Rep. Jay Leftwich

Requires the Board of Education (the Board) to consider for inclusion in the student outcome measures included in the Standards of Accreditation the number of industry certification credentials, as defined by the Board, obtained by high school students. The bill requires the Board to report its conclusion to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by November 1, 2017. The bill prohibits the Board from including the number of such credentials in the student outcome measures included in the Standards of Accreditation prior to the 2018 Session of the General Assembly.

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

Provides that prescriptions for products containing buprenorphine without naloxone shall be issued only (i) for patients who are pregnant, (ii) when converting a patient from methadone to buprenorphine containing naloxone for a period not to exceed seven days, or (iii) as permitted by regulations of the Board of Medicine or the Board of Nursing. The bill contains an emergency clause and has an expiration date of July 1, 2022. This bill is identical to

Provides that where an order for spousal support or separate maintenance has been entered by the court, the court may order a party to maintain an existing life insurance policy, designate the other party as beneficiary, allocate the premium cost of life insurance between the parties, and order the insured party to facilitate the provision of certain information from the insurer to the beneficiary. The bill sets out factors to be considered by the court when making such an award and provides that any obligation or requirement under any such court order ceases upon the termination of the party's obligation to pay spousal support or separate maintenance. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Boyd-Graves Conference.

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.

Requires the Board of Education to promulgate regulations for the designation of School Divisions of Innovation in which the local school board in the local school division or any school therein so designated shall, pursuant to a plan of innovation, be exempted from certain regulatory provisions and be permitted to adopt alternative policies for school administrators, teachers, and staff to meet the diverse needs of students and to improve student learning; educational performance; and college, career, and citizenship readiness skills in the local school division or any school therein.

Requires any health benefit plan that is amended, renewed, or delivered on or after January 1, 2018, that provides coverage for hormonal contraceptives to cover up to a 12-month supply of hormonal contraceptives when dispensed or furnished at one time for a covered person or at a location licensed or otherwise authorized to dispense drugs or supplies. Such a plan is prohibited, in the absence of clinical contraindications, from imposing utilization controls or other forms of medical management limiting the supply of hormonal contraceptives that may be dispensed or furnished by a provider or pharmacy, or at a location licensed or otherwise authorized to dispense drugs or supplies, to an amount that is less than a 12-month supply. The measure does not require a provider to prescribe, furnish, or dispense 12 months of self-administered hormonal contraceptives at one time. The measure also provides that it shall not be construed to exclude coverage for hormonal contraceptives as prescribed by a provider for reasons other than contraceptive purposes, such as decreasing the risk of ovarian cancer or eliminating symptoms of menopause, or for contraception that is necessary to preserve the life or health of an enrollee.

Establishes the Online Virginia Network Authority (the Authority) as a political subdivision of the Commonwealth for the purpose of establishing the Online Virginia Network to coordinate the online delivery of courses that facilitate the completion of degrees at George Mason University and Old Dominion University. The bill requires the Authority to be governed by a 15-member board that consists of four members of the House of Delegates appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates, three members of the Senate appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, three nonlegislative citizen members appointed by the Governor, one nonlegislative citizen member appointed by the board of visitors of George Mason University, one nonlegislative citizen member appointed by the board of visitors of Old Dominion University, the President of George Mason University, the President of Old Dominion University, and the Director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. The bill sets forth several duties of the Authority and grants the Authority operational flexibility in the areas of procurement and information technology, provided that the Authority adopts and complies with certain policies.