Sen. Suhas Subramanyam

Commending Loudoun Now.

Commending the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office.

Study; Department of Transportation; U.S. Route 50; report. Requests that the Department of Transportation study traffic congestion on that portion of U.S. Route 50 between the intersections of Interstate 66 in Fairfax County and U.S. Route 15 in Loudoun County and the feasibility of implementing improvements to such portion of the highway.

Study; Interstate 66 Corridor Improvement Plan.Requests the Commonwealth Transportation Board to study safety, congestion,and tolling concerns on Interstate 66 and to develop and adopt anInterstate 66 Corridor Improvement Plan.

Register of volunteer cybersecurity and information technology professionals. Directs the Secretary of Administrationto establish a register of cybersecurity and information technologyprofessionals interested in volunteering to assist localities andschool divisions, in collaborating on workforce development, andin providing mentorship opportunities.

Teacher compensation; at or above national average. Requires public school teachers to be compensated at a rate that is at or above the national average. Under current law, compensation at such rate is aspirational. The foregoing provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025. The bill requires funding to be provided on an incremental basis pursuant to the general appropriation act to implement such teacher compensation rate by the effective date.

Study; joint subcommittee to study the emergenceand integration of blockchain technology in the economy of the Commonwealth; report. Establishes a 19-member, two-year joint subcommittee to identify research and economic development opportunities to informa statewide, comprehensive, and coordinated strategy relating toblockchain technology.

Greenhouse gas inventory. Directs the StateAir Pollution Control Board to conduct a statewide inventory of greenhousegas (GHG) emissions from all sectors using methods developed by theDepartment of Environmental Quality consistent with recommendationsof the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.N. IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate Change. The bill requires the Board to include theinventory in a currently required annual report by October 1, 2021,and to publish the inventory on the Department's website, showingchanges in GHG emissions relative to an estimated 2010 baseline.

Virginia Retirement System; enhanced retirementbenefits for 911 dispatchers. Adds 911 dispatchers to the listof local employees eligible to receive enhanced retirement benefitsfor hazardous duty service. Under current law, localities may providesuch benefits to first responders, including firefighters and emergencymedical technicians, and certain other hazardous duty positions.The bill provides that such benefits would be available only to dispatchershired starting in 2021.

General Assembly meetings; streaming and recording. Requires the Clerk of the House of Delegates and the Clerk of theSenate to ensure that every (i) subcommittee or committee meetingof a standing committee of the General Assembly, regardless of meetingdate, and (ii) floor session of the House of Delegates or the Senate,including any joint session of the houses, is streamed with closedcaptioning, recorded and archived. The bill defines "stream" and specifiesthat a qualifying meeting is one the date and time of which havebeen scheduled on a public website of any agency of the General Assemblyfor at least one hour prior to the meeting and that takes place inthe State Capitol, the Pocahontas Building, or the General AssemblyBuilding in Richmond. The bill has a delayed effective date of October1, 2020.