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SPONSORED LEGISLATION
SB236 - Aggregated, nonconfidential case data; requests for reports for academic research.
Ghazala F. Hashmi
Last updated 6 months ago
1 Co-Sponsor
Requests for reports of aggregated, nonconfidential case data; academic research. Allows a full-time faculty member of a baccalaureate public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth to request for the purposes of academic research, provided that such academic research has been approved through such public institution's institutional review board, a report for aggregated, nonconfidential case data for garnishment, unlawful detainer, and warrant in debt actions in a general district court. The bill provides that such report may include street addresses and the amount of money claimed in the action. The bill also requires any faculty member requesting the data to take all steps necessary to protect the privacy and security of such data and that such data shall not be subject to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. Requests for reports of aggregated, nonconfidential case data; academic research. Allows a full-time faculty member of a baccalaureate public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth to request for the purposes of academic research, provided that such academic research has been approved through such public institution's institutional review board, a report for aggregated, nonconfidential case data for garnishment, unlawful detainer, and warrant in debt actions in a general district court. The bill provides that such report may include street addresses and the amount of money claimed in the action. The bill also requires any faculty member requesting the data to take all steps necessary to protect the privacy and security of such data and that such data shall not be subject to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
STATUS
Vetoed
SB704 - Rural Virginia, Center for; renames Center the Senator Frank M. Ruff, Jr. Center for Rural Virginia.
Tammy Brankley Mulchi, Lashrecse D. Aird, Lamont Bagby
Last updated 6 months ago
40 Co-Sponsors
Center for Rural Virginia; name change. Renames the Center for Rural Virginia as the Senator Frank M. Ruff, Jr. Center for Rural Virginia.
STATUS
Passed
SB229 - Breakthrough Therapies for Veteran Suicide Prevention, Advisory Council on; placement of Council.
Ghazala F. Hashmi, Jennifer Barton Boysko, Russet W. Perry
Last updated 8 months ago
3 Co-Sponsors
Health Commissioner; work group; recommendations on Advisory Council on Breakthrough Therapies for Veteran Suicide Prevention. Directs the State Health Commissioner to establish a work group to examine the feasibility of and make recommendations for the placement and infrastructure of an Advisory Council on Breakthrough Therapies for Veteran Suicide Prevention. Health Commissioner; work group; recommendations on Advisory Council on Breakthrough Therapies for Veteran Suicide Prevention. Directs the State Health Commissioner to establish a work group to examine the feasibility of and make recommendations for the placement and infrastructure of an Advisory Council on Breakthrough Therapies for Veteran Suicide Prevention.
STATUS
Engrossed
SB231 - Children; comprehensive health care coverage program for certain individuals.
Ghazala F. Hashmi, Danica A. Roem, Suhas Subramanyam
Last updated 7 months ago
3 Co-Sponsors
Comprehensive children's health care coverage program. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to establish a program to provide state-funded comprehensive health care coverage for individuals in the Commonwealth who (i) are under 19 years of age, (ii) are not covered under a group health plan or health insurance coverage, and (iii) but for their immigration status would be eligible for medical assistance services through the Commonwealth's program of medical assistance services established pursuant to Title XIX or XXI of the Social Security Act. The bill also requires the Department to ensure that all program information is made available in a manner that is accessible to individuals with limited English proficiency and individuals with disabilities through the provision of language access services, including oral interpretation and written translations, free of charge and to ensure that information obtained by the program remains confidential and is not disclosed for any purpose not related to the administration of the program or any purpose related to civil immigration enforcement unless the subject of the information consents to such disclosure or the requesting agency presents a valid judicial order, subpoena, or warrant. Comprehensive children's health care coverage program. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to establish a program to provide state-funded comprehensive health care coverage for individuals in the Commonwealth who (i) are under 19 years of age, (ii) are not covered under a group health plan or health insurance coverage, and (iii) but for their immigration status would be eligible for medical assistance services through the Commonwealth's program of medical assistance services established pursuant to Title XIX or XXI of the Social Security Act. The bill also requires the Department to ensure that all program information is made available in a manner that is accessible to individuals with limited English proficiency and individuals with disabilities through the provision of language access services, including oral interpretation and written translations, free of charge and to ensure that information obtained by the program remains confidential and is not disclosed for any purpose not related to the administration of the program or any purpose related to civil immigration enforcement unless the subject of the information consents to such disclosure or the requesting agency presents a valid judicial order, subpoena, or warrant. The bill also requires the Department to (a) consult with individuals with direct and lived experience with the program eligibility criteria established by the bill and individuals with experience conducting outreach to individuals who are eligible for the program established by the bill to advise and assist the Department in carrying out marketing and outreach activities required by the bill and (b) seek all federal waivers and other approvals necessary to maximize federal financial participation in the cost of carrying out the program established by the bill. The provisions of the first, second, and third enactments of the bill have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2026.
STATUS
Engrossed
SB227 - Public school funding; places several parameters on SOQ funding calculations performed by DOE.
Ghazala F. Hashmi, Suhas Subramanyam
Last updated 9 months ago
2 Co-Sponsors
Public school funding; certain calculations; certain support services positions; programs for at-risk students. Places several parameters on Standards of Quality funding calculations performed by the Department of Education, including (i) requiring the Department, when calculating the cost of salaries under the Standards of Quality funding formula, to include facilities staff and transportation staff salaries in the calculation of any cost of competing adjustment to salaries for instructional and support positions that is provided as part of the state share of basic aid pursuant to the general appropriation act; (ii) requiring the Department, when estimating the cost of any compensation supplement for instructional and support positions under the Standards of Quality funding formula, to include and estimate the cost of such a compensation supplement for facilities staff; (iii) prohibiting the Department from applying any cap on inflation rate adjustments to non-personal cost categories during the biennial process of rebenchmarking the direct aid to public education budget; and (iv) requiring the Department to utilize a three-year average of the most recently available data to calculate the composite index of local ability-to-pay for each school division. The bill also amends Standard of Quality 2 by (a) including in the definition of "support services position" any central office clerical position that is not otherwise set forth in such definition, (b) requiring a per-pupil Standards of Quality funding add-on to be provided for English language learner and special education students, (c) requiring, in addition to the positions supported by basic aid, state funding, pursuant to the general appropriation act, to be provided to cover the actual average school division cost to educate children with disabilities, and (d) establishing the At-Risk Program, defined in the bill as any state funding provided for programs of prevention, intervention, or remediation or pursuant to the at-risk add-on for the purpose of supporting programs for students who are educationally at risk. The bill requires (1) the determination of the amount of state funding for which a school division is eligible pursuant to such At-Risk Program to be based on the school division's identified student percentage, defined in the bill as the fraction, expressed as a percentage, that results from dividing the number of identified students enrolled in a school division by the total number of students enrolled in such school division, weighted by the factor of 1.5, and then adjusted by the addition of a percentage that corrects for undercounting English language learner students as identified students and (2) such funding to be distributed as follows: 60 percent on a flat per-student rate and 40 percent on a variable rate set out in the general appropriation act based on the concentration of poverty in the school division.
STATUS
Introduced
SB277 - Certificate of public need; expedited review process, etc.
Ghazala F. Hashmi
Last updated 6 months ago
1 Co-Sponsor
State Health Services Plan Task Force; certificate of public need; recommendations. Directs the Board of Health to convene the State Health Services Plan Task Force to make recommendations on expedited review of projects subject to certificate of public need requirements.
STATUS
Passed
SB272 - Public school funding; ratios of instructional positions to English language learner students.
Ghazala F. Hashmi, Suhas Subramanyam
Last updated 6 months ago
2 Co-Sponsors
Public school staffing ratios; teachers; English language learner students. Requires state funding to be provided pursuant to the general appropriation act to support ratios of instructional positions to English language learner students based on each such student's English proficiency level, as established in the general appropriation act.
STATUS
Passed
SB228 - Public schools; funding for English language learner students and children with disabilities.
Ghazala F. Hashmi
Last updated 9 months ago
1 Co-Sponsor
Public school funding; English language learner students and children with disabilities. Requires, in addition to the positions supported by basic aid, state funding, pursuant to the general appropriation act, to be provided to cover (i) the actual average school division cost to educate children with disabilities and (ii) a per-pupil Standards of Quality funding add-on for English language learner and special education students.
STATUS
Introduced
SB119 - Drug manufacturers; permitting and registration, certain conditions related to 340B-covered drugs.
Louise Lucas, Ghazala F. Hashmi, Lamont Bagby
Last updated 4 months ago
7 Co-Sponsors
Drug manufacturers; permitting and registration; certain conditions related to 340B-covered drugs. Requires a drug manufacturer, as a condition of obtaining a permit or as a condition of registration or renewal of registration, to certify that it does not limit the number of contract pharmacies or covered entities, as defined in relevant law, to which it ships 340B-covered drugs and that it does not impose requirements, exclusions, reimbursement terms, or other conditions on a contract pharmacy or covered entity that differ from those applied to pharmacies or entities that are not contract pharmacies or covered entities on the basis that the pharmacy or entity is a contract pharmacy or covered entity or that the pharmacy or entity dispenses 340B-covered drugs.
STATUS
Vetoed
SB2 - Assault firearms & certain ammunition, etc.; purchase, possession, sale, transfer, etc., prohibited.
Creigh Deeds, Saddam Azlan Salim, Suhas Subramanyam
Last updated 6 months ago
18 Co-Sponsors
Purchase, 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, 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.
STATUS
Vetoed
BIOGRAPHY
INCUMBENT
Senator from Virginia district SD-010
COMMITTEES
Virginia Senate
BIRTH
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ABOUT
Ghazala F. Hashmi was born in Lucknow, India and immigrated to the U.S. in 1977. She received her bachelor's degree from Georgia Tech and her PhD from Emory University. Dr. Hashmi taught in various universities including Juniata College, Roanoke College, and the University of Mary Washington. Her research focused on curriculum and assessment for students with disabilities and English language learners. She served on the Fairfax County School Board's Advisory Committee for Students with Disabilities. In 2019, Dr. Hashmi successfully ran to represent the 10th district in the Virginia Senate.read less
OFFICES HELD
Virginia Senate from Virginia
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