The 2021 legislative session is already in full swing! Yesterday, two committees already heard argument on both the Senate and the House bill to require reports of abuse and neglect be reported to dLCV, and heard argument on the bill to protect people against employment discrimination.
HB 1808 (Orrock) and SB 1154 (Favola) will provide the disAbility Law Center with access to allegations of abuse and neglect that are filed with the state. A substitute bill was offered, on both sides, which would provide them to dLCV only after the provider has done their investigation. dLCV agreed with that modification. On the House side, HB1808 was approved unanimously by Health, Welfare and Institutions. On the Senate side, members asked questions and raised concerns, so the Committee sent the bill to the Health subcommittee to review. SB 1154 will be up on Tuesday at 4:00.
We are supporting legislation that will impact the employment of people with disabilities. Because the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is always far in excess of the general population’s unemployment rate, the disAbility Law Center of Virginia considers these reforms to be of vital importance to our community. HB 1848 (Sickles) extends state protections against employment discrimination to individuals with disabilities. In 2020, the legislature passed sweeping protections against discrimination for many classifications, but neglected to include people with disabilities. HB 1848 will correct that oversight. The bill was unanimously approved in the subcommittee of House General Laws and will go to the full Committee next week.
We are available to educate policy makers about the potential impact of legislative proposals. Please let us know of any legislative proposals or budget issues that you think we should be following. Contact us at info@dlcv.org or by calling 1-800-552-3962 or 804-225-2042. Our mission is to advance independence, choice and self-determination; protect legal, human and civil rights; and eliminate abuse, neglect and discrimination of people with disabilities through zealous and uncompromising legal advocacy and representation. Please continue to check back here for regular updates on developments in the legislature.