SB704 - Rural Virginia, Center for; renames Center the Senator Frank M. Ruff, Jr. Center for Rural Virginia.

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.

SB390 - SUDP; Office of Chief Medical Examiner to publish information on its website.

1 Co-Sponsor

Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy; protocol; information; training. Requires the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to take certain actions upon the finding that an individual died from Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP), defined in the bill. The bill directs the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to publish information on SUDEP and a SUDEP death investigation form on its website. Additionally, the bill requires the Chief Medical Examiner and local medical examiners to complete training in the investigation of SUDEP on a triennial basis. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025.

SB387 - Public elementary and secondary schools; policies and requirements relating to naloxone.

1 Co-Sponsor

Public elementary and secondary schools; policies and requirements relating to naloxone. Requires each local school board to develop, in accordance with the guidelines developed by the Department of Health in collaboration with the Department of Education, plans and policies for each public elementary and secondary school relating to opioid overdose prevention and reversal, including (i) the procurement, storage, and maintenance of at least two unexpired doses of naloxone at each such school; (ii) the possession and administration of naloxone by school board employees; and (iii) providing, pursuant to the provisions of the bill, immunity from any disciplinary action or civil or criminal liability to any employee of a public elementary or secondary school who, regardless of whether such employee was trained and certified in the administration of naloxone, in good faith administers naloxone for opioid overdose reversal to any individual who is believed to be experiencing or about to experience a life-threatening opioid overdose, except in the case of gross negligence or willful misconduct. Public elementary and secondary schools; policies and requirements relating to naloxone. Requires each local school board to develop, in accordance with the guidelines developed by the Department of Health in collaboration with the Department of Education, plans and policies for each public elementary and secondary school relating to opioid overdose prevention and reversal, including (i) the procurement, storage, and maintenance of at least two unexpired doses of naloxone at each such school; (ii) the possession and administration of naloxone by school board employees; and (iii) providing, pursuant to the provisions of the bill, immunity from any disciplinary action or civil or criminal liability to any employee of a public elementary or secondary school who, regardless of whether such employee was trained and certified in the administration of naloxone, in good faith administers naloxone for opioid overdose reversal to any individual who is believed to be experiencing or about to experience a life-threatening opioid overdose, except in the case of gross negligence or willful misconduct. The bill modifies the list of individuals who are authorized to administer naloxone or other opioid antagonists to include any school board employee who has completed training and is certified in the administration of naloxone by an organization authorized by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to provide such training and certification. Current law limits such authorization to school nurses or school board employees contracted by a school board to provide school health services. Finally, the bill directs the Department of Health and the Department of Education to collaborate to develop guidelines and policies for the implementation of the provisions of the bill and directs the Department of Education to submit such guidelines to relevant committees of the General Assembly by January 1, 2025. The bill requires such guidelines and policies to be implemented by each school board by the beginning of the 2026–2027 school year.

SB610 - Slot-retention requests; Developmental Disability waiver slots, sunset date.

2 Co-Sponsors

Department of Medical Assistance Services; Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; slot-retention requests; Developmental Disability waivers; sunset. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to amend their regulations to allow for support coordinators to request and subsequently obtain approval of consecutive waiver slot-retention requests for a period of up to 365 calendar days for individuals who have been assigned a Developmental Disability waiver slot. Current regulations allow for four consecutive 30-day slot-retention extensions. The bill sunsets on June 30, 2026, and is identical to

SB608 - Community Schools, Office of; established within Department of Education.

2 Co-Sponsors

Public education; community schools; Office of Community Schools at Department of Education. Requires the Department of Education to establish the Office of Community Schools as an office within the Department for the purpose of supporting the development and growth of community schools throughout the Commonwealth in accordance with the Virginia Community School Framework.

SB389 - Autism Advisory Council; reestablished, report.

5 Co-Sponsors

Autism Advisory Council; reestablished. Reestablishes the Autism Advisory Council, which expired July 1, 2022. The bill also increases from eight to 25 the number of Council members, establishes eligibility criteria for nonlegislative citizen members, and provides that no recommendation of the Council shall be adopted if a majority of the legislative members appointed to the Council vote against the recommendation and for the recommendation to fail notwithstanding the majority vote of the Council. The law prior to expiration of the Council provided that no Council recommendation could be adopted if a majority of the House members or Senate members voted against the recommendation and for the recommendation to fail notwithstanding the majority vote of the Council. The bill has a sunset date of July 1, 2027. Autism Advisory Council; reestablished. Reestablishes the Autism Advisory Council, which expired July 1, 2022. The bill also increases from eight to 25 the number of Council members, establishes eligibility criteria for nonlegislative citizen members, and provides that no recommendation of the Council shall be adopted if a majority of the legislative members appointed to the Council vote against the recommendation and for the recommendation to fail notwithstanding the majority vote of the Council. The law prior to expiration of the Council provided that no Council recommendation could be adopted if a majority of the House members or Senate members voted against the recommendation and for the recommendation to fail notwithstanding the majority vote of the Council. The bill has a sunset date of July 1, 2027.

SB225 - School bd. policy; parental notification of responsibility of safe storage of firearms in household.

2 Co-Sponsors

School board policies; parental notification; safe storage of firearms in the household. Requires each local school board to develop and implement a policy to require the annual notification of the parent of each student enrolled in the local school division, to be sent by email and, if applicable, SMS text message within 30 calendar days succeeding the first day of each school year, of the parent's legal responsibility to safely store any firearm present in the household, risks associated with improperly stored firearms, statistics relating to firearm-related accidents, injuries, and death among youth, and other tips and strategies. The bill requires each school board to make such parental notification available in multiple languages on its website.

SB2 - Assault firearms & certain ammunition, etc.; purchase, possession, sale, transfer, etc., prohibited.

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.

SJR67 - Commending Sandra Gioia Treadway.

40 Co-Sponsors

SB395 - Public elementary & secondary schools; student athletes, pre-participation mental health assessment.

1 Co-Sponsor

Public elementary and secondary schools; student athletes; pre-participation mental health assessment required. Provides that no public elementary or secondary school student is permitted to be a participant on or try out for any school athletic team or squad with a predetermined roster, regular practices, and scheduled competitions with other elementary or secondary schools unless such student has submitted to the school principal a signed report from a licensed physician, licensed advanced practice registered nurse, or licensed physician assistant acting under the supervision of a licensed physician attesting that such student has, within the preceding 365 days, received both a physical examination and a mental health assessment. Current law only requires that the signed report attest that any such student has received a physical examination within the preceding 12 months. The bill prohibits any public elementary or secondary school from becoming a member of any organization or entity that regulates or governs interscholastic programs that does not deem eligible for participation any student who has satisfied the requirements for eligibility in accordance with the provisions of the bill. The provisions of the bill other than the requirement for the Board of Education to convene a work group have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025.