Del. Wendy Gooditis

Publication of certain notices on locality'swebsite. Provides that in any instance in which a locality isrequired to publish certain notices related to local planning andzoning in a newspaper having general circulation in the locality,the locality may instead choose to meet such requirement by publishingthe notice on the locality's website.

Health insurance; provider contracts; report. Prohibits a carrier from unilaterally amending any material provision of a provider contract or adding any new material provision to any provider contract within 12 months of execution of the provider contract or the date of last amendment to the provider contract. The measure requires such an amendment to be agreed to by the provider in a signed written amendment to the provider contract. The measure defines a material provision of a provider contract as the fee schedule and any provision contained in the body of the provider contract including definitions, any provision required to be included in a provider contract, and any provision related to the term or duration of the provider contract, the method by which the provider contract can be amended or terminated, obligations of the parties, notices and reporting, coordination of benefits, the period of time required for submission or payment of claims, retroactive denial of a previously paid claim, dispute resolution, or arbitration procedures. The measure requires that carriers supply fee schedules in writing, make fee schedules available in machine-readable electronic format, and provide the complete fee schedule applicable to the provider for each health plan in which the provider participates or is proposed to participate. The measure requires that amendments to a provider contract be presented in a manner so as to allow the provider to easily identify the specific terms being proposed for amendment and that proposed amendments be formatted to clearly identify the changes to the language of the agreement. The measure requires provider contracts to permit a provider a minimum of 180 days from the date a health care service is rendered to submit a claim for payment. The measure also (i) requires the State Corporation Commission to promulgate regulations to establish a procedure for accepting and resolving complaints relating to an alleged or suspected failure to comply with the minimum fair business standards as it relates to any provider or carrier, (ii) authorizes the Commission is to investigate complaints, (iii) subjects a person that refuses or fails to provide information in a timely manner to the Commission to enforcement and penalty provisions, and (iv) requires the Commission to report annually on the complaints received and the results of any investigation made to the House Committees on Labor and Commerce and Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committees on Commerce and Labor and Education and Health and to the Joint Commission on Health Care.

Teacher compensation; at or above national average.Requires that public school teachers be compensated at a rate thatis at or above the national average. Under current law, compensationat such rate is aspirational. The bill requires state funding tobe provided pursuant to the general appropriation act in a sum sufficientto fund a 4.5 percent annual increase for public school teacher salaries,effective from the 2022-23 school year through the 2026-27 schoolyear. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2022.

Celebrating the life of the Honorable BernardS. Cohen.

Constitutional amendment (first reference);marriage; repeal of same-sex marriage prohibition; recognition ofsame-sex marriages. Repeals the constitutional provision definingmarriage as only a union between one man and one woman, as well asthe related provisions that are no longer valid as a result of theUnited States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges,576 U.S. 644 (2015). The amendment provides that the Commonwealthand its political subdivisions and its agents are required to issuemarriage licenses, recognize marriages, and treat all marriages equallyunder the law, regardless of the gender of the two parties to themarriage. The amendment further provides that religious organizationsand clergy acting in their religious capacity have the right to refuseto perform any marriage.

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Conventionon the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

Commending journalists in Virginia.

Celebrating the life of the Honorable AugustusBenton Chafin, Jr.

Celebrating the life of the Honorable AugustusBenton Chafin, Jr.

Virginia Minimum Wage Act; exemption. Removesthe exemption from the Virginia Minimum Wage Act for persons employedin domestic service or in or about a private home or in an eleemosynaryinstitution primarily supported by public funds.