Sen. Richard Stuart

Public health emergency; out-of-state licenses; deemed licensure. Allows a practitioner of a profession regulated by the Board of Medicine who is licensed in another state or the District of Columbia and who is in good standing with the applicable regulatory agency in that state or the District of Columbia to engage in the practice of that profession in the Commonwealth with a patient located in the Commonwealth when (i) such practice is for the purpose of providing continuity of care through the use of telemedicine services and (ii) the patient is a current patient of the practitioner with whom the practitioner has previously established a practitioner-patient relationship and the practitioner has performed an in-person examination of the patient within the previous 12 months. The bill also provides that when the Board of Health has issued an emergency order, the Boards of Medicine and Nursing may waive (a) the requirement for submission of a fee for renewal or reinstatement of a license to practice medicine or osteopathic medicine or as a physician assistant or nurse practitioner and (b) the requirement for submission of evidence that a practitioner whose license was allowed to lapse for failure to meet professional activity requirements has satisfied such requirements and is prepared to resume practice in a competent manner for any person who held a valid, unrestricted, active license within the four-year period immediately prior to the application for renewal or reinstatement of such license. This bill contains an emergency clause and is identical to HB 264.

Health insurance; association health plan for real estate salespersons. Provides that a licensed insurer may issue a policy of group accident and sickness insurance to an association of real estate salespersons (association), which association shall be deemed the policyholder, and that such association health plan is not considered to be insurance and is not subject to the existing requirements for insurance if certain requirements are met. The bill requires that (i) all members of the association be eligible for coverage and membership, including employer members with at least one employee that is domiciled in the Commonwealth or self-employed individuals; (ii) membership in the association not be conditioned on any health status–related factor; (iii) the coverage offered through the association be available to all members regardless of any health status–related factor; (iv) the association not make health insurance coverage offered through the association available other than in connection with a member of the association; and (v) premiums for the policy be paid from funds contributed by the association or associations, or by employer members, or by both, or from funds contributed by the covered persons or from both the covered persons and the association, associations, or employer members. The bill also requires that the association (a) has at the outset a minimum of 25,000 members; (b) has been organized and maintained in good faith for purposes other than that of obtaining insurance; (c) has been in active existence for at least five years; and (d) has a constitution and bylaws that provide that the association hold regular meetings not less than annually to further purposes of the members, that the association collects dues or solicits contributions from members, and that the members have voting privileges and representation on the governing board and committees.The bill provides that any such policy shall (1) be considered a large group market plan subject to all coverage mandates applicable to a large group market plan, (2) be subject to the group health plan coverage requirements under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, (3) be prohibited from denying coverage under the policy on the basis of a pre-existing condition, (4) be guaranteed issue and guaranteed renewable, (5) provide essential health benefits and cost-sharing requirements, and (6) offer a minimum level of coverage designed to provide benefits that are actuarially equivalent to 60 percent of the full actuarial value of the benefits provided under the plan.The bill requires an insurer issuing such policy to an association to (A) treat all of the members and employees of employer members who are enrolled in coverage under the policy as a single risk pool; (B) set premiums on the basis of the collective group experience of the members and employees of employer members who are enrolled in coverage under the policy; (C) not vary premiums by age, except that the rate shall not vary by more than four to one for adults; (D) not vary premiums on the basis of gender; (E) not vary premiums on the basis of the health status of an individual employee of an employer member or a self-employed individual member; and (F) not establish discriminatory rules based on the health status of an employer member, an individual employee of an employer member, or a self-employed individual for eligibility or contribution.Finally, the bill provides that a policy that meets certain requirements of the bill is considered to be compliant with the large group market insurance regulations under the federal Public Health Service Act and, as such, the Commonwealth is considered to be substantially enforcing the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act with regard to such policy. The bill requires the State Corporation Commission to regulate the policy in a manner that is consistent with such provisions. The bill provides that, in any case in which a federal agency renders a decision that is contrary to such provisions, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Attorney General may resolve any difference between federal law and the laws of the Commonwealth. This bill incorporates SB 397 and is identical to HB 768.

Definition of agricultural operation. Amends the definition of "agricultural operation" for purposes of the Right to Farm Act to include the housing of livestock. The bill provides that this change is declaratory of existing law.

Bicycles and certain other vehicles; riding two abreast. Prohibits persons riding bicycles, electric personal assistive mobility devices, electric power-assisted bicycles, or motorized skateboards or scooters two abreast from impeding the normal and reasonable movement of traffic and requires such persons to move into a single-file formation as quickly as is practicable when being overtaken from the rear by a faster-moving vehicle and to ride in a single lane on a laned roadway.

Seafood industry workforce liaison. Directs the Governor or the Secretary of Labor to designate a liaison to address seafood industry workforce needs by (i) promoting the interests of seafood industry employees and employers; (ii) assisting employees and employers in understanding the rights and processes available to them, including those related to temporary worker visas; (iii) answering inquiries; (iv) providing referrals to public and private agencies upon request; and (v) reporting annually on the liaison's activities to the House Committees on Commerce and Energy and Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and the Senate Committees on Commerce and Labor and Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources. The bill requires the liaison to carry out his duties with impartiality and provides that he is immune from civil liability in the performance of his duties. The bill also provides that certain records and communications are exempt from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The bill directs the Governor or the Secretary of Labor to designate a current employee of the executive branch to serve in this capacity in lieu of hiring a new employee.

Marcus alert system; participation. Extends the date by which localities shall establish voluntary databases to be made available to the 9-1-1 alert system and the Marcus alert system to provide relevant mental health information and emergency contact information for appropriate response to an emergency or crisis from July 1, 2021, to July 1, 2023, and provides an exemption to the requirement that localities establish protocols for local law-enforcement agencies to enter into memorandums of agreement with mobile crisis response providers regarding requests for law-enforcement back-up during mobile crisis or community care team response and minimum standards, best practices, and a system for the review and approval of protocols for law-enforcement participation in the Marcus alert system for localities with a population that is less than or equal to 40,000, so that localities with a population that is less than or equal to 40,000 may but are not required to establish such protocols. The bill also requires the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to include in its annual report to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committees for Courts of Justice and on Health, Welfare and Institutions, the Senate Committees on the Judiciary and Education and Health, and the Behavioral Health Commission information regarding barriers to establishment of local Marcus alert programs and community care or mobile crisis teams to provide mobile crisis response in geographical areas served by community services boards or behavioral health agencies in which such programs and teams have not been established and a plan for addressing such barriers. This bill is identical to HB 1191.