Del. Rod Willett

State plan for medical assistance services;case management services; individuals with severe traumatic braininjury. Directs the Board of Medical Assistance Services to updatethe state plan for medical assistance services to include a provisionfor the payment of medical assistance for targeted case managementservices for individuals with severe traumatic brain injury.

Sales tax; exemption for food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products. Provides a state sales and use tax exemption beginning January 1, 2023, for food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products. The bill also provides, beginning February 1, 2023, an allocation of state revenues to fund the distribution to localities for educational funding that would have been distributed to them absent the exemption created by the bill. Under current law, such products are taxed at a reduced state sales and use tax rate of 1.5 percent and the standard local rate of one percent. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2023.

Unaccompanied homeless youths; services; consent.Provides that an unaccompanied homeless youth shall be deemedan adult for the purpose of consenting to housing, including emergencyshelter, and other services and establishes requirements for providersof housing, including emergency shelter, and other services for unaccompaniedhomeless youths. The bill directs the Board of Social Services toadopt regulations for implementation of the bill and directs theDepartment of Social Services to establish a work group composedof at least one local education agency liaison for homeless childrenand youth designated pursuant to federal law, one attorney who representsunaccompanied homeless youths, two providers of housing and otherservices for unaccompanied homeless youths, and three individualswho are or have been unaccompanied homeless youths to make recommendationsto the Board regarding such regulations.

Statute of limitations; medical debt; judgmententered for medical debt. Provides that the statute of limitationsfor an action on any contract, written or unwritten, to collect medicaldebt, including actions brought by the Commonwealth, is three years.The bill further provides that no execution shall be issued and noaction brought on a judgment, including a judgment in favor of theCommonwealth, rendered on medical debt after seven years from thedate of such judgment; where the medical debt incurred was for life-sustainingtreatment, no execution shall be issued and no action brought onsuch judgment more than three years from the date of such judgment.Under current law, the period within which such execution or actionshall be brought is 20 years in circuit court and 10 years in generaldistrict court.

Virginia Employment Commission; administrative reforms; reporting requirements; electronic submissions; Unemployment Compensation Ombudsman established; emergency. Requires the Virginia Employment Commission to calculate and report the (i) average unemployment insurance benefit levels, (ii) average income replacement of unemployment insurance benefits, and (iii) recipiency rate for unemployment insurance benefits in the Commonwealth as part of the Commission's annual balance sheet. The bill also requires the Commission, as part of its biennial strategic plan submitted to the Department of Planning and Budget, to develop and maintain an unemployment insurance Resiliency Plan that describes the specific actions the agency would take, depending on the level of increase in unemployment insurance (UI) claims, to address staffing, communications, and other relevant aspects of operations to ensure continued efficient and effective administration of the UI program.The bill creates within the Commission on Unemployment Compensation a subcommittee that shall be responsible for monitoring the Virginia Employment Commission's management of the unemployment insurance program. The subcommittee shall meet at least once each quarter and shall report annually, beginning on December 1, 2022, to the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Commerce and Energy, the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor, and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations. The bill also directs the Commission to convene an advisory committee composed of stakeholders and subject matter experts to review information related to UI claims.The bill requires employers to submit claim-related forms and separation information electronically, as well as other information and electronic tax payments upon the Commission's request, unless the employer has received a waiver by the Commission. The bill provides that a claim for unemployment benefits that has been determined invalid by the Virginia Employment Commission as a result of the claimant's monetary ineligibility shall first be reviewed upon a request for redetermination prior to filing an appeal. The bill also creates an Unemployment Compensation Ombudsman position for the purpose of providing information and assistance to persons seeking assistance in the unemployment compensation process and exempts confidential case files of the Unemployment Compensation Ombudsman from the mandatory disclosure provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The bill directs the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management to lead a multiagency work group to discuss strategies for staffing assistance and support for agencies that might need staffing assistance during emergencies. Additionally, the Virginia Employment Commission is directed to task its internal audit division to review and revise documents and online resources related to unemployment compensation. The bill contains an emergency clause and is identical to SB 219.

Parking of vehicles; electric vehicle chargingspots; civil penalties. Prohibits a person from parking a vehiclenot capable of receiving an electric charge in a space reserved forcharging electric vehicles. A violation is subject to a civil penaltyof not less than $100 nor more than $250, and the vehicle may betowed or impounded.