Rep Karen A. Keys-Gamarra (HD-007)
Virginia Housesince 10 months
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SPONSORED LEGISLATION
HB47 - Invasive plant species; requirements for retail sales.
Holly M. Seibold, Dan I. Helmer, David A. Reid
Last updated 8 months ago
21 Co-Sponsors
Invasive plant species; retail sales; civil penalty. Requires, for the retail sale of any invasive plant species for outdoor use on a list established by the Department of Conservation and Recreation, a retail establishment to post in a conspicuous manner on the property located in proximity to each invasive plant display signage identifying such plant as invasive, educating consumers regarding invasive plant species, and encouraging consumers to ask about alternatives. The bill requires the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services to designate the format, size, and content of such signage no later than October 1, 2024, and requires the Commissioner to issue a stop sale order and mark or tag a plant in a conspicuous manner when an invasive plant is for sale at a retail establishment without appropriate signage. In such case, the bill requires the Commissioner to give written notice of a finding made to the owner, tenant, or person in charge of such retail establishment and requires the stop sale order issued to remain in effect until the required signage is posted. Any retail establishment that violates the provisions of the bill is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $500.
STATUS
Vetoed
HB977 - Student transportation safety issues, certain; expeditious resolution of complaints.
Karen A. Keys-Gamarra, Nadarius E. Clark, Rozia A. Henson
Last updated 11 months ago
3 Co-Sponsors
Expeditious resolution of complaints relating to certain student transportation safety issues. Requires each locality and the Department of Transportation, as applicable, to expeditiously respond to and assist in the resolution of, to the maximum extent practicable, any complaint received by or on behalf of any public elementary or secondary school student relating to such student's safety on the streets, roads, sidewalks, and crosswalks surrounding school property as such student arrives to or departs from school and permits, for the purposes of complying with such requirement, any school board to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the locality or the Department, as applicable, for the establishment of a protocol or the designation of an ombudsman for the resolution of such complaints.
STATUS
Introduced
HB583 - Public elementary school teachers; length of daily lunch breaks.
Shelly Anne Simonds, Laura Jane Cohen, Amy J. Laufer
Last updated 8 months ago
13 Co-Sponsors
Public school teachers; daily lunch breaks; data collection; report. Requires the Department of Education to annually collect and present in the Virginia School Survey of Climate and Working Conditions school-level and division-level data on the share of teachers that are provided each working day a lunch break of at least 30 minutes in length and unencumbered by any teaching or supervisory duties. Public school teachers; daily lunch breaks; data collection; report. Requires the Department of Education to annually collect and present in the Virginia School Survey of Climate and Working Conditions school-level and division-level data on the share of teachers that are provided each working day a lunch break of at least 30 minutes in length and unencumbered by any teaching or supervisory duties.
STATUS
Passed
HB32 - Medicine, Board of; continuing ed. related to implicit bias and cultural competency in health care.
Nadarius E. Clark, Joshua E. Thomas, Bonita Grace Anthony
Last updated 11 months ago
22 Co-Sponsors
Board of Medicine; continuing education; implicit bias and cultural competency in health care. Requires the Board of Medicine to adopt and implement policies that require each practitioner licensed by the Board who has direct contact with persons who are or may become pregnant to complete two hours of continuing education related to implicit bias, defined in the bill, and cultural competency in health care at least once every other license renewal cycle.
STATUS
Introduced
HJR9 - Constitutional amendment; marriage between two individuals.
Mark D. Sickles, Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, David L. Bulova
Last updated 11 months ago
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.
STATUS
Introduced
HJR2 - Constitutional amendment; qualifications of voters, right to vote, persons not entitled to vote.
Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Bonita Grace Anthony, Alex Q. Askew
Last updated about 1 year ago
40 Co-Sponsors
Constitutional amendment (first reference); qualifications of voters; right to vote; persons not entitled to vote. Provides that every person who meets the qualifications of voters set forth in the Constitution of Virginia shall have the fundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth and that such right shall not be abridged by law, except for persons who have been convicted of a felony and persons who have been adjudicated to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting. A person who has been convicted of a felony shall not be entitled to vote during any period of incarceration for such felony conviction, but upon release from incarceration for that felony conviction and without further action required of him, such person shall be invested with all political rights, including the right to vote. Currently, in order to be qualified to vote a person convicted of a felony must have his civil rights restored by the Governor or other appropriate authority. The amendment also provides that a person adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction as lacking the capacity to understand the act of voting shall not be entitled to vote during this period of incapacity until his capacity has been reestablished as prescribed by law. Currently, the Constitution of Virginia provides that a person who has been adjudicated to be mentally incompetent is not qualified to vote until his competency is reestablished.
STATUS
Introduced
HB23 - Weapons; possession or transportation into facility that provides mental health services, etc.
Amy J. Laufer, Bonita Grace Anthony, Katrina E. Callsen
Last updated 11 months ago
15 Co-Sponsors
Weapons; possession or transportation; facility that provides mental health services or developmental services; penalty. Makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person to possess in or transport into any facility that provides mental health services or developmental services in the Commonwealth, including a hospital or an emergency department or other facility rendering emergency medical care, any (i) firearm or other weapon designed or intended to propel a missile or projectile of any kind; (ii) knife, except a pocket knife having a folding metal blade of less than three inches; or (iii) other dangerous weapon, including explosives and stun weapons. The bill provides that any such firearm, knife, explosive, or weapon is subject to seizure by a law-enforcement officer and specifies exceptions to the prohibition. Weapons; possession or transportation; facility that provides mental health services or developmental services; penalty. Makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person to possess in or transport into any facility that provides mental health services or developmental services in the Commonwealth, including a hospital or an emergency department or other facility rendering emergency medical care, any (i) firearm or other weapon designed or intended to propel a missile or projectile of any kind; (ii) knife, except a pocket knife having a folding metal blade of less than three inches; or (iii) other dangerous weapon, including explosives and stun weapons. The bill provides that any such firearm, knife, explosive, or weapon is subject to seizure by a law-enforcement officer and specifies exceptions to the prohibition.
STATUS
Introduced
HB34 - Contract actions; collection of medical debt, definition.
Nadarius E. Clark, Bonita Grace Anthony, Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker
Last updated 7 months ago
30 Co-Sponsors
Contract actions; medical debt. Provides that in any action, including those brought by the Commonwealth, upon any contract to collect medical debt, as defined in the bill, such an action is barred if not commenced within three years from the due date applicable to the first invoice for a health care service unless the contract with a hospital or health care provider is for a payment plan that allows for a longer period of time for the collection of debt by the hospital or health care provider. The bill specifies that such limitation shall not apply to medical debt arising from services provided by programs administered by the Department of Medical Assistance Services. Contract actions; medical debt. Provides that in any action, including those brought by the Commonwealth, upon any contract to collect medical debt, as defined in the bill, such an action is barred if not commenced within three years from the due date applicable to the first invoice for a health care service unless the contract with a hospital or health care provider is for a payment plan that allows for a longer period of time for the collection of debt by the hospital or health care provider. The bill specifies that such limitation shall not apply to medical debt arising from services provided by programs administered by the Department of Medical Assistance Services.
STATUS
Passed
HB38 - Virginia Retirement System; enhanced retirement benefits for 911 dispatchers.
Nadarius E. Clark, Bonita Grace Anthony, Alex Q. Askew
Last updated 11 months ago
16 Co-Sponsors
Virginia Retirement System; enhanced retirement benefits for 911 dispatchers. Allows local governments to provide enhanced retirement benefits for hazardous duty service to full-time salaried 911 dispatchers. The bill provides that such enhanced retirement benefits apply only to service earned as a full-time salaried 911 dispatcher on or after July 1, 2025, but allows an employer, as that term is defined in relevant law, to provide such enhanced retirement benefits for service earned as a full-time salaried 911 dispatcher before July 1, 2025, in addition to service earned on or after that date. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025.
STATUS
Introduced
HJR8 - Black Women's History Month; designating as April 2024 and each succeeding year thereafter.
Joshua G. Cole, Bonita Grace Anthony, Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker
Last updated 9 months ago
31 Co-Sponsors
Black Women's History Month. Designates April, in 2024 and in each succeeding year, as Black Women's History Month in Virginia. Black Women's History Month. Designates April, in 2024 and in each succeeding year, as Black Women's History Month in Virginia.
STATUS
Passed
BIOGRAPHY
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Representative from Virginia district HD-007
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Virginia House
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