Aging services; economic and social need. Provides that, in providing aging services, the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services shall prioritize providing services to older persons with the greatest economic or social need. The bill defines "economic need" as need resulting from an income level at or below the poverty line and "social need" as need caused by noneconomic factors, including (i) physical and mental disabilities, which may include developmental disabilities and human immunodeficiency virus; (ii) language barriers; and (iii) cultural, social, or geographic isolation, including that caused by racial or ethnic status, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation that restricts an individual's ability to perform normal daily tasks or threatens such individual's capacity to live independently.
Sponsored bills
Telemedicine. Clarifies that nothing shallpreclude coverage of telehealth services by an insurer proposing to issue individual or group accident and sickness insurance policiesproviding hospital, medical and surgical, or major medical coverageon an expense-incurred basis; a corporation providing individualor group accident and sickness subscription contracts; or a healthmaintenance organization providing a health care plan for healthcare services. The bill requires the Board of Medical AssistanceServices to amend the state plan for medical assistance to providefor payment of medical assistance for remote patient monitoring servicesprovided via telemedicine for certain high-risk patients, and providesfor the establishment of a practitioner-patient relationship viatelemedicine for the prescribing of Schedule II through VI controlledsubstances.
Local Food and Farming Infrastructure Grant Program. Establishes the Local Food and Farming Infrastructure Grant Program and authorizes the Governor to award grants to political subdivisions from the Governor's Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Fund as part of the Program. Such grants, in amounts up to $25,000, shall be awarded on a competitive basis to support infrastructure development projects that support local food production and sustainable farming. The bill directs the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry to develop guidelines for the Program that favor projects that establish or maintain farmers markets; businesses or organizations that manage the aggregation, distribution, and marketing of food products primarily from local and regional producers; and primarily locally owned processing facilities.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; food stamp program; eligibility; postsecondary education. Adds participation in educational activities that lead to a post-secondary credential from an accredited institution of higher education or other postsecondary school licensed or certified by the Board of Education or the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to the list of activities to which a participant in the Virginia Initiative for Education and Work may be enrolled and directs the Board of Social Services to amend the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP benefits program) to (i) establish broad-based categorical eligibility, (ii) set the gross income eligibility standard at 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, (iii) not impose an asset limit for eligibility, and (iv) increase opportunities for self-sufficiency through postsecondary education by allowing SNAP benefits program participants to satisfy applicable employment and training requirements through enrollment in an accredited public institution of higher education or other postsecondary school licensed or certified by the Board of Education or the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.
Emergency order for adult protective services; acts of violence, force, or threat or financial exploitation; penalty. Allows the circuit court, upon a finding that an incapacitated adult has been, within a reasonable period of time, subjected to an act of violence, force, or threat or been subjected to financial exploitation, to include in an emergency order for adult protective services one or more of the following conditions to be imposed on the alleged perpetrator: (i) a prohibition on acts of violence, force, or threat or criminal offenses that may result in injury to person or property; (ii) a prohibition on such other contacts by the alleged perpetrator with the adult or the adult's family or household members as the court deems necessary for the health and safety of such persons; or (iii) such other conditions as the court deems necessary to prevent (a) acts of violence, force, or threat; (b) criminal offenses that may result in injury to persons or property; (c) communication or other contact of any kind by the alleged perpetrator; or (d) financial exploitation by the alleged perpetrator. The bill provides that any person who violates any such condition is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. Also, the bill provides that hearings on emergency orders for adult protective services shall be held no earlier than 24 hours and no later than 72 hours after the notice required has been given, unless such notice has been waived by the court. Current law just requires such hearing be held no earlier than 24 hours. Lastly, the bill provides that if the court enters an order containing any of the aforementioned conditions, the primary law-enforcement agency providing service and entry of protective orders shall enter the name of the perpetrator into the Virginia Criminal Information Network and the order shall be served forthwith on the perpetrator.
Practice as a physician assistant. Eliminatesthe requirement that a physician assistant enter into a practiceagreement with a single patient care team physician or patient care team podiatrist and provides that a patient care team physicianor patient care team podiatrist shall not be liable for the actionsor inactions of a physician assistant for whom the patient care team physician or patient care team podiatrist provides collaborationand consultation. The bill also makes clear that a student physicianassistant shall not be required to be licensed to engage in actsthat otherwise constitute practice as a physician assistant, providedthat the student physician assistant is enrolled in an accreditedphysician assistant education program.
Virginia LGBTQ+ Advisory Board. Establishesthe Virginia LGBTQ+ Advisory Board to advise the Governor regardingthe economic, professional, cultural, educational, and governmentallinks between the Commonwealth and the LGBTQ+ community in Virginiaand sets out the powers and duties of the Board. The Board shallbe composed of 21 nonlegislative citizen members, at least 15 ofwhom shall identify as LGBTQ+, to be appointed by the Governor, andthe Secretaries of the Commonwealth, Commerce and Trade, Education,Health and Human Resources, and Public Safety and Homeland Security,or their designees, who shall serve as ex officio members.
Pharmacists; initiation of treatment; certain drugs and devices. Expands provisions governing the initiation of treatment with and dispensing and administering of drugs and devices by pharmacists to allow the initiation of treatment with and dispensing and administering of drugs, devices, and controlled paraphernalia to persons 18 years of age or older, in accordance with protocols developed by the Board of Pharmacy in collaboration with the Board of Medicine and the Department of Health, and of (i) vaccines included on the Immunization Schedule published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; (ii) tuberculin purified protein derivative for tuberculosis testing; (iii) controlled substances for the prevention of human immunodeficiency virus, including controlled substances prescribed for pre-exposure and post-exposure prophylaxis pursuant to guidelines and recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and (iv) drugs, devices, controlled paraphernalia, and other supplies and equipment available over-the-counter, covered by the patient's health carrier when the patient's out-of-pocket cost is lower than the out-of-pocket cost to purchase an over-the-counter equivalent of the same drug, device, controlled paraphernalia, or other supplies or equipment. The bill requires any pharmacist who administers a vaccination pursuant to clause (i) to report such administration to the Virginia Immunization Information System. The bill also (a) requires the Board of Pharmacy, in collaboration with the Board of Medicine and the Department of Health, to establish protocols for the initiation of treatment with and dispensing and administering of drugs, devices, and controlled paraphernalia by pharmacists in accordance with the provisions of the bill by November 1, 2021; (b) requires the Board of Pharmacy, in collaboration with the Board of Medicine, to adopt regulations within 280 days of the bill's enactment to implement the provisions of the bill; and (c) requires the Board of Pharmacy to continue the work group composed of equal number of representatives of the Boards of Pharmacy and Medicine and other stakeholders to provide recommendations regarding the developing of protocols for the initiation of treatment with and dispensing and administering of certain drugs and devices by pharmacists to persons 18 years of age or older.
Reinstatement of certain driving privileges.Directs the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehiclesto reinstate driving privileges, and to waive fees related to thereinstatement, for individuals whose privileges were suspended priorto July 1, 2019, for failure to pay court fines and costs in otherjurisdictions.
Voter registration; failure of online voter registration system; deadline extension. Provides that in the event that a failure of the Virginia online voter registration system occurs prior to the close of registration records, the Governor has the authority to order the online voter registration system to be available for registration activities after the date for closing the registration records for a period of time equal to the amount of time during which the online voter registration system was unavailable for registration activities, rounded up to the nearest whole day, plus an additional day to allow for voter education efforts. The extension of registration activities shall apply to in-person registration and mail voter registration applications.