Removal hearings; foster care; termination of parental rights; status as an Indian child; reasonable efforts; definition; services to families. Adds a definition of reasonable efforts for the purposes of hearings relating to the foster care of and petitions for the termination of parental rights over those children who are not determined to be a member of a Virginia-recognized or federally recognized tribe. The bill further requires that, at a preliminary removal hearing, or as soon as possible thereafter, and prior to any adjudicatory hearing, the court shall make a finding as to whether diligent efforts have been made to determine whether the child is an Indian child as defined in the Indian Child Welfare Act or a member of, or eligible for membership in, a tribe recognized by the Commonwealth. Under the bill, any such children would receive the protections of the Indian Child Welfare Act, including the federal standard of active efforts. The bill further directs the Department of Social Services to promulgate new regulations defining types of abuse and neglect, specifying that in situations where neglect is the result of family poverty and there are no outside resources available to the family, the parent or caretaker shall not be determined to have neglected the child, but the local department of social services shall provide appropriate and timely services to the family.
Sponsored bills
Palliative Care Information and Education Program; Palliative Care and Quality of Life Advisory Council established. Directs the Board of Health to include in its regulations a requirement that every hospital, nursing home, and certified nursing facility licensed by the Board (i) establish a system for identifying patients or residents who may benefit from palliative care and (ii) provide information about and facilitate access to appropriate palliative care services for patients or residents experiencing illness, injuries, or conditions that substantially affect quality of life for more than a short period of time. The bill also directs the Department of Health to establish a palliative care consumer and professional information and education program to maximize the effectiveness of palliative care initiatives in the Commonwealth by (a) ensuring that comprehensive and accurate information and education about palliative care is available to the public, health care providers, and health care facilities and (b) implementing such other initiatives related to education about palliative care and the delivery of palliative care services as may be necessary to educate health care professionals and the public about palliative care. The bill further establishes the Palliative Care and Quality of Life Advisory Council to advise the Department on matters related to the establishment, operation, maintenance, and outcomes evaluations of such initiatives. The bill directs the Palliative Care and Quality of Life Advisory Council to study the possibility of establishing a Medicaid benefit for palliative care and the need for a licensure scheme for palliative care providers. The bill further directs the Board of Health to develop a statewide advanced care planning campaign to increase public awareness of available palliative care options.
Income tax; credit for certain health care providers. Provides, for taxable years 2026 through 2030, a nonrefundable individual income tax credit for eligible health care providers, defined in the bill, who provide health care in an underserved community during the taxable year. The bill defines "underserved community" as an area within the Commonwealth identified by the Board of Health as medically underserved. The amount of the credit shall equal $5,000 if the eligible health care provider provided at least 1,600 hours of health care in an underserved community during the taxable year or $2,500 if the eligible health care provider provided at least 800 hours of health care in an underserved community during the taxable year. The bill provides that such providers shall only be allowed to claim such credit for two taxable years. The aggregate amount of credits allowable under the provisions of the bill shall not exceed $5 million per taxable year.
Pop-up events; local enhanced enforcement actions. Allows a locality by ordinance to establish pop-up event zones, as defined in the bill, for the purpose of taking enhanced enforcement actions within such zone if the pop-up event may significantly disrupt normal community operations. A local governing body's presiding officer, a locality's chief law-enforcement officer, and a locality's chief administrative officer must be in concurrence to activate such zone. The bill requires a locality to give notification of a pop-up event zone through an online webpage, providing as much advance notice as is practicable. The bill further grants the authority to take enhanced enforcement actions such as (i) declaring the pop-up event zone a gun free zone, (ii) establishing temporary speed limit reductions and enhanced traffic fines within the pop-up event zone, (iii) establishing and enforcing occupancy limits on both public and private property within the pop-up event zone, and (iv) declaring a curfew for unaccompanied minors. The bill allows a locality to recover all relevant costs and fees incurred from the designation and enforcement of the zone directly from event organizers.
School breakfast; availability at no cost to students. Requires each school board to require each public elementary and secondary school in the local school division to participate in the federal National School Lunch Program and the federal School Breakfast Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and to make breakfast available to any student who requests such a meal at no cost to the student, unless the student's parent has provided written permission to the school board to withhold such a meal from the student. The bill clarifies that the provision of a breakfast by a school to a student at no cost to the student shall not be construed as creating a disincentive for the school or local school division to participate in the federal Community Eligibility Provision program. Additionally, the bill provides that schools shall maximize the number of students who participate in the school breakfast program by implementing one or more suggested service models to increase access to such program. The bill requires the Department of Education to reimburse each public elementary and secondary school for each eligible school breakfast served to a student, with a maximum of one reimbursable breakfast per student per school day, and provides the formula for determining the state reimbursement rate for such meals. Finally, the bill repeals a provision of law relating to the federal School Breakfast Program that is rendered obsolete by the provisions of the bill. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Commission to End Hunger.
Local anti-rent gouging authority; civil penalty. Provides that any locality may by ordinance adopt anti-rent gouging provisions. The bill provides for notice and a public hearing prior to the adoption of such ordinance and specifies that all landlords who are under the ordinance may be required to give at least 90 days' written notice of a rent increase and cannot increase the rent by more than the locality's calculated allowance, not to exceed three percent, and states that such allowance is effective for a 12-month period beginning July 1 each year. The bill requires the locality to publish such allowance on its website by June 1 of each year. Certain facilities, as outlined in the bill, are exempt from such ordinance. The bill also requires a locality adopting an anti-rent gouging ordinance to establish an anti-rent gouging board to establish rules and procedures by which landlords may apply for and be granted exemptions from the rent increase limits set by the ordinance or delegate such duties and functions to an existing local board, department, or agency. The bill also requires the anti-rent gouging board to establish a fair return on investment rent increase exemption to the annual anti-rent gouging allowance where necessary to offset increased operating expenses. Finally, the bill provides that a locality shall establish a civil penalty for failure to comply with the requirements set out in its ordinance.