Newsletter: General Assembly 2020 Special Session
Today, we commemorate the 19th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11th and mourn the thousands of lives lost in New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. I want to recognize our heroic first responders who sacrificed their safety to save others that day and the thousands of military service members who continue to sacrifice to defend our country.
Earlier this month I had the pleasure of meeting with Rich Melito, a constituent of the 73rd House District and owner of Melito’s restaurant. In the days following September 11th, Rich sat at the bar of his restaurant and sketched a symbol to commemorate the tragic attacks to display on the wall of his establishment. Sixteen months later Governor Mark Warner established Rich’s design “The Freedom Flag” as the Commonwealth’s official symbol of remembrance honoring the victims and heroes of September 11th.
The Freedom Flag has evolved from a sketch in a local restaurant to a symbol for remembrance and a call to educate our students on the history and importance of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The tragedy felt across the country on that fateful day in September like no other our country had faced in decades. Today we are facing a different challenge. Over the past several months nearly 200,000 Americans have died due to the COVID-19 virus. We all have made significant sacrifices to our way of life to protect one another from harm. We have seen similar displays of heroism from our health care providers, law enforcement officers, pharmacy and grocery store staff, and all essential workers who have put their safety at risk to keep our nation running throughout the unprecedented challenges of this pandemic.
When I look at Rich’s design, I am reminded of the importance of honoring victims and heroes of the tragedies we experience together as a nation. Now more than ever, we must come together and honor the hundreds of thousands of lives lost by working to stop the spread of this virus.
I will continue to keep you informed with relevant, accurate information via Twitter, Facebook, and my website. Please email my office at delrwillett@house.virginia.gov or call us at 804-698-1173 if you have any questions or need assistance.
Sincerely,
Rodney
New Information
General Assembly Special Session
Yesterday, the House of Delegates finished voting on legislation introduced in the House. Bills passed by either the House or the Senate will now crossover to be considered by members of the opposite chamber. I look forward to seeing the legislation we passed to provide relief from the COVID-19 pandemic and reform our criminal justice system make its way to my colleagues in the Senate. Here is a list of some key pieces of legislation passed by the House this week. You can see a full list of House bills passed online here.
COVID-19 Relief
HB5113 (Co-Patron)— Requires each school board that contains any public elementary or secondary school that is eligible to participate in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) administered by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to apply to participate in CEP. The CEP program allows school districts to serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to all enrolled students without collecting household applications. This bill was introduced by Delegate Danica Roem and passed the House 96Y-0N on Tuesday.
HB5116 — Requires employers with more than 50 employees to provide paid leave for employees for illness or health conditions related to COVID-19. The bill clarifies that employers that provide an employee with a paid leave policy that is equivalent to the number of hours they work, averaged over a two week period, are in compliance with the bill, giving employers more flexibility in the establishment of paid leave policies. This bill has a sunset provision and will expire on July 1, 2021, or upon the expiration of the state of emergency declared by the Governor in Executive Order 51.
HB5087 (Co-Patron) —Removes the sunset clause on short-term compensation programs (work-sharing) to facilitate CARES Act funds.
Criminal Justice Reform
HB5049 (Co-Patron) — Prohibits law enforcement agencies from acquiring or purchasing military property including weaponized unmanned aerial vehicles, aircraft configured for military combat, grenades, military rifles, and armored multi-wheeled combat configured vehicles from a surplus program operated by the federal government.
HB5043 (Co-Patron) — Mental Health Awareness Response & Community Understanding Services (MARCUS) alert systems. Requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to support the development and establishment of a mental health awareness response and community understanding services (Marcus) alert system in localities and areas throughout the Commonwealth. This legislation will compel localities to respond to 911 calls involving someone facing a mental health crisis with emergency teams led by mental health professionals, with police officers serving as backup.
HB5072 — Empowers the Attorney General to conduct “pattern or practice” investigations of police forces that appear to be violating constitutional rights, including unlawful discrimination.
HB5090 — Adds criminal investigative files to the types of law enforcement and criminal records required to be released in accordance with the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
HB5148 — Establishes a system for the awarding and calculation for earned sentence credits. This bill is a recommendation from the Virginia State Crime Commission.
HB5013 — Creates a civil action for the deprivation of a person's rights by law enforcement officers. Under this legislation, lawsuits may only be brought when an individual has been deprived of their civil rights, for example, because of an unreasonable search or seizure or unlawful use of force.
This week I had the honor of providing an introduction for Rev. Dr. Theodore Brown of the Quioccasin Baptist Church in the 73rd House District. Dr. Brown gave a moving invocation to begin our floor session this Thursday, calling on the members of the House to work together to guide our Commonwealth through this unprecedented time. Dr. Brown is the 9th pastor in the 154 year history of the Quioccasin Baptist Church, and under his leadership the church has quickly adapted to the new circumstances of this pandemic, offering virtual services to provide his congregation comfort and support during this uncertain time. I want to thank Dr. Brown for his leadership and words of wisdom to the House of Delegates. See more information on the Quioccasin Baptist Church and Dr. Brown online here.
Return to School
This week Henrico County Public Schools began the 2020-21 school year in a predominantly virtual learning model for all students due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I want to thank all of our students, families, teachers, administrators, and support staff for their patience and creativity in adapting to the challenging new circumstances of this school year. Although students will be learning remotely, HCPS is working to provide resources and support to students and families who may be struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Free School Meals — Earlier this month, the USDA announced that the universal meal distribution program in effect since the spread of the pandemic in March will be continued through Dec. 31. Under this program, free meals are available to any child 18 or younger at all HCPS school locations and identified bus stops. Parents and guardians can pick up meals at any HCPS location regardless of where their student is enrolled, and do not need to provide student names or I.D. numbers to receive meals. See more information on the meal program online here, you can also see a map of school and bus stop distribution sites here: https://tinyurl.com/HCPSMealsSites.
In-Person Technology Support — Students who are struggling with critical technology issues with school-provided laptops, Chromebooks, iPads, and Wi-Fi hotspots can receive in-person technology support from 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Monday through Friday at their designated support location. Middle and high school students can receive support at their assigned school, and elementary school students can receive support at the high school closest to them. All non-critical issues can be emailed to helpdesk@henrico.k12.va.us and an HCPS staff member will assist you as soon as possible. For more information on HCPS technology support, please visit https://henricoschools.us/mobile-technology-hubs/.
Child Care Services — To assist families who are struggling with child-care due to remote learning, HCPS has partnered with the YMCA of Greater Richmond, the Henrico Education Foundation, and Henrico PAL (Police Athletic League) to provide low-cost childcare options. These programs have reimagined their traditional “after-school” models as “full-day” programs to meet the community needs posed by a virtual school day. These three providers currently operate after-school programs in many of our school buildings. See more information online here: https://henricoschools.us/child-care/
For more information on these programs and general guidance for the 2020-2021 school year please visit https://henricoschools.us/returntoschool/.
COVID-19 Update
Henrico County’s seven-day positivity percentage continues to decrease, reaching 6.1% as of Sept. 6, based on new information reported by the Virginia Department of Health. The update also reported 53 new cases of COVID-19 and 3 new COVID-19 related hospitalizations in the county. You can see updated information on statewide and locality specific COVID-19 case numbers, hospitalizations, and deaths on the Virginia Department of Health’s COVID-19 dashboard here.
While the positivity rate within Henrico county has decreased, I want to encourage all residents to continue to socially distance, limit large gatherings of people, wash your hands frequently, and wear a mask in public spaces. These measures will help further mitigate the spread of the virus and protect our community from infection.
Another way to help protect yourself and our community from the spread of COVID-19 is to download COVIDwise, a new smartphone app that automatically notifies users if they might have been exposed to the coronavirus. Virginia is the first state in the country to have access to this new technology created by Apple and Google. You can download the app in the App Store, or by visiting covidwise.org.
The app is completely anonymous to protect your privacy and will not drain your battery. It works by using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to measure the distance between you and other users. If someone you have been in proximity to has reported a positive test result via the app, you will receive a notification on your phone alerting you to potential infection. The more people who use the app, the more effective it will be at helping us stop the spread of infection as early as possible.
Free COVID-19 Testing
The Henrico Health Department is continuing to offer free community testing events for all individuals who may not have insurance, or whose insurance does not cover COVID-19, who have COVID-19 symptoms, who are pregnant, are age 65 and older, or have underlying medical conditions.
Testing is available by appointment to facilitate safe social distancing standards. To register for testing, call the Richmond and Henrico COVID-19 hotline at 804-205-3501, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday (except holidays). Walk up testing is available to persons who meet testing criteria but is not guaranteed due to limited availability. Please see below for a list of scheduled testing events, and check the Henrico County events calendar online here for all information and future testing events.
Saturday, September 12th
Fairfield Middle School
5121 Nine Mile Rd, Richmond, VA 23223
9:00-11:00 AM
Rain date/location: 09/14 Diversity Richmond, 4:00-6:00 PMMonday, September 14th
Diversity Richmond
4:00-6:00 PM
1407 Sherwood Ave, Richmond, VA 23220
Rain or shineThursday, September 17th
Robinson Theater
9:00AM-11:00AM
2903 Q St, Richmond, VA 23223
Rain or shine
