Sen. Joe Morrissey

Celebrating the life of the Honorable FrankDuVal Hargrove, Sr.

Modification of sentence for marijuana relatedoffenses. Creates a process by which persons convicted of certainfelony marijuana-related offenses committed prior to July 1, 2021,who remain incarcerated or on community supervision on July 1, 2022, may receive an automatic hearing to consider modification of such person's sentence. The bill also allows persons convicted of anyfelony offense committed prior to July 1, 2021, who remain incarceratedor on community supervision on July 1, 2022, and whose sentence mayhave been enhanced because of a previous felony marijuana offenseor without the involvement of marijuana such felony offense convictionor felony sentence enhancement would not have been possible, as theinvolvement of marijuana was necessary to satisfy the elements ofthe charged offense or the sentence enhancement, to petition the circuitcourt for modification of such person's sentence. The bill requiressuch petition to be filed by July 1, 2024. The provisions of thisbill sunset on July 1, 2025.

Commending the Honorable Paul S. Trible, Jr.

Paid family and medical leave program. Requiresthe Virginia Employment Commission to establish and administer apaid family and medical leave program with benefits beginning January1, 2025. Under the program, benefits are paid to eligible employeesfor family and medical leave. Funding for the program is providedthrough premiums assessed to employers and employees beginning in2024. The amount of a benefit is 80 percent of the employee's averageweekly wage, not to exceed 80 percent of the state weekly wage, which amount is required to be adjusted annually to reflect changesin the statewide average weekly wage. The measure caps the durationof paid leave at 12 weeks in any application year. The bill provides self-employed individuals the option of participating in the program.

Attorneys for the Commonwealth; compensation and collection of fees. Prohibits the Compensation Board, when determining staffing and funding levels for offices of attorneys for the Commonwealth, from (i) considering the number of charges brought or the number of convictions obtained by such attorney for the Commonwealth; (ii) relying on standards devised or recommended by the attorney for the Commonwealth, law-enforcement agencies, or professional associations representing attorneys for the Commonwealth or law-enforcement officers; or (iii) using measures that increase if an attorney for the Commonwealth (a) elects to prosecute a more serious charge, (b) elects to prosecute additional charges from a single arrest or criminal incident, (c) obtains convictions rather than dismissing charges or offering reduced charges, or (d) proceeds with prosecution rather than diversion. The bill requires attorneys for the Commonwealth to pay into the state treasury all fees collected by them in consideration of the performance of official duties or functions; current law requires the payment of half of such fees. The bill requires the State Treasurer to pay to the treasuries of the respective counties and cities of the attorneys for the Commonwealth a proportion of half of all such fees collected by all attorneys for the Commonwealth, as determined by each county or city's crime rate, criminal incident rate, or arrest rate. Finally, the bill changes the fees collected by attorneys for the Commonwealth on trials of felony indictments from $40 on each count to $120 for each trial of a Class 1 or Class 2 felony indictment, or any other felony punishable by imprisonment for life, and $40 for each trial on all other felony indictments, regardless of the number of counts. The bill contains technical amendments.

Commending Robert L. Dandridge, Jr.

Regulating video gaming terminals; penalties. Authorizes and specifies the licensing requirements for the manufacture,distribution, operation, servicing, hosting, and playing of video gaming terminals (VGTs). The bill provides that VGTs are regulatedby the Virginia Lottery Board, which the bill renames as the VirginiaLottery and Gaming Oversight Board. The bill requires employees ofsuch licensees to be registered with the Virginia Lottery, whichthe bill renames as the Virginia Lottery and Gaming Department. Thebill imposes criminal and civil penalties for violations of the lawand regulations related to VGTs. The bill imposes a 34 percent taxon all gross profits from the play of VGTs and provides for how thetax proceeds are used; most are deposited into the School ConstructionFund, created by the bill.

Visitation; petition of grandparent. Requiresthe court, in petitions for visitation filed by the grandparent ofa child where either (i) the parent is the grandparent's child andis deceased, incarcerated, or incapacitated, or has had his parentalrights terminated or (ii) the grandparent has an established relationshipwith the child and has provided a significant level of care for thechild, to consider the following factors: (a) the historical relationshipbetween the grandparent and child, (b) the motivation of the grandparentin seeking visitation, (c) the motivation of the living parent indenying visitation to the grandparent, (d) the quantity of time requestedand the effect it will have on the child's daily activities, and(e) the benefits of maintaining a relationship with the extendedfamily of the deceased parent.

Application of parole statutes for juvenilesand persons committed upon felony offenses committed on or afterJanuary 1, 1995. Repeals the abolition of parole. The bill requires the Virginia Parole Board to establish procedures for considerationof parole for persons who were previously ineligible for parole becauseparole was abolished and to allow for an extension of time for thescheduling of a parole interview for reasonable cause.

State health plan; insulin discount program; health insurance; cost sharing for insulin. Requires the state health plan established by the Department of Human Resource Management to offer an insulin discount program that allows individuals other than state employees to purchase insulin at a discounted, post-rebate price. The bill requires the insulin discount program to (i) allow a participant to purchase insulin at a discounted, post-rebate price; (ii) provide a participant with a card or electronic document that identifies the participant as eligible for the discount; (iii) provide a participant with information about pharmacies that will honor the discount; and (iv) provide a participant with instructions to pursue a reimbursement of the purchase price from the participant's carrier. The bill requires the discount program to charge a price for insulin that allows the program to retain only enough of any rebate for the insulin to make the state risk pool whole for providing discounted insulin to participants.Additionally, the bill requires health plans offered by a carrier to set the cost-sharing payment that a covered person is required to pay for at least one prescription insulin drug in each therapy category at an amount that does not exceed $30 per 30-day supply of the prescription insulin drug unless the health plan (a) covers at least one prescription insulin drug for the treatment of diabetes in each therapy category under the lowest tier of drugs and does not require cost sharing other than the cost sharing payment before the plan will cover insulin at the lowest tier or (b) guarantees that a covered person is not required to pay more out of pocket for a prescription insulin drug than the covered person would pay to obtain the prescription insulin drug through the insulin discount program and caps the total amount that a covered person is required to pay for at least one prescription insulin drug in each therapy category at an amount not to exceed $100 per 30-day supply of the prescription insulin drug. Under current law, a health plan is required to set the cost-sharing payment that a covered person is required to pay for a covered prescription insulin drug at an amount that does not exceed $50 per 30-day supply of the prescription insulin drug, regardless of the amount or type of insulin needed to fill the covered person's prescription.The bill also allows a health plan that provides coverage of a prescription insulin drug with the cost-sharing limits established in the bill to condition the cost-sharing limits on (1) the covered person's participation in a wellness-related activities for diabetes, (2) purchasing the prescription insulin drug at an in-network pharmacy, or (3) choosing a prescription insulin drug from the lowest ties of the health plan' s formulary.