Charter; City of Portsmouth; recall of electiveofficers. Makes various changes to the City of Portsmouth's processfor recall of an elective officer, including (i) applying provisionsto an officer who has been appointed to fill an elective office,(ii) making the law apply immediately rather than after one yearfrom the beginning of an officer's term, (iii) specifying the specificcauses that may trigger the recall process, and (iv) allowing a judgeof the Circuit Court of the City of Portsmouth to hold a hearingand take evidence to determine the sufficiency of the recall petition.
Income tax subtraction; National Guard.Increases from $3,000 to $5,000 the income tax subtraction for wagesor salaries of a member of the National Guard of the Commonwealth. The bill also expands the military ranks that qualify for the subtractionfrom O3 and below to O6 and below.
Health care providers; definition. Amendsthe definition of "health care provider" to include home care organizations and hospice.
Creation of Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman. Creates the Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman (the Office). The bill enumerates the duties and powers of the Office, which include (i) providing information, as appropriate, to inmates, family members, representatives of inmates, Department of Corrections (the Department) employees and contractors, and others regarding the rights of inmates; (ii) monitoring conditions of confinement and assessing compliance with applicable federal, state, and local rules, regulations, policies, and best practices as related to the health, safety, welfare, and rehabilitation of inmates; (iii) providing technical assistance to support inmate participation in self-advocacy; (iv) providing technical assistance to local governments in the creation of correctional facility oversight bodies, as requested; (v) establishing a statewide uniform reporting system to collect and analyze data related to complaints received by the Department and data related to (a) deaths, suicides, and suicide attempts in custody; (b) physical and sexual assaults in custody; (c) the number of inmates placed in solitary confinement; (d) the number of facility lockdowns lasting longer than 24 hours; (e) the number of staff vacancies at each facility; (f) the inmate-to-staff ratios at each facility; (g) staff tenure and turnover; and (h) the number of in-person visits to inmates that were made and denied at each facility; (vi) establishing procedures to gather stakeholder input into the Office's activities and priorities, which must include, at a minimum, an annual 30-day period for receipt of and Office response to public comment; (vii) inspecting each state correctional facility at least once every three years and at least once every year for any maximum security facility and any facility where the Office has found cause for more frequent inspection or monitoring; and (viii) issuing publicly periodic facility inspection reports and an annual report with recommendations on the state correctional facilities and a summary of data and recommendations arising from any complaints investigated and resolved.The bill also establishes a Corrections Oversight Committee, which is responsible for selecting the Department of Corrections Ombudsman. The bill additionally outlines the Office's authority to conduct inspections of each Department or Board of Local and Regional Jails facility and requires the submission of an annual report to the Governor, the Attorney General, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, the House Committee on Public Safety, and the Director of the Department.
Illegal gambling and unlawful gaming; Illegal Gambling and Unlawful Gaming Investigation Unit; penalties. Increases criminal penalties for various violations of illegal gambling and unlawful gaming. The bill also establishes the Illegal Gambling and Unlawful Gaming Investigation Unit (the Unit) within the Department of State Police. The bill establishes the Illegal Gambling and Unlawful Gaming Fund for the purpose of funding the activities of the Unit.
Tobacco products taxes; penalties.
Abortion; born alive human infant; treatmentand care; penalty. Requires every physician licensed by the Boardof Medicine who attempts to terminate a pregnancy to (i) exercisethe same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preservethe life and health of a human infant who has been born alive followingsuch attempt as a reasonably diligent and conscientious health carepractitioner would render to any other child born alive at the samegestational age and (ii) take all reasonable steps to ensure theimmediate transfer of the human infant who has been born alive to a hospital for further medical care. A physician who fails to complywith the requirements of this act is guilty of a Class 4 felony andmay be subject to disciplinary action by the Board of Medicine. Thebill also requires every hospital licensed by the Department of Healthto establish a protocol for the treatment and care of a human infantwho has been born alive following performance of an abortion andfor the immediate reporting to law enforcement of any failure toprovide such required treatment and care.
Constitutional amendment (first reference);real property tax exemption; surviving spouses of certain membersof the armed forces. Provides that the General Assembly may bygeneral law exempt from taxation the real property of a survivingspouse of a member of the armed forces of the United States who diedin the attack on the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. Under a currentconstitutional provision, only the surviving spouse of a member ofthe armed forces who was killed in action is eligible for the realproperty tax exemption.
Alcoholic beverage control; retail privatizationof government stores. Provides for the issuance of a "packagestore" license to authorize the retail sale of alcoholic beveragesfor off-premises consumption. The bill provides that persons holdinga retail off-premises wine and beer license are eligible to obtaina package store license. The bill also requires the Board of Directorsof the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (the Board)to dispose of all real estate used as government stores and to terminateleased property upon which the Board has operated a government store.The bill requires the Board to complete an implementation study byJanuary 1, 2023, on how it will privatize government stores. Thebill directs the Board to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill. The bill contains numerous technicalamendments.
Virginia Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Act; publication of disciplinary actions; award eligibility.Requires, to the extent permissible by state and federal law, theBoard of Medicine to publish on its website disciplinary action takenagainst a physician as a result of an investigation under the VirginiaBirth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Act (the Act). Thebill also permits compensation under the Act for birth-related neurologicalinjury deaths occurring up to a person's eighteenth birthday; currentlaw limits awards to such deaths occurring during the person's infancy.
Study; JLARC; effects of gun violence on communities;report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commissionto study the social, physical, emotional, and economic effects ofgun violence on communities across the Commonwealth.
Department of Transportation; U.S. Route 60.Directs the Department of Transportation to propose a plan to renumberU.S. Route 60 to the Federal Highway Administration and the SpecialCommittee on U.S. Route Numbering of the American Association ofState Highway and Transportation Officials.
