Del. Rod Willett

Absentee voting in person; voter satellite offices; days and hours of operation. Authorizes the governing body of any county or city establishing voter satellite offices for absentee voting in person to prescribe, by ordinance, the dates and hours of operation for such offices. The bill prohibits any reduction in the dates or hours of operation of such offices to be enacted within 60 days of any general election.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 8.01-401.2, 22.1-271.7, 32.1-134.2, 32.1-263, 32.1-282, 54.1-2900, 54.1-2901, 54.1-2910.5, 54.1-2927, 54.1-2957.9, 54.1-2972, 54.1-2973.1, 54.1-3000, 54.1-3005, 54.1-3300, 54.1-3300.1, 54.1-3301, 54.1-3303, 54.1-3401, 54.1-3408, 54.1-3482, 54.1-3482.1, and 63.2-2203 of the Code of Virginia; to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Chapter 30 of Title 54.1 articles numbered 8 and 9, consisting of sections numbered 54.1-3044 through 54.1-3051; and to repeal §§ 54.1-2957 through 54.1-2957.04 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Board of Medicine; Board of Nursing; joint licensing of advanced practice registered nurses and licensed certified midwives. 24104892D

Nursing homes; application requirements. Requires all applicants for a nursing home license to complete and submit an application on a form approved by the Department of Health. Under the bill, the applicant is required to provide certain information in the application form, including information on (i) ownership interests in nursing homes, (ii) pending litigation, (iii) real property related to the nursing home, (iv) secured notes, (v) the financial history of persons mentioned in the application, and (v) contact information for certain persons. The bill requires the Department of Health to publish written notice of all applications for nursing home licensure on its website, including a copy of the application form completed by the applicant and information about the public input and comment process. Under the bill, all applications for nursing home licensure are subject to a 30-day public comment period. The bill allows individuals to request a public hearing on an applicant's suitability for nursing home licensure. The bill sets forth the factors that the Department of Health is required to consider in determining whether to approve or deny an application to operate a nursing home.

Health insurance; coverage for therapeutic day treatment services. Requires health insurers providing health care plans to provide coverage for therapeutic day treatment services for children with serious emotional disturbances, defined in the in bill as children who have a mental illness diagnosis and have experienced functional limitations due to emotional disturbance, including experiencing a school shooting or the loss of a loved one in a school setting, over the past 12 months on a continuous or intermittent basis. Under the bill, "therapeutic day treatment services" are treatment programs that combine psychotherapeutic interventions with education and mental health and may include evaluation; medication education and management; opportunities to learn and use daily living skills and to enhance social and interpersonal skills; and individual, group, and family counseling. The bill applies to plans delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed on and after January 1, 2025.

Presidential electors; National Popular Vote Compact. Enters Virginia into an interstate compact known as the Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote. Article II of the Constitution of the United States gives the states exclusive and plenary authority to decide the manner of awarding their electoral votes. Under the compact, Virginia agrees to award its electoral votes to the presidential ticket that receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The compact goes into effect when states cumulatively possessing a majority of the electoral votes have joined the compact. A state may withdraw from the compact; however, a withdrawal occurring within six months of the end of a President's term shall not become effective until a President or Vice President has qualified to serve the next term.

Public institutions of higher education; tuition and financial aid; dependency override application form. Requires each public institution of higher education to develop, maintain, and post publicly on the financial aid page of such institution's website informational materials relating to the dependency override application process and to review and update such materials as necessary to reflect current federal law and guidance on such process. The bill requires such informational materials to include, in a language and format accessible to students enrolled at and potential applicants for admission to such institution, (i) an explanation of the purpose of and eligibility requirements for a dependency override, (ii) an explicit list of the circumstances on which a student may base a dependency override application, (iii) an explanation of the dependency override application process at such institution, and (iv) links to relevant federal guidance on the dependency override process.

Behavioral health; nursing; work group; report. Directs the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority to convene a work group to identify and propose revisions to current regulations and policies that hinder the development, retention, and productivity of the health care workforce in behavioral health and nursing.

Public school staffing ratios; specialized student support positions. Increases the number of specialized student support positions required to be employed by each local school board from at least three to at least four such positions per 1,000 students in the local school division. Such specialized student support positions include school social workers, school psychologists, school nurses, licensed behavior analysts, licensed assistant behavior analysts, and other licensed health and behavioral positions.

Unaccompanied homeless youth; consent to surgical or medical care. Provides that except for the purposes of sexual sterilization or abortion, a minor who is 14 years of age or older and who is an unaccompanied homeless youth shall be deemed an adult for the purpose of consenting to surgical or medical examination or treatment, including dental examination and treatment, for himself or his minor child. The bill describes evidence sufficient to determine that a minor is an unaccompanied homeless youth and provides that no health care provider shall be liable for any civil or criminal action for providing surgical or medical treatment to an unaccompanied homeless youth or his minor child without first obtaining the consent of his parent or guardian provided in accordance with the law, with the exception of liability for negligence in the diagnosis or treatment of such unaccompanied homeless youth.

Family caregiver tax credit. Creates a nonrefundable income tax credit for taxable years 2024 through 2028 for expenses incurred by an individual in caring for an eligible family member, defined in the bill, who requires assistance with one or more activities of daily living, also defined in the bill. The credit equals 50 percent of eligible expenditures incurred by the caregiver up to $1,000. In order to qualify for the credit, the family caregiver must (i) not receive any compensation or reimbursement for the eligible expenditures and (ii) have federal adjusted gross income that is no greater than $100,000 for an individual or $200,000 for married persons. The bill requires the Tax Commissioner to establish guidelines for claiming the credit and provides that any unused credit may be carried forward by the taxpayer for five taxable years following the taxable year for which the credit was issued.