Provides that no person shall be (i) required to participate in the solemnization of any marriage or (ii) subject to any penalty by the Commonwealth, or its political subdivisions or representatives or agents, solely on account of such person's belief, speech, or action in accordance with a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction that marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman. The bill defines "person" as any (a) religious organization; (b) organization supervised by or controlled by or operated in connection with a religious organization; (c) individual employed by a religious organization while acting in the scope of his paid or volunteer employment; (d) successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality of any of the foregoing; or (e) clergy member or minister. The bill also defines "penalty." This bill is identical to
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Prohibits the Director of the Department of Corrections, sheriff, or other official in charge of a facility in which an alien is incarcerated from releasing an incarcerated alien for whom a lawful detainer order has been received from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, except to transfer custody of such alien to another facility or to an appropriate federal authority. The bill provides that no alien shall be held in custody in excess of his scheduled release date unless federal law requires that such alien be held.
Requires any voter submitting an application for an absentee ballot by mail or by electronic or telephonic transmission to a facsimile device to submit with his application a copy of one of the forms of identification acceptable under current law. The bill exempts military and overseas voters and persons with a disability from this requirement. This bill is identical to
Provides that, notwithstanding any voluntary agreement between the U.S. Department of Labor and the franchisee or franchisor, neither a franchisee nor a franchisee's employee shall be deemed to be an employee of the franchisee's franchisor. The measure also provides that this exclusion does not apply with respect to a specific claim for relief made by a franchisee or a franchisee's employee if the franchisor has been found by a court of competent jurisdiction to have exercised a type or degree of control over the franchisee or the franchisee's employees not customarily exercised by a franchisor for the purpose of protecting the franchisor's trademarks and brand.
Provides that no locality shall adopt any ordinance, procedure, or policy that restricts the enforcement of federal immigration laws.
Permits the parent of a public preschool, elementary, or secondary school student who meets certain criteria to apply to the school division in which the student resides for a one-year, renewable Parental Choice Education Savings Account that consists of an amount that is equivalent to a certain percentage of all applicable annual Standards of Quality per pupil state funds appropriated for public school purposes and apportioned to the resident school division in which the student resides, including the per pupil share of state sales tax funding in basic aid and any state per pupil share of special education funding to which the student is eligible. The bill permits the parent to use the moneys in such account for certain education-related expenses of the student, including tuition, deposits, fees, and required textbooks at a private, sectarian or nonsectarian elementary or secondary school or preschool that is located in the Commonwealth and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin. The bill also contains provisions relating to auditing, rescinding, and reviewing expenses made from such accounts. The bill contains a reenactment clause.
Makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person to knowingly circumcise, excise, or infibulate the labia major, labia minora, or clitoris of a minor. The bill makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the care of a minor to consent to such circumcision, excision, or infibulation. The bill also makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the care of a minor to knowingly remove or cause or permit the removal of such minor from the Commonwealth for the purposes of performing such circumcision, excision, or infibulation. The bill also provides a civil cause of action for any person injured by such circumcision, excision, or infibulation. The bill provides that any of these offenses shall be a separate and distinct offense and shall not preclude prosecution under any other statute.
Requires each school board member who is relieved from the duties of his office by reason of engaging in the war service of the United States when called forth by the Governor or being called to active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States to submit to the school board a list of names of suitable persons to perform the duties of such office as acting school board member during the period in which the regular school board member is engaged in such war service or active duty, in which case the school board is required to consider appointing and may appoint an acting school board member from such list of names. If the school board does not make an appointment from such list, the school board shall notify the submitting member in writing of the rationale for its decision. The bill provides that during such period, the acting school board member shall be vested with all the powers, authority, rights, and duties of the regular school board member for whom he is acting.
Provides that no family member of a resident of a nursing home or other resident representative shall be restricted from participating in meetings in the facility with the families or resident representatives of other residents in the facility.