Del. S. Chris Jones

Provides that a direct agreement between a patient, the patient's legal representative, or the patient's employer and a health care provider for ongoing primary care services in exchange for the payment of a monthly periodic fee is not health insurance or a health maintenance organization, if patients are not required to pay monthly periodic fees prior to initiation of the direct agreement coverage period. The measure also provides that a health care provider who participates in a direct primary care practice may participate in a health insurance carrier network so long as the provider is willing and able to meet the terms and conditions of network membership set by the health insurance carrier. The measure establishes requirements for disclosures regarding direct primary care agreements, including a list of the services covered under the agreement. This bill is identical to

Expands the role of the Virginia Research Investment Committee (the Committee) to include, in addition to awarding grants and loans from the Virginia Research Investment Fund, providing guidance and coordination in the use of public funds to support research and commercialization efforts throughout the Commonwealth. Effective January 1, 2018, the bill moves responsibility for the development of the Commonwealth Research and Technology Strategic Roadmap (the Roadmap) from the Center for Innovative Technology to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (the Council), which shall submit the plan to the Committee for approval. The Council would consult with public institutions of higher education, make recommendations on the industry sectors in which the Commonwealth should focus its research and development efforts, and establish a process for maintaining an inventory of the Commonwealth's current research and development efforts. Before implementation, the Council would submit the Roadmap to the Governor for final approval. The Roadmap would be used to determine areas of focus for awards from the Virginia Research Investment Fund and the Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund.

Requires any voter submitting an application for an absentee ballot by mail or by electronic or telephonic transmission to a facsimile device to submit with his application a copy of one of the forms of identification acceptable under current law. The bill exempts military and overseas voters and persons with a disability from this requirement. This bill is identical to

Restructures the membership of the board of directors (the Board) of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority (the Authority), designates the Board as a supervisory board within the statutory definition of "supervisory," sets out the minimum qualifications for appointments to the Board, and sets out additional powers and duties required of the Board, including development of a strategic plan for economic development, a marketing plan, and an operational plan. The bill also establishes a Division of Incentives within the Authority to track, manage, and coordinate economic development incentives. Under the bill, the Division is required to obtain certification from the Attorney General prior to certifying that an approved project has met the investment and job creation requirements and the review of the Attorney General prior to seeking the repayment of any public funds from an approved project due to a failure of the project to meet the investment and job creation requirements set forth in the contract or memorandum of understanding. The bill establishes a position of internal auditor and two advisory committees and requires (i) each commissioner of the revenue to provide certain tax information and (ii) the Virginia Employment Commission to provide certain employment information to the Authority as may be necessary to facilitate the administration and enforcement by the Authority of performance agreements with businesses that have received incentive awards. The bill contains an emergency clause. This bill is identical to

Provides that, notwithstanding any voluntary agreement between the U.S. Department of Labor and the franchisee or franchisor, neither a franchisee nor a franchisee's employee shall be deemed to be an employee of the franchisee's franchisor. The measure also provides that this exclusion does not apply with respect to a specific claim for relief made by a franchisee or a franchisee's employee if the franchisor has been found by a court of competent jurisdiction to have exercised a type or degree of control over the franchisee or the franchisee's employees not customarily exercised by a franchisor for the purpose of protecting the franchisor's trademarks and brand.