Virginia Bills

Removes the prohibition on inpatient psychiatric hospital admission for defendants who have already been ordered to receive treatment to restore their competency to stand trial. This bill incorporates

Sets out the rights and responsibilities under the Virginia Fair Housing Law (§ 36-96.1 et seq.) with respect to maintaining an assistance animal in a dwelling. The bill establishes a process through which a person with a disability may submit a request for a reasonable accommodation to maintain an assistance animal in a dwelling, including any supporting documentation verifying the disability and disability-related need for an accommodation. Under the bill, a request for reasonable accommodation to maintain an assistance animal may be denied for any one of the following reasons: (i) the requester does not have a disability; (ii) the requester does not have a disability-related need for an assistance animal; (iii) the accommodation imposes an undue financial and administrative burden on the person receiving the request; or (iv) the accommodation would fundamentally alter the nature of the operations of the person receiving the request. The bill provides that whenever a request for a reasonable accommodation to maintain an assistance animal in a dwelling is denied for reasons other than that the requester does not have a disability or a disability-related need for an assistance animal, an interactive process shall be initiated to determine if there is an alternative accommodation that would effectively address the disability-related need. The bill also defines "assistance animal," "major life activities," "therapeutic relationship," and "physical or mental impairment." The bill provides that if any provision of its provisions is determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to be not substantially equivalent or otherwise inconsistent with the federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq., as amended, such provision shall not be enforceable. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Virginia Housing Commission. This bill is identical to

Directs the Department of Environmental Quality to seek an exemption from the federal reformulated gasoline (RFG) program for conventional, ethanol-free gasoline sold and delivered for use in farm motor vehicles. This bill is identical to

Directs the Department of Health to take certain steps to begin eliminating site evaluation and design services for onsite sewage systems and private wells provided by the Department.

Revises the membership of the Secure Commonwealth Panel, renamed the Secure and Resilient Commonwealth Panel, and requires the Panel to create an Emergency Management Awareness Group consisting of the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, the Lieutenant Governor, the Attorney General, the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia, and the Chairmen of the House Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety and the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology. The bill requires the Group to meet during a state of emergency to review critical information concerning such situation to facilitate communication between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of state government. The bill dissolves the Virginia Emergency Response Council and transfers its duties to the Panel. The bill contains technical amendments.

Authorizes a pharmaceutical processor, after obtaining a permit from the Board of Pharmacy (the Board) and under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist, to manufacture and provide cannabidiol oil and THC-A oil to be used for the treatment of intractable epilepsy. The bill sets limits on the number of permits that the Board may issue and requires that the Board adopt regulations establishing health, safety, and security requirements for permitted processors. The bill provides that only a licensed practitioner of medicine or osteopathy who is a neurologist or who specializes in the treatment of epilepsy may issue a written certification to a patient for the use of cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil. The bill also requires that a practitioner who issues a written certification for cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil, the patient issued such certification, and, if the patient is a minor or incapacitated, the patient's parent or legal guardian register with the Board. The bill requires further that a pharmaceutical processor shall not provide cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil to a patient or a patient's parent or legal guardian without first verifying that the patient, the patient's parent or legal guardian if the patient is a minor or incapacitated, and the practitioner who issued the written certification have registered with the Board. Finally, the bill provides an affirmative defense for agents and employees of pharmaceutical processors in a prosecution for the manufacture, possession, or distribution of marijuana. The bill contains an emergency clause.

Requires that victims of sexual assault be advised by the investigating law-enforcement agency of their rights regarding physical evidence recovery kits. The bill requires the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services of the Virginia Department of General Services and law-enforcement agencies to store a physical evidence recovery kit for an additional 10 years following a written objection to its destruction from the victim. The bill requires the law-enforcement agency to notify the victim at least 60 days prior to the intended date of destruction of the kit and provides that no victim of sexual assault shall be charged for the cost of collecting or storing a kit.

Provides that information contained in engineering and construction drawings and plans for any single-family residential dwelling submitted for the purpose of complying with the Uniform Statewide Building Code (§ 36-97 et seq.) or the Statewide Fire Prevention Code (§ 27-94 et seq.) shall be confidential and shall not be subject to disclosure under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.), except to the applicant or the owner of the property upon the applicant's or owner's request.