Court of Appeals of Virginia; emergency. Makes various changes to the procedures and jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals of Virginia, including (i) clarifying that an aggrieved party of certain pretrial orders may petition the Court of Appeals for review of such order and that such petitions shall be reviewed by a three-judge panel, (ii) providing that a party to an appeal that requests an extension for a filing deadline in the Court of Appeals must show good cause for the extension to be granted, (iii) clarifying that appeal bonds and security bonds are not required in criminal appeals, (iv) permitting the Court of Appeals to dispense with oral argument if the parties agree that it is not necessary, and (v) making consistent the grounds for seeking a delayed appeal in a criminal case in the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Virginia. The bill additionally corrects the unintentional elimination of reviews of interlocutory decrees or orders involving certain equitable claims from the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals. The bill contains an emergency clause. Court of Appeals of Virginia; emergency. Makes various changes to the procedures and jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals of Virginia, including (i) clarifying that an aggrieved party of certain pretrial orders may petition the Court of Appeals for review of such order and that such petitions shall be reviewed by a three-judge panel, (ii) providing that a party to an appeal that requests an extension for a filing deadline in the Court of Appeals must show good cause for the extension to be granted, (iii) clarifying that appeal bonds and security bonds are not required in criminal appeals, (iv) permitting the Court of Appeals to dispense with oral argument if the parties agree that it is not necessary, and (v) making consistent the grounds for seeking a delayed appeal in a criminal case in the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Virginia. The bill additionally corrects the unintentional elimination of reviews of interlocutory decrees or orders involving certain equitable claims from the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals. The bill contains an emergency clause.

Agrippa Hull Day. Designates May 21, in 2022 and in each succeeding year, as Agrippa Hull Day in Virginia.

Governor's Office; position of Secretary of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion created. Eliminates the position of Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Office of the Governor and establishes the position of Secretary of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, to be appointed by the Governor and to assist the Governor and Governor's Secretaries in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion at the state level. The bill outlines the responsibilities of the Secretary. The bill makes several changes in the Code of Virginia to reflect the new position by eliminating references to the Office and Governor's Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and replacing these references with the Secretary of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Governor's Office; position of Secretary of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion created. Eliminates the position of Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Office of the Governor and establishes the position of Secretary of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, to be appointed by the Governor and to assist the Governor and Governor's Secretaries in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion at the state level. The bill outlines the responsibilities of the Secretary. The bill makes several changes in the Code of Virginia to reflect the new position by eliminating references to the Office and Governor's Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and replacing these references with the Secretary of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Health workforce development; Special Advisor to the Governor for Health Workforce Development; Virginia Health Workforce Development Fund. Creates the position of Special Advisor to the Governor for Health Workforce Development (the Special Advisor) in the Office of the Governor and creates the Virginia Health Workforce Development Fund to (i) provide incentives for the removal of barriers to educating and training health workforce professionals that include increasing eligible faculty, clinical placements, and residencies; (ii) incentivize the production of health workforce credentials, degrees, and licensures based on a rigorous analysis of the need by the Office of Education and Labor Market Alignment; (iii) address regulatory barriers to entering into and staying in health professions; and (iv) provide education and training for health and health science professionals to align education and training initiatives with existing and evolving health workforce needs. Health workforce development; Special Advisor to the Governor for Health Workforce Development; Virginia Health Workforce Development Fund. Creates the position of Special Advisor to the Governor for Health Workforce Development (the Special Advisor) in the Office of the Governor and creates the Virginia Health Workforce Development Fund to (i) provide incentives for the removal of barriers to educating and training health workforce professionals that include increasing eligible faculty, clinical placements, and residencies; (ii) incentivize the production of health workforce credentials, degrees, and licensures based on a rigorous analysis of the need by the Office of Education and Labor Market Alignment; (iii) address regulatory barriers to entering into and staying in health professions; and (iv) provide education and training for health and health science professionals to align education and training initiatives with existing and evolving health workforce needs. The bill also requires the Special Advisor to review and evaluate the structure and organization of the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority (the Authority) and make recommendations regarding the long-term administrative structure and funding of the Authority to the Governor and the General Assembly by November 1, 2022. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2026.

Retail sale of cannabis products by certain pharmaceutical Retail sale of cannabis products by certain pharmaceutical processors; sunset. Allows certain pharmaceutical processors to, under the oversight of the Board of Pharmacy, sell cannabis products at retail to unregistered persons who are 21 years of age or older without the need for a written certification. The bill provides that such sales will be subject to existing Board of Pharmacy regulations and other requirements set forth in the bill. The bill requires pharmaceutical processors engaging in such sales to pay a $1 million fee and collect a 21 percent excise tax, both of which shall ultimately be allocated to the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority to be used to assist independent cannabis retailers located in designated rural and urban opportunity zones. The bill also requires such pharmaceutical processors to submit and comply with a plan describing how the pharmaceutical processor will, in its health service area, educate consumers about responsible consumption of cannabis products and incubate independent cannabis retailers or support and educate persons that wish to participate in the cannabis market. The bill directs the Board of Directors of the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority to promulgate regulations governing sales, cultivation, extraction, processing, manufacturing, wholesaling, and other related activities conducted pursuant to the provisions of the bill and provides that, upon the adoption of such regulations, oversight of such activities shall transfer from the Board of Pharmacy to the Board of Directors of the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority. The bill expires when pharmaceutical processors engaging in the sale of cannabis products pursuant to the provisions of the bill are authorized by the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority to apply for and be granted licenses to cultivate, manufacture, wholesale, and sell at retail to consumers 21 years of age or older retail marijuana and retail marijuana products.

In-person instruction; education vouchers; emergency. Requires, in the event that any school board does not provide the option of in-person instruction as the sole method of instruction for any enrolled student, the parent of any such student who withdraws his child from attendance to receive, upon request, an education voucher in an amount equal to a prorated share of the applicable Standards of Quality per-pupil state funds appropriated for public school purposes and apportioned to the school division, including the per-pupil share of state sales tax funding in basic aid and any state per-pupil share of special education funding for which the child is eligible, to cover the expenses of providing in-person instruction in an alternative setting. The bill permits the Department of Education to establish rules, regulations, or procedures for the issuance of such education vouchers. The bill contains an emergency clause.

Involuntary commitment; release of person before expiration of order. Provides that no person who is the subject of an order for involuntary commitment shall be released from a state hospital or licensed hospital and that no community services board shall petition for rescission of a mandatory outpatient treatment order or order authorizing discharge to mandatory outpatient treatment following inpatient treatment during the 96-hour period immediately following entry of the order, unless in the opinion of (i) the psychiatrist or clinical psychologist treating the person, based on an evaluation conducted by the psychiatrist or clinical psychologist, and (ii) a second psychiatrist or clinical psychologist who has evaluated the person, the person will not meet the criteria for involuntary commitment if released.

Emergency custody and temporary detention; transportation; Emergency custody and temporary detention; transportation; transfer of custody. Provides that, in cases in which transportation of a person subject to an emergency custody order or temporary detention order is ordered to be provided by an alternative transportation provider, the primary law-enforcement agency that executes the order may transfer custody of the person to the alternative transportation provider immediately upon execution of the order, and that the alternative transportation provider shall maintain custody of the person from the time custody is transferred to the alternative transportation provider by the primary law-enforcement agency until such time as custody of the person is transferred to the community services board or its designee that is responsible for conducting the evaluation or the temporary detention facility, as is appropriate. The bill also adds employees of and persons providing services pursuant to a contract with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to the list of individuals who may serve as alternative transportation providers.

Health insurance; proton radiation therapy coverage. Provides that if proton radiation therapy is recommended by an enrollee's insurance policy, subscription contract, or health care plan beneficiary's health care provider as the preferred radiation therapy treatment to lessen the potential of detrimental side effects, then a carrier shall not deny coverage for such treatment solely on the basis of cost. The provision applies to all insurance policies, subscription contracts, and health care plans delivered, issued for delivery, reissued, or extended in the Commonwealth on and after January 1, 2023.

Regulation of electric utilities; development of renewable energy facilities; powers of State Air Pollution Control Board; powers of State Corporation Commission. Repeals provisions (i) requiring the State Air Pollution Control Board to adopt regulations to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from any electricity generating unit in the Commonwealth and authorizing the Board to establish an auction program for energy allowances; (ii) prohibiting the State Corporation Commission from approving any new utility-owned generation facilities that emit carbon dioxide as a by-product of energy generation, in certain circumstances; (iii) declaring that statutory allowances for energy derived from sunlight, onshore wind, offshore wind, and storage facilities are in the public interest; and (iv) relating to the development of solar and wind generation and energy storage capacity, development of offshore wind capacity, and generation of electricity from renewable and zero carbon sources. The bill provides that planning and development activities for new nuclear generation facilities are in the public interest.

Constitutional amendment (second reference); qualifications of voters and the right to vote; persons not entitled to vote. Provides that every person who meets the qualifications of voters set forth in the Constitution shall have the fundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth and that such right shall not be abridged by law, except for persons who have been convicted of a felony and persons who have been adjudicated to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting. A person who has been convicted of a felony shall not be entitled to vote during any period of incarceration for such felony conviction but upon release from incarceration for that felony conviction and without further action required of him, such person shall be invested with all political rights, including the right to vote. Currently, in order to be qualified to vote a person convicted of a felony must have his civil rights restored by the Governor or other appropriate authority. The amendment also provides that a person adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction as lacking the capacity to understand the act of voting shall not be entitled to vote during this period of incapacity until his capacity has been reestablished as prescribed by law. Currently, the Constitution provides that a person who has been adjudicated to be mentally incompetent is not qualified to vote until his competency is reestablished. Constitutional amendment (second reference); qualifications of voters and the right to vote; persons not entitled to vote. Provides that every person who meets the qualifications of voters set forth in the Constitution shall have the fundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth and that such right shall not be abridged by law, except for persons who have been convicted of a felony and persons who have been adjudicated to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting. A person who has been convicted of a felony shall not be entitled to vote during any period of incarceration for such felony conviction but upon release from incarceration for that felony conviction and without further action required of him, such person shall be invested with all political rights, including the right to vote. Currently, in order to be qualified to vote a person convicted of a felony must have his civil rights restored by the Governor or other appropriate authority. The amendment also provides that a person adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction as lacking the capacity to understand the act of voting shall not be entitled to vote during this period of incapacity until his capacity has been reestablished as prescribed by law. Currently, the Constitution provides that a person who has been adjudicated to be mentally incompetent is not qualified to vote until his competency is reestablished.

Academic year Governor's Schools; certain practices prohibited and required. Prohibits any academic year Governor's School or governing board member, director, administrator, or employee thereof from discriminating against any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the process of admitting students to such school. The bill requires each local school board that jointly manages and controls a regional academic year Governor's school to collaborate to ensure that each public middle school that is eligible to send students to attend such Governor's school offers coursework, curriculum, and instruction that is comparable in content and in rigor in order to provide each student in each such middle school with the opportunity to gain admission to and excel academically at such Governor's school. Academic year Governor's Schools; certain practices prohibited and required. Prohibits any academic year Governor's School or governing board member, director, administrator, or employee thereof from discriminating against any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the process of admitting students to such school. The bill requires each local school board that jointly manages and controls a regional academic year Governor's school to collaborate to ensure that each public middle school that is eligible to send students to attend such Governor's school offers coursework, curriculum, and instruction that is comparable in content and in rigor in order to provide each student in each such middle school with the opportunity to gain admission to and excel academically at such Governor's school.

Special hunting and fishing license for certain disabled veterans. Authorizes resident veterans who have a service-connected disability of at least 30 percent to receive from the Department of Wildlife Resources, at no cost or a reduced cost depending on the veteran's disability rating, a lifetime license to hunt and freshwater fish. Current law authorizes the provision of such license at no cost to a veteran who is totally and permanently disabled and at half-cost to a veteran who is 70 percent disabled.

Constitutional amendment (voter referendum); qualifications of voters and the right to vote; persons not entitled to vote. Provides for a referendum at the November 8, 2022, general election to approve or reject an amendment that would provide for the fundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth, revise the qualifications of voters so that a person convicted of a felony is not entitled to vote during his period of incarceration but is automatically invested with the right to vote upon release from incarceration, and update the existing prohibition on voting by persons found to be mentally incompetent to instead apply to persons who have been found to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting.

Virginia Retirement System; enhanced retirement benefits for 911 dispatchers. Adds 911 dispatchers to the list of local employees eligible to receive enhanced retirement benefits for hazardous duty service. Under current law, localities may provide such benefits to first responders, including firefighters and emergency medical technicians, and certain other hazardous duty positions. The bill provides that such benefits would be available only to dispatchers hired starting on or after January 1, 2022.