HR705 - Commending the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA.

49 Co-Sponsors

HB6004 - Va. Military Survivors & Dependents Ed. Program & related programs; modifications, surplus revenues.

79 Co-Sponsors

General appropriation act; designation of additional surplus; repeal of modifications to certain waiver programs. Designates certain additional surplus revenues in the amount of $90 million to offset the impact of financial aid waivers and stipends for the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program and related programs and removes language in the appropriation act that imposes additional requirements for such programs.

HB1031 - Legislature Modernization, Commission on; established, report.

16 Co-Sponsors

Commission on Legislature Modernization; report. Establishes the Commission on Legislature Modernization in the legislative branch for the purpose of studying the operation and functionality of the General Assembly and identifying ways to make the legislature more effective, efficient, responsive, reflective, and transparent on behalf of all Virginians. The Commission will consist of 17 members, which shall include 9 legislators, 6 nonlegislative citizen members, and 2 ex officio members. The Commission shall be convened for a period of two years, every 10 years in the year ending in four, and shall terminate after the submission of its final report to the General Assembly at the end of its second year.

HB1375 - Early childhood care and education; publicly funded providers.

15 Co-Sponsors

Early childhood care and education; publicly funded providers. Provides that any locality wishing to participate in the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) must submit a proposal by May 15 of each year identifying a lead VPI agency responsible for developing a local plan for the delivery of preschool services to at-risk children. A local match based on the composite index of local ability to pay is required to fund such a proposal. The proposal must include the number of at-risk four-year-olds and three-year-olds to be served and eligibility criteria for participation. Upon acceptance, the Department will disburse state VPI funds to the lead VPI agency in such localities, which may be used with local matching funds to provide preschool education, health services, social services, parental involvement services, and transportation. The Department must establish academic standards for VPI programs that prepare students to successfully enter kindergarten. Full day VPI programs must operate for a minimum of five and a half instructional hours per day, while half day VPI programs operate for a minimum of three instructional hours per day. The bill requires the Department of Education to collect information from VPI and the Mixed Delivery Grant Program to compile a comprehensive report on the use of state funds, including the number of slots and funding allocated to each local program or provider and the number of slots that have been filled. Early childhood care and education; publicly funded providers. Provides that any locality wishing to participate in the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) must submit a proposal by May 15 of each year identifying a lead VPI agency responsible for developing a local plan for the delivery of preschool services to at-risk children. A local match based on the composite index of local ability to pay is required to fund such a proposal. The proposal must include the number of at-risk four-year-olds and three-year-olds to be served and eligibility criteria for participation. Upon acceptance, the Department will disburse state VPI funds to the lead VPI agency in such localities, which may be used with local matching funds to provide preschool education, health services, social services, parental involvement services, and transportation. The Department must establish academic standards for VPI programs that prepare students to successfully enter kindergarten. Full day VPI programs must operate for a minimum of five and a half instructional hours per day, while half day VPI programs operate for a minimum of three instructional hours per day. The bill requires the Department of Education to collect information from VPI and the Mixed Delivery Grant Program to compile a comprehensive report on the use of state funds, including the number of slots and funding allocated to each local program or provider and the number of slots that have been filled. The bill codifies the Child Care Subsidy Program, which is currently established pursuant to regulations of the Board of Education, for the purpose of assisting families who meet certain eligibility criteria with the cost of child care provided by approved vendors. The bill requires the Child Care Subsidy Program to be overseen by the Department of Education and permits the Department to contract with state and local agencies to administer the Program. The bill requires the Department and Board of Education, as applicable, to establish rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and standards for the Program. The bill also codifies the Mixed Delivery Grant Program, which is currently established pursuant to the general appropriation act, for the purpose of awarding grants on a competitive basis to local public entities that enter into partnerships with local private early childhood care and education entities and other community organizations, as applicable, to provide, under the direction and leadership of a lead agency identified in the grant proposal, high-quality care and education, either part time or full time, for at-risk infants, toddlers, and preschool-age children who reside in the locality. The bill requires the Mixed Delivery Grant Program to be administered by the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation in partnership with the Department of Education and, consistent with any provisions relating to the Program in the general appropriation act, requires the Foundation and the Department to establish policies, procedures, and standards for the Program.

HB178 - Social Work Advisory Board; established, report, sunset date.

6 Co-Sponsors

Social Work Advisory Board; established; report. Establishes the Social Work Advisory Board to advise the Governor on efforts to improve the social work profession in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the Social Work Advisory Board to report annually by December 1 to the Governor and the General Assembly regarding its activities and recommendations. The bill contains an expiration date of June 30, 2027.

HB775 - License plate reader systems; use by law-enforcement agencies, civil penalty.

4 Co-Sponsors

License plate reader systems; civil penalty. Provides requirements for the use of license plate reader systems, defined in the bill, by law-enforcement agencies. The bill limits the use of such systems to scanning, detecting, and recording data about vehicles and license plate numbers for the purpose of identifying a vehicle that is (i) associated with a wanted, missing, or endangered person or human trafficking; (ii) stolen; (iii) involved in an active law-enforcement investigation; or (iv) in the vicinity of a recent crime and may be connected to that crime. The bill authorizes and requires the Commonwealth Transportation Board to establish a permitting process for installing and using such systems in state highway rights-of-way.

HJR9 - Constitutional amendment; marriage between two individuals.

28 Co-Sponsors

Constitutional amendment (first reference); marriage between two individuals; repeal of same-sex marriage prohibition; affirmative right to marry. Repeals the constitutional provision defining marriage as only a union between one man and one woman as well as the related provisions that are no longer valid as a result of the United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015). The amendment provides that the right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of persons and prohibits the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions from denying the issuance of a marriage license to two parties contemplating a lawful marriage on the basis of the sex, gender, or race of such parties. The Commonwealth and its political subdivisions are required to recognize any lawful marriage between two parties and to treat such marriages equally under the law, regardless of the sex, gender, or race of such parties. The amendment provides that religious organizations and clergy acting in their religious capacity have the right to refuse to perform any marriage. Constitutional amendment (first reference); marriage between two individuals; repeal of same-sex marriage prohibition; affirmative right to marry. Repeals the constitutional provision defining marriage as only a union between one man and one woman as well as the related provisions that are no longer valid as a result of the United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015). The amendment provides that the right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of persons and prohibits the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions from denying the issuance of a marriage license to two parties contemplating a lawful marriage on the basis of the sex, gender, or race of such parties. The Commonwealth and its political subdivisions are required to recognize any lawful marriage between two parties and to treat such marriages equally under the law, regardless of the sex, gender, or race of such parties. The amendment provides that religious organizations and clergy acting in their religious capacity have the right to refuse to perform any marriage.

HB1284 - Firefighters and emergency medical services; collective bargaining by providers, definitions.

41 Co-Sponsors

Collective bargaining by firefighters and emergency medical services providers. Authorizes firefighters and emergency medical services providers employed by a political subdivision of the Commonwealth to engage in collective bargaining through labor organizations or other designated representatives. The bill provides for the appointment of a three-member board of arbitration regarding any dispute arising between an employer and firefighters or emergency medical services providers. Under the bill, determinations made by such board of arbitration are final on a disputed issue and are binding on the parties involved. Collective bargaining by firefighters and emergency medical services providers. Authorizes firefighters and emergency medical services providers employed by a political subdivision of the Commonwealth to engage in collective bargaining through labor organizations or other designated representatives. The bill provides for the appointment of a three-member board of arbitration regarding any dispute arising between an employer and firefighters or emergency medical services providers. Under the bill, determinations made by such board of arbitration are final on a disputed issue and are binding on the parties involved.

HB1253 - Affordable dwelling unit ordinances; accessible units for persons with a physical disability.

6 Co-Sponsors

Affordable dwelling unit ordinances; accessible units. Provides that any locality that has adopted an affordable dwelling unit ordinance may require under such ordinance that a set percentage of the units built by a developer are compliant with the appropriate requirements of the American National Standards for Building and Facilities for Type A units or with any other standards adopted as part of regulations promulgated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development providing accessibility and usability for persons with a physical disability.

HB988 - Correctional facilities; behavioral health services in facilities, report.

6 Co-Sponsors

Behavioral health services in correctional facilities; report. Requires the Department of Corrections to report to the General Assembly and the Governor on or before October 1 of each year certain population statistics regarding the provision of behavioral health services to persons incarcerated in state correctional facilities. The bill also requires local correctional facilities to report to the State Board of Local and Regional Jails on or before October 1 of each year certain population statistics regarding the provision of behavioral health services to persons incarcerated in local correctional facilities and for the Board to report such statistics to the General Assembly and the Governor on or before December 1 of each year.