Department of Education; Culturally Relevant and Inclusive Education Practices Advisory Committee; report. Requires the Department of Education to establish and appoint such members as it deems appropriate to a Culturally Relevant and Inclusive Education Practices Advisory Committee for the purpose of providing (i) standards recommendations to the Department of Education that shall be considered by the Board of Education during the 2021-2022 review of the history and social science Standards of Learning and (ii) recommendations on meaningful professional development with school personnel related to culturally relevant and inclusive education practices. The bill requires the Committee to report its recommendations to the Board of Education, the Governor, and the Chairs of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health no later than July 1, 2021. This bill is identical to HB 916.
Sponsored bills
Recounts; special election to be held in the case of a tie vote. Provides that if, after a recount of an election, the recount court finds that each party to the recount has received an equal number of votes, there shall be a special election to determine which candidate is elected to the office. This provision would not apply in cases of tie votes occurring after a recount of an election for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or Attorney General, which the Constitution of Virginia provides for, or for electors of President and Vice President of the United States, which will continue to be determined by lot. This bill incorporates HB 178 and HB 692.
Virginia Fair Housing Law; unlawful discriminatory housing practices; source of funds. Adds discrimination on the basis of a person's source of funds to the list of unlawful discriminatory housing practices. The bill creates an exemption for an owner or owner's managing agent, provided that such owner does not own more than four rental dwelling units or more than a 10 percent interest in more than four rental dwelling units in the Commonwealth at the time of the alleged discriminatory housing practice. The bill allows an owner or owner's managing agent to deny or limit a person's rental or occupancy of a rental dwelling unit based on the person's source of funds for that unit if such source is not approved within 15 days of the person's submission of the request for tenancy approval. The bill defines "source of funds" as any source that lawfully provides funds to or on behalf of a renter or buyer of housing, including any assistance, benefit, or subsidy program, whether such program is administered by a governmental or nongovernmental entity. This bill incorporates HB 357.
Workers' compensation; presumption of compensability for certain diseases. Adds cancers of the colon, brain, or testes to the list of cancers that are presumed to be an occupational disease covered by the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act when firefighters or certain employees develop the cancer. The presumption shall not apply for any individual who was diagnosed with one of the conditions before July 1, 2020. The measure removes the compensability requirement that the employee who develops cancer had contact with a toxic substance encountered in the line of duty. The bill also reduces the number of years of service needed to qualify for the presumption from 12 to five for various types of cancer. For hypertension or heart disease, the bill adds a requirement that an individual complete five years of service in his position in order to qualify. This bill incorporates SB 58, SB 381, and SB 531 and is identical to HB 783.
Board of Health; certificate of birth; changeof sex. Establishes that, upon request of a person and in accordancewith requirements of the Board of Health, the State Registrar shallissue a new certificate of birth to show a change of sex of the personand, if a certified copy of a court order changing the person's nameis submitted, to show a new name. Requirements related to obtaininga new certificate of birth to show a change of sex may include a requirement that the person requesting the new certificate of birthsubmit an affidavit provided by a health care provider from whomthe person has received treatment stating that the person has undergoneclinically appropriate treatment for the purpose of gender transition.Requirements related to obtaining a new certificate of birth to showa change of sex shall not include any requirement for evidence ordocumentation of any medical procedure.
Grand larceny; threshold. Increases from $500 to $1,000 the threshold amount of money taken or value of goods or chattel taken at which the crime rises from petit larceny to grand larceny. The bill increases the threshold by the same amount for the classification of certain property crimes. This bill is identical to HB 995.
Tax credit for participating landlords; eligible housing areas. Expands the definition of "eligible housing area" for the housing choice voucher tax credit to include Virginia census tracts in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria Metropolitan Statistical Area in which less than 10 percent of the population lives below the poverty level. Landlords who rent qualified housing units within such areas are eligible for an income tax credit. Current law only applies to such areas within the Richmond and Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News Metropolitan Statistical Areas.The bill establishes a 2025 sunset date on the credit. The bill incorporates HB 1014 and is identical to SB 200.
Earned paid sick time. Requires public and private employers with 15 or more employees to provide those employees with earned paid sick time; however, the provisions of the bill would not apply to an employer that has entered into a bona fide collective bargaining agreement. The measure provides for an employee to earn at least one hour of paid sick leave benefit for every 30 hours worked. An employee shall not use more than 40 hours of earned paid sick time in a year, unless the employer selects a higher limit. Employees shall not be entitled to use accrued earned paid sick time until the ninetieth calendar day following commencement of their employment, unless otherwise permitted by the employer. The bill provides that earned paid sick time may be used (i) for an employee's mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; an employee's need for medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or an employee's need for preventive medical care; (ii) to provide care to a family member under similar circumstances; (iii) when there is a closure of the employee's place of business or the employee's child's school or place of care due to a public health emergency; or (iv) when an employee's or employee's family member's presence in the community may jeopardize the health of others because of their exposure to a communicable disease. The bill prohibits employers from taking certain retaliatory actions against employees related to leave and authorizes the Commissioner of Labor and Industry, in the case of a knowing violation, to subject an employer to a civil penalty not to exceed $150 for the first violation, $300 for the second violation, and $500 for each successive violation, if the second or successive violation occurs within two years of the previous violation. The Commissioner of Labor and Industry may institute proceedings on behalf of an employee to enforce compliance with this measure and to collect specified amounts from the employer, which shall be awarded to the employee. Alternatively, an aggrieved employee is authorized to bring a civil action against the employer in which he may recover double the amount of any unpaid earned sick time and the amount of any actual damages suffered as the result of the employer's violation. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2021, and incorporates SB 1069.
Elementary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth; racial segregation; repeal of provisions. Repeals several Acts of Assembly from 1901 to 1960 that contain provisions relating to the racial segregation of students in elementary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth. This bill is identical to HB 973.
Disorderly conduct in public places; schoolactivities. Eliminates the Class 1 misdemeanor for disruptingwillfully or while intoxicated, whether willfully or not, the operationof any school or any school activity conducted or sponsored by anyschool if the disruption (i) prevents or interferes with the orderlyconduct of the operation or activity or (ii) has a direct tendencyto cause acts of violence by the person or persons at whom, individually,the disruption is directed.