Sen. Amanda Chase

Absentee voting; permanent absentee voter listrepealed. Repeals the provisions of law by which any registered voter may apply to receive absentee ballots for all elections inwhich he is eligible to vote and remains on the list until the voterrequests in writing to be removed from the list, the voter's registrationis canceled or placed on inactive status pursuant to law, or thevoter moves to a different address not in the same county or cityof his registration.

Elections; absentee voting; ballots to be returnedbefore close of polls. Removes the provision of law requiringan absentee ballot that is returned to the general registrar afterthe closing of the polls on election day to be counted if it is received before noon on the third day after the election and is postmarkedon or before the date of the election to be counted if the voter is found entitled to vote. The bill does not affect the exception fora covered voter who was not sent a ballot in a timely manner andwhose voted ballot arrives after the close of polls.

Constitutional amendment (first reference); General Assembly; term limits. Limits members of the Senate tothree full terms (12 years) and members of the House of Delegatesto six full terms (12 years). The limitations apply to service forboth consecutive and nonconsecutive terms. Service for a partialterm does not preclude serving the allowed number of full terms.The limits apply to terms of service beginning on and after the startof the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

Celebrating the life of Commander Brian MichaelBourgeois, USN.

Employer-mandated vaccinations for COVID-19;discrimination prohibited; civil penalties. Prohibits an employerfrom requiring its employees to receive a vaccine for the preventionof COVID-19. The bill prohibits an employer from discrimination againstan employee because the employee has or has not received a vaccinefor the prevention of COVID-19. The bill also provides for civil penalties not to exceed $10,000 by an employer with fewer than 100employees or $50,000 by an employer with 100 or more employees foreach violation of the bill's provisions.

Prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine and ivermectinfor treatment of COVID-19. Provides that licensed health careproviders with prescriptive authority may prescribe, administer,or dispense hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin to a patient with aclinical diagnosis of COVID-19. The bill prohibits the Board of Medicinefrom initiating a disciplinary action against a licensed health careprovider solely for prescribing, administering, or dispensing hydroxychloroquineor ivermectin to a patient with a clinical diagnosis of COVID-19,provided such clinical diagnosis and treatment has been documentedin the patient's medical record by such licensed health care provider.

Virginia Human Rights Act; nondiscrimination in places of public accommodation and certain private establishments; face coverings. Prohibits discrimination in places of public accommodations including public and private elementary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education and certain private establishments because the individual is or is not wearing a face covering for the purpose of preventing the transmission of COVID-19.

Virginia Human Rights Act; nondiscriminationin places of public accommodation; COVID-19 vaccination status.The bill prohibits discrimination in public accommodations on thebasis of an individual as having received, received in part, or notreceived a vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19.

Voter identification; identification containinga photograph required. Requires presentation of a form of identification containing a photograph in order to vote. The bill repeals the provisionsof law permitting a voter who does not have one of the required formsof identification to vote after signing a statement, subject tofelony penalties for false statements, that he is the named registeredvoter he claims to be. Instead, the bill provides that such voteris entitled to cast a provisional ballot. The bill requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to provide voter photo identificationcards containing the voter's photograph and signature free of chargeto those voters who do not have another valid form of identification.

Broadband services; education. Authorizesschool boards to appropriate funds for the purposes of promoting,facilitating, and encouraging the expansion and operation of broadbandservices for educational purposes. The bill authorizes school boardsto partner with private broadband service providers to promote, implement,and subsidize broadband for educational purposes to the householdsof students who would qualify for (i) a child nutrition program or(ii) any other program recognized or adopted by the local schoolboard as a measuring standard to identify at-risk students.