Medical assistance; coverage for reproductivehealth services. Directs the Board of Medical Assistance Servicesto include in the state plan for medical assistance services a provisionfor the payment of medical assistance for medically necessary reproductivehealth care service for eligible individuals, and provides that medical benefits required to be provided to individuals eligible for medicalassistance under the Family Access to Medical Insurance Security(FAMIS) Plan shall include reproductive health care services forwhich the payment of medical assistance is required under the stateplan for medical assistance. The bill directs the Board of MedicalAssistance Services to adopt emergency regulations to implement theprovisions of the bill. The bill also requires health benefit plansto cover the costs of specified health care services, drugs, devices,products, and procedures related to reproductive health. The healthbenefit plan requirements become effective when a plan is delivered, issued for delivery, reissued, or extended in the Commonwealth onand after January 1, 2022, or at any time thereafter when any termof the health benefit plan is changed or any premium adjustment ismade.
Sponsored bills
Vehicle registration fees; Public Safety TrustFund. Imposes an additional $4 vehicle registration fee to be deposited into the Public Safety Trust Fund, established by the bill.The moneys in the Public Safety Trust Fund are to be used to eliminatebarriers to an inclusive, diverse, and well-qualified workforce byaddressing compensation issues related to staffing, retention, and pay compression at the Department of State Police.
Constitutional amendment (first reference);real property tax exemption; affordable housing. Provides thatthe General Assembly may authorize a locality to fully or partiallyexempt affordable housing, as such term may be defined by statute,from local real property taxation.
Suspension or modification of sentence; transferto the Department of Corrections. Provides that if a person hasbeen sentenced for a felony to the Department of Corrections (theDepartment), the court that heard the case, if it appears compatiblewith the public interest and there are circumstances in mitigationof the offense, may, at any time before the person is transferredto the Department or regardless of whether the person has been transferredto the Department, at any time within 12 months of entry of the sentencingorder, suspend or otherwise modify the unserved portion of such asentence. Additionally, notwithstanding the foregoing, the bill providesthat for good cause shown and in the interest of justice the courtmay, at any time before the sentence has been completely served, suspend the unserved portion of any such sentence, place the personon probation for such time as the court shall determine, or otherwisemodify the sentence imposed. Current law allows such suspension ormodification of the unserved portion of a sentence only if the personhas not yet been transferred to the Department of Corrections.
Teacher compensation; at or above national average.Requires that public school teachers be compensated at a rate thatis at or above the national average. Under current law, compensationat such rate is aspirational. The bill requires state funding tobe provided pursuant to the general appropriation act in a sum sufficientto fund a 4.5 percent annual increase for public school teacher salaries,effective from the 2022-23 school year through the 2026-27 schoolyear. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2022.
Civil action for deprivation of rights; dutiesand liabilities of certain employers in employing or contractingfor the services of law-enforcement officers. Creates a civilaction for the deprivation of a person's rights by a law-enforcementofficer and provides that a plaintiff may be awarded compensatorydamages, punitive damages, and equitable relief as well as reasonableattorney fees and costs. The bill provides that sovereign immunityand limitations on liability or damages shall not apply to such actionsand that qualified immunity is not a defense to liability for such deprivation of rights. Finally, the bill provides that any publicor private entity that employs or contracts for the services of alaw-enforcement officer owes a duty of reasonable care to third partiesin its hiring, supervision, training, retention, and use of suchofficers under its employment or contract.
Celebrating the life of the Honorable BernardS. Cohen.
Constitutional amendment (first reference);marriage; repeal of same-sex marriage prohibition; recognition ofsame-sex marriages. Repeals the constitutional provision definingmarriage as only a union between one man and one woman, as well asthe related provisions that are no longer valid as a result of theUnited States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges,576 U.S. 644 (2015). The amendment provides that the Commonwealthand its political subdivisions and its agents are required to issuemarriage licenses, recognize marriages, and treat all marriages equallyunder the law, regardless of the gender of the two parties to themarriage. The amendment further provides that religious organizationsand clergy acting in their religious capacity have the right to refuseto perform any marriage.
Essential workers; hazard pay; personalprotective equipment; civil penalty. Requires, that followingthe declaration by the Governor of a state of emergency that includesor is followed by any additional executive order in furtherance ofsuch declaration that includes a stay-at-home or shelter-in-placeorder, employers shall (i) compensate each of their essential workersat a rate not less than one and one-half times the essential worker'sregular rate of pay for any hours worked during the closure orderand (ii) provide their essential workers with personal protectiveequipment related to the state of emergency and recommended for therelevant work site or job task by the Virginia Department of Laborand Industry, the State Department of Health, the U.S. Centers forDisease Control and Prevention, or the federal Occupational Safetyand Health Administration. The bill defines "essential worker" as an individual employed as a health care provider, home care provider,or airport worker or by an essential retail business, as specifiedin the bill. The bill subjects violators to the same civil penalties,and provides the same cause of action for an employer's failure topay the required hazard pay, as are currently imposed for failing to pay wages generally.
Celebrating the life of the Honorable AugustusBenton Chafin, Jr.