HB 1263: Public employees; repeals existing prohibition on collective bargaining, etc. - Virginia

Subcommittee #2 Subcommittee Substitute → Commerce Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee Substitute · 7 edits

MODERATE

This substitute makes several substantive changes to Virginia's public employee collective bargaining framework and the Virginia Home Care Authority. Most significantly, it removes public institutions of higher education from coverage, narrows the definition of covered programs to only consumer-directed care models, adds a new section clarifying that individual home care providers are not Commonwealth employees, and restructures the Public Employee Relations Board from an independent agency to a division within a department.

Scope change

The bill's scope is narrowed in two major ways: (1) public institutions of higher education and their teaching hospital health system authorities are removed from coverage entirely, and (2) the Virginia Home Care Authority's jurisdiction over home care programs is limited to consumer-directed care models only, excluding other Commonwealth-funded direct support service programs.

SCOPE

Public institutions of higher education (and their associated health system authorities serving as teaching hospitals) are removed from the definition of state agency, public employer, public employee, and governing body. The separate bargaining unit provision for these institutions is deleted. This means university employees lose collective bargaining rights under this article.

New section 40.1-57.5 clarifies that individual home care providers are considered public employees only for collective bargaining purposes, are not Commonwealth employees, are not eligible for state retirement or health benefits, and the Commonwealth is not liable for their acts or omissions. It also preserves participants' rights to select, hire, direct, supervise, and terminate their providers.

The Public Employee Relations Board is restructured from an independent agency in the executive branch to a division of the Department (presumably Human Resource Management), changing its legal status and potentially its independence.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'covered program' is narrowed from any program 'funded in whole or in part by the Commonwealth' to specifically programs operating 'through the consumer-directed care services model.' This excludes non-consumer-directed home care programs from the Authority's jurisdiction.

The definition of 'individual provider' is expanded to explicitly state that an individual provider does not mean 'public employee' in any case other than for purposes of collective bargaining under Article 2.2, limiting the scope of public employee status to bargaining only.

REQUIREMENT

The Virginia Home Care Authority's role is changed from 'joint employer' to 'employer representative' for individual providers, reducing its legal liability and employment obligations. The duty to provide backup home care assistance when a provider is absent is removed entirely.

ELIGIBILITY

The temporary public employee exemption no longer carves out employees of public institutions of higher learning. All temporary public employees (those hired for positions intended to last three months or less in any 24-month period) are now exempt from the article.

Commerce and Labor Substitute → Governor Substitute · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was revised from a Senate version to a Governor's substitute, shifting the primary focus from establishing a new Public Employee Relations Board to creating a Virginia Home Care Council for individual providers. The new version adds a new article in Title 32.1 regarding the Home Care Council, expands the Public Employee Relations Board's creation date to October 2026, and changes the effective date of the collective bargaining provisions from July 1, 2028, to July 1, 2027. It also adds a requirement for public institutions of higher education to assess the act's impact on tuition.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include the creation of a Virginia Home Care Council to oversee collective bargaining for individual home care providers, in addition to the existing provisions for public employees.

SCOPE

Added a new article creating the Virginia Home Care Council to promote stability for individual home care providers in Medicaid waiver programs.

TIMELINE

Changed the effective date for the Public Employee Relations Board's initial appointments from October 1, 2026, to October 1, 2026, and moved the overall implementation of collective bargaining rights to July 1, 2027.

Extended the deadline for the Public Employee Relations Board to report on bargaining unit evaluations from September 1, 2027, to September 1, 2027 (no change in date, but added specific evaluation tasks).

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement for governing boards of public institutions of higher education to assess the act's impact on tuition as part of their six-year planning.

DEFINITION

Added definitions for 'covered program', 'direct support services', 'individual provider', 'participant', and 'participant representative' related to home care.

ENFORCEMENT

Added a new section detailing a specific arbitration process for disputes involving firefighters and emergency medical services providers.

Enrolled → Labor and Commerce Substitute · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to rename the 'Virginia Home Care Council' to the 'Virginia Home Care Authority' and shift its oversight from the Department of Health and Human Resources to the Department of Medical Assistance Services. The Authority's role was expanded to act as a 'joint employer' for individual home care providers, giving it direct responsibility for processing payments, managing benefits, and maintaining personnel records. Additionally, the bill was modified to repeal the previous strike penalty statute and remove the requirement for a Public Employee Relations Board, instead designating the Department of Labor and Industry to create regulations by 2028.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed by removing the establishment of a new Public Employee Relations Board and the repeal of the strike penalty law, while expanding the scope of the Home Care entity to include direct employment responsibilities for home care workers.

DEFINITION

The entity created by the bill was renamed from 'Virginia Home Care Council' to 'Virginia Home Care Authority'.

SCOPE

The oversight authority for the Home Care entity changed from the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to the Department of Medical Assistance Services.

The creation of a new Public Employee Relations Board and the repeal of the existing Public Employee Relations Board were removed from the bill.

REQUIREMENT

The Home Care entity's duties were expanded to include acting as a 'joint employer' responsible for processing wages, benefits, and maintaining personnel records for individual providers.

ENFORCEMENT

The repeal of the law allowing public employees to be fired for striking was removed from the bill.

TIMELINE

The timeline for regulatory implementation was changed to require the Department of Labor and Industry to promulgate regulations by July 1, 2028, rather than establishing a new Board.

Introduced → Enrolled · 8 edits · Mar 31, 2026

MODERATE

This bill transforms the Virginia Home Care Authority into the Virginia Home Care Council, shifting its oversight from the Department of Medical Assistance Services to the Secretary of Health and Human Resources. The primary changes involve renaming the entity, adjusting its appointment process to include the Governor, and significantly reducing the scope of its duties by removing provisions for paid training programs and mandatory orientation requirements for individual home care providers.

Scope change

The bill narrows the scope of the home care oversight body by eliminating its role as a joint employer for training and orientation purposes, while retaining its role as the exclusive bargaining representative for individual providers.

DEFINITION

The entity name was changed from 'Virginia Home Care Authority' to 'Virginia Home Care Council' throughout the text.

Narrowed the definition of 'covered program' to exclude state plan programs, focusing only on consumer-directed services and specific waiver programs.

REQUIREMENT

Removed the requirement for the Council to arrange and pay for a paid training program for individual providers.

Replaced the mandatory orientation program requirement with a less specific duty to 'arrange for the provision of an orientation' without specifying attendance limits or payment obligations.

Changed the contact information disclosure rule to only require providing home addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses, removing work addresses and work phone numbers.

Removed the requirement for the Council to provide a list of individual providers to bargaining representatives at least 24 hours before orientation begins.

ENFORCEMENT

Removed the Council's authority to act as a 'joint employer' for individual providers regarding wages, benefits, and personnel records, limiting its role to collective bargaining purposes only.

TIMELINE

Adjusted the timeline for providing contact information to bargaining representatives from 10 days to 10 business days.

Appropriations Substitute → Commerce and Labor Substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was transferred from the House Appropriations Committee to the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee, changing the legislative focus from funding and administrative structure to labor relations and collective bargaining. The Senate version removes the creation of the Virginia Home Care Authority and its associated powers, while retaining the core framework for public employee collective bargaining.

Scope change

The bill's scope was significantly narrowed by removing the establishment of a new state agency (Virginia Home Care Authority) and its specific duties regarding individual home care providers, shifting the focus entirely to general public employee collective bargaining.

SCOPE

The creation of the Virginia Home Care Authority and its powers to manage individual provider registries, training, and collective bargaining were removed.

DEFINITION

Definitions related to 'covered programs,' 'direct support services,' and 'individual providers' within the context of the Home Care Authority were removed.

TIMELINE

The bill's title and introductory text were updated to reflect the Senate Committee's review instead of the House Appropriations Committee.

TECHNICAL

The bill's title was shortened to remove references to the repealed Home Care Authority sections, and the list of added sections was adjusted to exclude the Authority's sections.

Commerce Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee Substitute → Appropriations Substitute · 2 edits

MINOR

The bill was transitioned from a House Substitute to an Appropriations Substitute, primarily adding a specific date (February 13, 2026) for the proposal and a page number (HB1263H2) to the header. The substantive legislative text regarding the Virginia Home Care Authority and public employee collective bargaining rules remains unchanged.

TECHNICAL

Added the specific date 'February 13, 2026' to the header indicating when the Appropriations Committee proposed the substitute.

Added the page number 'HB1263H2' to the header for tracking purposes.

Labor and Commerce Substitute → Subcommittee #2 Subcommittee Substitute · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill text was reformatted from a standard legislative layout to a 'House Substitute' version with different numbering and spacing, but the substantive policy content, definitions, and requirements remain unchanged. No new laws, funding amounts, or eligibility criteria were added or removed.

TECHNICAL

The document structure was changed from a standard 'Labor and Commerce Substitute' to a 'House Substitute' format, including renumbering of lines and the addition of a bill tracking number.

Public employees; repeals existing prohibition on collective bargaining, etc.

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