Hate crimes and discrimination; ethnic animosity; penalties. Provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to safeguard all individuals within the Commonwealth from unlawful discrimination in employment and in places of public accommodation because of such individual's ethnic origin and prohibits such discrimination. The bill also adds victims who are intentionally selected because of their ethnic origin to the categories of victims whose intentional selection for a hate crime involving assault, assault and battery, or trespass for the purpose of damaging another's property results in a higher criminal penalty for the offense. The bill also provides that no provider or user of an interactive computer service on the Internet shall be liable for any action voluntarily taken by it in good faith to restrict access to material that the provider or user considers to be intended to incite hatred on the basis of ethnic origin. This bill is identical to SB 7.
Del. Bonita Anthony
Sponsored bills
Virginia Commission to End Hunger established;report. Establishes the Virginia Commission to End Hunger. Thebill states that the purpose of the Commission is to develop anaction plan every two years for ending hunger in the Commonwealth,review the progress of such plan, and ensure cross-collaborationamong government entities and community partners toward the goalof ending hunger in the Commonwealth.
Child Care Subsidy Program; categorical eligibility for certain families. Provides that any family that receives public assistance through Medicaid or the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children shall be deemed to categorically satisfy income eligibility requirements to receive assistance through the Child Care Subsidy Program.
Elections; precincts and polling places; noticeof changes mailed at least 30 days prior to election. Requiresnotice of any adopted change in an election district, precinct, orpolling place to be mailed to all registered voters subject to suchchange at least 30 days prior to the next election. Currently, suchnotice must be mailed at least 15 days prior.
Adult wellness screening; sickle cell disease or sickle cell trait. Provides that every adult resident of the Commonwealth may be offered screening tests for sickle cell disease or the sickle cell trait and requires that the health care professional in charge of an adult's annual health examination provide education and appropriate counseling regarding the results of any such test that is performed.
Superintendent of Public Instruction; pandemicrecovery task force; report. Requires the Superintendent ofPublic Instruction to establish and appoint such members as he deems necessary or appropriate to a pandemic recovery task force (the taskforce) within the Department of Education, the purpose of which isto examine the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on publiceducation in the Commonwealth and to provide recommendations, guidance,and resources to each local school division in order to enable allenrolled students to thrive academically, socially, and emotionallyand to meet or exceed pre-pandemic levels on all relevant metricsof student achievement and well-being. The bill requires the taskforce to focus particularly on student learning loss, attendance,and mental health and on vulnerable populations of students and toannually submit a report of its findings and recommendations to theBoard, the Governor, the General Assembly, and each school boardno later than November 1.
Health insurance; coverage for colorectal cancer screening. Requires health insurers to provide coverage for examinations and laboratory tests related to colorectal cancer screening in accordance with the most recently published recommendations established by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force for colorectal cancer screening for which a rating of A or B is in effect with respect to the individual involved. The bill requires such coverage to include coverage of a follow-up colonoscopy after a positive noninvasive stool-based screening test or direct visualization screening test. The bill prohibits such coverage from being subject to any deductible, coinsurance, or any other cost-sharing requirements for services received from participating providers. The provisions of the bill apply to individual or group accident and sickness insurance policies, individual or group accident and sickness subscription contracts, or health care plans delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in the Commonwealth on and after January 1, 2025.
State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; membership; representative of a historically black college or university. Requires the membership of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to include at least one nonlegislative citizen member who has served as a chief executive officer of one of the Commonwealth's historically black colleges or universities. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.
Public school teachers; daily lunch breaks; data collection; report. Requires the Department of Education to annually collect and present in the Virginia School Survey of Climate and Working Conditions school-level and division-level data on the share of teachers that are provided each working day a lunch break of at least 30 minutes in length and unencumbered by any teaching or supervisory duties.
Center for Rural Virginia; name change. Renames the Center for Rural Virginia as the Senator Frank M. Ruff, Jr. Center for Rural Virginia. This bill is identical to SB 704.