Sen. Amanda Chase

Employers; institutions of higher education;localities; public schools; face coverings. Prohibits any locality,institution of higher education, employer, school board, divisionsuperintendent, school principal, or private school from adopting, implementing, or enforcing any policy, rule, or order related toCOVID-19 that requires individuals to wear a face covering.

School boards; school resource officers; employment;threat assessment. Requires each school board to enter into acollaborative agreement with the local law-enforcement agency toemploy at least one school resource officer in each public elementaryand secondary school in the local school division. The bill providesthat no school board shall be granted any full or partial waiverfrom such staffing requirements and that no school board that failsto fully comply with such staffing requirements is eligible for anygrant or waiver from the Commonwealth, Board of Education, or Departmentof Education. The bill also requires each division superintendentto include on the threat assessment team established for each publicelementary and secondary school in the local school division at leastone school resource officer employed in the school.

Elections; conduct of election; election results; post-election forensic audits. Provides for the conduct of aforensic audit of an election in a county or city upon the requestof certain officials or upon the petition of a group of residentsof the locality in question. The purpose of an audit is to determinethe accuracy and legality of the election in question. The bill provides that an audit includes a review of all materials, equipment, and procedures used during any part of the election, including ballots,pollbooks, voting machines, and routers. The bill requires that theaudit be open to the public and states that the auditing processmay include participation by residents. The results of the auditare to be presented to a jury of local residents who have to powerto declare the election valid or invalid. The bill also gives theState Inspector General the power and duty to conduct an audit ofthe 2020 general election and requires him to produce a report ofhis finding.

Elections; voter registration; lists of registeredvoters; provided to registered voters. Provides that the Departmentof Elections must provide the lists for their districts to any registeredvoter of the Commonwealth for a reasonable charge not to exceed itsactual cost incurred in supplying the requested records.

Control of firearms by localities. Removes the authority for a locality by ordinance to prohibit the possession or carrying of firearms, ammunition, or components or any combination thereof in (i) any building, or part thereof, owned or used by such locality for governmental purposes; (ii) any public park owned or operated by the locality; (iii) any recreation or community center facility; or (iv) any public street, road, alley, or sidewalk or public right-of-way or any other place of whatever nature that is open to the public and is being used by or is adjacent to a permitted event or an event that would otherwise require a permit. The bill provides that any firearm received by the locality pursuant to a buy-back program shall be offered for sale by public auction or sealed bids to a person licensed as a dealer. Current law provides that any such firearm shall be destroyed by the locality unless the person surrendering the firearm requests in writing that the firearm be offered for sale. The bill also limits the authority of localities and state governmental entities to bring lawsuits against certain firearms manufacturers and others.

Absentee voting; excuse required tovote absentee by mail; signature match. Requires a registered voter to provide a reason for being absent or unable to vote at hispolling place on election day in order to receive an absentee ballotto vote by mail. The bill requires a voter voting absentee by mailto open his ballot in the presence of a notary who must sign theballot return envelope. The bill requires that the general registrarmatch the signature of the voter on an absentee return envelope toa signature that the general registrar has on file before processingthe ballot. If the signature doesn't match, the absentee ballot isto be treated as a provisional vote subject to approval by the electoralboard. The bill also repeals the permanent absentee voter list andlimits the special annual application to those voters with an illnessor disability.

Absentee voting; return of absentee ballots;drop-off locations. Repeals the provisions of law providing forthe establishment of drop-off locations for the return of absenteeballots.

Voter registration; registration permittedup to and including the day of the election. Repeals a provisionthat would permit any person who is qualified to register to voteto register to vote in person up to and including the day of theelection, notwithstanding any deadline for the close of registration records. The repeal will limit the persons who are entitled to registerto vote after the close of registration records to (i) any member of a uniformed service of the United States who is on active duty,(ii) any person residing temporarily outside of the United States,and (iii) the spouse or dependent residing with someone listed in(i) or (ii).

Elections, ballots; ballot fraud security measures.Requires any printer or vendor supplying ballots in an electionfor state or federal office to be ISO 27001 certified, ISO 17025certified, or ISO 9001:2015 certified. The bill also requires anyballot used in an election for state or federal office to includea unique bar code or quick response code that is accessible onlyto the voter and that tracks the voter's ballot as it is processedand to include the use of at least two other ballot fraud securitymeasures from a list of approved measures.

Elections; administration; registrars; certain prohibitions. Requires the State Board of Elections to establishand the Department of Elections to conduct a program for the evaluationof the performance of general registrars. Under such evaluation program, general registrars with below satisfactory performance are subjectto remedial requirements and possible removal. The bill prohibitsgeneral registrars from conducting the duties of officers of election.The bill also provides that no general registrar may have a spouse,relative, or person with whom he resides who serves as the chairmanof a political party or other officer of a state, local, or districtlevel political party committee nor a spouse, relative, or person with whom he resides who serves as a paid or volunteer worker inthe campaign of a candidate for nomination or election to an officefilled by election in whole or in part by the qualified voters ofthe registrar's jurisdiction. The bill also applies certain prohibitionson registrars and their spouses to all assistant registrars, someof which only apply to paid assistant registrars under current law.