Del. Dan Helmer

Behavioral health assessments in local correctional facilities. Provides that the State Board of Local and RegionalJails, in establishing the minimum standards for behavioral healthservices in local correctional facilities, shall include a requirementthat if a behavioral health screening indicates that the person mayhave a mental illness, an assessment of his need for mental healthservices shall be conducted within 72 hours of the time of the screening.

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.

Board of Pharmacy; pharmaceutical processors; processing and dispensing cannabis oil; report. Effects numerous changes to the processing and dispensing of cannabis oil by pharmaceutical processors in the Commonwealth. The bill allows written certifications for use of cannabis oil to include an electronic practitioner signature. The bill also eliminates the requirement that a pharmacist have oversight of the cultivation and processing areas of a pharmaceutical processor, instead requiring pharmaceutical processors to designate a person to oversee cultivation and production areas; removes the requirement that a cannabis dispensing facility undergo quarterly inspections, instead requiring that inspections occur no more than once annually; and allows pharmaceutical processors to remediate cannabis oil that fails any quality testing standard. The bill requires pharmaceutical processors to maintain evidence of criminal background checks for all employees and delivery agents of the pharmaceutical processor. The bill directs the Board of Pharmacy to promulgate regulations implementing the provisions of the bill and regulations creating reasonable restrictions on advertising and promotion by pharmaceutical processors by July 1, 2021, and directs the Board of Pharmacy to solicit input from stakeholders and appropriate agencies of the Commonwealth in order to develop recommendations for legislative action to permit the acceptance of cannabis products by hospices and hospice facilities in the Commonwealth and report its findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by October 1, 2021.

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.

Public schools, child day programs, and certainother programs; carbon monoxide detectors required. Requireseach building that was built before 2015 and that houses any publicschool classroom for students, licensed child day program, or otherprogram that serves preschool-age children to be equipped with atleast one carbon monoxide detector.

Virginia Fair Housing Law; unlawful discriminatory housing practices. Prohibits any locality, its employees, or its appointed commissions from discriminating (i) in the application of local land use ordinances or guidelines, or in the permitting of housing developments, on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status, source of funds, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, or disability; (ii) in the permitting of housing developments because the housing development contains or is expected to contain affordable housing units occupied or intended for occupancy by families or individuals with incomes at or below 80 percent of the median income of the area where the housing development is located or is proposed to be located; or (iii) by prohibiting or imposing conditions upon the rental or sale of dwelling units, provided that the provisions of this subsection shall not be construed to prohibit ordinances related to short-term rentals. The bill provides that it shall not be a violation of the Virginia Fair Housing Law if land use decisions or decisions relating to the permitting of housing developments are based upon considerations of limiting high concentrations of affordable housing. The bill also requires the Fair Housing Board, after determining the existence of an unlawful discriminatory housing practice and after consultation with the Attorney General, to immediately refer the matter to the Attorney General for civil action.

Court-appointed special advocates; information sharing. Permits court-appointed special advocates to participate in and verbally share information with family partnership meetings and in meetings of family assessment and planning teams, multidisciplinary child sexual abuse response teams, individualized education program teams, and multidisciplinary teams related to child abuse.

Produce Rx Program established; report. Directs the Department of Social Services, in cooperation with the Department of Medical Assistance Services, to convene a work group to develop a plan for a three-year pilot Produce Rx program to incentivize consumption of qualifying fruits and vegetables by eligible individuals for whom increased consumption of fruits and vegetables is recommended by a qualified care provider. The bill requires the Department of Social Services to report on the activities of the work group and the elements of the plan to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations by October 1, 2021.

Certain employees of the Department of JuvenileJustice; naloxone or other opioid antagonist. Authorizes employeesof the Department of Juvenile Justice designated as probation andparole officers or as juvenile correctional officers to possess andadminister naloxone or other opioid antagonist for overdose reversalpursuant to an oral or written order or standing protocol issuedby the prescriber within the course of his professional practice.

Military medical personnel program. Addsany facility that offers medical services to the public and that is supervised by one or more physicians or podiatrists to the listof entities that may participate in the military medical personnelprogram established by the Department of Veterans Services and directsthe Department to assist veterans and other service members who arepreparing for discharge or release and who have recently served inhealth care-related specialties but who do not meet the definitionof "military medical personnel" in finding employment in the healthcare sector.