Virginia African Diaspora Advisory Board. Establishes the Virginia African Diaspora Advisory Board to advise the Governor on ways to improve economic and cultural links between the Commonwealth and African nations, with a focus on the areas of commerce and trade, agriculture, art, education, and government. The Board is composed of 18 nonlegislative citizen members, of whom at least 15 must be persons who identify as part of the African diaspora, to be appointed by the Governor. The Secretaries of Agriculture and Forestry, Commerce and Trade, and Education or their designees serve as ex officio members.
School boards and local governing bodies; unexpended local funds; school maintenance, renovation, and construction. Encourages each local governing body and local school board to enter into a collaborative agreement to set aside in a separate fund any sums, exclusive of the required local effort and required local match as stated in the general appropriation act, appropriated to the school board by the local governing body that are unexpended by the school board in any year in order to use such sums to finance school maintenance, renovation, or construction in the local school division. The bill provides that any such agreement may permit the local school board to retain and make authorized expenditures from such separate fund. As introduced, this bill is a recommendation of the Commission on School Construction and Modernization and incorporates SB 276.
Commending the River Basin Grand Winners ofthe Clean Water Farm Award.
Workers' compensation; anxiety disorder or depressive disorder incurred by law-enforcement officers and firefighters.Provides that an anxiety disorder or depressive disorder, as both are defined in the bill, incurred by a law-enforcement officer or firefighter is compensable under the Virginia Workers' CompensationAct on the same basis as post-traumatic stress disorder. The billprovides that a mental health professional must diagnose the law-enforcementofficer or firefighter as suffering from anxiety disorder or depressivedisorder as a result of a qualifying event, as defined in the Code,and includes other conditions for compensability.
Transit Transition Fund and Program; established.Establishes the Transit Transition Fund and Program, administeredby the Department of Rail and Public Transportation, to provide grantsto state, regional, and local public entities to support the transitionof public transit fleets to zero-emission and low-emission fleets.The Director of the Department is directed by the bill to report annually to the Governor and the chairmen of the House Committeeon Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriationsby November 1 of each year. The bill also directs 7.5 percent ofthe revenues collected from the tax on sports betting permitteesto the Fund, reducing the share of the tax revenue allocated to thegeneral fund.
Minor victims of sex trafficking; services.Provides that a minor engaged in prostitution or keeping, residingin, or frequenting a bawdy place shall not be proceeded upon as delinquentand shall be referred to the local department of social servicesfor an assessment and services.
Arrest and prosecution when experiencing orreporting overdoses. Clarifies that the immunity afforded tothe seeking of emergency help for an overdose also applies to a showcause, a probation revocation, or a parole violation.
Prohibition of deceptive tactics during thecustodial interrogation of a minor. Provides that any confessionof a minor, made as a result of a custodial interrogation conductedat a place of detention on or after July 1, 2022, shall be presumedto be inadmissible as evidence against such minor making such confessionin any adjudication of delinquency or criminal proceeding for anact that if committed by an adult would be a criminal offense if,during the custodial interrogation, a law-enforcement officer knowingly engages in deception, as defined in the bill. The bill provides thatthe presumption of inadmissibility for such confession of a minormay be overcome if the confession was voluntarily given.
Law-enforcement officer; purpose of trafficstop. Provides that the operator of a motor vehicle, trailer,or semitrailer that has stopped on the signal of any law-enforcementofficer shall exhibit his registration card, learner's permit, ortemporary driver's permit for the purpose of establishing his identityupon being advised of the purpose of the stop within a reasonabletime by the law-enforcement officer. Current law requires that suchmaterials be exhibited upon the law-enforcement officer's request.
Consumer protection; online marketplace; high-volume third-party sellers. Establishes requirements for high-volume third-party sellers, defined in the bill as participants in an online marketplace that have entered into at least 200 discrete sales or transactions for 12 continuous months during the past 24 months resulting in accumulation of an aggregate total of $5,000 or more in gross revenues. The bill requires an online marketplace to (i) require high-volume third-party sellers to provide identifying and contact information to the online marketplace; (ii) verify the information provided by a high-volume third-party seller within 10 days of receipt; and (iii) require that high-volume third-party sellers make certain conspicuous disclosures to consumers on their product listing pages, with certain limited exceptions. The bill provides that the Attorney General has the exclusive authority to enforce its provisions and that any violation of its provisions is a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.
Commending M. Siddique Sheikh.
Commending Data Business Systems.
