Sen. Lamont Bagby

Virginia Jobs Investment Program and Fund; minimumwage requirements. Adjusts the minimum entry-level wage rate per hour a company is required to pay in order to be eligible forassistance under the Virginia Jobs Investment Program from at least1.35 times the federal minimum wage to 1.2 times the federal minimumwage or the Virginia minimum wage, whichever is higher.

Teachers and other licensed school board employees;cultural competency. The bill requires teacher, principal, and division superintendent evaluations to include an evaluation ofcultural competency. The bill requires every person seeking initiallicensure or renewal of a license from the Board of Education (i)to complete instruction or training in cultural competency and (ii)with an endorsement in history and social sciences to complete instructionin African American history, as prescribed by the Board. The billalso requires each school board to adopt and implement policies that require each teacher and any other school board employee holdinga license issued by the Board to complete cultural competency training,in accordance with guidance issued by the Board, at least every twoyears.

Access to water; human right. Recognizing that access to clean, potable, and affordable water is a necessary human right.

National Statuary Hall Collection at the United States Capitol; Barbara Rose Johns. Authorizes, and directs the submission to the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library, that the vacant spot of the Commonwealth in the National Statuary Hall Collection at the United States Capitol be filled with a statue to commemorate Barbara Rose Johns. The request is subject to written approval by the Governor and is made in accordance with the recommendation by the Commission for Historical Statues in the United States Capitol.

Racism; public health crisis. Recognizesthat racism is a public health crisis in Virginia.

Liberty Amendments Month. Designates June19 through the third Monday in July, in 2021 and in each succeedingyear, as Liberty Amendments Month in Virginia.

Victims of COVID-19 Remembrance Day. DesignatingMarch 14, in 2021 and in each succeeding year, as Victims of COVID-19Remembrance Day in Virginia.

Redistricting; Virginia Redistricting Commission; transparency in redistricting process; reallocation of prison population. Requires meetings and hearings of the Virginia Redistricting Commission to be livestreamed, whether held virtually or in person, and to allow for public comment. Meetings and hearings that are held in person are required to be conducted in different regions of the Commonwealth, including the Northern Virginia region, the Central Virginia region, the Hampton Roads region, the Southside region, and the Southwest region. An additional public hearing is required to be held in the event that the initial plan for districts submitted by the Commission is rejected by the General Assembly. If adjustments are made to a proposed plan at any stage in response to public comment, the adjusted proposed plan is required to be published on the Commission's website and a public hearing is required to be held. The bill subjects the Supreme Court of Virginia and the special masters appointed by the Court for the establishment of districts to the same requirements and restrictions to which the Commission is subject, including provisions related to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and the ban on ex parte communications. Additionally, the bill changes the reallocation of persons incarcerated in federal, state, or local correctional facilities whose address at the time of incarceration was located outside of the Commonwealth or cannot be determined. Currently, such persons are counted as residing at the location of the facility in which he's incarcerated; under the bill, such persons would not be included in the locality's population count and instead would be allocated to a state unit not tied to a specific determined geographic location.

Study; staffing levels, employment conditions,and compensation at the Virginia Department of Corrections; report.Continues the joint committee of the House Committee on Health, Welfareand Institutions; the House Committee on Public Safety; the SenateCommittee on the Judiciary; and the Senate Committee on Rehabilitationand Social Services established by House Joint Resolution 29 (2020)to study staffing levels, employment conditions, and compensationat the Virginia Department of Corrections. The resolution directsthe joint committee to conclude its work by November 30, 2021, andto report its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the 2022 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

Electric utilities; customer credit reinvestmentoffsets. Eliminates customer credit reinvestment offsets underwhich a utility is allowed, upon request, to reduce or eliminateamounts of overearnings that otherwise would be required to be creditedto customers by applying a customer credit reinvestment offset forexpenses on new solar and wind generation facilities and electricdistribution grid transformation projects.