Sen. Janet Howell

Fairfax County; policemen's pension and retirementboard. Increases from seven to eight the number of members onthe policemen's pension and retirement board created in a countythat has adopted the urban county executive form of government (FairfaxCounty) and increases from two to three the number of members ofsuch board who shall be members of such retirement system and employedby the county police department as sworn police officers and whohave been elected by the members of the retirement system who areemployed by the police department as sworn police officers.

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.

Firearms; removal from persons posing substantial risk; penalties. Creates a procedure by which any attorney for the Commonwealth or two law-enforcement officers may apply to a general district court, circuit court, or juvenile and domestic relations district court judge or magistrate, who must consult with the attorney for the Commonwealth, for an emergency substantial risk order to prohibit a person who poses a substantial risk of injury to himself or others from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm. Upon service of an emergency substantial risk order, the person who is subject to the order shall be given the opportunity to voluntarily relinquish any firearm. An emergency substantial risk order shall expire on the fourteenth day following issuance of the order. The bill requires a court hearing in the circuit court for the jurisdiction where the order was issued within 14 days from issuance of an emergency substantial risk order to determine whether a substantial risk order should be issued. Seized firearms shall be retained by a law-enforcement agency for the duration of an emergency substantial risk order or a substantial risk order or, for a substantial risk order and with court approval, may be transferred to a third party 21 years of age or older chosen by the person from whom they were seized. The bill allows the complainant of the original warrant to file a motion for a hearing to extend the substantial risk order prior to its expiration. The court may extend the substantial risk order for a period not longer than 180 days. The bill provides that persons who are subject to a substantial risk order, until such order has been dissolved by a court, are guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor for purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm; are disqualified from having a concealed handgun permit; and may not be employed by a licensed firearms dealer. The bill also provides that a person who transfers a firearm to a person he knows has been served with a warrant or who is the subject of a substantial risk order is guilty of a Class 4 felony. The bill creates a computerized substantial risk order registry for the entry of orders issued pursuant to provisions in the bill.

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.

MEI Project Approval Commission. Makes several changes to the membership and operation of the MEI Project Approval Commission. The bill expands the membership from 10 to 14 members by adding two additional House appointments and two additional Senate appointments. The bill also clarifies the scope of the review required by the Commission to include not only economic development projects, but also potential film and episodic television projects, while providing that projects only involving existing tax incentives currently available to any qualified tax payer shall not require review. Materials regarding the potential project shall be provided to the staff of the House Committee on Appropriations and Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations five business days in advance of the Commission's review meeting. This bill incorporates SB 970.

Health insurance; nondiscrimination; gender identity or transgender status. Prohibits a health carrier from denying or limiting coverage or imposing additional cost sharing or other limitations or restrictions on coverage, under a health benefit plan for health care services that are ordinarily or exclusively available to covered individuals of one sex, to a transgender individual on the basis of the fact that the individual's sex assigned at birth, gender identity, or gender otherwise recorded is different from the one to which such health services are ordinarily or exclusively available. The measure also prohibits a health carrier from (i) subjecting an individual to discrimination under a health benefit plan on the basis of gender identity or being a transgender individual or (ii) requiring that an individual, as a condition of enrollment or continued enrollment under a health benefit plan, pay a premium that is greater than the premium for a similarly situated covered person enrolled in the plan on the basis of the covered person's gender identity or being a transgender individual. The measure requires health carriers to assess medical necessity according to nondiscriminatory criteria that are consistent with current medical standards.

Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry.Makes numerous changes to the provisions governing the Sex Offenderand Crimes Against Minors Registry. The bill changes the number ofclassifications of offenders who are required to register under theRegistry to match the number of classifications under federal lawand redesignates the classifications as Tier I, Tier II, and TierIII offenses. The bill also streamlines the reregistration process,eliminates the need for lower-level offenders to reregister annually,and allows offenders to electronically verify their registrationinformation. Finally, the bill allows the Virginia State Police touse public records to determine a victim's age if the victim's ageis not contained in the judgment of conviction in order to determinewhether a person is required to register under the Registry.

Corporal Ryan C. McGhee Memorial Bridge. Designatesthe bridge on Guinea Station Road over Interstate 95 in SpotsylvaniaCounty the Corporal Ryan C. McGhee Memorial Bridge.

Courthouse and courtroom security; assessment.Increases from $10 to $20 the maximum amount a local governing bodymay assess against a convicted defendant as part of the costs ina criminal or traffic case in district or circuit court to fund courthouseand courtroom security.

Specialty dockets; veterans docket. Providesthat any veterans docket authorized and established as a local specialtydocket in accordance with the Rules of Supreme Court of Virginiashall be deemed a "Veterans Treatment Court Program," as that termis used under federal law or by any other entity, for the purposesof applying for, qualifying for, or receiving any federal grants,other federal money, or money from any other entity designated toassist or fund such state programs. The bill contains an emergencyclause.