Sen. John Edwards

Celebrating the life of the Honorable AugustusBenton Chafin, Jr.

Limitation on mandatory minimum punishment.Provides that mandatory minimum punishments shall not apply toany sentence imposed for an offense committed on or after July 1,2020.

Maximum number of judges in each judicial circuitand district. Increases from five to six the number of authorizedcircuit court judgeships in the twenty-third judicial circuit. Thebill also increases from four to five the number of authorized generaldistrict court judgeships in the twenty-third judicial district.

Constitutional amendment (first resolution);marriage. Proposes the repeal of the constitutional amendment dealing with marriage that was approved by referendum at the November2006 election. That amendment to the Bill of Rights (i) defines marriageas "only a union between one man and one woman"; (ii) prohibits theCommonwealth and its political subdivisions from creating or recognizing"a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intendsto approximate the design, qualities, significance, or effects ofmarriage"; and (iii) prohibits the Commonwealth or its political subdivisions from creating or recognizing "another union, partnership, or otherlegal status to which is assigned the rights, benefits, obligations,qualities, or effects of marriage." The provisions of this section of the Constitution of Virginia are no longer valid as a result ofthe United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges,576 U.S. ___ (June 26, 2015).

Application of parole statutes. Repealsthe abolition of parole. The bill also provides that the Virginia Parole Board shall establish procedures for consideration of parolefor persons who were previously ineligible for parole, because parolewas abolished, to allow for an extension of time for reasonable cause.

Study; Virginia State Crime Commission; effectof abolishing jury sentencing on the justice system; report.Directs the Virginia State Crime Commission to (i) identify the mostcommon charges tried before juries within the Commonwealth and determinethe average sentence per charge as recommended by a jury; (ii) comparethe jury-recommended sentence to the average sentence for each identifiedcharge, factoring in alternative sentences and suspended time, asdetermined by a judge during a bench trial; (iii) identify any perceived negative impacts to the judicial system associated with abolishingthe practice of jury sentencing and make recommendations as to howthese potential negative impacts could be avoided; and (iv) determinethe feasibility of abolishing jury sentencing for noncapital offenseswithin the Commonwealth.

Incentives for telecommunications companies;provision of wireless broadband services. Directs the Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission to award at least $50 million peryear in grants to cover expenditures for the purchase and installationof wireless and broadband equipment to rural service areas in theCommonwealth. The bill defines "rural service areas" as any localitywith a mean broadband download speed of less than 10 megabits persecond, and a mean broadband upload speed of less than one megabitper second.

Pharmacy benefits managers; licensure and regulation. Provides that no person is authorized to provide pharmacy benefits management services or otherwise act as a pharmacy benefits manager without first obtaining a license from the State Corporation Commission. The measure prohibits a carrier on its own or through its contracted pharmacy benefits manager or representative of a pharmacy benefits manager from (i) causing or knowingly permitting the use of any advertisement, promotion, solicitation, representation, proposal, or offer that is untrue; (ii) charging a pharmacist or pharmacy a fee related to the adjudication of a claim other than a reasonable fee for an initial claim submission; (iii) reimbursing a pharmacy or pharmacist an amount less than the amount that the pharmacy benefits manager reimburses a pharmacy benefits manager affiliate for providing the same pharmacist services, calculated on a per-unit basis using the same generic product identifier or generic code number and reflecting all drug manufacturer's rebates, direct and indirect administrative fees, and costs and any remuneration; or (iv) penalizing or retaliating against a pharmacist or pharmacy for exercising rights provided by this measure. The measure also prohibits a carrier from (a) imposing provider accreditation standards or certification requirements inconsistent with, more stringent than, or in addition to requirements of the Virginia Board of Pharmacy or other state or federal entity; (b) including any mail order pharmacy or pharmacy benefits manager affiliate in calculating or determining network adequacy; or (c) conducting spread pricing in the Commonwealth. The measure also imposes recordkeeping and reporting requirements. The bill has a delayed effective date of October 1, 2020. This bill incorporates SB 252 and SB 862 and is identical to HB 1290.

Workers' compensation; post-traumatic stress disorder; law-enforcement officers and firefighters. Provides that post-traumatic stress disorder incurred by a law-enforcement officer or firefighter is compensable under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act if a mental health professional examines a law-enforcement officer or firefighter and diagnoses the individual as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the individual's undergoing a qualifying event, which includes an event occurring in the line of duty on or after July 1, 2020, in which a law-enforcement officer or firefighter views a deceased minor, witnesses the death of a person or an incident involving the death of a person, witnesses an injury to a person who subsequently dies, has physical contact with and treats an injured person who subsequently dies, transports an injured person who subsequently dies, or witnesses a traumatic physical injury that results in the loss of a vital body part or a vital body function that results in permanent disfigurement of the victim. Other conditions for compensability include (i) if the post-traumatic stress disorder resulted from the law-enforcement officer or firefighter acting in the line of duty and, in the case of a firefighter, such firefighter complied with certain federal Occupational Safety and Health Act standards; (ii) if the law-enforcement officer's or firefighter's undergoing a qualifying event was a substantial factor in causing his post-traumatic stress disorder; (iii) if such qualifying event, and not another event or source of stress, was the primary cause of the post-traumatic stress disorder; and (iv) if the post-traumatic stress disorder did not result from any disciplinary action, work evaluation, job transfer, layoff, demotion, promotion, termination, retirement, or similar action of the officer or firefighter. The measure establishes procedural requirements on employers that contest a claim for such benefits. The measure also establishes requirements for resilience and self-care technique training.

Unemployment compensation. Amends various provisions regarding unemployment compensation and the Virginia Employment Commission. The bill provides that (i) the Commission shall base its determination on whether an individual is an employee on the standard used by the Internal Revenue Service for such determinations; (ii) for the purposes of unemployment compensation, "wages" does not include any payment made to, or on behalf of, an employee or his beneficiary under a cafeteria plan, as defined in § 125 of the Internal Revenue Code, if such payment would not be treated as wages under the Internal Revenue Code; and (iii) in an unemployment compensation claims adjudication matter, each day a person fails to obey a subpoena issued by a court, a court order, or a subpoena issued by the Commission shall be deemed to be a separate offense. Additionally, the bill requires (a) any employing unit to establish an account with the Commission by the end of the calendar quarter in which it becomes subject to the requirements for unemployment compensation, (b) an employer that has become subject to liability under the unemployment compensation provisions to submit the required reports by the due date of the calendar quarter in which the employer has initially become subject to such liability, and (c) all employers to file their quarterly payroll and tax reports on an electronic medium using a format prescribed by the Commission. Under current law, only employers with 100 or more employees are required to file electronically. The bill establishes a short-time compensation program that provides employers with the option of reducing the hours worked by employees while permitting the employees whose hours are reduced to receive partial compensation for lost wages. Program participation requires Virginia Employment Commission approval of a work sharing plan, which must provide that the reduction in hours of work is in lieu of a layoff of an equivalent percentage of employees and that employees' health and retirement benefits cannot be reduced or eliminated under the plan. An individual who satisfies other requirements for unemployment benefits will be eligible for short-term compensation if he is available for the individual's usual hours of work with the participating employer, which may include participating in certain training programs. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2022; however, if adequate funding by the U.S. Department of Labor that covers certain costs of establishing the program is not received by the Commission by January 1, 2021, the bill will expire on that date.