qualified entity to the Governorand the General Assembly by December 1, 2021.
Access to firearms; cohabitants; civil penalty. Makes it unlawful for an individual residing or cohabitating with any person who such individual knows or has reason to believe is prohibited from possessing or transporting a firearm to allow such person access to any firearm. The bill requires such individual to store such firearm in a manner that is inaccessible to such co-resident. If an individual violates any provision of the bill and the co-resident uses such firearm during the commission of a crime, such individual will be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $500, except for any crime committed against such individual. The bill further provides that an individual who lawfully possesses a firearm is not in violation of the provisions of the bill if he carries the firearm on or about his person or exercises control of the firearm.
Consumer Protection Act; prohibited practices; certain advertising related to school quality. Adds as a prohibited practice under the Consumer Protection Act the use in any advertising any information regarding the quality of any public or private elementary or secondary school other than information derived from the school quality indicators contained in the School Quality Profiles established by the Department of Education or information derived from the school's website or the website of the school's district, unless such advertising contains a statement, displayed on its face in a conspicuous manner, that such school quality information is not derived from the school quality indicators contained in the School Quality Profiles established by the Department of Education or endorsed by the Department of Education. The bill provides that such provisions shall not become effective unless reenacted by the 2022 Session of the General Assembly.The bill requires the Department of Law's Division of Consumer Counsel (the Division), to make recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly for any legislation that the Division deems necessary to prevent the misleading or deceiving of consumers by the use of information in advertising regarding the quality of any public or private elementary or secondary school other than information derived from the school quality indicators contained in the School Quality Profiles established by the Department of Education or information derived from the school's website or the website of the school's district. The bill requires the Division to make its recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly by November 1, 2021.
Common-law crime of suicide. Abolishes thecommon-law crime of suicide. Suicide is currently a common-law crimein Virginia, although there is no statutorily prescribed punishment.
Redistricting; Virginia Redistricting Commission; transparency in redistricting process; reallocation of prison population. Requires meetings and hearings of the Virginia Redistricting Commission to be livestreamed, whether held virtually or in person, and to allow for public comment. Meetings and hearings that are held in person are required to be conducted in different regions of the Commonwealth, including the Northern Virginia region, the Central Virginia region, the Hampton Roads region, the Southside region, and the Southwest region. An additional public hearing is required to be held in the event that the initial plan for districts submitted by the Commission is rejected by the General Assembly. If adjustments are made to a proposed plan at any stage in response to public comment, the adjusted proposed plan is required to be published on the Commission's website and a public hearing is required to be held. The bill subjects the Supreme Court of Virginia and the special masters appointed by the Court for the establishment of districts to the same requirements and restrictions to which the Commission is subject, including provisions related to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and the ban on ex parte communications. Additionally, the bill changes the reallocation of persons incarcerated in federal, state, or local correctional facilities whose address at the time of incarceration was located outside of the Commonwealth or cannot be determined. Currently, such persons are counted as residing at the location of the facility in which he's incarcerated; under the bill, such persons would not be included in the locality's population count and instead would be allocated to a state unit not tied to a specific determined geographic location.
Study; staffing levels, employment conditions,and compensation at the Virginia Department of Corrections; report.Continues the joint committee of the House Committee on Health, Welfareand Institutions; the House Committee on Public Safety; the SenateCommittee on the Judiciary; and the Senate Committee on Rehabilitationand Social Services established by House Joint Resolution 29 (2020)to study staffing levels, employment conditions, and compensationat the Virginia Department of Corrections. The resolution directsthe joint committee to conclude its work by November 30, 2021, andto report its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the 2022 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
