Public elementary and secondary schools; student athletes; pre-participation mental health assessment required. Provides that no public elementary or secondary school student is permitted to be a participant on or try out for any school athletic team or squad with a predetermined roster, regular practices, and scheduled competitions with other elementary or secondary schools unless such student has submitted to the school principal a signed report from a licensed physician, licensed advanced practice registered nurse, or licensed physician assistant acting under the supervision of a licensed physician attesting that such student has, within the preceding 365 days, received both a physical examination and a mental health assessment. Current law only requires that the signed report attest that any such student has received a physical examination within the preceding 12 months. The bill prohibits any public elementary or secondary school from becoming a member of any organization or entity that regulates or governs interscholastic programs that does not deem eligible for participation any student who has satisfied the requirements for eligibility in accordance with the provisions of the bill. The provisions of the bill other than the requirement for the Board of Education to convene a work group have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025.
Sponsored bills
Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy; protocol; information; training. Requires the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to take certain actions upon the finding that an individual died from Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP), defined in the bill. The bill directs the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to publish information on SUDEP and a SUDEP death investigation form on its website. Additionally, the bill requires the Chief Medical Examiner and local medical examiners to complete training in the investigation of SUDEP on a triennial basis. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025.
Workers' compensation; injuries caused by repetitive and sustained physical stressors. Provides that, for the purposes of the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act, "occupational disease" includes injuries or diseases from conditions resulting from repetitive and sustained physical stressors, including repetitive and sustained motions, exertions, posture stresses, contact stresses, vibrations, or noises. The bill provides that such injuries or diseases are covered under the Act and that such coverage does not require that such repetitive or sustained physical stress occurred over a particular time period, provided that the time period over which such physical stress occurred can be reasonably identified.
Study; JLARC; scope and cost of penalizing possession of drugs as a felony. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study the scope and cost of the current laws in the Commonwealth penalizing possession of drugs as a felony.
Commission on Legislature Modernization; report. Establishes the Commission on Legislature Modernization in the legislative branch for the purpose of studying the operation and functionality of the General Assembly and identifying ways to make the legislature more effective, efficient, responsive, reflective, and transparent on behalf of all Virginians. The Commission will consist of 17 members, which shall include 9 legislators, 6 nonlegislative citizen members, and 2 ex officio members. The Commission shall be convened for a period of two years, every 10 years in the year ending in four, and shall terminate after the submission of its final report to the General Assembly at the end of its second year.
Purchase, possession, sale, transfer, etc., of assault firearms and certain ammunition feeding devices prohibited; penalty. Creates a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person who imports, sells, manufactures, purchases, possesses, transports, or transfers an assault firearm, as that term is defined in the bill, and prohibits a person who has been convicted of such violation from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm for a period of three years from the date of conviction. The bill provides that an assault firearm does not include any firearm that is an antique firearm, has been rendered permanently inoperable, is manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action, or was manufactured before July 1, 2024. The bill also prohibits the sale of a large capacity ammunition feeding device, as that term is defined in the bill. The bill provides that any person who willfully and intentionally (i) sells an assault firearm to another person or (ii) purchases an assault firearm from another person is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor and that any person who imports, sells, barters, or transfers a large capacity ammunition feeding device is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill also makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person younger than 21 years of age to import, sell, manufacture, purchase, possess, transport, or transfer an assault firearm regardless of the date of manufacture of such assault firearm.
Arrest, prosecution, and disciplinary proceduresand penalties for individuals experiencing or reporting overdoseswhile incarcerated. Provides that no individual incarceratedin a local, regional, or state correctional facility shall be subjectto arrest or prosecution for or disciplinary procedures or penaltiesrelated to the unlawful purchase, possession, or consumption of alcohol;possession of a controlled substance; possession of marijuana; intoxicationin public; or possession of controlled paraphernalia if (i) suchindividual seeks or obtains emergency medical attention for himselfor another individual experiencing an overdose or is experiencingan overdose and another individual seeks or obtains emergency medicalattention for him and (ii) the evidence for a prosecution or disciplinaryprocedures and penalties of one of the enumerated offenses would have been obtained only as a result of an individual seeking or obtaining emergency medical attention. The bill also provides that no correctional officer, deputy sheriff, or jail officer acting in a good faith shallbe found liable for false arrest if it is later determined that theperson arrested was immune from prosecution or disciplinary proceduresor penalties.
Paid family and medical leave insurance program; notice requirements; civil action. Requires the Virginia Employment Commission to establish and administer a paid family and medical leave insurance program with benefits beginning January 1, 2027. Under the program, benefits are paid to covered individuals, as defined in the bill, for family and medical leave. The bill specifies that covered individuals shall not include state employees, constitutional and other local officers, and employees of local school divisions and that funding for the program is provided through premiums assessed to employers and employees beginning January 1, 2026. The bill provides that the amount of a benefit is 80 percent of the employee's average weekly wage, not to exceed 80 percent of the state weekly wage, which amount is required to be adjusted annually to reflect changes in the statewide average weekly wage. The bill caps the duration of paid leave at 12 weeks in any application year and provides self-employed individuals the option of participating in the program. Finally, the bill requires the Commission to update its 2021 Paid Family and Medical Leave study to include an assessment of the budgetary impacts of extending the benefits of the program to exempt individuals.
Prescription Drug Affordability Board established; drug cost affordability review. Establishes the Prescription Drug Affordability Board for the purpose of protecting the citizens of the Commonwealth and other stakeholders within the health care system from the high costs of prescription drug products. The bill requires the Board to meet in open session at least four times annually, with certain exceptions and requirements enumerated in the bill. Members of the Board are required to disclose any conflicts of interest, as described in the bill. The bill also creates a stakeholder council for the purpose of assisting the Board in making decisions related to drug cost affordability. The bill tasks the Board with identifying prescription, generic, and other drugs, as defined in the bill, that are offered for sale in the Commonwealth and, at the Board's discretion, conducting an affordability review of any prescription drug product. The bill lists factors for the Board to consider that indicate an affordability challenge for the health care system in the Commonwealth or high out-of-pocket costs for patients. The bill also provides that any person aggrieved by a decision of the Board may request an appeal of the Board's decision and that the Attorney General has authority to enforce the provisions of the bill. The bill provides that the Board shall establish no more than 12 upper payment limit amounts annually between January 1, 2025, and January 1, 2028.The bill requires the Board to report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly twice annually, beginning on July 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025. Provisions of the bill shall apply to state-sponsored and state-regulated health plans and health programs and obligate such policies to limit drug payment amounts and reimbursements to an upper payment limit amount set by the Board, if applicable, following an affordability review. The bill specifies that Medicare Part D plans shall not be bound by such decisions of the Board.The bill also requires the nonprofit organization contracted by the Department of Health to provide prescription drug price transparency to provide the Board access to certain data reported by manufacturers. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025, and is identical to SB 274.
Public elementary and secondary schools; student discipline; evidence-based restorative disciplinary practices. Prohibits, except in certain cases involving specific offenses enumerated in applicable law or in cases in which the division superintendent or his designee finds that aggravating circumstances, as defined by the Department of Education, exist, any public elementary or secondary school student from being suspended, expelled, or excluded from attendance at school without first considering at least one evidence-based restorative disciplinary practice such as community conferencing, community service, mentoring, a peer jury, peer mediation, positive behavioral interventions and supports, a restorative circle, or the Virginia Tiered Systems of Supports. The bill also requires the Department to add as part of the student behavior and administrative response collection required pursuant to relevant law the use of evidence-based restorative disciplinary practices as a behavioral intervention in order to evaluate the use and effectiveness of such practices. This bill is identical to HB 398.