Sen. Adam Ebbin

Authorizes Virginia to become a signatory to the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission Interstate Compact. The compact establishes a state safety oversight authority for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Rail System, pursuant to the mandate of federal law, to review, approve, oversee, and enforce the safety of the WMATA Rail System. The bill contains an emergency clause.

Includes under the Line of Duty Act a person with a recognized membership status with a fire company or department who is enrolled in a Fire Service Training course offered by the Virginia Department of Fire Programs or required to become a certified firefighter.

Requires one reading specialist employed by each local school board that employs a reading specialist to have training in the identification of and the appropriate interventions, accommodations, and teaching techniques for students with dyslexia or a related disorder and to have an understanding of the definition of dyslexia and a working knowledge of several topics relating to dyslexia. This bill is identical to

Directs the Boards of Dentistry and Medicine to adopt regulations for the prescribing of opioids and products containing buprenorphine. The bill requires the Prescription Monitoring Program at the Department of Health Professions to annually provide a report to the Joint Commission on Health Care and the Chairmen of the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committee on Education and Health on the prescribing of opioids and benzodiazepines in the Commonwealth that includes data on reporting of unusual patterns of prescribing or dispensing of a covered substance by an individual prescriber or dispenser or on potential misuse of a covered substance by a recipient. The bill contains an emergency clause.

Requires each local school board to develop and implement a plan to test for lead and, if necessary, remediate potable water from sources identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as high priority for testing, giving priority in such testing plan to schools whose school building was constructed, in whole or in part, before 1986.

Adds defamation to the causes of action from which a citizen shall be immune when making statements (i) regarding matters of public concern to a third party or (ii) at a public hearing before the governing body of any locality or other political subdivision, or the boards, commissions, agencies, and authorities thereof, and other governing bodies of any local governmental entity. The bill further provides that the immunity does not apply to any statements made with actual or constructive knowledge that they are false, or with reckless disregard for whether they are false. This bill is identical to

Requires applicants for retail licenses for establishments that serve food or are otherwise required to obtain a food establishment permit from the Department of Health or an inspection by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to provide a copy of such permit, proof of inspection, or proof of a pending request for such permit or inspection. The bill provides that if the applicant provides such documentation, a license may be issued to the applicant, which shall authorize the licensee to purchase alcoholic beverages; however, if the license was granted on the basis of a pending request for a permit or inspection, the licensee shall not sell or serve alcoholic beverages until a permit is issued or an inspection is completed.

Requires school service providers to provide, either directly to the student or his parent or through the school, access to an electronic copy of such student's personal information in a manner consistent with the functionality of the school service. The bill permits contracts between local school boards and school service providers to require that such electronic copy be in a machine-readable format.

Removes the prohibition on inpatient psychiatric hospital admission for defendants who have already been ordered to receive treatment to restore their competency to stand trial. This bill incorporates