Employers; reporting outbreaks of COVID-19. Requires that, upon determination that a worksite cluster of COVID-19 has occurred at a workplace with 50 or more employees, the Department of Health (the Department) shall make a report available to the public on a website maintained by the Department that includes (i) the name of the employer at which a worksite cluster has been reported and (ii) the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported by such employer. The Department shall also report when previously reported outbreaks are under control. The bill defines "worksite cluster" as five or more cases with illness onset or initial positive results within a 14-day period and a likely epidemiologic linkage between cases. The bill provides that the provisions of the act shall expire upon expiration of the Governor's declared state of emergency in response to the continued spread of the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus, or COVID-19. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.
Health insurance; association health plan for real estate salespersons. Provides that a licensed insurer may issue a policy of group accident and sickness insurance to an association of real estate salespersons (association), which association shall be deemed the policyholder, and that such association health plan is not considered to be insurance and is not subject to the existing requirements for insurance if certain requirements are met. The bill requires that (i) all members of the association be eligible for coverage and membership, including employer members with at least one employee that is domiciled in the Commonwealth or self-employed individuals; (ii) membership in the association not be conditioned on any health status–related factor; (iii) the coverage offered through the association be available to all members regardless of any health status–related factor; (iv) the association not make health insurance coverage offered through the association available other than in connection with a member of the association; and (v) premiums for the policy be paid from funds contributed by the association or associations, or by employer members, or by both, or from funds contributed by the covered persons or from both the covered persons and the association, associations, or employer members. The bill also requires the association (a) has at the outset a minimum of 100 members; (b) has been organized and maintained in good faith for purposes other than that of obtaining insurance; (c) has been in active existence for at least five years; and (d) has a constitution and bylaws that provide that the association hold regular meetings not less than annually to further purposes of the members, that the the association collects dues or solicits contributions from members, and that the members have voting privileges and representation on the governing board and committees.The bill provides that any such policy shall (1) be considered a large group market plan subject to all coverage mandates applicable to a large group market plan, (2) be subject to the group health plan coverage requirements under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, (3) be prohibited from denying coverage under the policy on the basis of a pre-existing condition, (4) shall be guaranteed issue and guaranteed renewable, (5) provide essential health benefits and cost-sharing requirements, and (6) offer a minimum level of coverage designed to provide benefits that are actuarially equivalent to 60 percent of the full actuarial value of the benefits provided under the plan.The bill requires an insurer issuing such policy to an association to (A) treat all of the members and employees of employer members who are enrolled in coverage under the policy as a single risk pool; (B) set premiums on the basis of the collective group experience of the members and employees of employer members who are enrolled in coverage under the policy; (C) not vary premiums by age, except that the rate shall not vary by more than four to one for adults; (D) not vary premiums on the basis of gender; (E) not vary premiums on the basis of the health status of an individual employee of an employer member or a self-employed individual member; and (F) not establish discriminatory rules based on the health status of an employer member, an individual employee of an employer member, or a self-employed individual for eligibility or contribution.Finally, the bill provides that the State Corporation Commission retains its regulatory authority over any such association health plan and may impose insurance requirements, as it deems appropriate.
Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act; license plate readers. Prohibits law-enforcement and regulatory agencies from using license plate readers to collect and maintain personal information on individuals without a warrant. The bill provides that license plate data may be collected if intended for prompt evaluation and potential use in investigating suspected criminal activity, civil or regulatory violations, or terrorism, or in support of the Department of Motor Vehicle's (DMV) emissions inspection program. The data may only be retained for 30 days and shall not be subject to any outside inquiries or internal usage except for the investigation of a report of a missing person, suspected criminal activity, civil or regulatory violations, or terrorism by any person. The bill also prohibits an agency from acquiring personal information collected from license plate readers from a third-party private vendor if the agency would not have been permitted to collect or retain the information on its own, unless such license plate reader technology is being utilized as part of the DMV's emissions inspection program.
State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act; disclosure requirements; industrial development authorities and economic development authorities. Requires the executive director and members of each industrial development authority and economic development authority, as created by the Industrial Development and Revenue Bond Act, in a locality with a population in excess of 25,000 or in a region serving more than one locality that, in the aggregate, has a population in excess of 25,000 to file a Statement of Economic Interests (SOEI) with the clerk of the local governing body as a condition to assuming office and thereafter annually on or before February 1. Current law requires all executive directors and members of industrial development authorities and economic development authorities, as created by the Industrial Development and Revenue Bond Act, to file a SOEI.
Uninsured and underinsured motorist insurancepolicies; bad faith. Provides that if an insurance company denies,refuses, or fails to pay its insured, or refuses a reasonable settlementdemand within the policy's coverage limits, for a claim for uninsuredor underinsured motorist benefits within a reasonable time afterbeing presented with a demand for such benefits and it is subsequentlyfound that such denial, refusal, or failure was not in good faith,then the insurance company is liable to the insured for the fullamount of the judgment and reasonable attorney fees, expenses, andinterest.
Charitable gaming; regulations; Texas Hold'empoker games. Clarifies that the Department of Agriculture andConsumer Services (the Department) has specific authority to approveand regulate operators of both Texas Hold'em poker games and TexasHold'em poker tournaments. The bill gives the Department the authorityto approve the use of electronic poker tables for use in Texas Hold'empoker games and tournaments and provides that a qualified organization may conduct both Texas Hold'em poker games and tournaments. Currentlaw is unclear as to whether such organization may conduct TexasHold'em poker games in addition to Texas Hold'em poker tournaments.
Line of Duty Act; requiring licensed healthpractitioners to conduct medical reviews. Requires that, forany medical review of a claim made pursuant to the provisions ofthe Line of Duty Act, the Virginia Retirement System shall requirethat such review be conducted by a doctor, nurse, or psychologistwho is licensed in the Commonwealth or a contiguous state. The billhas a delayed effective date of July 1, 2022.
Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; Early Psychosis Intervention and Coordinated Specialty Care Program Advisory Board established. Establishes the Early Psychosis Intervention and Coordinated Specialty Care Program Advisory Board for the purpose of assisting the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services in expanding the provision of high-quality, evidence-based early psychosis and mood disorder detection and intervention services.
Actions against real estate appraisers or appraisal management companies; statute of limitations. Provides that no action for damages or other relief alleging that a certified general real estate appraiser, a certified residential real estate appraiser, a licensed residential real estate appraiser, or an appraisal management company committed malpractice or negligence or an error, mistake, omission, or breach in an appraisal or appraisal report, whether based on contract or tort, shall be brought unless it is filed in a court of competent jurisdiction and proper venue within one year from the date that the alleged malpractice, negligence, error, mistake, omission, or breach is discovered or should have been discovered, and in no case more than five years from the date of the malpractice, negligence, error, mistake, omission, or breach. The bill provides exceptions for actions alleging fraud and proceedings initiated by the Real Estate Appraiser Board. The bill provides that any action for damages or other relief alleging that a certified general real estate appraiser, a certified residential real estate appraiser, a licensed residential real estate appraiser, or an appraisal management company committed malpractice or negligence or an error, mistake, omission, or breach in an appraisal or appraisal report on or before July 1, 2021, shall be filed in a court of competent jurisdiction and proper venue on or before July 1, 2022, regardless of the date of discovery of the alleged malpractice, negligence, error, mistake, omission, or breach.
Elections; absentee voting; ballots to be sortedand results to be reported by precinct. Provides that absenteeballots processed at a central absentee precinct must be sorted bythe precinct to which the voter who cast the absentee ballot is assignedand that the resulting vote totals from such ballots must be reportedseparately for each voter precinct.
Veterans service organizations; paramilitary activities. Exempts a member of a lawfully recognized military color guard, honor guard, or similar organization, or a member of a veterans service organization that is Congressionally chartered or officially recognized by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, when such member is participating in a public ceremony on behalf of such color guard, honor guard, or similar organization or such veterans service organization from the crimes of brandishing a firearm and unlawful paramilitary activity.
Virginia Digital Equity Pilot Program and Fund. Requires the Department of Social Services to establish a pilot program to provide a fixed reimbursement for the costs of broadband services to households currently participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2024. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.
