Rep. Hala S. Ayala

Board of Education; temporary extension of certain licenses. Requires the Board of Education to grant a two-year extension of the license of any individual licensed by the Board whose license expires on June 30, 2021, in order to provide the individual with sufficient additional time to complete the requirements for licensure.

Transportation electrification; Virginia EnergyPlan. Amends the Virginia Energy Plan to include an analysisof electric vehicle charging infrastructure and other infrastructureneeded to support the 2045 net-zero carbon target in the transportationsector.

Prescription drug price transparency. Requires every health carrier, pharmacy benefits manager, wholesale drug distributer, and drug manufacturer to report information about prescription drug prices to the Department of Health and requires the Department to make such information available on its website. The bill also provides that, beginning January 1, 2022, a health plan enrollee's defined cost sharing for each prescription drug shall be calculated at the point of sale based on a price that is reduced by an amount equal to at least 80 percent of all rebates received, or to be received, in connection with the dispensing or administration of the prescription drug. The bill also requires the Bureau of Insurance to (i) identify all statutory and regulatory provisions from which health plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) are exempted and (ii) determine the financial impact, if any, of application of such statutory and regulatory provisions such health plans, and to report its finding to the Chairman of the House Committees on Health, Welfare and Institutions and Labor and Commerce and the Chairmen of the Senate Committees on Commerce and Labor and Education and Health by October 1, 2021

Virginia Agriculture Food Assistance Programand Fund; established. Requires the Commissioner of Agricultureand Consumer Services (the Commissioner) to establish the VirginiaAgriculture Food Assistance Program (VAFA Program) for Virginia farmersand food producers to donate, sell, or otherwise provide agricultureproducts to charitable food assistance organizations. The bill also creates the Virginia Agriculture Food Assistance Fund to disbursemoneys to such charitable food assistance organizations to reimbursefarmers or food producers for any costs associated with harvesting,processing, packaging, or transporting agriculture products donatedto such charitable food assistance organizations. The bill authorizesthe Commissioner to adopt guidelines and regulations to carry outthe VAFA Program.

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.

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.

Racial and ethnic impact statements for criminaljustice legislation. Provides that the Chair of the House Committeefor Courts of Justice or the Chair of the Senate Committee on theJudiciary may request the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission(JLARC) to review and prepare a racial and ethnic impact statementfor a proposed criminal justice bill to outline its potential impacton racial and ethnic disparities within the Commonwealth. The billrequires JLARC to provide copies of the impact statement to therequesting chair and the patron of the proposed bill. No more thanthree racial and ethnic impact statements may be requested by the Chair of the House Committee for Courts of Justice and no more thantwo racial and ethnic impact statements may be requested by theChair of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary for completion duringa single regular session of the General Assembly.

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.