Cannabidiol oil and THC-A oil; sample testing.Directs the Board of Pharmacy to require that, after processingand before dispensing cannabidiol oil and THC-A oil, a pharmaceuticalprocessor make a homogenized sample available from each batch of product for testing at an independent laboratory meeting Board requirements.
Early childhood care and education; licensing. Requires the Board of Education to establish a statewide unified public-private system for early childhood care and education in the Commonwealth to be administered by the Board of Education, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Department of Education. The bill transfers the authority to license and regulate child day programs and other early child care agencies from the Board of Social Services and Department of Social Services to the Board of Education and Department of Education. The bill maintains current licensure, background check, and other requirements of such programs. Such provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2021. The bill requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish a plan for implementing the statewide unified early childhood care and education system and requires the Department of Social Services and the Department of Education to enter into a cooperative agreement to coordinate the transition. The bill also requires the Board of Education to establish, no later than July 1, 2021, a uniform quality rating and improvement system designed to provide parents and families with information about the quality and availability of certain publicly funded early childhood care and education providers and to publish the initial quality ratings under such system in the fall of 2023. This bill is identical to HB 1012.
Paid family and medical leave program. Requiresthe Virginia Employment Commission to establish and administer apaid family and medical leave program with benefits beginning January1, 2023. Under the program, benefits are paid to eligible employeesfor family and medical leave. Funding for the program is providedthrough premiums assessed to employers and employees beginning in2022. The amount of a benefit is 80 percent of the employee's averageweekly wage, not to exceed 80 percent of the state weekly wage, which amount is required to be adjusted annually to reflect changesin the statewide average weekly wage. The measure caps the durationof paid leave at 12 weeks in any application year. The bill provides self-employed individuals the option of participating in the program.
Charter; City of Richmond. Requires a council member to reside in the election district from which the member was elected throughout the member's term on the council. A council member may be removed from office for failure to comply with the residency requirement. This bill is identical to HB 1064.
Public institutions of higher education; eligibility for in-state tuition. Provides that any student is eligible for in-state tuition who (i) attended high school for at least two years in the Commonwealth and either (a) graduated on or after July 1, 2008, from a public or private high school or program of home instruction in the Commonwealth or (b) passed, on or after July 1, 2008, a high school equivalency examination approved by the Secretary of Education; (ii) has submitted evidence that he or, in the case of a dependent student, at least one parent, guardian, or person standing in loco parentis has filed, unless exempted by state law, Virginia income tax returns for at least two years prior to the date of registration or enrollment; and (iii) registers as an entering student or is enrolled in a public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth. The bill states that students who meet these criteria shall be eligible for in-state tuition regardless of their citizenship or immigration status, except students with currently valid visas issued under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(F), 1101(a)(15)(H)(iii), 1101(a)(15)(J) (including only students or trainees), or 1101(a)(15)(M). Information obtained in the implementation of the provisions of the bill shall only be used or disclosed to individuals other than the student for purposes of determining in-state tuition eligibility. This bill is identical to HB 1547.
Public school buildings; testing for Legionellabacteria; review; report. Requires each school board to testeach public school building in the local school division for thepresence of Legionella bacteria at such regular intervals as theschool board deems necessary to maintain the health and decency ofsuch buildings. The bill requires the Department of Education tomake recommendations for the frequency of testing for the presence of Legionella bacteria in public school buildings and to notifyeach local school board of its recommendations no later than September1, 2020. The bill also requires each public elementary and secondaryschool to maintain files of its Legionella bacteria test resultsand make such files available for review and the division superintendentto report such results to the Department of Health.
Immunity of persons at public hearing; attorneyfees; costs. Allows for the award of reasonable attorney feesand costs to any person who has a subpoena against him quashed inan action for statements made at a public hearing before the governingbody of a locality or other local entity when he is immune from liabilityfor such statements. Current law provides for the award of attorneyfees and costs upon the dismissal of such an action.
Civil actions; determination of indigency.Sets out the factors to be considered by the court in its determinationof a person's indigency for the purpose of determining inabilityto pay fees or costs in a civil action. The bill also provides thata person is presumed unable to pay if he is a current recipient ofa state or federally funded public assistance program or he is representedby a legal aid society. The bill provides that the presumption isrebuttable except in the case of a no-fault divorce.
Department of General Services; Division of Engineering and Buildings; custody, control, and supervision of the Virginia War Memorial Carillon. Places full custody, control, and supervision of the Virginia War Memorial Carillon in the Division of Engineering and Buildings by repealing provisions of the Code that give the City of Richmond responsibility for the upkeep of the Carillon and authority over its use.
Corporal Ryan C. McGhee Memorial Bridge. Designatesthe bridge on Guinea Station Road over Interstate 95 in SpotsylvaniaCounty the Corporal Ryan C. McGhee Memorial Bridge.
