Workers' compensation; employer to notify employee of intent. Requires an employer whose employee has filed a claim under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act to advise the employee whether the employer intends to accept or deny the claim or is unable to make such a determination because it lacks sufficient information from the employee or a third party. If the employer is unable to make such a determination because it lacks sufficient information from the employee or a third party, the employer shall so state and identify the needed additional information. If the employer intends to deny the claim, it shall provide the reasons. The bill provides that an employer may, if the employee consents, send any such required response to the employee by email.
Child day programs; potable water; lead testing.Requires licensed child day programs and certain other programs thatserve preschool-age children to develop and implement a plan to testpotable water from sources identified by the U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency as high priority. The bill requires such plan and the resultsof each such test to be submitted to and reviewed by the Commissionerof Social Services and the Department of Health's Office of DrinkingWater. The bill stipulates that if the result of any such test indicatesa level of lead in the potable water that is at or above 15 partsper billion, the program shall remediate the level of lead in thepotable water to below 15 parts per billion, confirm such remediationby retesting the water, and submit the results of the retests tothe Commissioner of Social Services and the Department of Health'sOffice of Drinking Water for review. The bill also provides suchprograms the option of using bottled water in lieu of testing or remediation. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2021.
Constitutional amendment (voter referendum); apportionment; Virginia Redistricting Commission. Provides for a referendum at the November 3, 2020, election to approve or reject amendments to the Constitution of Virginia establishing the Virginia Redistricting Commission and providing for the reapportionment of the Commonwealth to be done by such Commission. If approved by the voters, the amendments would become effective on November 15, 2020. This bill incorporates SB 358 and SB 974.
Chesterfield County School Board; recoveryhigh school. Permits the Chesterfield County School Board, withsuch funds as may be appropriated for such purpose pursuant to thegeneral appropriation act, to establish a recovery high school inthe school division as a year-round high school (i) for which enrollmentis open to any high school student who resides in Superintendent'sRegion 1 and is in the early stages of recovery from substance usedisorder or dependency and (ii) for the purpose of providing suchstudents with the academic, emotional, and social support necessaryto make progress toward earning a high school diploma and reintegratinginto a traditional high school setting.
Department of State Police; establishment of cold case searchable database. Requires the Superintendent of State Police to establish and maintain a searchable electronic database of cold cases, available to the public through the Department of State Police official website. The bill defines "cold case" as an investigation into a homicide, missing person, or unidentified person case that has remained unsolved for at least five years after the crime occurred, the person went missing, or the unidentified body was found, whichever occurred last. The bill requires the database to include (i) the category of cold case and, in the case of a homicide or missing person, the name of the victim or missing person, unless prohibited or restricted by law; (ii) the location where the crime was committed, where the person was last seen, or where the body was found, if known; (iii) the date and time the crime occurred, the person was last seen, or the body was found, if known; (iv) the name and contact information of the investigating law-enforcement agency; (v) a brief summary of the crime or case; and (vi) any other information that the investigating law-enforcement agency determines is appropriate. The bill also allows the Department and submitting law-enforcement agencies to withhold such information, in whole or in part, from the database (a) as they deem necessary for investigative purposes, protection of privacy, or any other lawful reason or (b) upon request of the victim's or missing person's next of kin.
Behavioral health dockets; established. Establishes, by the Behavioral Health Docket Act (the Act), behavioral health courts as specialized court dockets within the existing structure of Virginia's court system, offering judicial monitoring of intensive treatment and supervision of offenders who have mental illness and co-occurring substance abuse issues. The bill establishes a state behavioral health docket advisory committee and requires localities intending to establish such dockets to establish local behavioral health docket advisory committees. The bill gives the Supreme Court of Virginia administrative oversight of the implementation of the Act. The Act is modeled on the Drug Treatment Court Act (§ 18.2-254.1).
Prescription Monitoring Program; information disclosed to the Emergency Department Care Coordination Program; redisclosure. Provides for the mutual exchange of information between the Prescription Monitoring Program and the Emergency Department Care Coordination Program 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 Care Coordination Program to a prescriber in an electronic report generated by the Emergency Department Care Coordination Program so long as the electronic report complies with relevant federal law and regulations governing privacy of health information. This bill is identical to SB 575.
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 immigration service organizations about state programs that help such personsfind and secure employment, housing, and services for which theymay 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.
Public schools; school resource officers andschool security officers; data. Requires the Department of CriminalJustice Services, in coordination with the Department of Educationand the Department of Juvenile Justice, to annually collect, report,and publish data related to incidents involving students and schoolresource officers or school security officers. The bill also requiresthe Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety to analyze and disseminatesubmitted data.
Standards of Quality; state funding; ratiosof teachers to English language learners. Requires state funding, pursuant to the general appropriation act, to be provided pursuantto Standard 2 of the Standards of Quality to support divisionwideratios of English language learner students in average daily membershipto full-time equivalent teaching positions as follows: (i) for eachEnglish language learner identified as proficiency level one, oneposition per 25 students; (ii) for each English language learneridentified as proficiency level two, one position per 30 students;(iii) for each English language learner identified as proficiencylevel three, one position per 40 students; and (iv) for all other English language learners, one position per 58 students. Currentlaw requires 17 full-time equivalent instructional positions for each1,000 students identified as having limited English proficiency.
Animal shelters; housing conditions. Requires certain housing, space, and care conditions for an animal that is confined by the operator or custodian of a public or private animal shelter or releasing agency during an applicable stray hold period. The bill requires different conditions after such stray hold period ends, including requirements related to materials and construction of facilities, indoor and outdoor enclosures, and separation of certain animals. The bill also requires any regulation by the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services that applies to an animal not subject to a stray hold period to not be so restrictive as to fail to allow for adequate care, exercise, and space, including meaningful indoor and outdoor recreation for the animal.
Board of Medical Assistance Services; state pharmacy benefits manager. Requires the Board of Medical AssistanceServices (the Board) to select, every four years, a third-party administratorto serve as the state pharmacy benefits manager used by Medicaidmanaged care organizations under the state plan for medical assistance.Under the bill, the state pharmacy benefits manager is responsiblefor all claims under the state plan. The bill requires the Board,in selecting the state pharmacy benefits manager, to establish eligibilitycriteria, develop a master contract to be used between the statepharmacy benefits manager and a Medicaid managed care organization,and establish mandatory disclosures for the applicants. The billrequires the state pharmacy benefits manager, in consultation withthe Director of Medical Assistance Services (the Director), to developa drug formulary for use when administering prescribed drug benefits on behalf of a Medicaid managed care organization under the stateplan. The bill prohibits payments for drugs that exceed the per unitprice on the formulary. The bill requires the Director to establishan appeals process by which pharmacies may appeal any disputes relatingto the maximum allowable cost set by the state pharmacy benefitsmanager. The bill requires the state pharmacy benefits manager toprovide a quarterly report to the Board containing certain information.
