Rep. Marty Martinez

Maddy summaryThis bill formally recognizes the Virginia Youth Poet Laureate through a commendation resolution. It does not create new laws or alter existing policies but serves as an official acknowledgment of the program's contribution to youth arts and culture. The measure passed both the House and Senate by voice vote without requiring further legislative action.

Mental health and substance abuse disorders; network adequacy standards; comparative analyses; report; emergency regulations. Directs the Department of Health to issue regulations that include quantitative network adequacy standards for timely access to care, travel time, and geographical distance that are at least as stringent as those imposed for qualified health plans and qualified dental plans. The bill amends the definitions of "mental health services" and "substance abuse services" for the purposes of health insurance coverage. The bill requires health carriers to submit all comparative analyses prepared pursuant to federal law to the Bureau of Insurance on the date and frequency as specified by the Bureau and includes additional information to include in such submission. Under the bill, the Bureau may impose a penalty not to exceed $100,000 for a noncompliant or insufficient comparative analysis or require a carrier to remove, revise, or remedy noncompliant treatment limitations. The bill also amends the contents of the annual report submitted by the Bureau to the General Assembly to cover enforcement efforts with respect to the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.The bill authorizes the Bureau to promulgate regulations as necessary to implement the provisions of the bill and directs the Department of Health to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill. The bill directs the Department of Human Resource Management to evaluate the impact of the proposed changes to the provisions of the bill related to health insurance. The provisions of the bill related to health insurance have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027. This bill is identical to SB 524.

Unemployment benefits; increase weekly benefit amount. Provides that, for unemployment compensation claims effective on or after July 1, 2026, an eligible individual's weekly benefit amount shall be $48 higher than the current weekly benefit amount, as denoted in the table in the printed bill. This bill is identical to HB 1320.

Sickle cell disease education and screening program; cancer risk. Requires the sickle cell screening and treatment program to include the offering of educational resources to health care providers on the increased risks for certain cancers among individuals with sickle cell disease or the sickle cell trait.

Prevailing wage rate for public works contracts; localities. Requires each state agency or locality, when procuring services or letting contracts for public works paid for in whole or in part by state or local funds, or when overseeing or administering such contracts for public works, to ensure that its bid specifications or other public contracts applicable to the public works require bidders, offerors, contractors, and subcontractors to pay wages, salaries, benefits, and other remuneration to any mechanic, laborer, or worker employed, retained, or otherwise hired to perform services in connection with the public contract for public works at a rate no less than the prevailing wage rate. The bill also amends the definition of "public works" to include work performed at certain institutions of higher education and to exclude work performed at a non-governmental property or facility used to provide broadband or other telecommunications services. Under the bill, a contractor or subcontractor may be liable to the Commissioner of Labor and Industry for liquidated damages for violating the prevailing wage requirements in the bill. Under the bill, any interested party shall have standing to challenge bid specifications, project agreements, or other public contracts for public works that violate the provisions of the bill. The bill requires institutions of higher education to expressly agree to comply with the public works contract requirements. Under the bill, the Commissioner shall determine the prevailing wage based on a survey of wages and benefits paid in each area, as defined in the bill, conducted every two years. The bill includes factors for the Commissioner to consider in determining a prevailing wage rate. The bill directs the Commissioner to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill. This bill is identical to SB 518.

Unemployment benefits; increase weekly benefit amount. Provides that, for unemployment compensation claims effective on or after July 1, 2026, an eligible individual's weekly benefit amount shall be $48 higher than the current weekly benefit amount, as denoted in the table in the printed bill. This bill is identical to SB 759.

School nurses; sickle cell disease training. Directs local school divisions to require school nurses to complete, within six months of employment and at least every three years thereafter, an online or in-person course of instruction approved by the Board in collaboration with the Department of Health regarding recognition and management of sickle cell disease. This bill is identical to SB 822.

Department of Veterans Services; Department of Health Professions; military medical personnel; program; work group; report. Expands the definition of "military medical personnel" for the purposes of the program established by the Department of Veterans Services (the Department), in collaboration with the Department of Health Professions, that allows such military medical personnel to practice and perform certain delegated acts that constitute the practice of medicine or nursing to include other enlisted service members who have successfully completed appropriate technical training and any required certifications and who were discharged or released from such service under conditions other than dishonorable. Under current law, "military medical personnel" means an individual who has recently served as a medic in the United States Army, medical technician in the United States Air Force, medical personnel in the United States Space Force, or corpsman in the United States Navy or the United States Coast Guard.The bill allows such military medical personnel participating in the program to be supervised by any licensed practitioner, as defined in the bill. Current law allows such personnel to be supervised by a physician or podiatrist. The bill directs the Department of Veterans Services to convene a work group to provide guidance on the implementation and further development of the Military Medics and Corpsmen program and to report its findings to the Chairs of the House Committee on Health and Human Services and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by November 1, 2026.

Presidential electors; National Popular Vote Compact. Enters Virginia into an interstate compact known as the Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote. Article II of the Constitution of the United States gives the states exclusive and plenary authority to decide the manner of awarding their electoral votes. Under the compact, Virginia agrees to award its electoral votes to the presidential ticket that receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The compact goes into effect when states cumulatively possessing a majority of the electoral votes have joined the compact. A state may withdraw from the compact; however, a withdrawal occurring within six months of the end of a President's term shall not become effective until a President or Vice President has qualified to serve the next term. The bill also provides for the manner of appointing electors when such agreement does and does not govern the appointment of electors. This bill is identical to SB 322.

Collective bargaining by public employees; individual home care providers; Virginia Home Care Council established; Public Employee Relations Board established; exclusive bargaining representatives. Repeals the existing prohibition on collective bargaining by public employees. The bill creates the Public Employee Relations Board, which shall determine appropriate bargaining units and provide for certification and decertification elections for exclusive bargaining representatives of state employees and local government employees. The bill requires public employers and employee organizations that are exclusive bargaining representatives to meet at reasonable times to negotiate in good faith with respect to wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. The bill establishes the Virginia Home Care Council within the Department of Medical Assistance Services to promote the stability of the individual provider workforce in the Commonwealth and tasks the Council with serving as the public employer of individual providers, as defined in the bill, for purposes of collective bargaining pursuant to the bill's provisions. The bill repeals a provision that declares that in any procedure providing for the designation, selection, or authorization of a labor organization to represent employees the right of an individual employee to vote by secret ballot is a fundamental right that shall be guaranteed from infringement. The bill directs the Department of Labor and Industry to promulgate any regulations necessary to effectuate the bill's provisions by July 1, 2028, and provides that upon the establishment of the Public Employee Relations Board, such regulations shall be transferred to the Board. The bill provides that until such regulations are adopted, no petitions or elections shall take place pursuant to the bill's provisions except pursuant to an ordinance or resolution adopted under current law. This bill is identical to SB 378.