Persons acquitted by reason of insanity.Makes various changes to the provisions regarding confinement hearingsand conditional release procedures for persons who have been acquittedof a violent felony by reason of insanity. Under current law, suchprovisions do not distinguish between persons acquitted of a violentfelony or any other felony offense.
Microloans for Veterans Program and Fund; creationand administration. Creates the Microloans for Veterans Programand Fund to be administered by the Virginia Small Business FinancingAuthority (the Authority). The bill directs the Authority to work with the Department of Veterans Services, the Department of SmallBusiness and Supplier Diversity, and the Virginia Community CollegeSystem to develop a curriculum of education and mentorship relatedto finance and business planning. The Authority is authorized toissue loans of up to $10,000 to veterans who agree to participatein such curriculum and meet other requirements (tier 1 loans). TheAuthority is authorized to issue loans of up to $50,000 to veteranswho have completed the requirements associated with a tier 1 loanand agree to meet advanced education and mentorship requirements(tier 2 loans).
Department of Medical Assistance Services; remote patient monitoring; rural and underserved populations. Amends the State Plan for Medical Assistance Services to require the payment of medical assistance for medically necessary and clinically effective remote patient monitoring services for rural and underserved populations, with the home as an eligible telemedicine originating site. The bill requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services to prepare and submit to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services an application for such waiver or waivers as may be necessary to implement the provisions of the bill. The bill also requires the Department to report to the Governor and the General Assembly on the status of such application or applications by October 1, 2020. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.
Issuance of United States passports by clerk's office. Provides that a clerk of a circuit court shall collect whatever fee is specified by the U.S. Department of State for processing and issuing a United States passport, of which $10 shall be paid to the Commonwealth and the remainder shall be deposited with the local treasurer and used solely to fund such services.
Custodial interrogations; recording. Provides that any law-enforcement officer shall, if practicable, make an audiovisual recording of the entirety of any custodial interrogation of a person conducted in a place of detention. The bill provides that if an audiovisual recording is unable to be made, the law-enforcement officer shall make an audio recording of the custodial interrogation. The bill provides that the failure of a law-enforcement officer to make such a recording shall not affect the admissibility of the statements made during the custodial interrogation, but the court or jury may consider such failure in determining the weight given to such evidence. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Virginia Criminal Justice Conference. This bill incorporates SB 305.
Environmental proceedings; findings of fact.Directs the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to give deferenceto findings of fact by a presiding officer explicitly based on theevidence presented in any formal proceeding. The bill directs DEQto include in its case decision the factual and legal basis for anydecision that rejects a recommendation from the hearing officer orpresiding officer. The bill requires a court hearing any decisionon review in which a hearing officer has made a recommendation toDEQ on a factual issue to defer to such recommendation. A violationon account of gross negligence is a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill also directs a court, hearing anydecision on review for a formal proceeding initiated prior to July 1, 2020, in which DEQ rejected a recommendation from a hearing officeror presiding officer and for which a final adjudication has not beenrendered, to remand the proceeding to establish the findings of factby a presiding officer explicitly based on the evidence presentedat the hearing and to establish the factual and legal basis for thedecision prior to rendering such final adjudication.
Virginia Hearing Loss Identification and MonitoringSystem; language development for children who are deaf or hard ofhearing. Expands the responsibilities of the advisory committeeof the Virginia Hearing Loss Identification and Monitoring Systemto include selecting language development milestones for educatorsand early intervention specialists for use in assessing the language and literacy development of children from birth to age five who aredeaf or hard or hearing. The bill requires the addition of at leasttwo language experts to the advisory committee. The bill also requiresthat children identified as deaf or hard of hearing in special educationprograms be evaluated yearly on the basis of the language development milestones established by the advisory committee.
Surrogacy contracts; provisions requiring or prohibiting abortion or selective reduction unenforceable. Provides that any provision of a surrogacy contract requiring or prohibiting an abortion or selective reduction is against the public policy of the Commonwealth and is void and unenforceable.
Sale of wildlife mounts permitted. Exempts from the prohibition against selling wild animals any Virginia resident selling a wildlife or fish mount that was taken legally and that underwent the taxidermy process legally.
Tax credit for teaching material expenses. Establishes an individual nonrefundable income tax credit of up to $250 for licensed teachers in taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2020, but before January 1, 2025, for the purchase price of materials used in teaching public primary or secondary school students that were purchased during the taxable year, provided that such purchases were neither reimbursed nor claimed as a deduction on the teacher's federal income tax return. The total amount of tax credits available for a taxable year shall not exceed $1 million. If the amount of the credit exceeds the taxpayer's tax liability for the taxable year in which the teaching materials were purchased, such excess may be carried over for five years. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.
Tax and economic development incentives forgasification facilities and pyrolysis facilities. Establishestax and economic development incentives for gasification facilitiesand pyrolysis facilities, defined in the bill. The bill providesthat, for the first five years of operation, such facilities shallbe exempt from income tax and shall be exempt from sales tax for theirpurchases of certain machinery, equipment, and raw materials. Thebill provides that such facilities shall be eligible for grants fromthe Commonwealth's Development Opportunity Fund under the minimuminvestment and job creation criteria for grants from the Fund, whichunder current law are a $1.5 million investment and 15 new jobs.
Establish a work group to evaluate the feasibility of establishing and maintaining a Mental Health Crisis Intervention Hotline. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to establish a work group to evaluate the feasibility of (i) establishing and maintaining a 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week, toll-free Mental Health Crisis Intervention Hotline (the Hotline) to receive anonymous tips regarding individuals suspected to be in need of mental health treatment to facilitate mental health treatment, crisis intervention, and prevention of tragedies and (ii) developing and implementing policies and procedures for referring tips received through the Hotline to state or local law enforcement, as may be appropriate, in a timely manner for follow-up and investigation. The bill provides that the work group shall report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committees on Appropriations and for Courts of Justice and the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriations and the Judiciary by December 1, 2020.
