Department of Labor and Industry; workplaceposter for veterans benefits and services. Directs the Departmentof Labor and Industry, in consultation with the Department of VeteransServices, to create a poster describing benefits and services availableto veterans and allows employers to request and display such poster in the workplace. The bill enumerates a minimum group of resourcesthe poster shall include, including (i) Department of Veterans Services'programs, contact information, and website address; (ii) substanceabuse and mental health treatment resources; (iii) educational, workforce,and training resources; (iv) tax benefits; (v) eligibility for unemploymentinsurance benefits; (vi) legal services; and (vii) the U.S. Departmentof Veterans Affairs Veterans Crisis Line.
Sponsored bills
Controlled substances; manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing, etc.; adulterated or misbranded drugs; penalties. Makes it a Class 6 felony for any person, except for permitted manufacturers, to possess, purchase, sell, give, distribute, or possess with intent to sell, give, or distribute an encapsulating machine or a tableting machine that manufactures, compounds, converts, produces, processes, prepares, or otherwise introduces into the human body a controlled substance. The bill makes it a Class 5 felony if such person knows, intends, or has reasonable cause to believe that such action will result in the unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance or counterfeit controlled substance that contains (i) a controlled substance classified in Schedule I or Schedule II of the Drug Control Act; (ii) cocaine, coca leaves, or any salt, compound, derivative, or preparation thereof as described in Schedule II of the Drug Control Act; or (iii) a controlled substance analog as defined in relevant law.The bill also makes it a felony punishable by imprisonment for not less than 10 nor more than 40 years for any person 18 years of age or older to knowingly allow a minor or a mentally incapacitated or physically helpless person of any age to be present during the manufacture or attempted manufacture of any substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl.The bill also increases from a Class 2 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony the penalty for violations related to adulterated or misbranded drugs and cosmetics.
Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman; created. Creates, within the Office of the State Inspector General, the Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman (the Office) headed by an Ombudsman who is selected by a Corrections Oversight Committee (the Committee), also created by the bill. The bill provides that the Committee is made up of eight members of the General Assembly and 11 nonlegislative citizen members who monitor the activities of the Ombudsman and the Department of Corrections (the Department). The bill provides the Office with authority to conduct inspections at least once every three years and more often when warranted of Department or Board of Local and Regional Jails facilities and requires the Office to establish a confidential telephone hotline and paper and electronic forms for the submission of concerns, complaints, and inquiries by inmates, their family members and friends, and advocates. In addition, the bill requires the Committee to hold at least one public hearing per year and requires the Office to submit an annual report to the Governor, the Attorney General, the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice, the House Committee on Public Safety, the Committee, and the Director of the Department.
Cruelty to animals; possession and ownership of animals. Provides that any person convicted of felony cruelty to animals may be prohibited by the court from possession or ownership of companion or equine animals for life and any person convicted of misdemeanor cruelty to animals may be prohibited by the court from possession or ownership of such animals for a period of up to five years. Under current law, such prohibition is limited to companion animals and a period equal to the statutory maximum period of incarceration. The bill also specifies that a court may order that any animal possessed or owned by such person may be disposed of by a local governing body or delivered to another person with a right of property in the animal.The bill further provides that any person who has his rights to possession or ownership of companion or equine animals prohibited pursuant to a felony conviction may petition the court where such conviction occurred for a restoration of his rights after five years from the date of conviction. This bill is identical to HB 223.
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.
Legal notices and publications; online-only news publications; requirements. Provides that, where any ordinance, resolution, notice, or advertisement is required by law to be published in a newspaper, such ordinance, resolution, notice, or advertisement instead may be published in an online-only news publication subject to certain requirements specified in the bill. The bill sets out a process by which an online-only news publication shall petition the circuit court of the appropriate jurisdiction to publish such ordinances, resolutions, notices, or advertisements and authorizes the court to grant such online-only news publication the authority to publish such ordinances, resolutions, notices, or advertisements for a period of one year. The bill also describes the process by which an online-only news publication may continue renewing such authority to publish in each successive year. This bill is identical to HB 264.
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.
Rabies clinics; animal vaccination and microchip services. Allows rabies clinics approved by local health departments and governing bodies to offer microchipping and additional animal health vaccines at the discretion of the licensed veterinarian or veterinarians participating in the clinic. The bill requires any licensed veterinarian who administers animal health vaccinations at the clinic to provide the owner or custodian of an animal a vaccination record for each vaccinated animal and ensure that a licensed veterinary establishment retains a copy of each vaccination record. The bill allows licensed veterinary technicians to administer animal health vaccines at a rabies clinic under the immediate and direct supervision of a licensed veterinarian on the premises unless otherwise provided by regulations. The bill requires local health departments to submit a report to the Department of Health no later than December 31 of each year that includes (i) the number and location of rabies clinics approved and (ii) the number and type of vaccinations administered, the number of microchips administered, and the number of veterinarians and veterinary technicians in attendance at each clinic to determine the type of service utilized.
Abuse and neglect of children; causing or enabling child to gain possession of a firearm; penalty. Creates a Class 5 felony for any parent, guardian, or other person who is 18 years of age or older and is responsible for the care of a child under the age of 18 whose willful act or omission causes or enables that child to gain possession of a firearm (i) after having received notice of a preliminary determination, pursuant to relevant law, that such child poses a threat of violence or physical harm to self or others or (ii) when such parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the care of the child knows or reasonably should know that such child has been charged with, either by warrant or petition, convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent of a violent juvenile felony.The bill provides that no person shall be subject to arrest or prosecution regarding knowledge of a preliminary threat determination if such person received notice that the threat assessment team concluded that the child does not indicate a threat of violence or physical harm to self or others or that any case or review opened or conducted by that threat assessment team as a result of such preliminary determination has been closed. The bill also provides that no person shall be subject to arrest or prosecution if such person has received notice that any pending charge for a violent juvenile felony has been dismissed or a nolle prosequi has been entered.The bill provides an affirmative defense to prosecution if the parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the care of a child caused or enabled such child to gain possession of a firearm while in a dwelling because of a reasonable belief that he or such child was in imminent danger of bodily injury. Lastly, the bill provides that the new offense is eligible for the enhanced earned sentence credits. This bill is identical to HB 36.
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.