Virginia Bills

Provides that the director of audit services for the City of Chesapeake shall be known as the City Auditor, shall be chosen solely on the basis of professional qualifications, and shall serve at the pleasure of the city council. This bill is identical to

Reorganizes the Tourism Development Authority by increasing board membership and creating tourism advisory committees. This bill is identical to

Dissolves the economic development committee of Bristol, Virginia. The Industrial Development Authority of the City of Bristol, Virginia (the City), shall have all the powers to induce manufacturing, industrial, and commercial enterprises to locate or remain in the City as authorized by the Industrial Development and Revenue Bond Act and shall specifically have all powers vested in the former economic development committee of the City.

Authorizes the Middle Peninsula Chesapeake Bay Public Access Authority and the Northern Neck Chesapeake Bay Public Access Authority to undertake dredging projects and authorizes those public access authorities and the Eastern Shore Water Access Authority, which currently is empowered to undertake dredging projects, to work together in any combination to undertake dredging projects in any of their jurisdictions.

Alters the election of members of the town council of the Town of Amherst from two-year terms to four-year staggered terms. This bill is identical to

Adds Powhatan County and Smyth County to the list of counties that may require connection to their water and sewer systems by owners of property that can be served by the systems if the property, at the time of installation of such public system, or at a future time, does not have a then-existing, correctable, or replaceable domestic supply or source of potable water and a then-existing, correctable, or replaceable system for the disposal of sewage adequate to prevent the contraction or spread of infectious, contagious, and dangerous diseases. Smyth County is also added to those counties with authority to assume the obligations of a public service authority under the same terms and conditions as applicable to the public service authority.

Establishes procedures to be used by courts to monitor the payment of restitution by defendants. The bill requires that a probation agency ordered to monitor the restitution payments of a defendant placed on supervised probation notify the court and the attorney for the Commonwealth of the amount of unsatisfied restitution (i) 60 days prior to the defendant's release from supervision or (ii) if the agency requests that the defendant be released from supervision, at the time the agency submits its request for the defendant's release. The bill requires that the court conduct a hearing prior to the defendant's release from supervision to review the defendant's compliance with the restitution order. The bill also requires that in the case of a defendant who was not placed on supervised probation, the court must schedule a hearing within two years of the date of the restitution order or release from incarceration to review the defendant's compliance with the restitution order. The bill requires that the court continue to conduct hearings to monitor a defendant's compliance with the restitution order for a period of 10 years from the date of the first review hearing or the period of probation, whichever is longer. The bill provides that a court may discontinue hearings to review a defendant's compliance with the restitution order if the court determines that the defendant is unable to pay and will remain unable to pay restitution for the duration of the review period. The bill also sets forth the remedies available to the court, including contempt, in the case of a defendant who fails to comply with a restitution order. This bill is identical to

Provides that no provider contract between a health carrier or its pharmacy benefits manager and a pharmacy or its contracting agent shall contain a provision (i) authorizing the carrier or its pharmacy benefits manager to charge, (ii) requiring the pharmacy or pharmacist to collect, or (iii) requiring an enrollee to make, a copayment for a covered prescription drug in an amount that exceeds the least of the applicable copayment for the prescription drug that would be payable in the absence of this section or the cash price the enrollee would pay for the prescription drug if the enrollee purchased the prescription drug without using the enrollee's health plan. The measure requires provider contracts between a health carrier or its pharmacy benefits manager and a pharmacy or its contracting agent to contain specific provisions that allow a pharmacy to (a) disclose to an enrollee information relating to the provisions of this section and the availability of a more affordable therapeutically equivalent prescription drug; (b) sell a more affordable therapeutically equivalent prescription drug to an enrollee if one is available; and (c) offer and provide direct and limited delivery services to an enrollee as an ancillary service of the pharmacy. The measure applies to provider contracts entered into, amended, extended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2019. This bill is identical to

Allows the Counties of Spotsylvania and Orange, in adopting a voluntary boundary agreement, to attach to their petitions to the circuit court a Geographic Information System (GIS) map depicting the boundary change. Under current law, such use of a GIS map is permitted only regarding the boundary between the Counties of Louisa and Goochland and between the County of Loudoun and any town therein. This bill is identical to

Requires that evaluations to determine whether a person is competent to stand trial or to determine a person's sanity at the time of the commission of a criminal offense be conducted on an outpatient basis at a mental health facility or in jail unless an outpatient evaluation has been conducted and the outpatient evaluator opines that a hospital-based evaluation is needed to reliably reach an opinion or unless the defendant is in the custody of the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. Currently, such evaluations are to be conducted on an outpatient basis, but a court may order that a person be hospitalized instead if the court finds the services necessary to conduct an outpatient evaluation are not available or if the results of the outpatient evaluation indicate that it is necessary to hospitalize the person for further evaluation.