Charter; Town of Pulaski. Amends the charter for the Town of Pulaski in Pulaski County to reflect the town's shift from May to November municipal elections. The bill clarifies that the town council's membership consists of seven members, including the mayor, and provides that the mayor may vote in the council. The bill also changes the time of the election of the vice-mayor from even-numbered years to odd-numbered years at the first meeting of the council. This bill is identical to HB 1127.
Virginia Freedom of Information Act; effective date of procedures for conducting meetings held through electronic communication means during declared states of emergency. Provides that the provisions for conducting a meeting by electronic means due to a state of emergency stated in the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) are declarative of existing law since March 20, 2020, with respect to the Governor's declared state of emergency due to COVID-19. Under the bill, any meeting by a public body using electronic communication means occurring from that date until July 1, 2021, and any otherwise lawful action taken at it is validated with respect to FOIA if the body provided public notice, public access, and public comment commensurate with the requirements of existing FOIA provisions regarding electronic and closed meetings. The bill is a response to the case Berry v. Bd. of Supervisors (Va. 2023) and is a recommendation of the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council. This bill is identical to HB 816.
Casino gaming; eligible host city. Removes the City of Richmond as an eligible host city for casino gaming establishments in the Commonwealth. This bill is identical to SB 541.
Tow truck drivers and towing and recovery operators; prohibited acts; certain solicitation and offering of services; penalty. Prohibits tow truck drivers and towing and recovery operators from causing any other person to solicit or offer towing services in any manner, directly or indirectly, at the scene of any wrecked or disabled motor vehicle upon a highway when such wrecked or disabled motor vehicle reasonably necessitates removal by a tow truck. The bill provides that a violation of such prohibition constitutes a Class 3 misdemeanor for the first offense and a Class 2 misdemeanor for any subsequent offense.
Charter; Town of Smithfield. Amends the charter for the Town of Smithfield in Isle of Wight County to reflect the town's shift from May to November municipal elections. The bill also updates or repeals outdated provisions of the town's charter. This bill is identical to HB 91.
Health insurance; prior authorization. Requires that any provider contract between a carrier and a participating health care provider contain specific provisions that require that if a prior authorization request is approved for prescription drugs and such prescription drugs have been scheduled, provided, or delivered to the patient consistent with the authorization, the carrier shall not revoke, limit, condition, modify, or restrict that authorization unless (i) there is evidence that the authorization was obtained based on fraud or misrepresentation; (ii) final actions by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, other regulatory agencies, or the manufacturer remove the drug from the market, limit its use in a manner that affects the authorization, or communicate a patient safety issue that would affect the authorization alone or in combination with other authorizations; (iii) a combination of drugs prescribed would cause a drug interaction; or (iv) a generic or biosimilar is added to the prescription drug formulary. The bill provides that such provisions do not require a carrier to cover any benefit not otherwise covered or cover a prescription drug if the enrollee is no longer covered by a health plan on the date the prescription drug was scheduled, provided, or delivered. This bill is identical to SB 98.
Commonwealth Health Reinsurance Program; payment parameters. Requires the State Corporation Commission, in settingthe payment parameters for the upcoming benefits year, to set suchpayment parameters at levels designed to achieve the premium reductiontarget established in the general appropriation act or, if such targetis not established in the general appropriation act, the premiumreduction target of the previous benefit year.
Department of Environmental Quality; Department of Health; PFAS; identification; monitoring; PFAS Expert Advisory Council established; report. Requires, for every public water system, as defined in the bill, the Department of Health (VDH) to assist the Department of Environmental Quality (the Department) by transferring to the Department quarterly all validated monitoring results available to VDH that indicate PFAS maximum containment level, as defined in the bill, exceedances. In such circumstances, the bill provides that the Department is required to develop and implement a plan to prioritize and conduct PFAS assessments for identifying significant sources of PFAS in such public water system's raw water source or sources. The bill requires any facility, if deemed by the Department to be a potentially significant source of PFAS in the public water system's raw water source, (i) to perform and promptly report the results of quarterly discharge monitoring for one year and (ii) to report to the Department, within 90 days after being directed by the Department, its manufacture or use of PFAS. The bill establishes a PFAS Expert Advisory Committee to assist the Department and VDH in its PFAS-related efforts and requires the Committee to meet at least two times per year through June 30, 2027. The bill requires the Department to annually report certain information to the Governor and the General Assembly by October 1. This bill incorporates HB 245 and is identical to SB 243.
Fisheries Innovation for Sustainable HarvestFund established. Establishes the Fisheries Innovation for SustainableHarvest Fund for the purposes of supporting and promoting the economicgrowth and development of Virginia's seafood economy. The Fund shall be administered by the Marine Resources Commission for the sole purposeof supporting and promoting the economic growth and developmentof Virginia's seafood economy while enhancing the sustainabilityof Virginia's marine fisheries resources through the awarding ofgrants, revolving loans, or other financial tools. The bill providesthat the Commercial Fishing Advisory Board shall advise the Commissionon expenditures from the Fund and also requires royalties collectedby the Commission on or after July 1, 2024, as a result of the generationor transmission of electrical or compressed air energy from certainoffshore renewable sources to be credited to the Fund. The bill alsoprovides that any such royalties appropriated to the Virginia CoastalEnergy Research Consortium under current law shall instead be appropriatedto the Fund.
Primary elections; candidates for nomination; withdrawal of candidacy resulting in unopposed primary; primary cancellation and nomination procedure. Provides that if a person who is a candidate for nomination by a political party at a primary election and who appears on the ballot for such election withdraws his candidacy on or after the forty-fourth day before but prior to the Tuesday immediately preceding the primary election, and the result of such withdrawal is one remaining candidate who is now unopposed, the remaining candidate will be declared the party's nominee for the office sought and the primary election will be canceled. The bill requires the notice of withdrawal to be signed and notarized and to be submitted to the general registrar, who then transmits it to the local electoral board and the State Board of Elections along with a certification that the remaining candidate is now unopposed for nomination. The State Board is required to declare the remaining candidate to be the nominee within one calendar day of receiving such notice, and the local electoral board is then required to petition the circuit court for the cancellation of the primary election. Finally, the bill directs the State Board to prescribe procedures for canceling a primary election, including instructions for locking and securing voting systems, disposition of marked and unmarked absentee ballots, and voter notification. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025. This bill is identical to HB 55.
Six-year financial plan. Modifies the requirements for the six-year financial plan submitted by the Governor to the General Assembly by (i) requiring that such plan be submitted on or before the first day of each regular session of the General Assembly instead of on or before the first day of each regular session of the General Assembly held in an even-numbered year as required by current law and (ii) providing that such plan ensure structural balance between projected revenues and expenditures for the six-year period. This bill is identical to HB 712.
Six-Year Capital Outlay Plan and funding.Provides that the Six-Year Capital Outlay Plan Advisory Committeeshall submit and annually amend a Six-Year Capital Outlay Plan thatshall include new capital outlay projects (and previously plannedor authorized capital outlay projects) that are to be funded entirelyor partially from general fund-supported resources for the six fiscal years beginning July 1, 2024. The Plan shall be amended annuallythrough the submission of a report to the Governor and the GeneralAssembly by the Advisory Committee which reflects (i) its recommendations1516 and (ii) any capital outlay projects authorized by the GeneralAssembly in an appropriation act. The bill also removes the requirementfor the Governor to submit in each legislative session a prefiledbill with amendments to the current Plan to be enacted into law.
