Dealers in agricultural produce. Repeals provisions relating to the licensing requirements of any person who buys, sells, solicits for sale, processes for sale or resale, resells, exchanges, negotiates, purchases, or contracts for processing or transfers any fruits and vegetables of a producer of such produce in Virginia. The bill maintains the exclusion of such person under the commission merchant licensing requirements if such person holds a license under the federal Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. The bill also makes technical changes to references to agricultural produce as a result of the repeal.
Certificate of public need; exception; critical access hospitals; swing beds; sunset. Allows critical access hospitals to utilize an average of up to 10 swing beds per day, calculated over the hospital's fiscal year, without obtaining a certificate of public need. Under current law, critical access hospitals may only use up to 10 percent of beds as swing beds. The bill directs the State Commissioner of Health to collect data annually from critical access hospitals that use fiscal year averaging for swing beds and make such data publicly available. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2028. This bill is identical to HB 1552.
Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center Board of Trustees; authority to permit campus security officers to carry firearms in performance of official duties; conditions. Authorizes the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center Board of Trustees to permit campus security personnel employed in its campus security department to carry firearms in the performance of their official duties, provided that such campus security personnel are considered armed security officers, as such term is defined in relevant law, and comply with all relevant statutory and regulatory requirements attendant to such designation, including registration and training. This bill is identical to HB 2441.
Board for Professional and Occupational Regulation; powers and duties. Requires the Board for Professional and Occupational Regulation to (i) review and comment on the budget for the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation and (ii) periodically review professions and occupations regulated by the Department and determine whether the regulation level for such professions or occupations should change or whether such professions or occupations should be deregulated. Should the Board determine that a profession or occupation should be regulated at a different level than its current level of regulation or should be deregulated, the bill provides that it must make such recommendation to the General Assembly. This bill is identical to HB 2553.
Eminent domain; documents provided to landowner. Provides that a report showing all matters that affect the current ownership, existing liens, encumbrances, and other matters affecting title as of the date of the title report shall be provided by the condemnor to a landowner in a condemnation action.
Virginia Freedom of Information Act; exclusions; Department of Workforce Development and Advancement. Excludes from the mandatory disclosure requirements of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act certain information held by the Department of Workforce Development and Advancement, which includes any information of a proprietary or confidential nature, including trade secrets, employee compensation information, balance sheets and financial statements that are not available to the public through regulatory disclosure or otherwise, and revenue and cost projections supplied by a private or nongovernmental entity to the Department for the purpose of sponsoring, implementing, and operating (i) an apprenticeship program approved by the Department or (ii) a similar lawful workforce development or public-private partnership approved by the Department that assists the Department in fulfilling its mission and objectives and whose workforce development initiative could not advance without such exemption, as determined by the Commissioner of the Department and the Secretary of Labor. This bill is identical to HB 2502.
Prescription Monitoring Program; requirements of practitioners; pharmacy technicians; training programs. Requires any prescriber of controlled substances approved for use in opioid addiction therapy to, prior to or as a part of execution of a treatment agreement with a patient, request information from the Director of the Department of Health Professions for the purpose of determining what, if any, other covered substances such patient is currently being prescribed. Under current law, only prescribers who hold a special identification number from the Drug Enforcement Administration authorizing the prescribing of controlled substances are required to request such information prior to or as a part of execution of a treatment agreement with a patient. The bill also adds training programs recognized by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board or the National Healthcareer Association to the list of approved pharmacy technician training programs.
Nursing homes; sanctions; civil penalty. Establishes procedures for the implementation of sanctions by the State Health Commissioner on any nursing home that is licensed pursuant to the laws regulating medical care facilities and services. The bill specifies the forms of sanctions that the Commissioner may impose, the nursing home's continued responsibility for persons under its care, the use of funds remunerated in accordance with such sanctions, the process for the imposition of such sanctions, and the Commissioner's ability to revoke such nursing home's license. The bill specifies that sanctions shall not be imposed on a nursing home that is sanctioned by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This bill is identical to HB 2253.
Virginia Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund; claim limits; license threshold amounts. Increases from $20,000 to $30,000 per claim the individual limit of claims against the Virginia Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund based upon an unpaid judgment arising out of the improper or dishonest conduct of a licensed contractor in connection with a single transaction involving contracting and increases from $40,000 to $100,000 during any biennium the aggregate claim limit against a single licensed contractor. The bill also raises the thresholds for the value of single contracts or projects and the total value of all construction, removal, repair, or improvements undertaken by a contractor in a 12-month period that govern each class of contractor's licenses. This bill is identical to HB 1707.
Department of Motor Vehicles; incorrect vehicle title or registration address. Authorizes the owner or lessee of any real property in the Commonwealth to notify the Department of Motor Vehicles if the address of the real property is used for the titling or registration of a vehicle that does not belong to any owner, lessee, or resident of the real property. The bill requires the Department to (i) attempt to notify the vehicle owner of such report and (ii) conduct a search of the National Change of Address System and provides that if the Department is unable to identify the correct address for the vehicle, the Department may revoke the registration, registration card, license plates, and decals issued for the vehicle.
Nursing homes; sanctions; civil penalty. Establishes procedures for the implementation of sanctions by the State Health Commissioner on any nursing home that is licensed pursuant to the laws regulating medical care facilities and services. The bill specifies the forms of sanctions that the Commissioner may impose, the nursing home's continued responsibility for persons under its care, the use of funds remunerated in accordance with such sanctions, the process for the imposition of such sanctions, and the Commissioner's ability to revoke such nursing home's license. The bill specifies that sanctions shall not be imposed on a nursing home that is sanctioned by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This bill is identical to SB 1383.
City of Lexington Industrial Development Authority; appointments. Allows the City of Lexington to appoint from five to seven members to serve on the board of the industrial development authority, with terms staggered as agreed upon by the city council.
