Commending Gay Gardner.

Land use assessment; parcels with multiple owners. Allows the owner of a majority interest in an undivided parcel of real estate that is eligible for land use assessment to file the application on behalf of himself and for owners of any minority interest. Land use assessment; parcels with multiple owners. Allows the owner of a majority interest in an undivided parcel of real estate that is eligible for land use assessment to file the application on behalf of himself and for owners of any minority interest.

Lyme disease; signage; instructional resources and materials. Requires the Department of Conservation and Recreation to develop and post in each state park and interstate park signage addressing the appropriate steps a visitor can take to prevent tick bites, how to identify Lyme disease, and where to seek treatment. The bill requires the Department to install such signage first in those areas in the Commonwealth that have been identified as most susceptible to Lyme disease and to complete the installation of such signage in all state parks and interstate parks by January 1, 2028. The bill also requires the Secretary of Education, in collaboration with the Secretary of Health and Human Resources and the Secretary of Natural Resources, to develop instructional resources and materials to assist school boards and local and regional public libraries in establishing an education and awareness program to protect children from Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections. The bill provides that such instructional resources and materials (i) shall be appropriate for individuals of school age; (ii) shall provide information on the identification of ticks, recommended procedures for safe tick removal, and best practices to provide protection from ticks; (iii) may include video productions, pamphlets, and demonstration programs to illustrate the sizes of various ticks, including sizes before and after each variety has become engorged, to assist with the identification of a tick and the reaction on the skin that may result from a tick bite; and (iv) shall be made available to school boards and local and regional public libraries upon request at no charge. Lyme disease; signage; instructional resources and materials. Requires the Department of Conservation and Recreation to develop and post in each state park and interstate park signage addressing the appropriate steps a visitor can take to prevent tick bites, how to identify Lyme disease, and where to seek treatment. The bill requires the Department to install such signage first in those areas in the Commonwealth that have been identified as most susceptible to Lyme disease and to complete the installation of such signage in all state parks and interstate parks by January 1, 2028. The bill also requires the Secretary of Education, in collaboration with the Secretary of Health and Human Resources and the Secretary of Natural Resources, to develop instructional resources and materials to assist school boards and local and regional public libraries in establishing an education and awareness program to protect children from Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections. The bill provides that such instructional resources and materials (i) shall be appropriate for individuals of school age; (ii) shall provide information on the identification of ticks, recommended procedures for safe tick removal, and best practices to provide protection from ticks; (iii) may include video productions, pamphlets, and demonstration programs to illustrate the sizes of various ticks, including sizes before and after each variety has become engorged, to assist with the identification of a tick and the reaction on the skin that may result from a tick bite; and (iv) shall be made available to school boards and local and regional public libraries upon request at no charge.

Comprehensive plan approval. Allows a planning commission to extend the 60-day period during which it makes a recommendation to the governing body on a comprehensive plan amendment if an applicant agrees to such extension. The bill also extends from 60 days to 100 days, or such longer period as agreed to by an applicant, the period of time during which the governing body shall hear and determine an appeal from a planning commission decision.

Public health emergency; hospital or nursing home; addition of beds. Creates an exemption from the requirement for a certificate of public need or a license for the temporary addition of beds located in a temporary structure or satellite location by a hospital or nursing home in cases in which the Board of Health or the Commissioner of Health (the Commissioner) has entered an emergency order for the purpose of suppressing a nuisance dangerous to public health or a communicable, contagious, or infectious disease or other danger to the public life and health and provides that such exemption shall apply for the duration of the emergency order plus 30 days. The bill also expands the duration of the existing exemption from the requirement for a certificate of public need or a license for the addition of temporary beds when the Commissioner has determined that a natural or man-made disaster has caused the evacuation of a hospital or nursing home and that a public health emergency exists due to a shortage of hospital or nursing home beds to the duration of such determination plus 30 days and makes clear that such exemption shall apply to the temporary addition of beds located in a temporary structure or satellite location by a hospital or nursing home.

Board of Education; stakeholder group; evaluation of and recommendations for certain current and proposed policies and performance standards for public elementary and secondary schools. Requires the Board of Education to collaborate with the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Secretary of Education to convene a group of stakeholders to include parents, public school principals, public school superintendents, public school board members, public school teachers, institutions of higher education, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, industry partners and employers, and other concerned stakeholders to evaluate, to implement where possible, and to otherwise make recommendations to the General Assembly regarding the following goals: (i) promoting excellence in instruction and student achievement in mathematics; (ii) expanding the Advanced Studies Diploma as an option for students in public high schools in the Commonwealth; (iii) increasing the transparency and honesty of performance measures for public elementary and secondary schools in the Commonwealth; (iv) ensuring that performance measures for public elementary and secondary schools prioritize the attainment of grade-level proficiency and growth during the course of a school year and from school year to school year in reading and mathematics for all students, especially in grades kindergarten through five; (v) ensuring that the Commonwealth's proficiency standards on Standards of Learning assessments in reading and mathematics are maintained; and (vi) ensuring a strong accreditation system that promotes meaningful accountability year-over-year. The bill requires the Secretary of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, no later than November 30, 2022, to report to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health the results of such evaluation and recommendations to achieve such goals. Board of Education; stakeholder group; evaluation of and recommendations for certain current and proposed policies and performance standards for public elementary and secondary schools. Requires the Board of Education to collaborate with the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Secretary of Education to convene a group of stakeholders to include parents, public school principals, public school superintendents, public school board members, public school teachers, institutions of higher education, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, industry partners and employers, and other concerned stakeholders to evaluate, to implement where possible, and to otherwise make recommendations to the General Assembly regarding the following goals: (i) promoting excellence in instruction and student achievement in mathematics; (ii) expanding the Advanced Studies Diploma as an option for students in public high schools in the Commonwealth; (iii) increasing the transparency and honesty of performance measures for public elementary and secondary schools in the Commonwealth; (iv) ensuring that performance measures for public elementary and secondary schools prioritize the attainment of grade-level proficiency and growth during the course of a school year and from school year to school year in reading and mathematics for all students, especially in grades kindergarten through five; (v) ensuring that the Commonwealth's proficiency standards on Standards of Learning assessments in reading and mathematics are maintained; and (vi) ensuring a strong accreditation system that promotes meaningful accountability year-over-year. The bill requires the Secretary of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, no later than November 30, 2022, to report to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health the results of such evaluation and recommendations to achieve such goals.

Department of Veterans Services; Mental Health Care Coordinator; position created; report. Establishes the position of Mental Health Care Coordinator (the Coordinator) in the Department of Veterans Services to support and closely coordinate effective mental health care services for military service members and veterans and their families. The bill directs the Coordinator to report by December 1 of each year through the Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Services to the Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs, the Governor, and the General Assembly on the work of the Coordinator and any legislative recommendations.

Military personnel; free admittance to state parks, museums, and cultural institutions. Provides free access to state parks, museums, and cultural institutions to active duty and reserved members of the United States Armed Forces and their dependents.

Transportation funding; statewide prioritization process; resiliency. Adds resiliency, defined in the bill, to the list of factors to be considered during the statewide transportation funding prioritization process commonly known as SMART SCALE. The bill also requires that the factors of congestion mitigation, economic development, accessibility, safety, resiliency, and environmental quality be considered relative to the anticipated life-cycle cost of the project or strategy under consideration.

Writ of vacatur; victims of sex trafficking; payment of fees or costs. Provides that a petitioner for a writ of vacatur for victims of sex trafficking shall not be required to pay any fees or costs for filing such petition if the petitioner is found to be unable to pay them.

Use of canines in correctional facilities; prohibited acts. Makes it unlawful for any correctional officer, jail officer, or other employee of a state, local, or juvenile correctional facility to use a canine, except where there is an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to any prisoner or detained juvenile or any officer or employee of the facility, to extract a prisoner or detained juvenile from his cell or to intervene in an altercation, fight, or other incident between prisoners or detained juveniles. The bill requires that all incidents involving the use of a canine be reported to a database established by the Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile Justice, as applicable, and that such reports be made available to the public and include the name of the facility, the name of the canine, and the name of the canine's handler. The bill also requires that the Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile Justice, as applicable, make public any policies relating to the use of canines, training requirements for both canines and handlers, and the supervision of the officers or employees who are permitted to handle such canines.

Prescribing controlled substances; practitioner-patient relationship; telemedicine. Provides that a prescriber may establish a practitioner-patient relationship for the purpose of prescribing Schedule II through V controlled substances via synchronous interaction with a patient and for the purpose of prescribing Schedule VI controlled substances via asynchronous interaction. The terms "synchronous interaction" and "asynchronous interaction" are defined in the bill.

Emergency rules, regulations, and orders; prohibition on mask mandates. Prohibits the Board of Health, Commissioner of Health, or Governor from issuing any rule, regulation, or order that requires (i) individuals to wear masks or other face coverings or (ii) businesses to require customers to wear masks or other face coverings while on the premises of such business.

Celebrating the life of Joseph Carlo Monolo.

Public elementary and secondary education; school boards and employees; cultural competency training; evaluations. Requires the evaluation of each public school teacher and principal and division superintendent to include an evaluation of cultural competency if the relevant local school board has adopted and implemented policies to require cultural competency training. Under current law, such an evaluation of cultural competency is required and not conditioned upon any such action of the local school board. The bill permits any school board to adopt and implement policies that require each teacher and any other school board employee holding a license issued by the Board of Education to complete cultural competency training, in accordance with guidance issued by the Board of Education, at least every two years, but only after providing 30 days' advanced written notice of and holding a public hearing regarding the adoption and implementation of such policies. Current law requires such cultural competency training and makes no provision for such notice and public hearing.