Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant

Income tax; military benefits subtraction; emergency. Establishes an income tax subtraction for up to $20,000 of militarybenefits in taxable year 2021, up to $30,000 in taxable year 2022,and up to $40,000 in taxable year 2023 and each year thereafter.The bill defines military benefits to include military retirementincome and benefits paid to the surviving spouse of a veteran. The bill contains an emergency clause.

Standardized Health Care Academy Program; established. Establishes the Standardized Health Care Academy Program for thepurpose of providing training and opportunities to high school studentsin health care professional programs that are offered by associate-degree-grantingpublic institutions of higher education. The bill directs the StateBoard for Community Colleges to establish the Program and work withthe Department of Education in setting out parameters for the Program.

Department of Veterans Services; hyperbaricoxygen therapy; data collection. Allows the Department of VeteransServices (the Department) to contract with any hospital in the Commonwealththat furnishes the treatment option of hyperbaric oxygen therapyto provide hyperbaric oxygen therapy to any veteran in the Commonwealthwho has been certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairsor any branch of the United States Armed Forces as having post-traumaticstress disorder or traumatic brain injury. The Department shall includein any contract with such hospital to furnish hyperbaric oxygen therapythe requirement that data be collected to assess the efficacy ofhyperbaric oxygen therapy for veterans and any other informationdeemed relevant by the Department.

Department of Education; assessing individualstudent growth. Requires the Department of Education to createor request proposals for a system for value-added modeling to assess growth of students in public schools. The bill requires each schoolboard in the Commonwealth to, upon the creation of such system, implementthe system and make reports made by the system available to parentsor guardians for their child's report and the Department.

Secretary of Health and Human Resources; plan for transfer of responsibility of Commonwealth's state hospitals. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to develop and implement a plan to transfer responsibility for the oversight and operation of the Commonwealth's state hospitals from the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to another governmental entity and to grant such governmental entity the authority to administer the Commonwealth's state hospitals effectively and efficiently. The bill requires the plan to describe the purposes, structure, organization, governance, management, oversight, powers, and duties of the governmental entity and the mechanisms by which such governmental entity shall be funded.

Commending Chief Justice Donald W. Lemons.

Celebrating the life of the Honorable FrankDuVal Hargrove, Sr.

Celebrating the life of the Honorable LinwoodA. Holton, Jr.

Commending the Honorable Paul S. Trible, Jr.

Retail sale of cannabis products by certain pharmaceutical processors; sunset. Allows certain pharmaceutical processors to, under the oversight of the Board of Pharmacy, sell cannabis products at retail to unregistered persons who are 21 years of age or older without the need for a written certification. The bill provides that such sales will be subject to existing Board of Pharmacy regulations and other requirements set forth in the bill. The bill requires pharmaceutical processors engaging in such sales to collect a 21 percent excise tax, to be deposited into the general fund, and pay a $1 million fee, to be deposited into the account of the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority and used to assist independent cannabis retailers located in designated rural and urban opportunity zones. The bill also requires such pharmaceutical processors to submit and comply with a plan describing how the pharmaceutical processor will, in its health service area, educate consumers about responsible consumption of cannabis products and incubate independent cannabis retailers or support and educate persons that wish to participate in the cannabis market. The bill directs the Board of Directors of the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority to promulgate regulations governing sales, cultivation, extraction, processing, manufacturing, wholesaling, and other related activities conducted pursuant to the provisions of the bill and provides that, upon the effective date of such regulations, oversight of such activities shall transfer from the Board of Pharmacy to the Board of Directors of the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority. The bill expires when pharmaceutical processors engaging in the sale of cannabis products pursuant to the provisions of the bill are authorized by the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority to apply for and be granted licenses to cultivate, manufacture, wholesale, and sell at retail to consumers 21 years of age or older retail marijuana and retail marijuana products.