Del. Patrick Hope

Naloxone; possession and administration. Provides that, notwithstanding any other law or regulation to the contrary, any person may possess and administer naloxone or other opioid antagonist used for overdose reversal to a person who is believed to be experiencing or about to experience a life-threatening opioid overdose. This bill was incorporated into HB 908.

Naloxone; possession and administration. Provides that a person who is not otherwise authorized to administer naloxone or other opioid antagonist used for overdose reversal may administer naloxone or other opioid antagonist used for overdose reversal to a person who is believed to be experiencing or about to experience a life-threatening opioid overdose, provided the administration is in good faith and absent gross negligence or willful and wanton misconduct.  This bill was incorporated into HB 908.

Guardianship; supported decision making. Creates the Supported Decision-Making Act, which allows an adult with an intellectual or developmental disability to enter into an agreement with another person, called a "supporter," for the purposes of having the supporter assist the adult in making decisions to manage his affairs, giving adults who need assistance a less restrictive means of receiving such assistance than being appointed a guardian or conservator by a court. The bill further requires a guardian ad litem in a proceeding for the appointment of a guardian or conservator to consider whether a less restrictive alternative, including the use of an advance directive or durable power of attorney, is available to provide assistance to the respondent, and it requires the guardian ad litem to include in his report to the court information as to whether a supported decision-making agreement is a viable option in lieu of guardianship or conservatorship. The bill also provides that if the respondent to a guardianship or conservatorship petition is between 17 and a half and 21 years of age and has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), the guardian ad litem appointed to represent the respondent shall review the IEP and include the results of his review in the report required to be submitted to the court, and it requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to prepare transitional materials, including information about supported decision-making agreements and guardianship to be provided to students and parents during the student's annual IEP meeting. The bill requires the court, upon appointment of a guardian or conservator, to inform such person of his duties and that the respondent should be encouraged to participate in decisions, act on his own behalf, and develop or maintain the capacity to manage his personal affairs if he retains any decision-making rights. Finally, the bill sets out specific language to be included in all orders of appointment of a guardian. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Health Care.

Prescription drug price transparency; penalties.Requires pharmaceutical drug manufacturers, pharmacy benefits managers, andhealth carriers to submit reports containing certain information concerningprescription drug costs to the Commissioner of the Bureau of Insurance (theCommissioner). The measure requires pharmaceutical drug manufacturers' reportsto include information on the current wholesale acquisition cost informationfor FDA-approved drugs sold in or into the Commonwealth by the pharmaceuticaldrug manufacturer. The bill also requires such manufacturers to submit a reportfor drugs with a wholesale acquisition cost of at least $50 for a 30-day supplywhen their wholesale acquisition cost increases by 25 percent or more over thepreceding three calendar years or 10 percent or more over the precedingcalendar year. The measure requires pharmacy benefits managers to report dataon the aggregated rebates, fees, price protection payments, and any otherpayments collected from pharmaceutical drug manufacturers and the aggregateddollar amount of rebates, fees, price protection payments, and any otherpayments collected from pharmaceutical drug manufacturers that were healthbenefit plan issuers or enrollees at the point of sale of a prescription drug.The measure requires health carriers to report the names of the 25 mostfrequently prescribed drugs across all plans, percent increase in annual netspending for drugs across all plans, percent increase in premiums attributableto drugs across all plans, percentage of specialty drugs with utilizationmanagement requirements across all plans, and premium reductions that wereattributable to specialty drug utilization management. The measure requires theCommissioner to publish the aggregated data from these reports on a website.The measure authorizes the State Corporation Commission (the Commission) to (i)call public hearings and to subpoena prescription drug manufacturers, pharmacybenefits managers, and health carriers to explain their reports; (ii) conductaudits of data submitted to it; (iii) require these entities to submit acorrective action plan to correct deficiencies in reporting; and (iv) imposepenalties of $30,000 per day on any prescription drug manufacturer, pharmacybenefits manager, or health carrier that fails to make a good faith effort tosubmit a required report within two weeks after receiving written notice fromthe Commission.

Diagnostic medical sonography; certification.Defines the practice of "diagnostic medical sonography" as theuse of specialized equipment to direct high-frequency sound wavesinto an area of the human body to generate an image. The bill providesthat only a certified and registered sonographer may hold himselfout as qualified to perform diagnostic medical sonography. The billrequires any person who fails to maintain current certification andregistration or is subject to revocation or suspension of a certificationand registration by a sonography certification organization to notifyhis employer and cease using ultrasound equipment or performing adiagnostic medical sonography or related procedure.

Animal testing; breeding. Prohibits anyperson from breeding a dog or cat for the express purpose of producingoffspring for (i) use in research, experimentation, or testing thatis not required pursuant to federal law or regulation or (ii) saleto a manufacturer, institution of higher learning, or contract testingfacility outside the United States.

Virginia Personnel Act; hiring preference instate government for persons with disabilities. Establishes ahiring preference in state government for persons with disabilities,provided that such person meets all of the knowledge, skill, andability requirements for the available position. The bill definesthe term "preference" as requiring that a person with a disabilitybe hired over a person without a disability when the two individualsare substantially equal in qualifications for an eligible position.

Mandatory outpatient treatment; petition forreview; efforts of the community services board. Clarifies thata community services board must make efforts to assist a person with complying with the provisions of a mandatory outpatient treatmentorder or order authorizing discharge to mandatory outpatient treatmentfollowing inpatient treatment and that only in cases in which a personfails to comply with a mandatory outpatient treatment or order authorizingdischarge to mandatory outpatient treatment following inpatient treatmentdespite efforts of the community services board to assist the person may the community services board petition for review of the mandatory outpatient order or order authorizing discharge to mandatory outpatient treatment following inpatient treatment.

Temporary detention; evaluation; who may perform. Expands the category of individuals who may evaluate a person whois the subject of an emergency custody order to determine whetherthe person meets the criteria for temporary detention to includeany person described in the definition of "mental health professional"in § 54.1-2400.1 who (i) is skilled in the diagnosis and treatmentof mental illness, (ii) has completed a certification program approvedby the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services,and (iii) complies with regulations of the Board of Behavioral Healthand Developmental Services related to performance of such evaluations.

Memorials for war veterans. Provides that a locality may remove, relocate, or alter any monument or memorial for war veterans located in its public space, regardless of when erected. Current law makes it unlawful to disturb or interfere with such monuments or memorials or to prevent citizens from taking proper measures and exercising proper means for the protection, preservation, and care of such monuments or memorials. This bill was incorporated into SB 183.