Hospitals, nursing homes, and certified nursing facilities; regulations; patient access to intelligent personal assistant. Directs the Board of Health to amend regulations governing hospitals, nursing homes, and certified nursing facilities to require each hospital, nursing home, and certified nursing facility to establish and implement policies to ensure the permissible access to and use of an intelligent personal assistant provided by the patient while receiving inpatient services. "Intelligent personal assistant" is defined in the bill as a combination of an electronic device and a specialized software application designed to assist users with basic tasks using a combination of natural language processing and artificial intelligence, including such combinations known as "digital assistants" or "virtual assistants."
Sponsored bills
Clinical nurse specialist; licensure; practice. Changes from the requirement of registration as clinical nurse specialists to the licensure of nurse practitioners as clinical nurse specialists by the Boards of Medicine and Nursing and provides that a nurse practitioner licensed as a clinical nurse specialist shall practice pursuant to a practice agreement between the clinical nurse specialist and a licensed physician and in a manner consistent with the standards of care for the profession and applicable law and regulations. For the transition of registration to licensure, the bill requires the Boards of Medicine and Nursing to jointly issue a license to practice as a nurse practitioner in the category of a clinical nurse specialist to an applicant who is an advance practice registered nurse who has completed an advanced graduate-level education program in the specialty category of clinical nurse specialist and who is registered by the Board of Nursing as a clinical nurse specialist on July 1, 2021.
Pharmaceutical processors; cannabis products.Permits pharmaceutical processors to produce and distribute cannabisproducts other than cannabis oil. The bill defines the terms "botanicalcannabis," "cannabis product," and "usable cannabis." The bill requiresthe Board of Pharmacy to establish testing standards for botanical cannabis and botanical cannabis products, establish a registrationprocess for botanical cannabis products, and promulgate emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill. The bill allowsthe Board of Pharmacy to assess and collect a one-time botanicalcannabis regulatory fee from each pharmaceutical processor, not toexceed $50,000, to cover costs associated with the implementationof the provisions of the bill, including costs for new personnel,training, promulgation of regulations and guidance documents, andinformation technology.
Department of Health and the Office of the ChiefMedical Examiner; plan for the establishment of a Fetal and InfantMortality Review Team; report. Directs the Department of Healthand the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to develop a plan forthe establishment of a Fetal and Infant Mortality Review Team andto report such plan to the Chairmen of the House Committees on Appropriationsand Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committees onFinance and Appropriations and Education and Health by December 1,2021. The bill also requires the Department of Health to convenea work group to participate in development of the plan and, uponinclusion in a general appropriation act adopted by the General Assemblyof funds for such purpose, to hire such contract staff as may benecessary to assist the work group with development of the plan.
Child support payments; juvenile in custody of or committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice. Provides that the Department of Juvenile Justice is no longer required to apply for child support from, and the parent of a juvenile is no longer responsible to pay child support to, the Department of Social Services for a juvenile who is in the temporary custody of or committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice.
Certain school boards; student meals; participationin the Afterschool Meal Program. Requires each school board thatgoverns a local school division that has a student population thatqualifies for free and reduced-price meals at a minimum percentageof 50 percent in the prior school year and simultaneously offerseducational or enrichment activities and is consequently eligibleto participate in the Afterschool Meal Program administered by theU.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Childand Adult Care Food Program to apply to the Department of Educationto participate in the Afterschool Meal Program for each such schoolto subsequently and simultaneously serve federally reimbursable mealsand offer an afterschool education or enrichment program, pursuantto FNS guidelines and state health and safety standards. The billrequires the Department of Education to administer the AfterschoolMeal Program on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The bill provides that the Superintendent of Public Instruction shallissue a waiver to this requirement upon determination that participation is not financially viable for a school or group of schools. The billrequires the Department of Education to develop a process and criteriafor evaluating such waivers. The bill has a delayed effective dateof July 1, 2022.
Child Care Assistance Program; emergency. Provides that regulations governing the Child Care Subsidy Program (the Program) shall be amended to provide that (i) a family shall be eligible for assistance through the Program if the family's income does not exceed 85 percent of the state median income, the family includes at least one child who is five years of age or younger and has not yet started kindergarten, and the family meets all other income and eligibility requirements of the Program and (ii) job search activities shall be considered eligible activities for the purposes of the Program. The bill provides that a family determined to be eligible for assistance through the Program shall be eligible to receive assistance for a period of 12 months or until the family's household income exceeds 85 percent of the state median income, whichever occurs sooner. The Department of Social Services shall administer the program, as amended by the bill, in cooperation with the Department of Education. The bill contains an emergency clause and provides that the provisions of the bill shall be applicable to applications for assistance through the Program received prior to August 1, 2021.
Medical care facilities; persons with disabilities; designated support persons. Requires every medical care facility, as defined in the bill, to allow a person with a disability who requires assistance as a result of such disability to be accompanied by a designated support person who will provide support and assistance necessary due to the specifics of the person’s disability to the person with a disability during an admission to such medical care facility. The bill (i) defines "person with a disability" and "designated support person"; (ii) provides that a designated support person shall not be subject to restrictions on visitation adopted by the medical care facility but may be required to comply with reasonable requirements of the medical care facility adopted to protect the health and safety of the person with a disability, the designated support person, and staff and other patients of and visitors to the medical care facility; and (iii) authorizes a medical care facility to restrict a designated support person's access to specified areas and movement on the premises of the medical care facility when such restrictions are determined by the medical care facility to be reasonably necessary to protect the health and safety of the person with a disability, the designated support person, and staff and other patients of and visitors to the medical care facility. The bill requires every medical care facility to adopt protocols to inform patients of their right to be accompanied by a designated support person, and to develop and make available to persons with disabilities written information regarding the right of a person with a disability to be accompanied by a designated support person and policies related thereto. The bill contains an emergency clause and directs the Board of Health to adopt emergency regulations within 280 days of the bill's enactment.
Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity; certification of small, women-owned, and minority-owned businesses;right to appeal denial of initial certification. Requires theDepartment of Small Business and Supplier Diversity to adopt regulationsto establish a process for businesses that are denied initial certificationas a small, women-owned, or minority-owned business to appeal suchdenial on the basis that the Department made a mistake in denyingthe business's application for certification. This bill is a recommendationof the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission.
Virginia Missing Person with Autism Alert Program.Renames the Virginia Missing Child with Autism Alert Program to theVirginia Missing Person with Autism Alert Program and expands itto apply to any missing person with autism, regardless of age. Thebill defines "a missing person with autism" as any person (i) whosewhereabouts are unknown; (ii) who has been diagnosed with autismspectrum disorder as defined by the Code of Virginia; and (iii) whosedisappearance poses a credible threat to the safety and health of the person.