Del. Paul Krizek

American Revolution 250 Commission; report. Establishes the American Revolution 250 Commission to plan, develop, and perform programs and activities to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, the Revolutionary War, and the independence of the United States. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2027, and is identical to SB 407.

Health insurance; cost-sharing payments for prescription insulin drugs. Prohibits health insurance companies and other carriers from setting an amount exceeding $30 per 30-day supply that a covered person is required to pay at the point of sale in order to receive a covered prescription insulin drug. The measure also prohibits a provider contract between a carrier or its pharmacy benefits manager and a pharmacy from containing a provision (i) authorizing the carrier's pharmacy benefits manager or the pharmacy to charge, (ii) requiring the pharmacy to collect, or (iii) requiring a covered person to make a cost-sharing payment for a covered prescription insulin drug in an amount that exceeds such limitation. This bill incorporates HB 1403.

Nonpayment of wages; private action; liability for payment of wages due under construction contracts; penalties. Provides that an employee has a private cause of action, individually, jointly, with other aggrieved employees as a collective action, on behalf of similarly situated employees as a collective action under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act against an employer who fails to pay wages to recover the amount of wages due plus interest at eight percent annually from the date the wages were due, an additional amount as liquidated damages, and reasonable attorney fees and costs. If the court finds that the employer knowingly failed to pay wages, the court shall award the employee reasonable attorney fees and costs and the employer is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 for each violation. If the court finds that the employer's failure to pay wages was willful and with intent to defraud the employee, the court shall award the employee triple the amount of wages due and reasonable attorney fees and costs. The measure also provides that any construction contract entered into on or after July 1, 2020, shall be deemed to include a provision under which the general contractor and the subcontractor are jointly and severally liable to pay the wages due to the subcontractor's employees. If the wages due to the subcontractor's employees are not paid, the general contractor is subject to criminal and civil penalties for which an employer is liable for failing or refusing to pay wages. The measure requires the subcontractor to indemnify the general contractor for wages, damages, interest, penalties, or attorney fees owed as a result of the subcontractor's failure to pay the wages unless the subcontractor's failure to pay wages was because of the general contractor's failure to pay moneys due to the subcontractor. The measure also provides that the lack of privity between the general contractor and the employees of the subcontractor is not a defense in an action against the general contractor arising from nonpayment of wages to the subcontractor's employees. This bill incorporates HB 482.

Passing stopped school bus; vendor; administrative fee. Authorizes a private vendor operating a video monitoring system for a school division for the purpose of recording those illegally passing stopped school buses to impose and collect an administrative fee to recover the cost of collecting the civil penalty to be paid by the operator of the vehicle. The bill contains technical amendments.

Public institutions of higher education; eligibility for in-state tuition. Provides that any student is eligible for in-state tuition who (i) attended high school for at least two years in the Commonwealth and either (a) graduated on or after July 1, 2008, from a public or private high school or program of home instruction in the Commonwealth or (b) passed, on or after July 1, 2008, a high school equivalency examination approved by the Secretary of Education; (ii) has submitted evidence that he or, in the case of a dependent student, at least one parent, guardian, or person standing in loco parentis has filed, unless exempted by state law, Virginia income tax returns for at least two years prior to the date of registration or enrollment; and (iii) registers as an entering student or is enrolled in a public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth. The bill states that students who meet these criteria shall be eligible for in-state tuition regardless of their citizenship or immigration status, except students with currently valid visas issued under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(F), 1101(a)(15)(H)(iii), 1101(a)(15)(J) (including only students or trainees), or 1101(a)(15)(M). Information obtained in the implementation of the provisions of the bill shall only be used or disclosed to individuals other than the student for purposes of determining in-state tuition eligibility. This bill incorporates HB 1138 and is identical to SB 935.

Worker cooperatives. Establishes worker cooperatives as a category of cooperative associations. A worker cooperative is a stock corporation that has elected to be governed by provisions established by this measure, which include (i) conducting its business primarily for the mutual benefit of its members, (ii) allowing only current and retired employees to be members, (iii) limiting voting rights to current employees, (iv) providing that each employee is entitled to one vote, (v) prohibiting any person from owning more than one membership share, (vi) requiring at least two-thirds of employees to own membership shares, and (vii) requiring that net earnings be paid or credited to members in accordance with the ratio that each member's amount of work performed during a period bears to the total amount of work performed by all members during that period.

Department of Professional and OccupationalRegulation; Board for Contractors; misclassification of worker prohibited.Provides that the Board for Contractors (the Board) shall requirea contractor to appropriately classify all workers as employees or independent contractors, pursuant to law. Any contractor who is foundto have intentionally misclassified any worker is subject to sanctionby the Board.

Fiduciaries; good faith reliance on certificate of qualification. Provides that any individual or entity conducting business in good faith with a personal representative who presents a currently effective certificate of qualification may presume that the personal representative is properly authorized to act as to any matter or transaction. The bill further provides that if such individual or entity refuses to accept a certificate of qualification for a personal representative or a guardian or conservator who has been appointed for an incapacitated person, such individual or entity is subject to (i) a court order mandating acceptance of the certificate of qualification and (ii) liability for reasonable attorney fees and costs incurred in any action or proceeding that confirms the validity of the certificate of qualification or mandates acceptance of the certificate of qualification. The bill further provides that any individual or entity shall either accept or reject a certificate of qualification of such personal representative or such guardian or conservator no later than seven business days after presentation of such certificate. The bill specifies certain circumstances under which an individual or entity is not required to accept such a certificate for a transaction.

Protected information; newspersons engaged in journalism. Provides that no newsperson engaged in journalism shall be compelled by the Commonwealth or a locality in any criminal proceeding to testify about, disclose, or produce protected information, as defined in the bill, except when the court finds that (i) the protected information is necessary to the proof of an issue material to an administrative or criminal proceeding; (ii) the protected information is not obtainable from any alternative source; (iii) the Commonwealth or locality exhausted all reasonable methods for obtaining the protected information from all relevant alternative sources, if applicable; and (iv) there is an overriding public interest in the disclosure of the protected information, including preventing harm to or death of a person. The bill further provides that any information obtained in violation of the provisions of the bill shall be inadmissible for any purpose in an administrative or criminal proceeding.

Health insurance; coverage for autism spectrum disorder. Requires health insurers, corporations providing health care subscription plans, and health maintenance organizations to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorder under insurance policies, subscription contracts, or health care plans issued in the individual market or small group markets. The existing requirement that such coverage be provided for policies, contracts, or plans issued in the large group market is not affected. The provision applies with respect to insurance policies, subscription contracts, and health care plans delivered, issued for delivery, reissued, or extended on or after January 1, 2021. This bill incorporates HB 1043 and is identical to SB 1031.