Minimum wage; farm laborers or farm employees. Eliminates the exemptions from Virginia's minimum wage requirements for (i) persons employed as farm laborers or farm employees and (ii) certain temporary foreign workers.
Commending the Community Free Clinic of NewportNews.
Serious or Habitual Offender Comprehensive ActionProgram; definition of serious or habitual juvenile offender. Changesthe definition of a serious or habitual juvenile offender for thepurposes of the Serious or Habitual Offender Comprehensive ActionProgram to a minor who has been adjudicated delinquent or convictedof any offense that would be a felony if committed by an adult ortwo offenses that would be Class 1 misdemeanors if committed by anadult. Under current law, a serious or habitual juvenile ofender is defined as a minor who has been (i) adjudicated delinquent orconvicted of murder or attempted murder, armed robbery, any felonysexual assault or malicious wounding, or a felony violation of a gang-related crime or (ii) convicted at least three times of offensesthat would be felonies or Class 1 misdemeanors if committed by anadult.
Study; joint subcommittee; oversight of Medicaid managed care organizations and provider networks in the Commonwealth; report. Establishes a joint subcommittee to study oversight of Medicaid managed care organizations and provider networks in the Commonwealth, including (i) the current process by which the Department of Medical Assistance Services enters into contracts with managed care organizations for the delivery of services to Medicaid enrollees and the requirements of such contracts; (ii) the process by which managed care organizations enter into and terminate contracts with providers in the Commonwealth, including any procedural requirements that must be met before a provider agreement is terminated and any opportunity for communication and correction by the provider; (iii) managed care organizations' provider networks, including demographic information about enrolled providers and recent changes in managed care organizations' provider networks, including demographic information about providers that have been added to or removed from provider networks in recent years; and (iv) whether changes should be made to contracts between the Department of Medical Assistance Services and managed care organizations to ensure providers are able to meet agreements set forth in provider agreements while ensuring the safety and well-being of Medicaid enrollees, and to develop recommendations for improving the process by which providers of Medicaid services are recruited, enrolled in, participate in, and are terminated from provider networks to ensure access to a diverse array of services and providers for all Medicaid enrollees in the Commonwealth. The joint subcommittee shall complete its meetings by November 30, 2021, and the chairman shall submit to the Division of Legislative Automated Systems an executive summary of its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the 2022 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
Gospel Music Heritage Month. DesignatesSeptember, in 2021, and in each succeeding year, as Gospel Music Heritage Month in Virginia.
Railroads; crew size; civil penalty. Requiresa train or light engine used in connection with the movement of railroadfreight in the Commonwealth to operate with a crew of at least two individuals, unless such movement involves hostler service or utilityemployees in yard service. The State Corporation Commission shallhave discretion to fine a person willfully violating this requirementan amount not to exceed $500 for a first offense and an amount notto exceed $1,000 for a second or subsequent offense. The measurehas a delayed effective date of October 1, 2021.
Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity;Small Business Procurement Enhancement Program established; report.Establishes the Small Business Procurement Enhancement Program (theProgram) with a statewide goal of 42 percent of small business utilizationin all discretionary spending by state agencies in procurement orders,prime contracts, and subcontracts. In addition, the bill (i) providesfor a small business set-aside for competition among all small businessesfor state agency purchases of up to $100,000 for goods, nonprofessionalservices, and construction and up to $80,000 for professional servicesand (ii) establishes certification criteria for participation inthe Program by business operations on the basis of the total numberof employees or annual gross receipts, averaged over the previousthree years.
Suspension or modification of sentence; transferto the Department of Corrections. Provides that if a person hasbeen sentenced for a felony to the Department of Corrections (theDepartment), the court that heard the case, if it appears compatiblewith the public interest and there are circumstances in mitigationof the offense, may, at any time before the person is transferredto the Department or regardless of whether the person has been transferredto the Department, at any time within 12 months of entry of the sentencingorder, suspend or otherwise modify the unserved portion of such asentence. Additionally, notwithstanding the foregoing, the bill providesthat for good cause shown and in the interest of justice the courtmay, at any time before the sentence has been completely served, suspend the unserved portion of any such sentence, place the personon probation for such time as the court shall determine, or otherwisemodify the sentence imposed. Current law allows such suspension ormodification of the unserved portion of a sentence only if the personhas not yet been transferred to the Department of Corrections.
Constitutional amendment (first reference);marriage; repeal of same-sex marriage prohibition; recognition ofsame-sex marriages. Repeals the constitutional provision definingmarriage as only a union between one man and one woman, as well asthe related provisions that are no longer valid as a result of theUnited States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges,576 U.S. 644 (2015). The amendment provides that the Commonwealthand its political subdivisions and its agents are required to issuemarriage licenses, recognize marriages, and treat all marriages equallyunder the law, regardless of the gender of the two parties to themarriage. The amendment further provides that religious organizationsand clergy acting in their religious capacity have the right to refuseto perform any marriage.
Celebrating the life of the Honorable MamyeE. BaCote.
