Del. Nadarius Clark

School breakfast; availability at no cost to students. Requires each school board to require each public elementary and secondary school in the local school division to participate in the federal National School Lunch Program and the federal School Breakfast Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and to make breakfast available to any student who requests such a meal at no cost to the student, unless the student's parent has provided written permission to the school board to withhold such a meal from the student. The bill clarifies that the provision of a breakfast by a school to a student at no cost to the student shall not be construed as creating a disincentive for the school or local school division to participate in the federal Community Eligibility Provision program. Additionally, the bill provides that schools shall maximize the number of students who participate in the school breakfast program by implementing one or more suggested service models to increase access to such program. The bill requires the Department of Education to reimburse each public elementary and secondary school for each eligible school breakfast served to a student, with a maximum of one reimbursable breakfast per student per school day, and provides the formula for determining the state reimbursement rate for such meals. Finally, the bill repeals a provision of law relating to the federal School Breakfast Program that is rendered obsolete by the provisions of the bill. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Commission to End Hunger.

Pesticides; manufacture, distribution, use, or sale of paraquat prohibited. Prohibits any person from manufacturing, distributing, using, or selling any pesticide containing paraquat, defined in the bill, as an active ingredient. The bill allows the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to seize any such pesticide containing paraquat on complaint to the circuit court in the area where the pesticide is located.

Law enforcement; artificial intelligence inventory; civil action. Requires all law-enforcement agencies, defined in the bill as any state or local law-enforcement agency or sheriff's department, to conduct an inventory of any covered artificial intelligence system, defined in the bill, used by such agency and to make such inventory publicly available by November 1 of each year. The bill also provides that the Attorney General may investigate and, if warranted, bring a civil action against any law-enforcement agency to obtain equitable or declaratory relief to enforce the provisions of the bill and provides that a resident of the jurisdiction may bring a civil action against the law-enforcement agency to obtain equitable or declaratory relief to enforce the provisions of the bill. The bill requires such plaintiff to provide written notice of any alleged violation to the law-enforcement agency at least 90 days prior to filing suit, in a manner that is reasonably calculated to enable the law-enforcement agency to cure the alleged violation.

Department of Workforce Development and Advancement; accreditation of nondegree workforce training programs. Directs the Department of Workforce Development and Advancement to establish an accreditation pathway for nondegree workforce training programs in order to align the skills of the Commonwealth's workforce with the needs of industry in the Commonwealth and to provide a workforce entrance pathway for underserved populations in the Commonwealth. The bill includes minimum standards, admissions requirements, and reporting requirements for such programs. Additionally, the bill includes provisions related to the eligibility of accredited programs for state and federal workforce funding, including the federal Workforce Pell Grant.

Local anti-rent gouging authority; civil penalty. Provides that any locality may by ordinance adopt anti-rent gouging provisions. The bill provides for notice and a public hearing prior to the adoption of such ordinance and specifies that all landlords who are under the ordinance may be required to give at least 90 days' written notice of a rent increase and cannot increase the rent by more than the locality's calculated allowance, not to exceed three percent, and states that such allowance is effective for a 12-month period beginning July 1 each year. The bill requires the locality to publish such allowance on its website by June 1 of each year. Certain facilities, as outlined in the bill, are exempt from such ordinance. The bill also requires a locality adopting an anti-rent gouging ordinance to establish an anti-rent gouging board to establish rules and procedures by which landlords may apply for and be granted exemptions from the rent increase limits set by the ordinance or delegate such duties and functions to an existing local board, department, or agency. The bill also requires the anti-rent gouging board to establish a fair return on investment rent increase exemption to the annual anti-rent gouging allowance where necessary to offset increased operating expenses. Finally, the bill provides that a locality shall establish a civil penalty for failure to comply with the requirements set out in its ordinance.

Restorative housing and isolated confinement; restrictions on use. Prohibits the use of isolated confinement, defined in the bill, in state correctional facilities, subject to certain exceptions. The bill requires that before placing an incarcerated person in restorative housing or isolated confinement for his own protection, the facility administrator shall place an incarcerated person in a less-restrictive setting, including by transferring such person to another institution or to a special-purpose housing unit for incarcerated persons who face similar threats. The bill requires that if an incarcerated person is placed in restorative housing or isolated confinement, such placement shall be reviewed every two business days and the facility administrator shall ensure that the incarcerated person receives a medical and mental health evaluation from certified medical and mental health professionals within one working day of placement in restorative housing or any form of isolated confinement. The bill also requires the facility administrator to notify the regional administrator in writing that an incarcerated person was placed in restorative housing or isolated confinement within 24 hours of such placement. Finally, the bill requires that formal reviews of an incarcerated person's placement in any form of isolated confinement shall be held in such person's presence, inform him of any reasons administrative officials believe isolated confinement remains necessary, and give the incarcerated person an opportunity to respond to those reasons, and a formal ruling shall be provided to the incarcerated individual within 24 hours.

Workers' compensation; presumption of compensability for certain cancers. Expands the workers' compensation presumption of compensability for certain cancers causing the death or disability of certain employees who have completed five years of service in their position to include lung cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma for any individual diagnosed with such a condition on or after July 1, 2027.

Middle Eastern and North African Advisory Board established. Establishes the Middle Eastern and North African Advisory Board in the executive branch for the purpose of advising the Governor on ways to develop economic, professional, cultural, educational, and governmental links between the Commonwealth and the Middle Eastern and North African community in Virginia. The bill provides for the expiration of the advisory board on June 30, 2029.

Department of Environmental Quality; standby generators study; report. Directs the Department of Environmental Quality to conduct a one-year study of all standby generators used by a commercial facility with an air permit in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the study to (i) identify commercial facilities with an air permit that use standby generators, (ii) identify the type of pollutants emitted from such standby generators, and (iii) analyze and describe the amount of pollutants from such standby generators. The Department is required to report its findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources by July 1, 2027.

Admission to bail; fixing terms of bail; mental health considerations. Requires the judicial officer, prior to conducting any hearing on the issue of bail, release, or detention, to obtain the person's criminal history and any emergency custody or temporary detention order or involuntary admission issued for such person. The bill also requires the judicial officer to consider any emergency custody or temporary detention order or involuntary admission issued for the person when determining admission to bail. Lastly, the bill requires the judicial officer to take into account the following factors in fixing the terms of bail if such person is admitted to bail: (i) whether the person is likely to obstruct or attempt to obstruct justice, or threaten, injure, or intimidate, or attempt to threaten, injure, or intimidate a family or household member as defined in relevant law; (ii) the history of the accused or juvenile, including medical, mental health, including any emergency custody or temporary detention order or involuntary admission issued pursuant to relevant law, or substance abuse treatment; (iii) any evidence the person provided indicating that such person (a) is currently pregnant, (b) has recently given birth, or (c) is currently nursing a child; and (iv) whether such person will be an unreasonable danger to himself, family or household members as defined in relevant law, or the public.