Corrections Private Management Act; name change;private management prohibited. Removes the authority of the Directorof the Department of Corrections pursuant to the Corrections PrivateManagement Act (the Act) to enter into contracts with prison contractorsfor the operation of prison facilities, including management, custodyof inmates, and provision of security. The bill does not affect theDirector's authority pursuant to the Act, renamed by the bill theCorrections Private Services Act, to enter into private contractsfor other correctional services, including those related to foodservice, medical care, transportation, sanitation, information systems,education and training programs, recreational or religious activities,financing, construction, or maintenance. The bill has a delayed effectivedate of July 1, 2023.
Provision of mental health services to a minor;access to health records. Prohibits a health care provider fromrefusing to provide mental health services to a minor on the basisthat the parents of such minor refuse to agree to limit their accessto such minor's health care records or request that such health careprovider testify in a court proceeding regarding the treatment ofthe minor.
Business entities; annual registration.Authorizes domestic and foreign stock corporations with less than5,000 authorized shares, domestic and foreign nonstock corporations,and domestic and foreign limited liability companies to prepay upto five years of the required annual registration fee.
Lobbying; notification to local clerk; penalty. Requires an individual who is compensated to influence or attemptto influence a local government officer or employee regarding localgovernment action to provide notice of such status to the clerk ofthe local governing body of the county, city, or town in which theofficer or employee serves. The bill requires the notice to be providedto the clerk within 15 days after first communicating or attemptingto communicate with a local government officer or employee, alongwith a $25 fee to be deposited in the general fund of the locality.The notice shall include the name, telephone number, and businessaddress of the compensated individual and shall identify the localgovernment action for which approval is sought. All notices shallexpire one calendar year after being filed with a local clerk. Thebill requires the notice to be kept as a public record by the clerkfor five years. A violation of this requirement is a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Health insurance; physical therapist officevisit; cost-sharing requirements. Prohibits health insurers,corporations providing health care coverage subscription contracts,and health maintenance organizations whose policies, contracts, orplans include coverage for physical therapy from imposing any cost-sharingrequirements such as a copayment, coinsurance, or deductible fora physical therapist office visit that exceeds the cost-sharing requirementsfor a physician or osteopath office visit.
Affordable housing near Metrorail station.Provides that in any locality with an existing or planned Metrorailstation, such locality shall require that at least 10 percent ofnew residential dwelling units in any building that is at least sixstories in height be affordable dwelling units, defined in the bill,if the proposed project is within one-half mile of an existing or planned Metrorail station.
Permitted provisions in the zoning ordinance;worker protection. Authorizes a locality to include in its zoningordinance certain conditions as part of the grant of a special exceptionthat permits development at a floor area ratio (FAR) greater than1.0 or 25 units per acre, or requires the construction of or improvementsto public facilities, public roads, or other publicly owned or managedareas. Such conditions may require a developer, directly or throughits contractors, to enter into binding contractual commitments thatprovide certain protections for the skilled and unskilled workershired to build the development project.
Paid family and medical leave program. Requiresthe Virginia Employment Commission to establish and administer apaid family and medical leave program with benefits beginning January1, 2023. Under the program, benefits are paid to eligible employeesfor family and medical leave. Funding for the program is providedthrough premiums assessed to employers and employees beginning in2022. The amount of a benefit is 80 percent of the employee's averageweekly wage, not to exceed 80 percent of the state weekly wage, which amount is required to be adjusted annually to reflect changesin the statewide average weekly wage. The measure caps the durationof paid leave at 12 weeks in any application year. The bill provides self-employed individuals the option of participating in the program.
Multi-jurisdiction grand jury investigations. Provides that a multi-jurisdiction grand jury may investigate any condition that involves or tends to promote criminal violations of any law of the Commonwealth. Under current law, the jurisdiction of a multi-jurisdiction grand jury is limited to certain enumerated criminal offenses.
Practice of medicine and other healing arts;provision of litigation assistance. Requires practitioners ofmedicine and other healing arts to provide litigation assistanceto treated patients and their attorneys. Such litigation assistanceincludes providing a legal consult fee schedule upon request, schedulingand participating in meetings with a treated patient's attorney uponrequest, participating in trial or de bene esse depositions as needed,and providing a written estimate of the cost of the patient's medicalservices related to the litigation. The bill prohibits providersfrom refusing services to a patient who is insured or otherwise hasthe ability to pay for provided services on the ground that such personwas involved in an incident that is the subject of litigation orcould result in litigation.
Health insurance; coverage for infertility treatment. Requires health insurance policies, subscription contracts, and healthcare plans, including plans administered by the Department of MedicalAssistance Services, to provide coverage for infertility treatment.
Post-conviction relief; previously admitted scientific evidence. Provides that a person who was convicted of certain offenses, upon a plea of not guilty or an Alford plea, or who was adjudicated delinquent, upon a plea of not guilty or an Alford plea, by a circuit court of an offense that would be a covered offense if committed by an adult may petition the Court of Appeals to have his conviction vacated. The petition shall allege (i) the covered offense for which the petitioner was convicted or adjudicated delinquent; (ii) that the petitioner did not commit the covered offense for which the petitioner was convicted or adjudicated delinquent, nor engage in conduct that would support a conviction for a lesser offense or any other crime arising from, or reasonably connected to, the facts supporting the indictment or information upon which he was convicted or adjudicated delinquent; (iii) an exact description of the forensic scientific evidence and its relevance in demonstrating that the petitioner did not commit the covered offense; (iv) specific facts indicating that relevant forensic scientific evidence was not available or could not have been obtained in the exercise of diligence before the expiration of 21 days following entry of the final order of conviction or adjudication of delinquency, or that discredited forensic scientific evidence was admitted at the petitioner's trial or adjudication of delinquency; and (v) that the admission of the discredited forensic scientific evidence or the absence of the newly available forensic scientific evidence was not harmless. The bill provides that if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the admission of the discredited forensic scientific evidence or the absence of the newly available forensic scientific evidence was not harmless, the court may grant the petition and vacate the petitioner's conviction, subject to retrial in the discretion of the Commonwealth. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2021, and an expiration date of July 1, 2025.
