Many bills introduced that could impact the risk management landscape
Uncertainty equals risk, and VRSA members are facing considerable uncertainty in the current legislative session.
Risk can be positive or negative depending how the legislation impacts your organizational goals and objectives. Take some time to consider the following legislation through an enterprise risk management lens.
VRSA does not lobby or take positions on legislation. Be sure to communicate the potential impact of legislation to either your legislative liaison or lobbying association per your local policies and procedures. This is not an exhaustive list of bills as new legislation is still being filed. You may review any bill and track its progress through the Commonwealth’s Legislative Information System.
Employee Benefits
HB 1785 Employment health and safety standards; heat illness prevention.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Requires the Safety and Health Codes Board to adopt regulations establishing standards designed to protect employees from heat illness, defined in the bill. The measure authorizes an employee to bring an action based on a violation of such standards in which injunctive relief and monetary damages may be sought.
HB 1862 Employee protections; medicinal use of cannabis oil.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Prohibits an employer from discharging, disciplining, or discriminating against an employee for such employee’s lawful use of cannabis oil pursuant to a valid written certification issued by a practitioner for the treatment or to eliminate the symptoms of the employee’s diagnosed condition or disease. The bill provides that such prohibition does not (i) restrict an employer’s ability to take any adverse employment action for any work impairment or to prohibit possession during work hours or (ii) require an employer to commit any act that would cause the employer to be in violation of federal law or that would result in the loss of a federal contract or federal funding.
HB 1954 Minimum wage; application to certain persons providing fire or emergency medical services.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Provides that the minimum wage requirements of the Virginia Minimum Wage Act do not apply to any person who provides fire or emergency medical services for a fire company or nongovernmental emergency medical services agency.
HB 2103 Certain public & private employers to provide earned paid sick time.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Requires public and private employers with 35 or more full-time equivalent employees to provide eligible employees, defined in the bill, with earned paid sick time and paid sick time. The bill provides for an eligible employee to earn up to 40 hours of earned paid sick time depending on the amount of hours the eligible employee has averaged over the previous year or, for a new employee, is projected to work. An eligible employee shall not earn or use more than 40 hours of earned paid sick time in a year, unless the employer selects a higher limit. The bill provides that earned paid sick time may be used (i) for an eligible employee’s mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; an eligible employee’s need for medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or an eligible employee’s need for preventive medical care; or (ii) to provide care to an eligible employee’s family member, defined in the bill, under similar circumstances.
The bill prohibits employers from taking certain retaliatory actions against employees related to earned paid sick 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 bill 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. However, an aggrieved employee is required to seek redress through the employer’s human resources department prior to filing an administrative complaint or civil action. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2023.
HB 2015 Essential workers; hazard pay; personal protective equipment; civil penalty.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Requires, that following the declaration by the Governor of a state of emergency that includes or is followed by any additional executive order in furtherance of such declaration that includes a stay-at-home or shelter-in-place order, employers shall (i) compensate each of their essential workers at a rate not less than one and one-half times the essential worker’s regular rate of pay for any hours worked during the closure order and (ii) provide their essential workers with personal protective equipment related to the state of emergency and recommended for the relevant work site or job task by the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry, the State Department of Health, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The bill defines “essential worker” as an individual employed as a health care provider, home care provider, or airport worker or by an essential retail business, as specified in the bill. The bill subjects violators to the same civil penalties, and provides the same cause of action for an employer’s failure to pay the required hazard pay, as are currently imposed for failing to pay wages generally.
HB 2016 Paid family and medical leave program.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Requires the Virginia Employment Commission to establish and administer a paid family and medical leave program with benefits beginning January 1, 2024. Under the program, benefits are paid to eligible employees for family and medical leave. Funding for the program is provided through premiums assessed to employers and employees beginning in 2023. 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 measure caps the duration of paid leave at 12 weeks in any application year. The bill provides self-employed individuals the option of participating in the program.
HB 2137 Paid sick leave; employers to provide to certain employees.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Requires employers to provide certain employees paid sick leave. An employee is eligible for paid sick leave under the bill if the employee is an essential worker and works on average at least 20 hours per week or 90 hours per month. The bill 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 leave in a year unless the employer selects a higher limit. The bill provides that earned paid sick leave may be used for (i) 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 or (ii) care of a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; care of a family member who needs medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or care of a family member who needs preventive medical care. The bill prohibits employers from taking certain retaliatory actions against employees related to leave. The bill provides for a hardship waiver for employers that demonstrate that providing paid sick leave threatens the financial viability of the employer, jeopardizes the ability of the employer to sustain operations, significantly degrades the quality of the employer’s business operations, or creates a significant negative financial impact on the employer. The bill requires the Commissioner of Labor and Industry to promulgate regulations that (a) identify workers as essential based on the categories listed in the bill; (b) include reasonable requirements for recordkeeping, confidentiality, and notifying employees of their rights under provisions of the bill; (c) establish complaint, investigation, and enforcement procedures that include fines, not to exceed $500, for violations of provisions of the bill; (d) establish requirements for compensation and accrual of paid sick leave for employees employed and compensated on a fee-for-service basis; and (e) include procedures and requirements for an employer to qualify for a hardship waiver.
HB 2219 Pharmacies; freedom of choice.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Requires that no carrier, health maintenance organization, or pharmacy benefits manager shall prohibit a covered individual from selecting the pharmacy of his choice to furnish retail, mail order, or specialty pharmaceutical benefits under the covered individual’s policy. The bill provides that no pharmacy that meets the terms and conditions of participation shall be precluded from obtaining a direct service agreement or participating provider agreement and that any request for such agreement by a pharmacy shall be acted upon by a carrier, health maintenance organization, or pharmacy benefits manager within 30 days of receiving the request. Under current law, some of these requirements apply to health maintenance organizations; those requirements are expanded in the bill.
HB 2296 Worker classification; independent contractors.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Worker classification; independent contractors. Provides that in a proceeding involving allegations of worker misclassification an individual or business is not considered an employee with respect to a hiring party if the person qualifies as an independent contractor relative to the hiring party under the common law right-of-control test as established by the Internal Revenue Service Revenue Ruling 87-41, by an applicable determination of the Internal Revenue Service, or if (i) the individual or business signs a written contract with the hiring party stating that the individual or business is self-employed or is being engaged as an independent contractor and containing certain acknowledgments, (ii) the individual or business has the right to control the manner and means by which the final result of the work is to be accomplished, and (iii) four or more additional criteria provided for in the bill are satisfied. The bill also provides that a hiring party alleging that a worker misclassification claim is frivolous or improper may file a motion to dismiss such claim. The bill provides that a contract or written agreement expressly stating that a claimant is not considered an employee is considered as prima facie evidence of a violation of frivolous pleading provisions.
FOIA
HB 1931 Virginia Freedom of Information Act; electronic meetings.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Authorizes a public body to conduct through electronic communication means a meeting for which, on or before the day of the meeting, a member of the public body holding the meeting notifies the chair that such member is unable to attend the meeting due to a family member’s medical condition that requires the member to provide care for such family member, thereby preventing the member’s physical attendance. The bill also clarifies that participation in an electronic meeting by a member of a public body due to the inability to attend because of a personal matter is limited each calendar year to two such meetings, which is current law, or 25 percent of the meetings held that calendar year rounded up to the next whole number, whichever is greater.
HB 2025 Virginia Freedom of Information Act; record exclusion for personal contact information provided.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Provides that personal contact information provided to a public body or any of its members for the purpose of receiving electronic communications from the public body or any of its members is excluded from the mandatory disclosure provisions of FOIA, unless the recipient of such electronic communications indicates his approval for the public body to disclose such information. Currently, the law provides protections for personal contact information provided to a public body, not to its members; only applies to electronic mail; and requires the electronic mail recipient to request the public body not to disclose his personal contact information in order for the information to be exempt from mandatory disclosure. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council.
HJ 564 Study; Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council; charges for the production of public record.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Directs the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council (FOIA Council) to study whether the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) allowing public bodies to charge requesters for the production of public records should be amended to make access to public records easier for requesters. The study further directs the FOIA Council to examine the current FOIA provisions on charges and make recommendations on ways to amend such provisions to make the assessment of charges by public bodies for the production of public records more uniform, more transparent, easier to understand, and less costly. The study directs the FOIA Council to consider comments from and seek participation in the study by citizens of the Commonwealth, representatives of state and local government entities, broadcast, print, and electronic media sources, open government organizations, and other interested parties.
Guns
HB 1757 Firearm-free zones designated by the Commonwealth or a locality, waiver of sovereign immunity.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Provides that if (i) the Commonwealth designates any property owned by it as a firearm-free zone or (ii) any locality designates such locality or any part of such locality as a firearm-free zone, the Commonwealth or such locality waives its sovereign immunity as it relates to any injuries sustained by persons lawfully present in such firearm-free zone.
HB 1773 Carrying a concealed handgun; permit not required.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Allows any person who is otherwise eligible to obtain a concealed handgun permit to carry a concealed handgun without a permit anywhere he may lawfully carry a handgun openly within the Commonwealth.
HB 1793 Concealed handgun permit; local control of firearms.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Provides that any local ordinance that prohibits the possession, carrying, or transportation of any firearms, ammunition, or components or combination thereof on specified public property shall not apply to a person who has a valid concealed handgun permit.
HB 1909 School board property, certain; establishment of gun-free zone permitted.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Permits any school board to deem any non-school zone property that it owns or leases as a gun-free zone and prohibit any individual from knowingly possessing any firearm designed or intended to expel a projectile by action of an explosion of a combustible material while such individual is upon such property, except certain individuals such as law-enforcement officers and qualified retired law-enforcement officers.
Jails (also see Medical Malpractice)
HB 1874 Behavioral health; assessments in local correctional facilities.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Provides that the State Board of Local and Regional Jails, in establishing the minimum standards for behavioral health services in local correctional facilities, shall include a requirement that if a behavioral health screening indicates that the person may have a mental illness, an assessment of his need for mental health services shall be conducted within 72 hours of the time of the screening.
Law Enforcement
HB 1875 Law-enforcement officers; minimum qualifications.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Modifies the existing minimum qualification for law-enforcement officers that prohibits any such officer from entering upon the duties of such office if he has been convicted of or pled guilty or no contest to any misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, including petit larceny, by providing that the prohibition applies only if such conviction or plea has occurred within the last three years.
HB 1948 Law-enforcement officer; duty to render aid, duty to report wrongdoing by another officer.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Requires any law-enforcement officer on duty who witnesses another person suffering from a serious bodily injury or a life-threatening condition to render aid and makes it a duty to report acts of wrongdoing, defined in the bill and including bias-based profiling, committed by another law-enforcement officer on duty. Any law-enforcement officer who fails to render such aid or report such wrongdoing committed by another law-enforcement officer shall be subject to disciplinary action, including dismissal, demotion, suspension, or transfer of the law-enforcement officer. The bill also expands the definition of “bias-based profiling,” a practice banned for sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, other local law-enforcement officers, and State Police officers in the performance of their official duties, to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
HB 2031 Facial recognition technology; authorization of use by local law-enforcement agencies, etc.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Facial recognition technology; authorization of use by local law-enforcement agencies and public institutions of higher education. Allows a locality or a public institution of higher education to authorize a local law-enforcement agency or campus police department to purchase or deploy facial recognition technology, which is defined in the bill. The bill prohibits a local law-enforcement agency or public institution of higher education currently using facial recognition technology from continuing to use such technology without such authorization after July 1, 2021.
HB 2045 Civil action for deprivation of rights; duties and liabilities of certain employers.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Creates a civil action for the deprivation of a person’s rights by a law-enforcement officer and provides that a plaintiff may be awarded compensatory damages, punitive damages, and equitable relief as well as reasonable attorney fees and costs. The bill provides that sovereign immunity and limitations on liability or damages shall not apply to such actions and that qualified immunity is not a defense to liability for such deprivation of rights. Finally, the bill provides that any public or private entity that employs or contracts for the services of a law-enforcement officer owes a duty of reasonable care to third parties in its hiring, supervision, training, retention, and use of such officers under its employment or contract.
HB 2073 Wrongful death statute of limitations; criminal investigations by law enforcement.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Provides that, in a civil action for the wrongful death of an injured person, such an action may be brought by a personal representative of a decedent within two years of the conclusion of a criminal investigation of such death, if applicable. Under current law, a wrongful death action must be brought within two years of the death of the decedent.
HB 2196 Virginia Freedom of Information Act; required release of law-enforcement disciplinary records; exc
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Requires the release of law-enforcement disciplinary records related to completed disciplinary investigations. The bill defines “law-enforcement disciplinary records” as any record created in furtherance of a law-enforcement disciplinary proceeding or any other administrative or judicial proceeding, whether such proceeding takes place in the Commonwealth or in another jurisdiction. The bill allows for the redaction of certain personal contact information of the law-enforcement officer, complainant, and witness or their families; social security numbers; and certain medical information of the law-enforcement officer and complainant.
SB 1361 Law-enforcement civilian oversight bodies.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Provides that any person appointed to a law-enforcement civilian oversight body shall be a citizen of the United States, shall reside in the jurisdiction that he is appointed to serve, shall not have a criminal record, and shall be required to complete (i) a Citizen’s Law Enforcement or Police Academy with a basic firearms instruction course conducted by an accredited law-enforcement agency and (ii) one daytime and one nighttime ride-along with each agency that serves under the authority of the locality. The bill requires at least two members of a law-enforcement civilian oversight body to have specialized knowledge in law-enforcement activities or operations. The bill provides that a law-enforcement civilian oversight body shall not have the authority to award or order financial restitution and requires the redaction of all personal identifying information for law-enforcement personnel from all public reports made by the law-enforcement civilian oversight body.
Line of Duty Act
SB 1367 Line of Duty Act; requiring licensed health practitioners to conduct medical reviews.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Requires that, for any medical review of a claim made pursuant to the provisions of the Line of Duty Act, the Virginia Retirement System shall require that such review be conducted by a doctor, nurse, or psychologist who is licensed in the Commonwealth or a contiguous state. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2022.
Marijuana
HB 87 Marijuana; legalization of simple possession, penalties.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Eliminates criminal penalties for possession of marijuana for persons who are 21 years of age or older. The bill also decriminalizes marijuana possession for persons under 21 years of age and provides a civil penalty of no more than $100 for possession of (i) two and one-half ounces or less of marijuana or (ii) 12 or fewer marijuana plants and a civil penalty of no more than $500 for possession of more than (a) two and one-half ounces of marijuana or (b) 12 marijuana plants. Under current law, a first offense is punishable by a maximum fine of $500 and a maximum jail sentence of 30 days, and subsequent offenses are a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill also modifies several other criminal penalties related to marijuana. The bill establishes a regulatory scheme for the regulation of marijuana cultivation facilities, marijuana manufacturing facilities, marijuana secure transporters, marijuana testing facilities, retail marijuana stores, and marijuana microbusinesses by the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The bill imposes an additional tax of 10 percent on retail marijuana and retail marijuana products sold by retail marijuana stores and microbusinesses and directs the first $20 million of such revenues, after expenses of the Board are paid, to the Veterans Treatment Fund, established in the bill. The remaining tax receipts will be distributed to the localities in which the businesses operate, toward the state’s share of Standards of Quality basic aid payments, and to the Commonwealth Mass Transit Fund. The bill also expands the legal medical uses of marijuana and tetrahydrocannabinol from only cancer and glaucoma to any use to alleviate the symptoms of any diagnosed condition or disease determined by the prescribing doctor to benefit from the use of such substance.
HB 1815 Marijuana; legalization of cultivation, manufacture, sale, possession, and testing, penalties.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Establishes a regulatory scheme for the regulation of marijuana cultivation facilities, marijuana manufacturing facilities, marijuana testing facilities, and retail marijuana stores by the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The bill also grants localities the authority to enact ordinances establishing additional licensing requirements for marijuana establishments located within such locality and allows the home cultivation of marijuana for personal use under certain circumstances. The bill imposes a tax on retail marijuana and retail marijuana products sold by a retail marijuana store at a rate of 9.7 percent (for a total sales tax of 15 percent) and provides that 67 percent of the revenues collected from the tax be deposited into the general fund and 33 percent of the revenues be deposited into a “Retail Marijuana Education Support Fund” to be used solely for purposes of public education. Finally, the bill establishes several new criminal penalties related to marijuana, as well as modifies some existing criminal penalties.
HB 1862 Employee protections; medicinal use of cannabis oil.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Prohibits an employer from discharging, disciplining, or discriminating against an employee for such employee’s lawful use of cannabis oil pursuant to a valid written certification issued by a practitioner for the treatment or to eliminate the symptoms of the employee’s diagnosed condition or disease. The bill provides that such prohibition does not (i) restrict an employer’s ability to take any adverse employment action for any work impairment or to prohibit possession during work hours or (ii) require an employer to commit any act that would cause the employer to be in violation of federal law or that would result in the loss of a federal contract or federal funding.
SB 1406 Marijuana; legalization of simple possession; penalties.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Eliminates criminal penalties for possession of marijuana for persons who are 21 years of age or older. The bill also modifies several other criminal penalties related to marijuana and provides for an automatic expungement process for those convicted of certain marijuana-related crimes. The bill establishes a regulatory scheme for the regulation of marijuana cultivation facilities, marijuana manufacturing facilities, marijuana testing facilities, marijuana wholesalers, and retail marijuana stores by the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, renamed as the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Control Authority. The bill imposes a tax on retail marijuana, retail marijuana products, and marijuana paraphernalia sold by a retail marijuana store, as well as non-retail marijuana and non-retail marijuana products at a rate of 21 percent and provides that localities may by ordinance levy a three percent tax on any such marijuana or marijuana products. The bill provides that net profits attributable to regulatory activities of the Authority’s Board of Directors pursuant to this bill shall be appropriated as follows: (i) 40 percent to pre-kindergarten programs for at-risk three and four year olds, (ii) 30 percent to the Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund, established in the bill, (iii) 25 percent to substance use disorder prevention and treatment programs, and (iv) five percent to public health programs. The bill creates the Cannabis Control Advisory Board, the Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Board, and the Cannabis Public Health Advisory Council. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2023, with provisions for the Authority’s Board of Directors to promulgate regulations for the implementation of the bill and for implementation of the automatic expungement process to begin in due course. In addition, the bill establishes four work groups to begin their efforts in due course: one focused on public health and safety issues, one focused on providing resources for teachers in elementary and secondary schools, one focused on college-aged individuals, and one focused on regulatory challenges faced by financial institutions seeking to provide financial services to marijuana establishments.
Medical Malpractice
HB 1913 Programs to address career fatigue and wellness in certain health care providers; civil immunity.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Expands civil immunity for health care professionals serving as members of or consultants to entities that function primarily to review, evaluate, or make recommendations related to health care services to include health care professionals serving as members of or consultants to entities that function primarily to address issues related to career fatigue and wellness in health care professionals licensed, registered, or certified by the Boards of Medicine, Nursing, or Pharmacy, or in students enrolled in a school of medicine, osteopathic medicine, nursing, or pharmacy located in the Commonwealth. The bill contains an emergency clause.
SB 1107 Medical malpractice; limitation on recovery.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Eliminates the cap on the recovery in actions against health care providers for medical malpractice where the act or acts of malpractice occurred on or after July 1, 2021.
Public Sector Unionism
HB 1794 Collective bargaining; prohibited considerations during negotiations.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Collective bargaining; prohibited considerations during negotiations. Prohibits any local ordinance or resolution granting or permitting collective bargaining from permitting consideration during collective bargaining negotiations of any action or discussion regarding the hiring, firing, or disciplining of a local employee. All such actions and discussions shall be exempt from all collective bargaining negotiations.
HB 1780 Public employees; prohibition on striking, exception.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Public employees; prohibition on striking; exception. Exempts employees of a local school board from the prohibition on striking, and from termination of employment for striking, by public employees.
HB 1755 Right to work; repeals provisions of Code that refers to denial or abridgement.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Right to work. Repeals the provisions of the Code of Virginia that, among other things, prohibit any agreement or combination between an employer and a labor union or labor organization whereby (i) nonmembers of the union or organization are denied the right to work for the employer, (ii) membership in the union or organization is made a condition of employment or continuation of employment by such employer, or (iii) the union or organization acquires an employment monopoly in any such enterprise.
Schools
HB 1736 School nurses; excludes positions from certain requirements, school board to employ in each school.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Excludes school nurse positions from requirements for student support positions and instead requires each local school board to employ at least one full-time equivalent school nurse position in each elementary school, middle school, and high school in the local school division. The bill defines a school nurse as a registered nurse engaged in the specialized practice of nursing who protects and promotes student health, facilitates optimal development, and advances academic success.
HB 1904 Teachers and other licensed school board employees; cultural competency.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: The bill requires teacher, principal, and division superintendent evaluations to include an evaluation of cultural competency. The bill requires every person seeking initial licensure or renewal of a license from the Board of Education (i) to complete instruction or training in cultural competency and (ii) with an endorsement in history and social sciences to complete instruction in African American history, as prescribed by the Board. The bill also requires each school board to adopt and implement policies that require each teacher and any other school board employee holding a license issued by the Board to complete cultural competency training, in accordance with guidance issued by the Board, at least every two years.
HB 1909 Certain school board property; establishment of gun-free zone permitted.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Permits any school board to deem any non-school zone property that it owns or leases as a gun-free zone and prohibit any individual from knowingly possessing any firearm designed or intended to expel a projectile by action of an explosion of a combustible material while such individual is upon such property, except certain individuals such as law-enforcement officers and qualified retired law-enforcement officers.
HB 1929 School Equity and Staffing Act; Standards of Quality; work-based learning; teacher leaders and men
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Makes several changes to the Standards of Quality, including requiring the establishment of units in the Department of Education to oversee work-based learning and principal mentorship statewide in Standard 1 and requiring the Board of Education to establish and oversee the local implementation of teacher leader and teacher mentor programs in Standard 5. The bill also makes several changes relating to school personnel in Standard 2, including (i) establishing schoolwide ratios of students to teachers in certain schools with high concentrations of poverty and granting flexibility to provide compensation adjustments to teachers in such schools; (ii) requiring each school board to assign licensed personnel in a manner that provides an equitable distribution of experienced, effective teachers and other personnel among all schools in the local school division; (iii) requiring each school board to employ teacher leaders and teacher mentors at specified student-to-position ratios; (iv) requiring state funding in addition to basic aid to support at-risk students and granting flexibility in the use of such funds by school boards; (v) lowering the ratio of English language learner students to teachers; (vi) requiring each school board to employ reading specialists and establishing a student-to-position ratio for such specialists; (vii) requiring school boards to employ one full-time principal in each elementary school; (viii) lowering the ratio of students to assistant principals and school counselors in elementary, middle, and high schools; and (ix) requiring each school board to provide at least four specialized student support positions, including school social workers, school psychologists, school nurses, licensed behavior analysts, licensed assistant behavior analysts, and other licensed health and behavioral positions, per 1,000 students.
HB 2184 Pandemic Remediation Task Force; established, report.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Establishes the 22-member Pandemic Remediation Task Force (the task force) as an advisory task force in the executive branch of state government, to be administered by the Department of Education, for the purpose of making recommendations on strategies for improving public education in the Commonwealth in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that can be implemented in each region and local school division in order to achieve a measure of uniformity in such improvements across the Commonwealth. The bill requires the task force to (i) develop recommendations for policies and funding that would assist public elementary and secondary school students impacted by school closures and the remote learning environment during the COVID-19 pandemic to adequately obtain core educational material that they may not have otherwise successfully retained during the course of such pandemic; (ii) develop a uniform strategy for public elementary and secondary schools to effectively identify students in need of remediation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and provide remediation coursework and resources to such students; (iii) consider the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student achievement gaps and make recommendations on the interventions and additional services, such as tutoring, mentoring, and services from private educational service providers, that may be necessary to ensure that such gaps do not widen further beyond pre-pandemic levels; and (iv) submit to the Governor and the General Assembly, no later than December 1, an annual report on its work. The task force has a sunset date of July 1, 2024.
SB 1099 Children’s Services Act; special education programs.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Expands eligibility for services under the Children’s Services Act to students who transfer from an approved private school special education program to a public school special education program established and funded jointly by a local governing body and school division located within Planning District 16 for the purpose of providing special education and related services when (i) the public school special education program is able to provide services comparable to those of an approved private school special education program and (ii) the student would require placement in an approved private school special education program but for the availability of the public school special education program.
HB 2211 Individualized education programs; identification of necessary additional services and referrals.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Requires individualized education program teams to identify any children with disabilities who may need additional services outside of the school setting and refer them to the local family assessment and planning team.
HB 2299 Department of Education; duties; special education.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Department of Education; duties; special education. Requires the Department of Education to (i) provide training and guidance documents to local school divisions on the development of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for children with disabilities, (ii) develop a training module for each individual who participates in an IEP meeting, with the exception of parents, (iii) annually conduct structured reviews of a sample of IEPs from a sufficiently large sample of local school divisions to verify that the IEPs are in compliance with state and federal laws and regulations and are of high quality, (iv) develop and maintain a statewide plan for improving (a) its ongoing oversight of local practices related to transition planning and services for children with disabilities and (b) technical assistance and guidance provided for postsecondary transition planning and services for children with disabilities, (v) develop and maintain a statewide strategic plan for recruiting and retaining special education teachers, and (vi) (a) conduct a one-time targeted review of the transition sections of a random sample of students’ IEPs in each school division; (b) communicate its findings to each local school division, school board, and local special education advisory committee; and (c) ensure that local school divisions correct any IEPs that are found to be out of compliance no later than the end of the 2021-2022 school year.
Social Justice
HJ 537 Racism; public health crisis.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Racism; public health crisis. Recognizes that racism is a public health crisis in Virginia.
HJ 538 Access to water; human right.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Access to water; human right. Recognizing that access to clean, potable, and affordable water is a necessary human right.
Transportation
HB 1910 Creation of regional transportation authorities.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Creation of regional transportation authorities. Authorizes two or more adjacent counties or cities to form a regional transportation authority to engage in regional transportation projects. The bill sets forth the procedures for forming such authority and determining the membership of its governing board. Ordinances adopted by each member of such authority would set forth the local taxes, fees, and revenues to be contributed by each locality to such authority.
Workers’ Compensation
HB 1754 Employer or other person; retaliatory discharge of employee prohibited.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Employment; retaliatory discharge of employee; Workers’ Compensation. Prohibits an employer or other person from discharging or taking other retaliatory action against an employee if such action is motivated by the knowledge or belief that the employee has filed a claim or taken or intends to take certain actions under the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act. Currently, retaliatory discharges are prohibited only if the employer discharges an employee solely because the employee has taken or intends to take such an action.
HB 1818 Workers’ compensation; presumption of compensability for certain diseases.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Workers’ compensation; presumption of compensability for certain diseases. Adds salaried or volunteer emergency medical services personnel to the list of persons to whom, after five years of service, the occupational disease presumption for death caused by hypertension or heart disease applies.
HB 1985 Workers’ compensation; presumption of compensability for COVID-19.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Workers’ compensation; presumption of compensability for COVID-19. Establishes a presumption that COVID-19 causing the death or disability of health care providers who as part of the provider’s employment are directly involved in diagnosing or treating persons known or suspected to have COVID-19 is an occupational disease compensable under the Workers’ Compensation Act. The provisions of the bill will be effective retroactive to January 1, 2020.
HB 2080 Workers’ compensation; presumption of compensability for certain diseases.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Workers’ compensation; presumption of compensability for certain diseases; local authority to apply to certain emergency services personnel. Adds full-time, salaried emergency medical services personnel employed by any locality that has authorized such presumption by ordinance to the list of persons to whom, after five years of service, the occupational disease presumption for death caused by hypertension or heart disease applies.
HB 2134 Employee classification; provision of personal protective equipment in response to a disaster.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Employee classification: disaster; personal protective equipment. Prohibits the consideration, in any determination regarding whether an individual is an employee or independent contractor, for the purposes of a civil action for employment misclassification, unemployment compensation, and workers’ compensation, of the provision of personal protective equipment by a hiring party to the individual in response to a disaster caused by a communicable disease of public health threat for which a state of emergency has been declared.
HB 2207 Workers’ compensation; presumption of compensability for COVID-19.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Workers’ compensation; presumption of compensability for COVID-19. Establishes a presumption that COVID-19 causing the death or disability of firefighters, emergency medical services personnel, law-enforcement officers, and correctional officers is an occupational disease compensable under the Workers’ Compensation Act. The bill provides that the COVID-19 virus is established by a positive diagnostic test for COVID-19, an incubation period consistent with COVID-19, and signs and symptoms of COVID-19 that require medical treatment. The bill provides that such presumption applies to any death or disability occurring on or after March 12, 2020, caused by infection from the COVID-19 virus, provided that for any such death or disability that occurred on or after March 12, 2020, and prior to December 31, 2021, the claimant received a diagnosis of COVID-19 from a licensed physician, after either a presumptive positive test or a laboratory confirmed test for COVID-19, and presented with signs and symptoms of COVID-19 that required medical treatment.
HB 2228 Workers’ compensation; injuries caused by repetitive and sustained physical stressors.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: 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 from conditions resulting from repetitive and sustained physical stressors, including repetitive and sustained motions, exertions, posture stress, contact stresses, vibration, or noise. The bill provides that such injuries are covered under the Act. Such coverage does not require that the injuries occurred over a particular period, provided that such a period can be reasonably identified and documented and further provided that the employment is shown to have primarily caused the injury, considering all causes.
SB 1342 Workers’ compensation; presumption of compensability for COVID-19.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Workers’ compensation; presumption of compensability for COVID-19. Establishes a presumption that COVID-19 causing the death or disability of firefighters, emergency medical services personnel, law-enforcement officers, and correctional officers is an occupational disease compensable under the Workers’ Compensation Act. The bill provides that the COVID-19 virus is established by a positive diagnostic test for COVID-19, an incubation period consistent with COVID-19, and signs and symptoms of COVID-19 that require medical treatment. The bill provides that such presumption applies to any death or disability occurring on or after March 12, 2020, caused by infection from the COVID-19 virus, provided that for any such death or disability that occurred on or after March 12, 2020, and prior to December 31, 2021, the claimant received a diagnosis of COVID-19 from a licensed physician, after either a presumptive positive test or a laboratory confirmed test for COVID-19, and presented with signs and symptoms of COVID-19 that required medical treatment.
SB 1351 Workers’ compensation; claims not barred.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Workers’ compensation; claims not barred. Provides that an order issued by the Workers’ Compensation Commission awarding or denying benefits shall not bar by res judicata any claim by an employee or cause a waiver, abandonment, or dismissal of any claim by an employee if the order does not expressly adjudicate such claim.
SB 1375 Workers’ compensation; presumption of compensability for COVID-19.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Workers’ compensation; presumption of compensability for COVID-19. Establishes a presumption that COVID-19 causing the death or disability of firefighters and emergency medical services personnel is an occupational disease compensable under the Workers’ Compensation Act. The provisions of the bill will be effective retroactive to March 1, 2020.