Public benefits; eligibility of certain aliens.Repeals provisions prohibiting persons other than United States citizensor persons who are legally present in the United States from receivingcertain public benefits.
Tree canopy credits; forest stands. Requiresthat localities that have adopted a tree canopy ordinance providetree cover credit for high conservation value forest stands if a sitedeveloper provides a stand assessment before creating developmentplans. The bill also allows localities with such ordinances to provideadditional credit if the pre-identified forest stands achieve environmental,ecological, and wildlife conservation objectives of the locality.
Provision of credit monitoring services to certain taxpayers; emergency. Directs the Department of Taxation to offer,free of charge, credit monitoring services for a period of 12 monthsto any taxpayer whose personal identifying information was erroneouslyprovided to a person other than the taxpayer on an IRS 1099-G form.The bill contains an emergency clause, and will expire on July 1,2023.
Expungement of emergency and preliminary protectiveorders. Provides that a person against whom an emergency or preliminaryprotective order has been issued may petition to have police andcourt records relating to such order expunged if the order expiresor is dissolved by the issuing court or if a hearing for the issuanceof a permanent protective order is scheduled or held and such permanentprotective order is subsequently not issued.
Department of Behavioral Health and DevelopmentalServices; work group; strategies to meet behavioral health safety net workforce needs; report. Directs the Department of BehavioralHealth and Developmental Services to establish a work group, whichshall include representatives of the Department of Health Professions,the Virginia Association of Community Services Boards, the VirginiaArea Health Education Centers Program and regional area health educationcenters, the Virginia Community College System, the State Councilof Higher Education for Virginia, and other relevant stakeholders,to develop a strategy to address the behavioral health safety networkforce shortage in the Commonwealth. The bill directs the workgroup to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor andthe General Assembly by November 1, 2022.
Public schools; English language learners. Requires state funding to be provided to support new divisionwide ratiosof English learner students in average daily membership to full-time equivalent teaching positions, as follows: (i) for each English language learner identified as proficiency level one, one position per 25students; (ii) for each English language learner identified as proficiencylevel two, one position per 30 students; (iii) for each English languagelearner identified as proficiency level three, one position per 40 students; and (iv) for all other English language learners, one positionper 50 students.
Correctional facilities; use of isolated confinement. Prohibits the use of isolated confinement in state correctional facilitiesand juvenile correctional centers, subject to certain exceptions.Isolated confinement is defined in the bill as confinement of a prisoneror juvenile to a cell, alone or with another prisoner or juvenile,for 20 hours or more per day for an adult or for 17 hours or moreper day for a juvenile, other than for the purpose of providing medicalor mental health treatment. The bill has a delayed effective dateof July 1, 2023.
United States Constitution; application fora convention of the states. Makes application to Congress tocall a convention of the states to propose amendments to the UnitedStates Constitution that impose fiscal restraints on the federalgovernment, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government,and limit the terms of office for its officials and for members of Congress.
Sex Trafficking Response Coordinator; Human Trafficking Victim Support Certification Program; victim service providers. Requires all victim service providers working or volunteering for a treatment program for victims of human trafficking, including sex trafficking, to obtain a human trafficking victim support certificate through the Human Trafficking Victim Support Certification Program developed by the Sex Trafficking Response Coordinator within the Department of Criminal Justice Services and to renew such certificate through the Program every two years. The bill also provides that all treatment programs for victims of human trafficking, including sex trafficking, shall ensure that all victim service providers working or volunteering for such program obtain and maintain the required human trafficking victim support certificate and that any treatment program that is not in compliance may be ineligible for grants from the Commonwealth available for treatment programs for sex trafficking or any other form of human trafficking. The bill requires any person who is a victim service provider working or volunteering for a treatment program for victims of human trafficking, including sex trafficking, prior to July 1, 2022 to obtain a human trafficking victim support certificate by July 1, 2024. The bill requires the Sex Trafficking Response Coordinator to develop and oversee the Program and establish compulsory minimum training standards for such program.
Law-enforcement officers; retired law-enforcementofficers; carrying a firearm or explosive material within CapitolSquare and the surrounding area. Exempts any law-enforcementofficer from the prohibition on carrying a firearm or explosive materialwithin the Capitol of Virginia and Capitol Square and the surroundingarea. The bill further allows any law-enforcement officer or qualifiedretired law-enforcement officer to carry a firearm or explosive materialwithin any building owned or leased by the Commonwealth or any agencythereof, or any office where employees of the Commonwealth or agencythereof are regularly present to perform their official duties. Undercurrent law, a law-enforcement officer is exempted only while actingin the conduct of his official duties, and a retired law-enforcementofficer is limited to carrying a firearm while visiting a gun rangeowned or leased by the Commonwealth. The bill also clarifies that "Capitol Square and the surrounding area" as defined in current lawdoes not include any public road or highway.
Parental Choice Education Savings Accounts established. Permits the parents of qualified students, defined in the bill,to apply to the school division in which the qualified student residesfor a one-year, renewable Parental Choice Education Savings Accountthat consists of an amount that is equivalent to a certain percentageof all applicable annual Standards of Quality per pupil state fundsappropriated for public school purposes and apportioned to the residentschool division in which the qualified student resides, includingthe per pupil share of state sales tax funding in basic aid and anystate per pupil share of special education funding for which the qualified student is eligible. The bill permits the parent of the qualifiedstudent to use the moneys in such account for certain education-relatedexpenses of the qualified student, including tuition, deposits, fees,and required textbooks at a private elementary school or secondaryschool that is located in the Commonwealth. The bill also contains provisions relating to auditing, rescinding, and reviewing expensesmade from such accounts.
Unemployment insurance; Resiliency Plan. Requiresthe Virginia Employment Commission, as part of its biennial strategicplan submitted to the Department of Planning and Budget, to developand maintain an unemployment insurance Resiliency Plan that describesthe specific actions the agency would take, depending on the levelof increase in unemployment insurance (UI) claims, to address staffing,communications, and other relevant aspects of operations to ensurecontinued efficient and effective administration of the UI program.
