Prescription of opioids; sickle cell anemia.Exempts prescribers from certain requirements of the PrescriptionMonitoring Program related to prescribing opioids if the opioid isprescribed to a patient for pain management related to sickle cellanemia.
Rights of persons with disabilities; definitions.Adds definitions related to the rights of persons with disabilitiesto relevant law. The bill defines "path of travel," "place of publicaccommodation,"" "public entity," "private entity," and "readilyachievable." The bill requires places of public accommodation toensure that barriers to accessibility are removed when the removalis readily achievable.
Short-term rental property; locality's ability to prohibit lessee or sublessee operator. Prohibits a locality from barring an operator, as defined in existing law, from offering such property as a short-term rental solely on the basis that the operator is a lessee or sublessee of such property, provided that the property owner has granted permission for its use as a short-term rental. The bill adds an attestation that the property owner has granted such permission if the operator is a lessee or sublessee to the information that an operator must provide to annually register such short-term rental. The bill permits a locality to limit a lessee or sublessee to one short-term rental.
Towing companies; local authority. Clarifies that the provisions of existing law authorizing localities in Planning District 8 to require towing companies that tow from the county, city, or town to a storage or release location outside of the locality to obtain a permit to do so do not restrict or modify the authority of the locality to require that towing companies that tow and store or release vehicles within the county, city, or town to obtain from the locality a permit to do so.
Veterans' Services Protection Act; prohibited practices; penalty. Creates the Veterans' Services Protection Act to prohibit any person from receiving compensation for preparing, presenting, prosecuting, advising, consulting, or assisting any individual regarding any veterans' benefits matter, as defined in the bill, except as permitted under federal law. The bill provides that a violation of its provisions constitutes a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.
Law-enforcement training; individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to establish compulsory minimum and in-service training standards for law-enforcement officers on communicating with individuals with an intellectual disability or a developmental disability, such as autism spectrum disorder, which shall include (i) an overview and behavioral recognition of autism spectrum disorder, (ii) best practices for crisis prevention and de-escalation techniques, (iii) an objective review of any relevant tools and technology available to assist in communication, and (iv) education on law-enforcement agency and community resources for the autism community on future crisis prevention. The bill requires that such training standards be established in consultation with at least one individual with autism spectrum disorder, one family member of an individual with autism spectrum disorder, one specialist who works with individuals with autism spectrum disorder, one representative from the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, and one representative from a state or local law-enforcement agency. The bill requires the Department to establish such training standards by January 1, 2027, and requires any person employed as a law-enforcement officer prior to July 1, 2024, to complete the compulsory in-service training by July 1, 2028. This bill is identical to SB 547.
Virginia Tourism Authority; powers; historically accurate advertising. Requires the Virginia Tourism Authority, in consultation with The Library of Virginia and the Virginia African American Advisory Board, to (i) create standards for the Authority's publications and advertising material to ensure all such materials accurately identify parcels of real property in the Commonwealth with a history linked to slave ownership and accurately depict the contributions of Black Virginians to any such parcel of real property; and (ii) acknowledge the horrors of slavery in the Commonwealth by publishing a list of slave-owning properties in the Commonwealth.
Virginia Minority Business Commission; report; sunset. Establishes the 13-member Virginia Minority Business Commission in the legislative branch of government for the purpose of promoting the growth and competitiveness of Virginia minority-owned businesses. The bill provides that the Commission sunsets on July 1, 2028.
Funeral services; transportation protectionagreements. Defines "transportation protection agreement" asan agreement that provides for the coordination and arranging of all professional services related to transportation of human remainsor cremated remains beyond the distance stated in the preneed funeralcontract. The bill clarifies that transportation protection agreementsare not considered preneed funeral contracts.
Sickle cell disease; statewide registry; collectionof sickle cell disease case information; penalties; notification;annual report. Creates a statewide registry of sickle cell diseasepatients to be maintained by the State Health Commissioner. The billestablishes: (i) standards and selection criteria for the collectionof sickle cell disease information; (ii) penalties for unauthorizeduse of data from such registry; and (iii) notice requirements forpatients whose personal identifying information has been submittedto such registry. The bill allows patients diagnosed with sicklecell disease to self-report information to the sickle cell diseaseregistry. Under the bill, a patient has the right to opt out of havinghis information reported to the statewide sickle cell disease registry.The bill also directs the Commissioner to submit an annual reportof the information obtained from the sickle cell disease registryto the Governor and the General Assembly by December 1 of each year.
