Board of Local and Regional Jails; powers and duties. Restores the authority of the State Board of Local and Regional Jails (the Board) to (i) ensure the development of long-range policies, programs, and plans for corrections services provided at the state and local levels; (ii) review and comment on all budgets and requests for appropriations for the Department of Corrections (the Department) prior to submission to the Governor and on all applications for federal funds; and (iii) monitor the activities of the Department and its effectiveness in implementing the standards and goals of the Board. Chapter 375 of the Acts of Assembly of 2011 repealed the Board's authority to perform these functions. The bill also provides to the Board the power and duty to (a) develop and establish operational and fiscal standards governing the operation of state correctional facilities; (b) make, adopt, and promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the laws of the Commonwealth pertaining to state correctional facilities; (c) develop and implement policies and procedures for the review of the death of any inmate that the Board determines warrants review that occurs in any state correctional facility; (d) establish minimum standards for health care services, including medical, dental, pharmaceutical, and behavioral health services, in state correctional facilities and procedures for enforcing such minimum standards; (e) review and approve the content and frequency of correctional officer training programs provided by the Department; and (f) collect and review information on disciplinary practices and trends in state, local, regional, and community correctional facilities and, as appropriate, adopt rules and regulations to improve disciplinary practices. The bill also increases from nine to 14 the number of members to be appointed to the Board and modifies the eligibility requirements for such members. The bill allows, despite such modifications to Board membership eligibility requirements, current members of the Board to continue serving for the remainder of the members' current, unexpired term. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.
Sponsored bills
Nurse practitioners; practice without a practice agreement. Reduces from five to two the number of years of full-time clinical experience a nurse practitioner must have to be eligible to practice without a written or electronic practice agreement. The provisions of the bill expire on July 1, 2022.
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.
Commending Adrienne Warren.
Commending Ethel L. Grandy.
Commending Josh Sweat.
Celebrating the life of Jamile J. Hill.
Celebrating the life of Officer Brian DavidSicknick.
Celebrating the life of the Honorable RobertLathan Calhoun.
Celebrating the life of Michael Wayne Woods.