Virginia Bills

Creates a two-phase process to sunset certificate of public need (COPN) requirements for many categories of medical care facilities and projects, with the requirement for a certificate of public need (i) for all medical care facilities other than nursing homes, rehabilitation hospitals and beds, imaging centers, organ or tissue transplant services, certain open heart surgery services, certain neonatal services, and certain medical care facilities located in a locality with a population density of at least 200 people per square mile as reported by the United States Bureau of the Census in the 2010 census report that  is contiguous with at least one other locality with such population density, or has a population of at least 75,000 people repealed effective July 1, 2017, and (ii) imaging centers repealed effective January 1, 2018. The bill also creates a new permitting process for categories of facilities and projects exempted from the certificate of public need process that requires the Commissioner of Health to issue a permit but requires the Commissioner to condition a permit (a) on the agreement of the applicant to provide a specified level of care at a reduced rate to indigents, accept patients requiring specialized care, or facilitate the development and operation of primary medical care services in designated medically underserved areas of the applicant's service area and (b) on compliance of the applicant with quality of care standards. The bill also eliminates regional health planning agencies and makes numerous changes to the COPN process for facilities and projects that will still be subject to the requirement of a certificate. The bill contains technical amendments.

Provides that any entity intending to locate a public or private detention home, group home, or other residential care facility in a locality shall give the chief administrative officer of that locality and the president of any home owner's association for the neighborhood in which such public or private detention home, group home, or other residential care facility is to be located at least 90 days written notice prior to the issuance of the license. The bill also states that no initial license to operate a public or private detention home, group home, or other residential care facility shall be granted if (i) the facility is to be located within one-half mile of a public or private licensed day care center or a public or private K-12 school and (ii) the residents of such facility may include persons who, on the basis of a prior record of criminal charges involving harm to persons or property or a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity for crimes involving harm to persons or property, may constitute a clear and present threat to the health or safety of other individuals, except when such service is provided by a hospital licensed by the Board of Health or the Commissioner or is owned or operated by an agency of the Commonwealth. Other provisions of the bill relate to the validity of restrictive covenants that prohibit owners from using, or renting a dwelling for another entity to use, their premises to house a person or persons who, on the basis of a prior record of criminal convictions involving harm to persons or property or a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity involving harm to persons or property, may constitute a clear and present threat to the health or safety of other individuals in the neighborhood.

Gives the State Corporation Commission discretion to approve any request to increase tolls on the Dulles Greenway by a specified annual percentage increase. The measure also gives the Commission discretion to approve an additional increase in such tolls based on increases in local property taxes when requested by the operator. Currently, the Commission is required to approve such requests for toll increases.

Requires each individual who is elected or appointed to a school board to (i) submit to fingerprinting and provide personal descriptive information to be forwarded along with his fingerprints by the school board through the Central Criminal Records Exchange to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the purpose of obtaining criminal history record information and (ii) provide written consent and the necessary personal information for the school board to obtain a search of the registry of founded complaints of child abuse and neglect maintained by the Department of Social Services and to take reasonable steps to obtain information from each state in which the individual has resided within the prior five years to determine whether such individual is the subject of a founded complaint of child abuse and neglect in any such state. The bill precludes any individual who is found to have been (a) convicted of a felony or any offense involving the sexual molestation, physical or sexual abuse, or rape of a child in the Commonwealth or an equivalent offense in another state or (b) the subject of a founded complaint of child abuse and neglect in the Commonwealth or another state from serving on any school board. The bill requires each entity that administers the school board election or appointment process for each local school division to notify each prospective school board member of the foregoing requirements.

Repeals the prohibition against the sale of lottery tickets over the Internet.