Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Commission; sunset. Extends the sunset provision of the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Commission from July 1, 2020, to July 1, 2023. This bill is identical to SB 256.
Special license plates; VB STRONG. Authorizes the issuance of special license plates for supporters of the City of Virginia Beach bearing the legend VB STRONG. The deadline for the receipt of 450 prepaid applications is November 1, 2020.
Youth and Gang Violence Prevention Grant Fund and Program; creation. Establishes the Youth and Gang Violence Prevention Grant Fund and Program, to be administered by the Department of Criminal Justice Services, for the purpose of awarding grants to the Cities of Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Richmond, and Roanoke for the purpose of performing community assessments for youth and gang violence prevention. Grants are to be awarded in an amount of $25,000 to each city to perform such an assessment. No more than $150,000 per year shall be allocated by the Program.
Department of Environmental Quality; tree planting as land cover type, best management practice; stakeholder advisory group. Directs the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to convene a stakeholder advisory group for the purpose of studying the planting or preservation of trees as an urban land cover type and as a stormwater best management practice (BMP). The bill provides that the stakeholder group shall be composed of development and construction industry representatives, environmental technical experts, local government representatives, and others and that technical assistance shall be provided to DEQ by the Department of Forestry and the Department of Conservation and Recreation. The bill directs DEQ to report the findings of the stakeholder group by November 1, 2020, and to include a recommendation as to whether the planting or preservation of trees shall be deemed a creditable land cover type or BMP and, if so, how much credit shall be given for its optional use.
School principals; incident reports. Eliminates the requirement for reports to be made to division superintendents and school principals on incidents involving assault or assault and battery, without bodily injury, of any person on a school bus, on school property, or at a school-sponsored activity. The bill also eliminates the requirement that school principals report certain enumerated acts that may constitute a misdemeanor offense to law enforcement.
Prohibited discrimination; public accommodations, employment, credit, and housing: causes of action; sexual orientation and gender identity. Creates explicit causes of action for unlawful discrimination in public accommodations and employment in the Virginia Human Rights Act. Currently, under the Act there is no cause of action for discrimination in public accommodations, and the only causes of action for discrimination in employment are for (i) unlawful discharge on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, including lactation, by employers employing more than five but fewer than 15 persons and (ii) unlawful discharge on the basis of age by employers employing more than five but fewer than 20 persons. The bill allows the causes of action to be pursued privately by the aggrieved person or, in certain circumstances, by the Attorney General. The bill prohibits discrimination in public and private employment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill also codifies for state and local government employment the current prohibitions on discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, or status as a veteran. Additionally, the bill (a) prohibits discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or status as a veteran; (b) prohibits discrimination in credit on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, disability, and status as a veteran; and (c) adds discrimination on the basis of an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or status as a veteran as an unlawful housing practice. The bill makes technical amendments. This bill incorporates HB 3, HB 21, HB 23, HB 217, HB 1050, HB 1200, and HB 1512.
Recounts; procedure for certain ballots.Requires recount officials to segregate all ballots for which thereis a question regarding the ballot's validity prior to the conclusionof the recount of each precinct. The bill provides that the recountcourt may not consider the validity of any ballots not set asideprior to the conclusion of the recount of each precinct.
Nonpayment of wages; investigations. Authorizes the Commissioner of Labor and Industry, if he acquires information during an investigation of a complaint of an employer's failure or refusal to pay wages and that information creates a reasonable belief that other employees of the same employer may not have been paid wages, to investigate whether the employer has failed or refused to make a required payment of wages to other employees. The measure also provides that if the Commissioner finds in the course of such investigation that the employer has committed a violation, the Commissioner may institute proceedings on behalf of any employee against his employer. In such proceedings, the Commissioner is not required to have obtained a written complaint of the violation or the written and signed consent of any employee. This bill is identical to SB 49.
Pharmacy benefits managers; licensure and regulation. Provides that no person is authorized to provide pharmacy benefits management services or otherwise act as a pharmacy benefits manager without first obtaining a license from the State Corporation Commission. The measure prohibits a carrier on its own or through its contracted pharmacy benefits manager or representative of a pharmacy benefits manager from (i) causing or knowingly permitting the use of any advertisement, promotion, solicitation, representation, proposal, or offer that is untrue; (ii) charging a pharmacist or pharmacy a fee related to the adjudication of a claim other than a reasonable fee for an initial claim submission; (iii) reimbursing a pharmacy or pharmacist an amount less than the amount that the pharmacy benefits manager reimburses a pharmacy benefits manager affiliate for providing the same pharmacist services, calculated on a per-unit basis using the same generic product identifier or generic code number and reflecting all drug manufacturer's rebates, direct and indirect administrative fees, and costs and any remuneration; or (iv) penalizing or retaliating against a pharmacist or pharmacy for exercising rights provided by this measure. The measure also prohibits a carrier from (a) imposing provider accreditation standards or certification requirements inconsistent with, more stringent than, or in addition to requirements of the Virginia Board of Pharmacy or other state or federal entity; (b) including any mail order pharmacy or pharmacy benefits manager affiliate in calculating or determining network adequacy; or (c) conducting spread pricing in the Commonwealth. The measure also imposes recordkeeping and reporting requirements. The bill has a delayed effective date of October 1, 2020. This bill incorporates HB 1292, HB 1459, HB 1479, and HB 1659 and is identical to SB 251.
Commending Bob Brown.
