Del. Kelly Fowler

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.

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.

Alcoholic beverage control; annual mixed beverage performing arts facility licenses; on-and-off premises wine and beer licenses. Defines performing arts facility and sports facility and standardizes the eligibility criteria for annual mixed beverage performing arts facility licenses and on-and-off-premises wine and beer licenses for performing arts food concessionaires. Under current law, the eligibility criteria for such licenses varies by location and includes inconsistent ownership, lease, capacity, and seating requirements. The bill also removes provisions that allow the Board of Directors of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to grant annual mixed beverage motor sports facility licenses and motor car sporting event facility licenses and creates an annual mixed beverage sports facility license, which may be granted to persons operating a sports facility or food concessions at a sports facility and would authorize the licensee to sell mixed beverages during any event and immediately subsequent thereto to patrons within all seating areas, concourses, walkways, concession areas, and additional locations designated by the Board (i) in closed containers for off-premises consumption or (ii) in paper, plastic, or similar disposable containers or in single original metal cans for on-premises consumption. This bill is identical to SB 180, SB 400, SB 657, and SB 724.

Virginia Nonstock Corporation Act; notice ofboard of directors' meetings. Provides that all meetings of theboard of directors, including any subcommittee or other committeeof the board of directors, where the business of the associationis discussed or transacted shall be open to all members of recordand that notice of the time, date, and place of each meeting of theboard of directors or of any subcommittee or other committee of the board of directors shall be published where it is reasonably calculatedto be available to a majority of the lot owners. Current law allowssuch meetings to be held without notice of the date, time, place,or purpose of the meeting.

Prevailing wage rate for underground infrastructure works by public service companies. Directs the Department of Labor and Industry to determine and make available the prevailing wage rate for underground infrastructure work. Under the bill, each public service company shall ensure that its bid specifications or other contracts applicable to underground infrastructure works require payment at the prevailing wage rate. The bill requires contractors and subcontractors to post the prevailing wage rate in a prominent and accessible place at the work site. The bill also requires each public service company, contractor, or subcontractor subject to the provisions of the bill to comply with certain recordkeeping requirements. Provisions of the bill apply to contracts entered into on or after July 1, 2024.

Commending the Honorable L. Kaye Kory.

Employee Child Care Assistance Program and Fund; established. Establishes the Employee Child Care Assistance Programand Fund to provide matching funds to in order to incentivize employersto contribute to the child care costs of their employees. To participatein the program, an employer is required to enter into an agreementwith its employee and an eligible mixed-delivery provider, definedin the bill, to make child care contributions to the eligible mixed-deliveryprovider on behalf of the employee, and the Department of Educationwill issue a state match directly to such eligible mixed-deliveryprovider or to a third-party administrator. The bill provides thatthe state match shall not exceed 100 percent of the employer contributionmade by an employer on behalf of an employee whose annual gross wagesare equal to or less than the local median household income, definedin the bill, and shall not exceed 80 percent of the employer contributionmade by an employer on behalf of an employee whose annual gross wagesare greater than the local median household income. The bill requiresthat 25 percent of the Fund be used to provide state matching fundsfor employees of small businesses.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; early termination for military personnel; stop movement order; emergency. Allows certain military personnel to terminate a rental agreement upon receipt of a stop movement order issued in response to a local, national, or global emergency that is effective for either an indefinite period or for a period of not less than 30 days and that prevents the service member from occupying the leased dwelling unit for a residential purpose. The bill also allows such military personnel to terminate a rental agreement after receiving any permanent change of station order or temporary duty order in excess of three months' duration. Current law allows such termination only for orders requiring a departure of 35 miles or more from the dwelling unit. The bill contains an emergency clause and is identical to SB 213.

Celebrating the life of the Honorable OnzleeWare.