Sen. Danica Roem

Health insurance; coverage for prosthetic devices.Requires health insurers, corporations providing health carecoverage subscription contracts, health maintenance organizations,and the Commonwealth's Medicaid program to provide coverage for prostheticdevices, including myoelectric, biomechanical, or microprocessor-controlledprosthetic devices that have a Medicare code. The provisions of thebill apply only in the large group markets. The bill repeals theexisting requirement that coverage for prosthetic devices be offeredand made available. The bill has a delayed effective date of January1, 2023.

Department of Veterans Services; Mental HealthCare Coordinator; position created; report. Establishes the positionof Mental Health Care Coordinator (the Coordinator) in the Departmentof Veterans Services to support and closely coordinate effectivemental health care services for military service members and veteransand their families. The bill directs the Coordinator to report byDecember 1 of each year through the Commissioner of the Departmentof Veterans Services to the Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs,the Governor, and the General Assembly on the work of the Coordinatorand any legislative recommendations.

School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program; processing of applications. Requires each public elementary or secondary school to process each web-based or paper-based application for student participation in the School Breakfast Program or the National School Lunch Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture within six working days after the date of receipt of the completed application. The foregoing provision of the bill has a delayed effective date of August 1, 2023. The bill requires school divisions that cannot currently comply with such requirement to develop a plan for ensuring compliance by August 1, 2023.

Maximum number of judges in each judicial circuit. Increases from six to seven the maximum number of authorized judges in the Thirty-first Judicial Circuit. This bill is a recommendation of the Judicial Council of Virginia and is identical to HB 821.

Cemeteries; registration; publication prior to sale. Expands provisions that allow localities to adopt an ordinance setting forth a register of identified cemeteries, graveyards, or other places of burial located on private property not belonging to any memorial or monumental association by providing that such localities shall publish a notice prior to the public sale of any publicly owned property that contains a known cemetery, graveyard, or other place of burial, or as soon thereafter as possible. The notice shall specify that a cemetery is present on the property. If the property falls under an exception provided for significant historic and archeological sites that would be jeopardized by public disclosure of their location, then no such notice is required.

Virginia Literacy Act; early student literacy; evidence-based literacy instruction; science-based reading research. Makes several changes relating to early student literacy, including requiring (i) each education preparation program offered by a public institution of higher education or private institution of higher education or alternative certification program that provides training for any individual seeking initial licensure with an endorsement in a certain area, including as a reading specialist, to demonstrate mastery of science-based reading research and evidence-based literacy instruction, as such terms are defined in the bill; (ii) the literacy assessment required of individuals seeking initial teacher licensure with endorsements in certain areas to include a rigorous test of science-based reading research and evidence-based literacy instruction; (iii) each local school board to establish a divisionwide literacy plan; (iv) each local school board to employ one reading specialist for each 550 students in kindergarten through grade three; and (v) each local school board to provide a program of literacy instruction whereby, among other things, (a) the program provides reading intervention services to students in kindergarten through grade three who demonstrate deficiencies based on their individual performance on the Standards of Learning reading assessment or an early literacy screener provided or approved by the Department of Education; (b) a reading specialist, in collaboration with the teacher of any student who receives such reading intervention services, develops, oversees implementation of, and monitors student progress on a student reading plan; and (c) each student who receives such reading intervention services is assessed utilizing either the early literacy screener provided or approved by the Department or the grade-level reading Standards of Learning assessment again at the end of that school year. The provisions of the bill become effective beginning with the 2024–2025 school year. This bill is identical to SB 616.

Public elementary and secondary school students;ability to pay for meals and school meal debt; extracurricular schoolactivities. Requires each school board to adopt policies thatprohibit the school board or any school board employee from denyinga student the opportunity to participate in any extracurricular schoolactivity because the student cannot pay for a meal at school or owesa school meal debt.

Local Food and Farming Infrastructure GrantProgram. Increases from $25,000 to $50,000 the amount of a grantthat may be made to a political subdivision for projects that supportlocal food production and sustainable agriculture.

Sale of cemeteries owned by a locality; noticeto descendants. Provides that no cemetery owned by a county orcity shall be sold to a private owner unless the county or city hasmade a good faith effort to ensure, prior to sale, that the ownershipof such cemetery is vested in the estate of the last owner of recordor that permission for the sale has been granted by the family membersor descendants of such owner. The bill describes a good faith effortas an attempt by the county or city to contact all known family membersand descendants of the last owner of record no less than three separatetimes by phone, mail, or visiting the last known address of recordfor such family members or descendants. The bill requires a countyor city to keep written records of each attempt to contact a familymember or descendant.

Board of zoning appeals; funding. Provides that upon request of the board of zoning appeals (BZA), a governing body shall consider appropriation of funds so that the BZA may employ or contract for secretaries, clerks, legal counsel, consultants, and other technical and clerical services. The bill also provides that if a BZA has needs that surpass the budgeted amount, the governing body shall review the BZA's request. Existing law allows such BZA expenditures "within the limits of funds appropriated by the governing body."