Del. Sam Rasoul

General Assembly meetings; streaming and recording. Requires the Clerk of the House of Delegates and the Clerk of theSenate to ensure that every (i) subcommittee or committee meetingof a standing committee of the General Assembly, regardless of meetingdate, and (ii) floor session of the House of Delegates or the Senate,including any joint session of the houses, is streamed with closedcaptioning, recorded and archived. The bill defines "stream" and specifiesthat a qualifying meeting is one the date and time of which havebeen scheduled on a public website of any agency of the General Assemblyfor at least one hour prior to the meeting and that takes place inthe State Capitol, the Pocahontas Building, or the General AssemblyBuilding in Richmond. The bill has a delayed effective date of October1, 2020.

Preventive services; coverage for outpatientmental health screenings or visits. Requires a health carrierto provide coverage as a preventive service for at least six annualtherapy or counseling outpatient screenings or visits with a licensedmental health professional for the early detection or preventionof mental illness. Health carriers are prohibited from imposing any cost-sharing requirements for mandated preventive services.

Legal holidays; Indigenous Peoples Day. Removes official state observation of Columbus Day and replaces it with observationof Indigenous Peoples Day, honoring the historic, cultural, andcontemporary significance of indigenous peoples.

Commemorating the 150th anniversary of the ratificationof the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.Commemorates the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the FifteenthAmendment to the Constitution of the United States. This resolutionis a recommendation of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission.

Virginia Minimum Wage Act; exemption. Removesthe exemption from the Virginia Minimum Wage Act for persons employedin domestic service or in or about a private home or in an eleemosynaryinstitution primarily supported by public funds.

Commending the Loudoun South Little Leaguebaseball team.

Violence Intervention and Prevention Fund andGrant Program; firearm and ammunition tax. Establishes the ViolenceIntervention and Prevention Fund (the Fund), to be administered bythe Department of Criminal Justice Services (the Department), to distribute grants to localities and organizations for the purposeof improving public health and safety by supporting effective violencereduction initiatives in communities that are disproportionatelyimpacted by violence, particularly homicides, shootings, and aggravatedassaults. Funds may also be used to finance the hiring of counselorsin public elementary and secondary schools and research initiativesthat have the objective of reducing gun violence. Thebill provides that the Department shall issue grants on a competitivebasis. As a condition of receiving a grant, a locality or organizationmust commit a cash or in-kind contribution equivalent to the amountof the grant, with waivers allowed for good cause, and report onits progress toward achieving the grant's objectives. The bill requiresthe Department to provide public access to such reports. The bill imposes a 15 percent tax on the saleof any firearm or ammunition, with all revenue from the tax accruingto the Fund. Sales to state or local agencies or law-enforcementofficers are exempt from the tax.

Possession of marijuana. Allows for possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use.

Historical African American cemeteries; City of Chesapeake. Adds one cemetery in Chesapeake to the list of cemeteries for which qualified organizations may receive funds from the Department of Historic Resources for the care of historical African American cemeteries and graves. The cemetery is Cuffeytown Cemetery, containing 52 eligible graves. This bill was incorporated into HB 1523.

Health benefit plans; bills for emergency services; surprise bills; dispute resolution. Requires the Commissioner of the Bureau of Insurance to certify independent dispute resolution entities to resolve disputes arising from surprise bills for non-emergency health care services and for emergency service provided by non-participating providers. The measure implements "baseball-style" arbitration to resolve disputes between health carriers and physicians. Under this approach, each party submits a proposed dollar amount to the independent dispute resolution entity, who then chooses one as the appropriate payment amount. The measure provides that when an insured assigns benefits for a surprise bill or a bill for emergency services in writing to a non-participating physician who knows the insured is covered under a health benefit plan, the non-participating physician shall not bill the insured except for any applicable coinsurance, copayment, or deductible that would be owed if the insured utilized a participating physician. This bill was incorporated into HB 1251.