Drinking water supplies; maximum contaminant levels. Directs the State Board of Health to adopt regulations establishing maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) in public drinking water systems for (i) perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorooctane sulfonate, and for such other perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances as the Board deems necessary; (ii) chromium-6; and (iii) 1,4-dioxane. The bill requires such MCLs to be protective of public health, including the health of vulnerable subpopulations, and to be no higher than any MCL or health advisory adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the same contaminant. The bill directs the Department of Health to report to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions on the status of research related to MCLs by November 1, 2020, and submit a final report by October 1, 2021, detailing the MCL regulations established by the Department of Health. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2022.
Sponsored bills
Workers' compensation; employer to notify employee of intent. Requires an employer whose employee has filed a claim under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act to advise the employee whether the employer intends to accept or deny the claim or is unable to make such a determination because it lacks sufficient information from the employee or a third party. If the employer is unable to make such a determination because it lacks sufficient information from the employee or a third party, the employer shall so state and identify the needed additional information. If the employer intends to deny the claim, it shall provide the reasons. The bill provides that an employer may, if the employee consents, send any such required response to the employee by email.
Institutions of higher education; sexual violencepolicies; immunity from disciplinary action; certain students whomake reports. Requires the Virginia Community College System,Richard Bland College, each baccalaureate public institution of highereducation, and each nonprofit private institution of higher educationto include in its sexual violence policy a requirement that any enrolledstudent who (i) reports to any individual employed by the institutionthat an act of sexual violence occurred on campus, in or on a noncampusbuilding or property, or on public property, as such terms are definedin relevant law, and (ii) the institution determines, as a resultof any investigation relating to such alleged act of sexual violence,committed a separate, unrelated, nonviolent act that violates theinstitution's code, rules, or set of standards governing student conduct is immune from disciplinary action for such violation.
Provisional voting; persons voting in splitprecincts. Provides that any voter who is assigned to a precinctthat is split between two or more election districts and who believeshe was given a ballot for the district of which he is not a qualifiedvoter may request, prior to casting the ballot, and shall be permittedto cast a provisional ballot for the district of which he believeshe is a qualified voter and for the district in which the pollbookindicates he is registered. The bill requires the ballots to besealed in envelopes labeled with the corresponding district numberand then sealed in the green envelope provided for all provisionalballots. At the meeting to determine the validity of all provisionalballots offered in the election, the electoral board shall verifyin which district the voter is qualified and count that ballot.
Health insurance; cost-sharing payments for prescription insulin drugs. Prohibits health insurance companies and other carriers from setting an amount exceeding $30 per 30-day supply that a covered person is required to pay at the point of sale in order to receive a covered prescription insulin drug. The measure also prohibits a provider contract between a carrier or its pharmacy benefits manager and a pharmacy from containing a provision (i) authorizing the carrier's pharmacy benefits manager or the pharmacy to charge, (ii) requiring the pharmacy to collect, or (iii) requiring a covered person to make a cost-sharing payment for a covered prescription insulin drug in an amount that exceeds such limitation. This bill incorporates HB 1403.
Public institutions of higher education; eligibility for in-state tuition. Provides that any student is eligible for in-state tuition who (i) attended high school for at least two years in the Commonwealth and either (a) graduated on or after July 1, 2008, from a public or private high school or program of home instruction in the Commonwealth or (b) passed, on or after July 1, 2008, a high school equivalency examination approved by the Secretary of Education; (ii) has submitted evidence that he or, in the case of a dependent student, at least one parent, guardian, or person standing in loco parentis has filed, unless exempted by state law, Virginia income tax returns for at least two years prior to the date of registration or enrollment; and (iii) registers as an entering student or is enrolled in a public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth. The bill states that students who meet these criteria shall be eligible for in-state tuition regardless of their citizenship or immigration status, except students with currently valid visas issued under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(F), 1101(a)(15)(H)(iii), 1101(a)(15)(J) (including only students or trainees), or 1101(a)(15)(M). Information obtained in the implementation of the provisions of the bill shall only be used or disclosed to individuals other than the student for purposes of determining in-state tuition eligibility. This bill incorporates HB 1138 and is identical to SB 935.
Health insurance; nondiscrimination; gender identity or transgender status. Prohibits a health carrier from denying or limiting coverage or imposing additional cost sharing or other limitations or restrictions on coverage, under a health benefit plan for health care services that are ordinarily or exclusively available to covered individuals of one sex, to a transgender individual on the basis of the fact that the individual's sex assigned at birth, gender identity, or gender otherwise recorded is different from the one to which such health services are ordinarily or exclusively available. The measure also prohibits a health carrier from (i) subjecting an individual to discrimination under a health benefit plan on the basis of gender identity or being a transgender individual or (ii) requiring that an individual, as a condition of enrollment or continued enrollment under a health benefit plan, pay a premium that is greater than the premium for a similarly situated covered person enrolled in the plan on the basis of the covered person's gender identity or being a transgender individual. The measure requires health carriers to assess medical necessity according to nondiscriminatory criteria that are consistent with current medical standards.
Campaign finance reports; electronic filing requirement; local and constitutional offices. Requires candidates for local and constitutional offices to file campaign finance reports by computer or electronic means. Under current law, only candidates for local and constitutional offices in localities with a population exceeding 70,000 are required to file campaign finance reports electronically. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2021.
Worker cooperatives. Establishes worker cooperatives as a category of cooperative associations. A worker cooperative is a stock corporation that has elected to be governed by provisions established by this measure, which include (i) conducting its business primarily for the mutual benefit of its members, (ii) allowing only current and retired employees to be members, (iii) limiting voting rights to current employees, (iv) providing that each employee is entitled to one vote, (v) prohibiting any person from owning more than one membership share, (vi) requiring at least two-thirds of employees to own membership shares, and (vii) requiring that net earnings be paid or credited to members in accordance with the ratio that each member's amount of work performed during a period bears to the total amount of work performed by all members during that period.
Virginia Information Technologies Agency; required information security training program for state employees. Requires the Chief Information Officer of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (the CIO) to develop by November 30, 2020, and annually update a curriculum and materials for training all state employees in information security awareness and in proper procedures for detecting, assessing, reporting, and addressing information security threats. The bill requires the Commonwealth's executive, legislative, and judicial branches and independent agencies, beginning January 1, 2021, to provide annual information security training for each of its employees using the curriculum and materials developed by the CIO.