Sen. Saddam Salim

Child labor offenses; civil penalties. Increasesfrom $10,000 to $25,000 the civil penalty for each violation of childlabor laws that results in the employment of a child who is seriouslyinjured or dies in the course of employment. The bill also increasesfrom $1,000 to $2,500 the maximum civil penalty for each other violationof child labor laws and provides that such civil penalty shall notbe less than $500. The bill directs the Department of Labor and Industry to convene a stakeholder work group to develop education and outreach plans to inform young workers and employers about child labor laws.

Public schools; certain local school divisions; youth and community violence prevention; Community Builders Pilot Program established; report. Establishes the Community Builders Pilot Program for the purpose of reducing youth involvement in behaviors that lead to gun violence and increasing community engagement among public school students by providing to students who are entering the eighth grade and enrolled in Roanoke City Public Schools and Petersburg City Public Schools opportunities during the school year after regular school hours and during the summer months for community engagement, workforce development, postsecondary education exploration, and social-emotional education and development. The bill provides that the school boards of Roanoke City Public Schools and Petersburg City Public Schools shall be responsible for the administration of the Program and are directed to collect data and report to the Governor and relevant committees of the General Assembly by November 1 of each year on the progress of the Program. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2027. This bill is identical to SB 484.

Advanced registered medication aides; certified nursing facilities; work group; report. Requires advanced registered medication aides who administer drugs that would otherwise be self-administered to residents in a certified nursing facility licensed by the Department of Health to register with the Board of Nursing. Under the bill, an advanced registered medication aide who is registered to administer drugs to residents in a certified nursing facility shall also be eligible to administer drugs that would otherwise be self-administered to residents in an assisted living facility. The foregoing provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025. The bill also requires the Board of Nursing to convene a work group to develop recommendations to enable such medication aides to administer drugs to residents in a certified nursing facility and to report such recommendations to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Health and Human Services by November 1, 2024. Finally, the bill requires the Department of Health to promulgate regulations to authorize such medication aides to administer prescription drugs to residents in certified nursing facilities. The bill directs the Board of Nursing to adopt regulations to implement the provisions of the bill to be effective as of July 1, 2025.

Department of Environmental Quality; Department of Health; PFAS; identification; monitoring; PFAS Expert Advisory Council established; report. Requires, for every public water system, as defined in the bill, the Department of Health (VDH) to assist the Department of Environmental Quality (the Department) by transferring to the Department quarterly all validated monitoring results available to VDH that indicate PFAS maximum containment level, as defined in the bill, exceedances. In such circumstances, the bill provides that the Department is required to develop and implement a plan to prioritize and conduct PFAS assessments for identifying significant sources of PFAS in such public water system's raw water source or sources. The bill requires any facility, if deemed by the Department to be a potentially significant source of PFAS in the public water system's raw water source, (i) to perform and promptly report the results of quarterly discharge monitoring for one year and (ii) to report to the Department, within 90 days after being directed by the Department, its manufacture or use of PFAS. The bill establishes a PFAS Expert Advisory Committee to assist the Department and VDH in its PFAS-related efforts and requires the Committee to meet at least two times per year through June 30, 2027. The bill requires the Department to annually report certain information to the Governor and the General Assembly by October 1. This bill incorporates HB 245 and is identical to SB 243.

Early childhood care and education; publiclyfunded providers; exemption from licensure for certain child day programs. Excepts military child care fee assistance or any childcare subsidy paid by a branch of the Armed Forces of the United Statesfrom the federal funds that would otherwise render a child day programas a "publicly funded provider," as that term is defined and usedin relevant law relating to early childhood care and education. Thebill also exempts from licensure by the Superintendent of PublicInstruction any child day program that (i) serves only dependentchildren of military personnel and (ii) (a) is located on a militarybase or federal property or (b) is certified as a family child careprovider by a branch of the Armed Forces of the United States and provides that any branch of the Armed Forces of the United Statesor its agent, including an installation commander of a military baseon which a child day program is located, may assume responsibilityfor approving or determining which children may be served by theprogram that is so exempted from licensure.

Moving violations; highway work zones. Createsa traffic infraction for any moving violation in a highway work zonepunishable by a fine of not less than $300 for the first offenseand not less than $500 for any subsequent offense. The bill provides that for any subsequent offense that occurs within the same 12-monthperiod as another such offense such fine shall be not less than $750.

Center for Rural Virginia; name change. Renames the Center for Rural Virginia as the Senator Frank M. Ruff, Jr. Center for Rural Virginia. This bill is identical to HB 1381.

Use of canines in correctional and juvenile correctional facilities; prohibited acts. Makes it unlawful for any correctional officer or other employee of a state correctional facility who is permitted to handle canines to use a patrol or security canine in any state correctional facility unless such correctional officer or other employee (i) reasonably believes that the use of a patrol or security canine is immediately necessary to protect any prisoner or any officer or employee from the threat of serious bodily injury or death or (ii) has the prior approval of the warden or a supervisor to use a patrol or security canine to intervene in an altercation, fight, or other incident between three or more prisoners. The bill also makes it unlawful for any juvenile correctional officer or other employee of a juvenile correctional facility to use a patrol or security canine in any juvenile correctional facility. The bill specifies that such provisions shall not apply to the training or use of detector canines or detector canine handlers.

Exemptions from jury service upon request; age. Increases from 70 to 73 the age at which a person is exempt from jury service upon request. This bill is identical to SB 638.

Commending Janet Muldoon.