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.
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Paramilitary activities; penalty. Provides that a person is guilty of unlawful paramilitary activity if such person brandishes a firearm or any air or gas operated weapon or any object similar in appearance while assembled with one or more persons with the intent of intimidating any person or group of persons with any firearm, any explosive or incendiary device, or any components or combination thereof. Such unlawful paramilitary activity is punishable as a Class 5 felony.
Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area;hydraulic fracturing prohibited. Prohibits hydraulic fracturing,as defined in the bill, in the Eastern Virginia Groundwater ManagementArea.
Courthouse and courtroom security; assessment.Increases from $10 to $20 the maximum amount a local governing bodymay assess against a convicted defendant as part of the costs ina criminal or traffic case in district or circuit court to fund courthouseand courtroom security.
Workers' compensation; Ombudsman program. Authorizes the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission to create an Ombudsman program and appoint an ombudsman to administer such program. The program's purpose is to provide neutral educational information and assistance to persons who are not represented by an attorney, including those persons who have claims pending or docketed before the Commission.
Board of Juvenile Justice; Department of BehavioralHealth and Developmental Services; regulations governing the housingof youth pursuant to contracts with the federal government. Requiresthe Board of Juvenile Justice, in collaboration with the Departmentof Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, to promulgate regulationsgoverning the housing of youth who are detained in a juvenile correctionalfacility pursuant to a contract with the federal government and notcommitted to such juvenile correctional facility by a court of theCommonwealth.
Department of Emergency Management; responsibilitiesof political subdivisions; provision of emergency preparedness informationto individuals with limited English proficiency, disabilities, orother special needs. Directs the Department of Emergency Management(the Department) to ensure that the model school crisis and emergencymanagement plan developed by the Board of Education in consultationwith the Department is designed to include and reach individualswith limited English proficiency, disabilities, and other specialneeds. The bill also directs the Department to develop an emergencyresponse plan to (i) address the needs of such individuals in theevent of a disaster, including the provision of competent interpretationservices and translated documents, and (ii) assist and coordinatewith local agencies in developing similar emergency response plansfor such individuals. The bill requires that every local and interjurisdictionalemergency management agency include in its emergency operations planprovisions to ensure that adequate and timely emergency relief assistance,including competent interpretation services and translated documents,is provided to such individuals. The bill requires the governingbody of each locality that is required to establish an alert and warningplan to ensure that such plan provides adequate and timely warningsfor such individuals. The bill contains technical amendments.
Charter; City of Norfolk; employees of officers; vagrants. Amends the charter for the City of Norfolk by changing from "election" to "appointment" the term used to describe the selection of certain officers by the city council and clarifying that employees of such officers serve at will. The bill also removes a provision authorizing the City to prevent persons having no visible means of support, paupers, and persons who may be dangerous to the peace or safety of the City from coming to the City and authorizing the City to expel such persons who have been in the City less than 90 days. This bill is identical to HB 749.
State and local correctional facilities; treatment ofprisoners known to be pregnant or who are parents of minor children. Providesfor rules and regulations regarding the treatment, control, and education of prisonersknown to be pregnant and prisoners who are parents of minor children in stateand local correctional facilities. The bill requires the Department ofCorrections to include in the training it provides for deputy sheriffs and jailofficers, state correctional officers, and juvenile correctional officers whomay have contact with pregnant inmates training on the general care of pregnantwomen and the impact of restraints, restrictive housing, and body cavitysearches on such inmates. The bill requires the Director of the Department ofCorrections, to the extent practicable, after accounting for security andcapacity factors, to place prisoners who are parents of minor children in afacility as close as possible to such children. The bill also provides that thesheriff, jail superintendent, or other jail administrator shall prescribe rulesfor local or regional jails to ensure that when physical contact is requiredbetween an officer and an inmate and when the inmate is required bycircumstances to disrobe, the officer shall be the same gender as the inmateand that such rules may allow for the suspension of such provisions during theperiod of a declared emergency. Additionally, when contact is required betweena jail or correctional officer and an inmate and when the inmate is required todisrobe and the officer is not the same gender as the inmate, the bill requiresthe officer to submit a written report to the official in charge of the stateor local correctional facility within 72 hours following the incident,containing the justification for the suspension of the requirement that suchinstance occur only during the period of a declared emergency. The bill furtherprovides that the Director of the Department of Corrections is authorized toprescribe reasonable rules regarding visitation that shall includeauthorization of visitation by minor dependents of prisoners who are parents ofminor children with Level 1 or Level 2 security classifications.
Holding handheld personal communications devices while driving a motor vehicle. Prohibits any person from holding a handheld personal communications device while driving a motor vehicle. Current law prohibits (i) the reading of any email or text message and manually entering letters or text in such a device as a means of communicating and (ii) holding a personal communications device while driving in a work zone. The bill expands the exemptions to include handheld personal communications devices that are being held and used (a) as an amateur radio or a citizens band radio or (b) for official Department of Transportation or traffic incident management services. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2021. This bill incorporates SB 136 and SB 944 and is identical to HB 874.