PSAP dispatchers; telecommunicator cardiopulmonary resuscitation; Emergency Medical Dispatch education program. Requires each public safety answering point (PSAP) to provide training and equipment for each of its dispatchers in high-quality telecommunicator cardiopulmonary resuscitation (TCPR) instruction, which is defined in the measure as the delivery by trained 911 telecommunicators of high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation instruction for acute events requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation, including out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. The measure (i) requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to adopt regulations that establish training and equipment standards and (ii) authorizes a PSAP to enter into reciprocal agreements with another PSAP to transfer callers to the other PSAP at times that the initial PSAP does not have a trained dispatcher on duty able to provide TCPR. The measure establishes immunity from civil damages for dispatchers who instruct a caller on TCPR. The measure also requires each operator of a PSAP to implement a requirement that each of its dispatchers complete an Emergency Medical Dispatch education program by July 1, 2024, and to conduct ongoing quality assurance of its TCPR program.
Rate of return for investor-owned electric utilities.Provides that the State Corporation Commission, in determininga fair rate of return on common equity for an investor-owned electricutility after July 1, 2020, shall not set such rate (i) lower thanthe average of the authorized returns on common equity that is setby the applicable regulatory commission for other investor-ownedelectric utilities in the utility's peer group or (ii) higher than150 basis points above such average. Under current law, the floorfor such rate of return on common equity is the average of the returnson common equity of the utility's peer group reported to the Securitiesand Exchange Commission for the three most recent annual periodsand the ceiling is 300 basis points above such average.
Regional water resource planning; State Water Control Board regulations. Directs the State Water Control Board to predict the risk that each locality and region in the Commonwealth will experience water supply shortfalls, to encourage the development of cross-jurisdictional water supply projects, and to adopt regulations designating regional planning areas based primarily on river basins. Each locality in a particular regional planning area shall participate in cross-jurisdictional, coordinated water resource planning, and all localities in each area shall together develop and submit a single regional water supply plan. The bill directs the Department of Environmental Quality to facilitate the creation of the regional water plans by ensuring sufficient coordination among localities, providing planning and other assistance, and ensuring that each regional plan identifies risks and proposes cost-effective strategies in response. The bill directs that the Board and the Department prioritize the allocation of funds to localities that sufficiently participate in regional planning. The bill contains technical amendments.
Child day programs; potable water; lead testing. Requires licensed child day programs and certain other programs that serve preschool-age children to develop and implement a plan to test potable water from sources identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as high priority. The bill requires such plan and the results of each such test to be submitted to and reviewed by the Commissioner of Social Services and the Department of Health's Office of Drinking Water. The bill stipulates that if the result of any such test indicates a level of lead in the potable water that is at or above 15 parts per billion, the program shall remediate the level of lead in the potable water to below 15 parts per billion, confirm such remediation by retesting the water, and submit the results of the retests to the Commissioner of Social Services and the Department of Health's Office of Drinking Water for review. The bill also provides such programs the option of using bottled water in lieu of testing or remediation. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2021. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.
Judicial assistants. Provides that a judicialassistant serving a circuit court judge and whose position is fundedin whole or in part by a county or city shall serve at the pleasureand under the sole management and supervision of the presiding judgeof the circuit court.
Drinking water supplies; maximum contaminant levels. Directs the State Board of Health to adopt regulations establishing maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) in public drinking water systems for (i) perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorooctane sulfonate, and for such other perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances as the Board deems necessary; (ii) chromium-6; and (iii) 1,4-dioxane. The bill requires such MCLs to be protective of public health, including the health of vulnerable subpopulations, and to be no higher than any MCL or health advisory adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the same contaminant. The bill directs the Department of Health to report to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions on the status of research related to MCLs by November 1, 2020, and submit a final report by October 1, 2021, detailing the MCL regulations established by the Department of Health. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2022.
Department of Transportation; electronic speed indicator signs; U.S. Route 17. Requires the Commissioner of Highways to place at least six permanent electronic speed indicator signs on U.S. Route 17 near particular intersections in Fauquier County. This bill is identical to HB 941.
Prescription Monitoring Program; information disclosed to the Emergency Department Information Exchange; redisclosure. Provides for the mutual exchange of information between the Prescription Monitoring Program and the Emergency Department Information Exchange and clarifies that nothing shall prohibit the redisclosure of confidential information from the Prescription Monitoring Program or any data or reports produced by the Prescription Monitoring Program disclosed to the Emergency Department Information Exchange to a prescriber in an electronic report generated by the Emergency Department Information Exchange so long as the electronic report complies with relevant federal law and regulations governing privacy of health information. The bill expands the information that the Director of the Virginia Department of Health Professions can disclose to include information about a specific recipient who is a member of a health benefit plan or to his clinical designee who holds a multistate licensure privilege to practice nursing or a license issued by a health regulatory board within the Department of Health Professions and is employed by a health benefit plan.
Department of Social Services; Office of NewAmericans created. Establishes the Office of New Americans withinthe Department of Social Services, as well as an advisory board,to assist immigrant integration within the Commonwealth on an economic,social, and cultural level. The Office shall provide (i) advice andassistance regarding the citizenship application process; (ii) assistancewith securing employment, housing, and services for which such personsmay be eligible; (iii) information to localities and immigrationservice organizations about state programs that help such personsfind and secure employment, housing, and services for which they may be eligible; and (iv) information to localities and immigrationservice organizations regarding health epidemics and unlawful predatoryactions, such as human trafficking, gang recruitment, and fraudulentfinancial and other schemes, to which communities of such personsmay be especially vulnerable. The Advisory Board shall report tothe Director of the Office, who will submit to the Governor and theGeneral Assembly an annual executive summary of the interim activityand work of the Board no later than the first day of each regularsession of the General Assembly. The bill renames the Office of NewcomerServices as the Division of Newcomer Services and establishes thedivision as a subdivision of the Office of New Americans.
Programs to address career fatigue and wellness in certain health care providers; civil immunity. Expands civil immunity for health care professionals serving as members of or consultants to entities that function primarily to review, evaluate, or make recommendations related to health care services to include health care professionals serving as members of or consultants to entities that function primarily to address issues related to career fatigue and wellness in health care professionals licensed to practice medicine or osteopathic medicine or licensed as a physician assistant. The bill also clarifies that, absent evidence indicating a reasonable probability that a health care professional who is a participant in a professional program to address issues related to career fatigue or wellness is not competent to continue in practice or is a danger to himself, his patients, or the public, participation in such a professional program does not trigger the requirement that the health care professional be reported to the Department of Health Professions. The bill contains an emergency clause.
Concealed handgun permits; demonstration of competence. Removes the option for concealed handgun permit applicants to demonstrate competence with a handgun by completing an electronic, video, or online course conducted by a state-certified or National Rifle Association-certified firearms instructor. The bill does not affect any in-person means of satisfying the requirement to demonstrate competence with a handgun under current law. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2021. This bill is identical to HB 264.
Naloxone; possession and administration. Provides that a person who is not otherwise authorized to administer naloxone or other opioid antagonist used for overdose reversal may administer naloxone or other opioid antagonist used for overdose reversal to a person who is believed to be experiencing or about to experience a life-threatening opioid overdose, provided that the administration is in good faith and absent gross negligence or willful and wanton misconduct.
