Provides that a covered person shall not be required to have exhausted his health carrier's internal appeal process before seeking an external review of an adverse determination regarding coverage of treatment if the treatment is to treat his cancer. The measure provides that a covered person may request an expedited external review if the adverse determination relates to the treatment of a cancer of the covered person. The measure requires health carriers' notices of the right to an external review to notify covered persons of this provision. The bill contains an emergency clause and is identical to
Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue a special identification card without a photograph to a person with a sincerely held religious belief prohibiting the taking of a photograph who would otherwise meet the qualifications for a special identification card but also presents an approved and signed IRS Form 4029. The bill allows a special identification card without a photograph to be similar in size, shape, and design to a driver's license but requires (i) that it be clearly distinguishable from a driver's license, (ii) that it not include a photograph of its holder, and (iii) that it clearly state that (a) the card does not authorize the holder to operate a motor vehicle, (b) federal limits apply, and (c) the card is not valid identification to vote. The bill provides that giving false information, concealing a material fact, or otherwise committing a fraud in applying for a special identification card without a photograph is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor and that obtaining a special identification card without a photograph for the purpose of committing any offense punishable as a felony constitutes a Class 4 felony. The bill contains technical amendments. This bill is the result of a study conducted by the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Provides that customers of an incumbent electric utility that is required to obtain capacity for all load and expected load growth in its service area shall, if they purchase energy from a supplier licensed to sell retail electric energy within the Commonwealth, continue to pay their incumbent electric utility for the non-fuel generation capacity and transmission related costs incurred by the incumbent electric utility in order to meet such customers' capacity obligations. The measure provides that the advance written notice period applicable to such customers shall be three years. The measure does not apply to customers of licensed suppliers that had an agreement with a licensed supplier entered into before February 1, 2019, or had aggregation petitions pending before the State Corporation Commission prior to January 1, 2019, unless and until such a customer has returned to its incumbent electric utility.The measure requires each licensed retail supplier serving customers of Appalachian Power to file annual reports with the Commission and provides that the failure to do so constitutes grounds for suspension or revocation of its license.
Authorizes a local governing body, with respect to a service district, to contract with a nongovernmental broadband service provider who will construct, maintain, and own communications facilities and equipment required to facilitate delivery of last-mile broadband services to unserved areas of the service district, provided that the locality documents that less than 10 percent of residential and commercial units within the project area are capable of receiving broadband service at the time the construction project is approved by the locality.
Requires each employer to provide on each regular pay date a written statement, by a paystub or online accounting, that shows the name and address of the employer, the number of hours worked during the pay period, and the rate of pay. Currently an employer is required to provide, when requested, a written statement of the employee's gross wages and any deductions. The measure does not apply to agricultural employment except that an agricultural employer, upon request of its employee, shall furnish the employee a written statement of the gross wages earned by the employee during any pay period and the amount and purpose of any deductions therefrom. The measure has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2020. The bill is identical to
Provides that any evidence gathered through the conduct of an interrogation that violates the provisions of the Firefighters and Emergency Medical Technicians Procedural Guarantee Act shall not be admissible in any case against a firefighter or emergency medical services personnel.
. Establishes the Maternal Death Review Team (the Team) to develop and implement procedures to ensure that maternal deaths occurring in the Commonwealth are analyzed in a systematic way. The bill requires the Team to (i) develop and revise as necessary operating procedures for maternal death reviews, including identification of cases to be reviewed and procedures for coordinating among the agencies and professionals involved; (ii) improve the identification of, and data collection and record keeping related to, causes of maternal deaths; (iii) recommend components of programs to increase awareness and prevention of, and education about, maternal deaths; and (iv) recommend training to improve the review of maternal deaths. The bill also requires the Team to compile triennial statistical data regarding maternal deaths and to make such data available to the Governor and the General Assembly. The bill provides that information and records obtained or created by the Team and portions of meetings of the Team at which individual maternal deaths are discussed shall be confidential.
Prohibits, beginning July 1, 2021, the use for training purposes or for testing, with some exceptions, of a class B firefighting foam that contains intentionally added PFAS chemicals, as defined in the bill.
Authorizes the State Board of Corrections (the Board) to establish minimum standards for behavioral health services in local correctional facilities, including (i) requirements for behavioral health screening and assessment for all individuals committed to local correctional facilities, the delivery of behavioral health services in local correctional facilities, and the sharing of medical and mental health information and records concerning individuals committed to local correctional facilities; (ii) requirements for discharge planning for individuals with serious mental illness assessed as requiring behavioral health services upon release from local correctional facilities; (iii) requirements for at least one unannounced annual inspection of each local correctional facility to determine compliance; and (iv) provisions for billing the sheriff in charge of a local correctional facility or superintendent of a regional correctional facility by a community services board that provides behavioral health services in the local or regional correctional facility. The bill also allows the person in charge of a state, regional, or local correctional facility, or his designee, to receive from a health care provider medical and mental health information and records concerning a person committed to such correctional facility, even when such committed person does not provide consent or consent is not readily obtainable, when such information and records are necessary (a) for the provision of health care to the person committed, (b) to protect the health and safety of the person committed or other residents or staff of the facility, or (c) to maintain the security and safety of the facility. The bill clarifies that the administrative personnel of a state, regional, or local correctional facility may receive medical and mental health information and records from any health care provider concerning any person committed to such correctional facility as necessary to maintain the safety of the facility, its employees, or other prisoners.
Directs the Commissioner of Health (i) to review charity care conditions on certificates of public need at least once every three years to determine whether conditions continue to be appropriate or should be revised and (ii) to notify the certificate holder as to his conclusions and the process for requesting changes to conditions on an existing certificate.
Creates an Interstate 81 Committee, tasked with developing and updating a program related to Interstate 81 Corridor safety and improvements, and creates an Interstate 81 Corridor Improvement Fund (Fund). The bill provide revenues for the Fund through the creation of a new registration fee, a diesel tax, a regional gas tax, and a roads tax. The new registration fee would apply to non-passenger vehicles weighing over 10,000 pounds. Additionally, private and for-hire nonpassenger vehicles would pay the existing registration fee at the rate currently paid by for-hire vehicles. Beginning July 1, 2021, a tax at the rate of 2.03 percent of the statewide average wholesale price of a gallon of diesel fuel would be imposed statewide on the sale of diesel fuel. A regional gas tax, like the tax imposed in the Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads regions, would be applied to the sale of gasoline and diesel at a rate of 2.1 percent of the statewide average price of a gallon of gasoline and diesel fuels. The existing roads tax, currently $0.035 per gallon of fuel, would be determined annually by the Commissioner by multiplying the average fuel economy (defined in the amendment as the total taxable miles driven in the Commonwealth divided by the total taxable gallons of fuel consumed in the Commonwealth, as reported on International Fuel Tax Agreement Returns) by $0.01125 for fiscal year 2020, and by $0.0225 for fiscal year 2021 and each year thereafter. All of the revenues generated by the regional gas tax would be deposited in the Fund. The other new revenues would be apportioned among the Fund, the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority Fund, and Commonwealth Transportation Board for use in other interstate corridors based upon total vehicle miles driven by vehicles classified as Class 6 or higher on Interstate 81, interstates within the boundaries of Planning District 8, and other interstate corridors, respectively, as compared with total vehicle miles driven on interstates in the Commonwealth by vehicles classified as Class 6 or higher. This bill is identical to
Makes the provisions of the Campaign Finance Disclosure Act (the Act) applicable to any candidate for a town office in a town with a population of less than 25,000 if such candidate accepts contributions or makes expenditures in excess of $25,000 within the candidate's election cycle. Currently, the Act does not apply to town elections in a town with a population of less than 25,000 unless an ordinance in that town provides otherwise.
