Sen. Mark Obenshain

Will contest; presumption of undue influence.Provides that in any case contesting the validity of a decedent'swill where a presumption of undue influence arises, the burden ofproducing evidence and the burden of persuasion as to the factualissue that undue influence was exerted over the testator shall beon the party against whom the presumption operates.

Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity; definitions; small business. Redefines "small business" for the purpose of programs for the Department of Small Business and SupplierDiversity to allow a cooperative association organized pursuant toChapter 3 (Cooperative Associations) of Title 13.1 as a nonstockcorporation to qualify as a small business if it is at least 51 percentindependently controlled by one or more members who are U.S. citizensor legal resident aliens and, together with affiliates, has 250 orfewer employees or average annual gross receipts of $10 million orless averaged over the previous three years. The bill also redefines "small business" for the purpose of programs for the Virginia Public Procurement Act to allow a cooperative association organized pursuantto Chapter 3 (Cooperative Associations) of Title 13.1 as a nonstockcorporation to qualify as a small business if it is controlled byone or more members who are U.S. citizens or legal resident aliensand, together with affiliates, has 250 or fewer employees or averageannual gross receipts of $10 million or less averaged over the previousthree years.

Parole; notice and certification; monthly reports. Provides that the Department of Corrections shall release a prisoner no sooner than 21 business days after the date of notification by the Virginia Parole Board (the Board) to the appropriate attorney for the Commonwealth of the decision to grant parole. The bill authorizes the Board to make such notification electronically and by certified mail; under current law only certified mail may be used. The bill requires that the monthly reports issued by the Board regarding actions taken on the parole of prisoners (i) be published on the last day of the month and (ii) include the offenses of which prisoners considered for parole were convicted, the jurisdictions in which such offenses were committed, and the amount of time served by such prisoners. However, a prisoner's name shall be included on report only if the attorney for the Commonwealth and any victims have been notified; otherwise, inclusion on the report is delayed to the following month. The bill requires that when notice is sent to a victim of the victim's right to present evidence to the Board of the impact that the release of a prisoner will have on the victim, such notice shall also be sent to the attorney for the Commonwealth and the director of the victim/witness program of the jurisdiction in which the prisoner's offense occurred. This bill incorporates SB 1293.

Virginia Freedom of Information Act; VirginiaParole Board member votes. Provides that individual votes ofthe members of the Virginia Parole Board shall be public recordsand subject to the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of InformationAct.

Produce safety; sunset. Removes the sunsetdate for Chapter 51.1 (§ 3.2-5146 et seq.) of Title 3.2 on produce safety, which was enacted in 2017 and set to expire upon the effectivedate of the repeal of certain federal regulations or on July 1, 2022, whichever occurs sooner. The chapter will still expire upon the effective date of the repeal of such federal regulations that requirethe provisions of Chapter 51.1 to exist.

Motor vehicle insurance; underinsured motor vehicle. Provides that a policy or contract of bodily injury and property damage liability insurance for the use of a motor vehicle shall contain an endorsement or provisions obligating the insurer to make payment for injury or damage caused by an underinsured vehicle without any credit, set-off, or reduction for the available bodily injury and property damage coverage. The bill provides that a motor vehicle is underinsured when the total amount of bodily injury and property damage coverage applicable to the operation or use of the motor vehicle and available for payment for such bodily injury or property damage, is less than the total amount of damages sustained up to the total amount of uninsured motorist coverage afforded any person inured.

Facilitate the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine; emergency. Facilitates the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine. The bill requires the Department of Health (the Department) to establish a program to enable eligible health care providers to volunteer to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to residents of the Commonwealth during a state of emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic declared by the Governor. The bill defines "eligible health care provider" and provides that the program shall include (i) a process by which an eligible health care provider may register to participate in the program and (ii) the training requirements for participating eligible health care providers related to the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine, including training on the intramuscular injection of the COVID-19 vaccine and contraindications and side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine. The bill specifies requirements that the Department shall ensure that each site at which COVID-19 vaccinations are administered by eligible health care providers satisfies. The bill also requires the Department to establish a process by which entities, including medical care facilities, hospitals, hospital systems, corporations, businesses, pharmacies, public and private institutions of higher education, localities, and any other professional or community entity operating in the Commonwealth, may volunteer their facilities as sites at which the COVID-19 vaccine may be administered to residents of the Commonwealth. The bill permits a public institution of higher education or a private institution of higher education in the Commonwealth to volunteer to provide assistance to the Department and local health departments for data processing, analytics, and program development related to the COVID-19 vaccine through the use of its employees, students, technology, and facilities. The bill also permits localities with fire departments, emergency medical services departments, and volunteer rescue squads to establish and staff vaccine administration clinics. The bill provides civil and criminal immunity to individuals and professional entities acting pursuant to the bill and contains an emergency clause. This bill is identical to HB 2333.

Celebrating the life of Lowell Robert Barb.