Del. Kathleen Murphy

Degree-granting postsecondary schools; distance learning reciprocity agreements; consumer protection. Requires any degree-granting postsecondary school providing distance learning to residents of the Commonwealth from a location outside of the Commonwealth to be certified to operate in the Commonwealth or be a participant in any interstate reciprocity agreement to which the Commonwealth belongs, in accordance with the State Council of Higher Education's authority under relevant law, for the purpose of consumer protection. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2022.

Active duty military personnel or activatedor temporarily mobilized reservists or guard members; dependents;eligibility for in-state tuition and other educational benefits.Requires the condition of continuous enrollment in a public institutionof higher education or private institution of higher education currentlyimposed on dependents of active duty military personnel or activatedor temporarily mobilized reservists or guard members in order tobe eligible for in-state tuition and other educational benefits affordedto Virginia students to be waived if the dependent verifies thata break of no longer than one year was required in order to supporta spouse or parent on orders for a change of duty assignment or location.

Death certificate; veterans; fees. Expands list of parties eligible to obtain a free certified copy of a veteran's death certificate for service-connected benefits to include any funeral director or funeral service licensee who provides funeral services for the veteran, if so requested by the surviving spouse of the veteran.

Commending John E. Potter.

Prohibited discrimination; public accommodations, employment, credit, and housing: causes of action; sexual orientation and gender identity. Creates explicit causes of action for unlawful discrimination in public accommodations and employment in the Virginia Human Rights Act. Currently, under the Act there is no cause of action for discrimination in public accommodations, and the only causes of action for discrimination in employment are for (i) unlawful discharge on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, including lactation, by employers employing more than five but fewer than 15 persons and (ii) unlawful discharge on the basis of age by employers employing more than five but fewer than 20 persons. The bill allows the causes of action to be pursued privately by the aggrieved person or, in certain circumstances, by the Attorney General. The bill prohibits discrimination in public and private employment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill also codifies for state and local government employment the current prohibitions on discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, or status as a veteran. Additionally, the bill (a) prohibits discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or status as a veteran; (b) prohibits discrimination in credit on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, disability, and status as a veteran; and (c) adds discrimination on the basis of an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or status as a veteran as an unlawful housing practice. The bill makes technical amendments. This bill incorporates HB 3, HB 21, HB 23, HB 217, HB 1050, HB 1200, and HB 1512.

Local school boards; lead testing; report; parental notification. Requires each local school board's plan to test and remediate certain potable water sources to be consistent with guidance published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the Department of Health. The bill requires each local school board to submit such testing plan and report the results of any such test to the Department of Health. The bill also requires local school boards to take all necessary steps to notify parents if testing results indicate lead contamination that exceeds 10 parts per billion. The bill is identical to SB 392.

Virginia sexual assault forensic examiner coordination program. Establishes the Virginia sexual assault forensic examiner coordination program within the Department of Criminal Justice Services. The bill provides that the program shall create and coordinate an annual statewide sexual assault forensic nurse examiner training program; coordinate the development and enhancement of sexual assault forensic examiner programs across the Commonwealth; participate in the development of hospital protocols and guidelines for treatment of survivors of sexual assault; coordinate and strengthen communications among sexual assault nurse examiner medical directors, sexual assault response teams, and hospitals for existing and developing sexual assault nurse examiner programs; provide technical assistance for existing and developing sexual assault forensic examiner programs, including local sexual assault forensic examiner training; create, maintain and share a statewide list, updated biannually, that includes pertinent information regarding sexual assault forensic examiners and nurse examiners; create sexual assault nurse examiner recruitment materials for universities and colleges with nursing programs; and support and coordinate community education and public outreach, when appropriate, relating to sexual assault nurse examiner issues for the Commonwealth. The bill includes reporting requirements for the Department of Criminal Justice Services.

Health insurance; formula and enteral nutrition products. Requires health insurers, health care subscription plans, and health maintenance organizations whose policy, contract, or plan includes coverage for medicines to classify medically necessary formula and enteral nutrition products as medicine and to include coverage for medically necessary formula and enteral nutrition products for covered individuals requiring treatment for an inherited metabolic disorder. Such coverage is required to be provided on the same terms and subject to the same conditions imposed on other medicines covered under the policy, contract, or plan. The measure provides that the required coverage includes any medical equipment, supplies, and services that are required to administer the covered formula or enteral nutrition products. These requirements apply only to formula and enteral nutrition products that are furnished pursuant to the prescription or order of a physician or other health care professional qualified to make such prescription or order for the management of an inherited metabolic disorder and are used under medical supervision. This bill is identical to SB 605.

Virginia Telephone Privacy Protection Act. Provides that for the purposes of the Virginia Telephone Privacy Act (the Act), "telephone solicitation call" includes any text message sent to any wireless telephone with a Virginia area code, or to a wireless telephone registered to any natural person who is a resident of the Commonwealth, for the purpose of offering or advertising any property, goods, or services for sale, lease, license, or investment, including offering or advertising an extension of credit or for the purpose of fraudulent activity. The bill prohibits a telephone solicitor from engaging in any conduct that results in the display of false or misleading caller identification information on the called party's telephone. The bill increases the amount of damages and the amount of the civil penalty for violations of the Act from $500 for each such violation to $500 for a first violation, $1,000 for a second violation, and $5,000 for each subsequent violation and increases to $5,000 the maximum civil penalty the court may impose for a willful first or second violation. This bill is identical to SB 812.

Line of Duty Act; eligible dependents. Provides that children born or adopted after the death or disability of an employee covered by the Line of Duty Act are eligible for health insurance coverage if their birth or adoption occurred after the time of the employee's death or disability, but prior to July 1, 2017. Under current law, such children are not eligible unless they were adopted pursuant to a preadoptive agreement entered into prior to the death or disability. This bill is identical to SB 40.