Sen. Emmett Hanger

Superintendent of Public Instruction and Commissionerof Social Services; early childhood care and education. Requiresthe Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Commissioner ofSocial Services to (i) convene a stakeholder group to consider thedevelopment of a statewide unified public-private system for earlychildhood care and education in the Commonwealth and (ii) collaborateto develop a uniform quality rating and improvement system with requiredparticipation by publicly funded early childhood care and educationprograms and voluntary participation by privately funded providers.

Commending William H. Goodwin, Jr.

Constitutional amendment (voter referendum); apportionment; Virginia Redistricting Commission. Provides for a referendum at the November 3, 2020, election to approve or reject amendments to the Constitution of Virginia establishing the Virginia Redistricting Commission and providing for the reapportionment of the Commonwealth to be done by such Commission. If approved by the voters, the amendments would become effective on November 15, 2020. This bill was incorporated into SB 236.

Redistricting; Virginia Redistricting Commission. Establishesthe Virginia Redistricting Commission (the Commission) pursuant to Article II,Sections 6 and 6-A of the Constitution of Virginia. The Commission, tasked withestablishing districts for the United States House of Representatives and forthe Senate and the House of Delegates of the General Assembly, will consist ofeight legislative commissioners and eight citizen commissioners. Thelegislative commissioners consist of four members of the Senate of Virginia andfour members of the House of Delegates, with equal representation given to thepolitical parties having the highest and next highest number of members intheir respective houses. The citizen commissioners are chosen by a selectioncommittee consisting of five retired judges of the circuit courts of Virginia,from lists submitted to the selection committee by the Speaker of the House ofDelegates, the leader in the House of Delegates of the political party havingthe next highest number of members in the House of Delegates, the President protempore of the Senate of Virginia, and the leader in the Senate of thepolitical party having the next highest number of members in the Senate. Thebill contains eligibility requirements for the citizen commissioners, includingrestrictions on holding or having held partisan national or state publicoffice. As part of the application process for service on the Commission, theDivision of Legislative Services acts as a repository for applications submittedby interested persons and is tasked with screening out applicants who areineligible or submit incomplete applications. The applications of the citizencandidates selected by political leadership and submitted for consideration tothe selection committee are public records.The bill also directs the Division of Legislative Services toprovide staff support to the Commission in the redistricting of congressionaland state legislative districts. The Commission is required to submit to theGeneral Assembly plans of districts within certain time periods, and the billsets out criteria by which the districts are to be drawn, including equalpopulation, contiguity, compactness, racial and ethnic fairness, respect forexisting political boundaries, and respect for existing communities ofinterest. The bill prohibits districts from being drawn for the purpose offavoring or disfavoring any political party, incumbent legislator or member ofCongress, or other individual or entity. Provisions to ensure publicparticipation in the redistricting process are included. If efforts to establish districts fail, the Supreme Court ofVirginia is responsible for establishing districts, and the bill directs theCourt to enact rules and procedures for doing so. The rules and proceduresenacted by the Court are required to allow public participation in the Court'sredistricting deliberations, to provide for the Division of LegislativeServices to provide staff support and technical assistance to the Court, and toensure districts established by the Court adhere to constitutional andstatutory criteria. The bill directs the Court to appoint a special master toassist in the establishment of districts and authorizes the Court to adjust thedate of the primary election and various related deadlines as may be necessaryto allow for the establishment of districts.The bill has a contingent effective date of November 15, 2020,provided that the voters approve the amendments to Article II of theConstitution of Virginia, amending Section 6 and adding Section 6-A, at theNovember 2020 general election.

Constitutional amendment (second resolution); apportionment; Virginia Redistricting Commission. Establishes the Virginia Redistricting Commission, a 16-member Commission tasked with establishing districts for the United States House of Representatives and for the Senate and the House of Delegates of the General Assembly. The Commission consists of eight legislative members and eight citizen members. The legislative members consist of four members of the Senate of Virginia and four members of the House of Delegates, with equal representation given to the political parties having the highest and next highest number of members in their respective houses. The citizen members are selected by a selection committee consisting of five retired judges of the circuit courts of Virginia, from lists submitted to the selection committee by the Speaker of the House of Delegates, the leader in the House of Delegates of the political party having the next highest number of members in the House of Delegates, the President pro tempore of the Senate of Virginia, and the leader in the Senate of the political party having the next highest number of members in the Senate. The Commission is required to submit to the General Assembly plans of districts for the Senate and the House of Delegates of the General Assembly no later than 45 days following the receipt of census data and plans of districts for the United States House of Representatives no later than 60 days following the receipt of census data, or July 1 of that year, whichever occurs later. The measure requires certain vote thresholds for plans, depending on the type of district, in order to be submitted to the General Assembly. No amendments may be made to a plan by the General Assembly, and any plan approved by the General Assembly becomes law without the signature of the Governor. The measure requires additional plans to be submitted, or additional time to be given to submit a plan, in certain circumstances, and further provides that districts will be drawn by the Supreme Court of Virginia if such efforts fail. This resolution was incorporated into SJ 18.

Motor vehicle fuels sales tax in certain counties and cities. Imposes an additional 2.1 percent wholesale gas tax to any county or city outside of the Northern Virginia or Hampton Roads regions or the Interstate 81 Corridor, where such a tax is already imposed. The revenues will be returned to the transportation district in which the revenues are generated via the construction district grant program. The bill also requires the Secretary of Transportation to develop a plan to ensure a fair, equitable, and sustainable mode of highway-use taxation.

Temporary detention; evaluation; who may perform. Expands the category of individuals who may evaluate a person whois the subject of an emergency custody order to determine whetherthe person meets the criteria for temporary detention to includeany person described in the definition of "mental health professional"in § 54.1-2400.1 who (i) is skilled in the diagnosis and treatmentof mental illness, (ii) has completed a certification program approvedby the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services,and (iii) complies with regulations of the Board of Behavioral Healthand Developmental Services related to performance of such evaluations.

Celebrating the life of the Honorable Mary T.Christian.

Study; joint subcommittee to study issues relatedto firearms and safety in the Commonwealth; report. Establishesa two-year joint subcommittee to study numerous issues related tofirearms, firearms safety, violence, and Second Amendment rights. The resolution directs the joint subcommittee to file an interimreport after November 2020 and a final report after November 2021.

Virginia Health Benefit Exchange. Creates the Virginia Health Benefit Exchange, which will be established and operated by a new division within the State Corporation Commission (SCC). The Exchange shall facilitate the purchase and sale of qualified health plans and qualified dental plans to qualified individuals and qualified employers. The Exchange shall make qualified plans available to qualified individuals and qualified employers by July 1, 2023, unless the SCC postpones this date. The measure authorizes the SCC to review and approve accident and sickness insurance premium rates applicable to health benefit plans in the individual and small group markets and health benefit plans providing health insurance coverage in the individual market through certain non-employer group plans. The Exchange will be funded by assessments on health insurers offering plans in the Exchange. A health plan will not be required to cover any state-mandated health benefit if federal law does not require it to be covered as part of the essential benefits package. The essential health benefits are items and services included in the benchmark health insurance plan, which is the largest plan in the largest product in the Commonwealth's small group market as supplemented in order to provide coverage for the items and services within the statutory essential health benefits categories. The SCC may contract with other eligible entities and enter into memoranda of understanding with other agencies of the Commonwealth to carry out any of the functions of the Exchange, including agreements with other states or federal agencies to perform joint administrative functions. Such contracts are not subject to the Virginia Public Procurement Act (§ 2.2-4300 et seq.). The measure repeals a provision enacted in 2013 that prohibits an agent, employee, officer, or agency of the Commonwealth from taking any action to establish a health benefit exchange. This bill was incorporated by SB 732.