Del. Patrick Hope

Emergency order for adult protective services; acts of violence, force, or threat or financial exploitation; penalty. Allows the circuit court, upon a finding that an incapacitated adult has been, within a reasonable period of time, subjected to an act of violence, force, or threat or been subjected to financial exploitation, to include in an emergency order for adult protective services one or more of the following conditions to be imposed on the alleged perpetrator: (i) a prohibition on acts of violence, force, or threat or criminal offenses that may result in injury to person or property; (ii) a prohibition on such other contacts by the alleged perpetrator with the adult or the adult's family or household members as the court deems necessary for the health and safety of such persons; or (iii) such other conditions as the court deems necessary to prevent (a) acts of violence, force, or threat; (b) criminal offenses that may result in injury to persons or property; (c) communication or other contact of any kind by the alleged perpetrator; or (d) financial exploitation by the alleged perpetrator. The bill provides that any person who violates any such condition is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. Also, the bill provides that hearings on emergency orders for adult protective services shall be held no earlier than 24 hours and no later than 72 hours after the notice required has been given, unless such notice has been waived by the court. Current law just requires such hearing be held no earlier than 24 hours. Lastly, the bill provides that if the court enters an order containing any of the aforementioned conditions, the primary law-enforcement agency providing service and entry of protective orders shall enter the name of the perpetrator into the Virginia Criminal Information Network and the order shall be served forthwith on the perpetrator.

Alcoholic beverage control; license application;locality input; corrective action. Adds the chief administrativeofficer of a locality to the list of persons who may be sent noticeof certain license applications by the Board of Directors (the Board)of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority. The bill allowslocalities to submit conditional recommendations for the granting of a license and allows the locality to request a 15-day extensionto the 30-day period during which an objection to or recommendationfor a license must be submitted. The bill requires the Board to givereasonable consideration to any objection or recommendation submittedby the locality. The bill also expands the definition of criminalblight, for which the locality may require a property owner to takecorrective action, to include a condition existing on real propertythat endangers public health or safety and is caused by (i) the regularpresence on the property of persons in possession of controlled substances,(ii) the discharge of a firearm under certain conditions, and (iii)repeated violations of state laws or local ordinances involving actsthat pose a risk of danger to persons or private property.

Virginia LGBTQ+ Advisory Board. Establishesthe Virginia LGBTQ+ Advisory Board to advise the Governor regardingthe economic, professional, cultural, educational, and governmentallinks between the Commonwealth and the LGBTQ+ community in Virginiaand sets out the powers and duties of the Board. The Board shallbe composed of 21 nonlegislative citizen members, at least 15 ofwhom shall identify as LGBTQ+, to be appointed by the Governor, andthe Secretaries of the Commonwealth, Commerce and Trade, Education,Health and Human Resources, and Public Safety and Homeland Security,or their designees, who shall serve as ex officio members.

Pharmacists; initiation of treatment; certain drugs and devices. Expands provisions governing the initiation of treatment with and dispensing and administering of drugs and devices by pharmacists to allow the initiation of treatment with and dispensing and administering of drugs, devices, and controlled paraphernalia to persons 18 years of age or older, in accordance with protocols developed by the Board of Pharmacy in collaboration with the Board of Medicine and the Department of Health, and of (i) vaccines included on the Immunization Schedule published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; (ii) tuberculin purified protein derivative for tuberculosis testing; (iii) controlled substances for the prevention of human immunodeficiency virus, including controlled substances prescribed for pre-exposure and post-exposure prophylaxis pursuant to guidelines and recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and (iv) drugs, devices, controlled paraphernalia, and other supplies and equipment available over-the-counter, covered by the patient's health carrier when the patient's out-of-pocket cost is lower than the out-of-pocket cost to purchase an over-the-counter equivalent of the same drug, device, controlled paraphernalia, or other supplies or equipment. The bill requires any pharmacist who administers a vaccination pursuant to clause (i) to report such administration to the Virginia Immunization Information System. The bill also (a) requires the Board of Pharmacy, in collaboration with the Board of Medicine and the Department of Health, to establish protocols for the initiation of treatment with and dispensing and administering of drugs, devices, and controlled paraphernalia by pharmacists in accordance with the provisions of the bill by November 1, 2021; (b) requires the Board of Pharmacy, in collaboration with the Board of Medicine, to adopt regulations within 280 days of the bill's enactment to implement the provisions of the bill; and (c) requires the Board of Pharmacy to continue the work group composed of equal number of representatives of the Boards of Pharmacy and Medicine and other stakeholders to provide recommendations regarding the developing of protocols for the initiation of treatment with and dispensing and administering of certain drugs and devices by pharmacists to persons 18 years of age or older.

Department of Medical Assistance Services; personal care aides; orientation program. Requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services to establish an orientation program for all personal care aides who provide self-directed services through the Medicaid program. The bill lays out the topics to be covered by such orientations, requires orientations to be held in-person or online at least quarterly, and specifies that personal care aides shall be invited and encouraged to attend at least one such orientation per calendar year.

Naming U.S. Route 29; county manager plan ofgovernment. Authorizes the board of any locality that has adoptedthe county manager plan of government (Arlington County) to name any section of U.S. Route 29 located within the boundaries of thelocality. The bill provides that the Department of Transportation will place and maintain appropriate signs that will be paid for bythe locality.

Board for Contractors; exemption from certificationas an elevator mechanic or accessibility mechanic. Provides thatan individual is not required to be certified as an elevator mechanicor accessibility mechanic when working under the direct and immediatesupervision of an elevator mechanic or certified accessibility mechanicwho is certified in the specialty for which work is being performed.

Certain students in kindergarten through grade3; reading intervention services. Requires reading interventionservices for students in kindergarten through grade three who demonstratedeficiencies based on their individual performance on the Standardsof Learning reading test or any reading diagnostic test that meetscriteria established by the Department of Education to be evidence-basedand aligned with the science of reading and structured literacy approaches,both defined in the bill, and to include the components of effectivereading instruction and explicit, systematic, sequential, and cumulativeinstruction. The bill requires the parent of each student who receivessuch reading intervention services to be notified before the servicesbegin and the progress of each such student to be monitored throughoutthe provision of services. The bill also requires the Departmentof Education, no later than the beginning of the 2021%962022 school year, to compile and provide to each local school division a listof materials, resources, and curriculum programs that are supportedby the science of reading and based on instruction that is explicit,systematic, cumulative, and diagnostic, including (i) evidence-baseddyslexia programs that are aligned to structured literacy or groundedin the Orton-Gillingham methodology and (ii) evidence-based readingintervention programs, including programs that are grounded in thescience of reading.

Involuntary admission. Amends provisions governing involuntary inpatient and mandatory outpatient treatment to (i) revise criteria for entry of a mandatory outpatient treatment order to become effective upon expiration of an order for involuntary inpatient treatment; (ii) eliminate the requirement that a person agree to abide by a mandatory outpatient treatment plan to be eligible for mandatory outpatient treatment, and instead require that the judge or special justice find that the person is able to adhere to a mandatory outpatient treatment plan; (iii) eliminate the role of a treating physician in determining when a person is eligible to transition from inpatient to mandatory outpatient treatment under an order for mandatory outpatient treatment following a period of involuntary inpatient treatment; (iv) increase from 90 to 180 days the length of an order for mandatory outpatient treatment; (v) revise requirements for monitoring of a person's adherence to a mandatory outpatient treatment plan by a community services board; (vi) add a requirement that a community services board responsible for monitoring a person's adherence to a mandatory outpatient treatment plan report monthly to the court regarding the steps taken to ensure the person does not meet the criteria for an emergency custody order or temporary detention order during the period of mandatory outpatient treatment; (vii) expand the category of persons who may file petitions for various reviews of a mandatory outpatient treatment order or plan; (viii) add a provision for status hearings during the period of mandatory outpatient treatment; and (ix) make other changes to procedures and processes governing mandatory outpatient treatment.

Voter registration; failure of online voter registration system; deadline extension. Provides that in the event that a failure of the Virginia online voter registration system occurs prior to the close of registration records, the Governor has the authority to order the online voter registration system to be available for registration activities after the date for closing the registration records for a period of time equal to the amount of time during which the online voter registration system was unavailable for registration activities, rounded up to the nearest whole day, plus an additional day to allow for voter education efforts. The extension of registration activities shall apply to in-person registration and mail voter registration applications.