Human rights and fair housing; religious organizations; Human rights and fair housing; religious organizations; promotion of religious principles. Provides that nothing in the Virginia Human Rights Act prohibits a religious corporation, association, or society, or any nonprofit institution or organization operated, supervised, or controlled by or in conjunction with a religious organization, association, or society, from taking any action to promote the religious principles for which it is established or maintained. The bill exempts any place of accommodation owned by or operated on behalf of a religious corporation, association, or society from the nondiscrimination in public places of accommodation provisions of the Virginia Human Rights Act. Under current law, such places of accommodation are exempt only when not open to the public. The bill adds preschools to the list of educational institutions that are exempt from discriminatory hiring practices with respect to the hiring and employment of employees of a particular religion when such institutions are owned, supported, controlled, or managed by a particular religion or religious corporation, association, or society. The bill clarifies that the term "religion" includes all aspects of religious observance and practice as well as belief for the purposes of the exemption from discrimination in employment of individuals employed to perform work associated with the activities of a particular religion by a religious corporation, association, educational institution, or society. The bill removes provisions allowing (i) a court or jury in a civil action that finds unlawful discrimination has occurred to order such affirmative action as may be appropriate and (ii) the Attorney General to seek to obtain such relief as would be available to a private party when he intervenes in a civil action for unlawful discrimination. The bill also removes the provision of the exemption for religious organizations under the Virginia Fair Housing Law that denies such exemption where the membership in such religion is restricted on account of race, color, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status, sexual orientation, gender identity, military status, or disability.

Minimum wage. Repeals certain provisions of the Code of Virginia related to increasing the state minimum wage to more than $11.00 per hour. The bill also repeals provisions related to increasing the state minimum wage based on an annual adjusted minimum wage determined by the Department of Labor and Industry.

Voter registration; verification of social security Voter registration; verification of social security numbers; provisional registration status. Requires the general registrars to verify that the name, date of birth, and social security number provided by an applicant on the voter registration application match the information on file in the Social Security Administration database or other database approved by the State Board of Elections (the State Board) before registering such applicant. If the information provided by the applicant does not match the information in such database, the applicant (i) is provisionally registered to vote and notified as to what steps are needed to be fully registered to vote and (ii) is permitted to vote by provisional ballot but such ballot shall not be counted until the voter presents certain information. The bill also requires the general registrars to verify annually no later than August 1 that the name, date of birth, and social security number in the registration record of each registered voter in the registrar's jurisdiction match the information on file with the Social Security Administration or other database approved by the State Board and, in accordance with current law, to initiate the cancellation of the registration of any voter whose registration record information does not match the database information. The State Board is authorized to approve the use of any government database to the extent required to enable each general registrar to carry out the provisions of this bill and to promulgate rules for the use of such database. The Department of Elections is required to provide to the general registrars access to the Social Security Administration database and any other database approved by the State Board. The Department of Elections is further required to enter into any agreement with any federal or state agency to facilitate such access. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2024.

Casino gaming; eligible host cities; limits on local referendums. Adds Petersburg to the list of cities eligible to host a casino in the Commonwealth. The bill also provides that the governing body of any eligible host city that holds a local referendum on the question of whether casino gaming should be permitted in such city that subsequently fails shall be prohibited from holding another local referendum on the same question for a period of five years from the date of the last referendum.

Nutrient credit stream restoration projects; use of third-party long-term stewards. Authorizes the Department of Environmental Quality to allow the use of third-party long-term stewards to hold and manage the long-term management fund to maintain stream restoration projects.

Charter; Town of Appomattox; election and appointment of officers; time of election. Makes various changes to reflect the Town of Appomattox's shift to November municipal elections in 2022.

Income tax; major business facility job tax credit; sunset. Extends the sunset of the major business facility job tax credit from July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2025.

Purchase of service handguns or other weapons by retired sworn law-enforcement officers. Removes the requirement that a sworn law-enforcement officer be employed in a full-time capacity at the time of his retirement to purchase his service handgun.

Department of Health; harmful algal bloom mitigation. Directs the Department of Health to develop and implement a harmful algal bloom mitigation plan. Department of Health; harmful algal bloom mitigation. Directs the Department of Health to develop and implement a harmful algal bloom mitigation plan.

Employer-mandated vaccinations for COVID-19; discrimination prohibited; civil penalties. Prohibits an employer from requiring its employees to receive a vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19. The bill prohibits an employer from discrimination against an employee because the employee has or has not received a vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19. The bill also provides for civil penalties not to exceed $10,000 by an employer with fewer than 100 employees or $50,000 by an employer with 100 or more employees for each violation of the bill's provisions.

Study; Secretary of Health and Human Resources and Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security; increase use of alternative custody arrangements for individuals subject to an emergency custody or temporary detention order; report. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Resources, together with the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, to study options to increase the use of alternative custody arrangements for individuals who are subject to an emergency custody or temporary detention order and to report his findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committees on Appropriations and Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committees on Education and Health and Finance and Appropriations by October 1, 2022. Study; Secretary of Health and Human Resources and Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security; increase use of alternative custody arrangements for individuals subject to an emergency custody or temporary detention order; report. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Resources, together with the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, to study options to increase the use of alternative custody arrangements for individuals who are subject to an emergency custody or temporary detention order and to report his findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committees on Appropriations and Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committees on Education and Health and Finance and Appropriations by October 1, 2022.

Compensation of local jails for cost of incarceration. Provides for local jails to be compensated for the actual cost of incarcerating convicted felons at the rate calculated in the Compensation Board's annual jail cost report. Current law provides for jails to be compensated for the cost of incarceration of convicted felons as provided for in the general appropriation act.

Licensed practical nurses; authority to pronounce death. Extends to licensed practical nurses the authority to pronounce the death of a patient in hospice, provided that certain conditions are met. Current law provides that physicians, registered nurses, and physician assistants may pronounce death. Licensed practical nurses; authority to pronounce death. Extends to licensed practical nurses the authority to pronounce the death of a patient in hospice, provided that certain conditions are met. Current law provides that physicians, registered nurses, and physician assistants may pronounce death.

Elections; referenda; local advisory referenda. Provides for an exception to the rule that prohibits a referendum from being placed on the ballot unless specifically authorized by statute or by charter, allowing each locality to provide by ordinance a process for holding an advisory referendum provided such advisory referendum is placed on the ballot not more than once per calendar year.

Workers' compensation; presumption as to death or disability from COVID-19; vaccine. Provides that the presumption that COVID-19 causing the death or disability of certain employees is an occupational disease compensable under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act does not apply to an individual who fails or refuses to receive a vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 either approved by or with an Emergency Use Authorization issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, unless the person is immunized or the person's physician determines in writing that the immunization would pose a significant risk to the person's health.