Constitutional amendment (first reference); public schools of high quality; right to access a school-based licensed mental health professional. Provides that each child attending public school has a right to access a school-based mental health professional licensed by the Commonwealth as a licensed clinical social worker or licensed professional counselor, including the right to choose a mental health professional who will not utilize applied behavioral analysis.

Weapon of terrorism; definition; penalty. Includes any mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl, including its isomers, esters, ethers, salts, and salts of isomers, as a weapon of terrorism for the purpose of defining terrorism offenses. The bill provides that any person who knowingly and intentionally manufactures or knowingly and intentionally distributes a weapon of terrorism when such person knows that such weapon of terrorism is, or contains, any mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl is guilty of a Class 4 felony.

Strangulation by blocking or obstructing the airway of another; penalty. Provides that any person who, without consent, impedes the blood circulation or respiration of another person by knowingly, intentionally, and unlawfully blocking or obstructing the airway of such person resulting in the wounding or bodily injury of such person is guilty of suffocation, a Class 6 felony.

Administrative Process Act; certain regulations to require legislative approval. Requires any agency that estimates that a proposed regulation will have an adverse impact on economic growth or increase regulatory costs by more than $500,000 within five years of its implementation to advise the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules, the House Committee on Appropriations, and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations no later than 30 days prior to the next regular legislative session. The bill requires the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules to review such regulation and issue a statement containing the Commission's findings.

Retired Supreme Court justices and Court of Appeals judges; recall; circuit courts. Provides that retired justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia and judges of the Court of Appeals of Virginia may be designated by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia to sit in recall in circuit courts when such retired justice or judge has been found qualified within the preceding three years by the House Committee for Courts of Justice and the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retired Supreme Court justices and Court of Appeals judges; recall; circuit courts. Provides that retired justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia and judges of the Court of Appeals of Virginia may be designated by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia to sit in recall in circuit courts when such retired justice or judge has been found qualified within the preceding three years by the House Committee for Courts of Justice and the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.

Department of Historic Resources; Green Book historic site designations. Directs the Department of Historic Resources, in partnership with the Virginia Tourism Corporation and the Department of Transportation, to designate or approve supplementary signs for historic site signs identifying Green Book locations and businesses in the Commonwealth. The bill defines "Green Book" as The Negro Motorist Green Book published by Victor Hugo Green, which provided a list of hotels, guest houses, service stations, drug stores, taverns, barbershops, and restaurants known to be safe for traveling Black Americans during the Jim Crow era. Department of Historic Resources; Green Book historic site designations. Directs the Department of Historic Resources, in partnership with the Virginia Tourism Corporation and the Department of Transportation, to designate or approve supplementary signs for historic site signs identifying Green Book locations and businesses in the Commonwealth. The bill defines "Green Book" as The Negro Motorist Green Book published by Victor Hugo Green, which provided a list of hotels, guest houses, service stations, drug stores, taverns, barbershops, and restaurants known to be safe for traveling Black Americans during the Jim Crow era.

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; universal license recognition. Establishes criteria for an individual licensed, certified, or having work experience in another state to apply to a regulatory board within the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation and be issued an occupational license or government certification if certain conditions are met.

Policies for the possession and administration of epinephrine at early childhood care and education entities; scope. Limits, in the context of early childhood care and education entities, the requirement for the implementation of policies for the possession and administration of epinephrine to child day centers. Under current law, such requirement applies to all early childhood care and education entities, which include child day centers, family day homes, and family day systems serving children younger than the age of five. The bill also requires the Board of Education to amend its regulations to require each family day home provider or at least one other caregiver employed by such provider in the family day home to be trained in the administration of epinephrine and to notify the parents of each child who receives care in such family day home whether the provider stores an appropriate weight-based dosage of epinephrine in the residence or home in which the family day home operates.

Oyster planting grounds; existing leases; transfer or assignment. Removes the requirement that the Marine Resources Commissioner consider certain factors when recording in his office an application for transfer or assignment for an existing lease of oyster-planting grounds.

Employment; paid sick leave; civil penalties. Expands Employment; paid sick leave; civil penalties. Expands provisions of the Code that currently provide paid sick leave for home health workers to cover all employees of private employers and state and local governments. The bill provides that accrued paid sick leave can be carried over to the following year and that employees transferred to a separate division or location remain entitled to previously accrued paid sick leave. The bill provides that paid sick leave may be used for the closure of an employee's place of business by order of a public official due to a public health emergency, for an employee's need to care for a child whose school or place of care has been closed due to a public health emergency, or for an employee to care for himself or a family member who has been exposed to a communicable disease. The bill requires each employer to provide its employees a written notice of its paid sick leave policy at the commencement of employment and prohibits an employer from taking retaliatory personnel action against an employee for exercising the rights provided in the bill. The bill authorizes the Commissioner of Labor and Industry, in the case of a knowing violation, to subject an employer to a civil penalty not to exceed $150 for the first violation, $300 for the second violation, and $500 for each successive violation. The Commissioner may institute proceedings on behalf of an employee to enforce compliance with the provisions of this bill and to collect specified amounts from the employer that shall be awarded to the employee. Alternatively, an aggrieved employee is authorized to bring a civil action against the employer in which he may recover double the amount of any unpaid sick leave and the amount of any actual damages suffered as the result of the employer's violation. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2024.

Expedited wetlands permits; Marine Resources Commission. Requires the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, in conjunction with local wetlands boards and other affected state and federal agencies, to develop administrative procedures to expedite the processing of applications for wetlands permits from agencies of the United States government, including any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States. Expedited wetlands permits; Marine Resources Commission. Requires the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, in conjunction with local wetlands boards and other affected state and federal agencies, to develop administrative procedures to expedite the processing of applications for wetlands permits from agencies of the United States government, including any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States.

Bank franchise tax; report. Provides for the electronic filing of bank franchise tax returns through a secure online portal maintained by the Department of Taxation and extends the time to file such tax return by 60 days. The bill also requires localities to provide banks access to real estate assessment records upon request. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025, and directs the Department to convene a work group to assess potential alternative methods for the filing and allocation of bank franchise tax revenues.

Organized retail theft; report; penalty. Establishes the crime of organized retail theft that makes it a Class 3 felony for any person who conspires or acts in concert with another person to commit simple larceny of retail property from one or more retail mercantile establishments, with a value exceeding $5,000 aggregated over a 90-day period, with the intent to sell such retail property for monetary or other gain, and who takes or causes such retail property to be placed in the control of a retail property fence or other person and either (i) receives or possesses any retail property that has been obtained by simple larceny from one or more retail mercantile establishments while knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe the property was unlawfully obtained or (ii) conspires or acts in concert with two or more other persons as an organizer, supervisor, financier, leader, or manager to engage for profit in a scheme or course of conduct to effectuate the transfer or sale of property obtained by simple larceny from one or more retail mercantile establishments. The bill defines the terms retail mercantile establishment, retail property, and retail property fence. The bill also establishes the Organized Retail Crime Fund to be administered by the Attorney General solely for the purposes of awarding grants to attorneys for the Commonwealth and law-enforcement agencies to investigate, indict, and prosecute violations of organized retail theft and associated fraud and property crimes.

Appointment of guardian ad litem; requested information, records, or reports from individual or entity. Requires any individual or entity with information, records, or reports relevant to a guardianship or conservatorship proceeding, including any (i) health care provider, local school division, or local department of social services; (ii) criminal justice agency, unless such disclosure would impede an ongoing criminal investigation or proceeding; and (iii) financial institution, investment advisor, or other financial services provider, to provide, upon request from the appointed guardian ad litem, such information, records, or reports to the appointed guardian ad litem. The bill also requires certain financial institutions, in cooperation with an investigation of alleged abuse, neglect, or exploitation of an adult, to make available any financial records or information relevant to such investigation upon request from any court-appointed guardian ad litem who has been appointed by the court to represent such adult. The bill immunizes such financial institutions from civil or criminal liability for providing such financial records or information, provided that such financial institutions did not engage in gross negligence or willful misconduct.

Celebrating the life of the Honorable Jane Haycock Woods.