Hospitals, nursing homes, certified nursing facilities, hospices, and assisted living facilities; visits by clergy; public health emergency. Requires the Board of Health to include in regulations governing hospitals, nursing homes, certified nursing facilities, and hospices and the Board of Social Services to include in regulations governing assisted living facilities a requirement that, during a public health emergency related to a communicable disease of public health threat, each hospital, nursing home, certified nursing facility, hospice, and assisted living facility establish a protocol to allow patients to receive visits from a rabbi, priest, minister, or clergy of any religious denomination or sect consistent with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and subject to compliance with any executive order, order of public health, Department of Health guidance, or any other applicable federal or state guidance having the effect of limiting visitation. The bill provides that such protocol may restrict the frequency and duration of visits and may require visits to be conducted virtually using interactive audio or video technology. Additionally, the protocol may require the person visiting a patient to comply with all reasonable requirements of the facility adopted to protect the health and safety of the person, patients, and staff.
Sponsored bills
Vehicles; liens; abandoned vehicles; removing vehicles involved in accidents. Modernizes and improves enforcement of mechanics’ and storage liens by (i) transferring notification and auction posting requirements to the Department of Motor Vehicles (the Department); (ii) allowing for independent appraisals to establish accurate vehicle values; (iii) expanding vehicle owner searches to other states and requiring the Department to notify owners in those states; and (iv) creating a limited process for relinquishing mechanics’ and storage liens. The bill permits out-of-state requesters to obtain Virginia vehicle information for mechanics’ or storage lien or abandoned vehicle enforcement in their states, and clarifies disposal rights, auction requirements, and titling documentation for abandoned vehicles. The Department is authorized to collect administrative fees to cover the expenses associated with these duties. The bill also provides that an entity acting at the direction of law enforcement or the Department of Transportation to remove a vehicle or cargo after an accident shall not be liable for damages or claims resulting from exercise of authority, provided that the entity acted reasonably.
Promises to appear after the issuance of a summons. Eliminates the requirement that a promise to appear be completedafter the issuance of a summons for a misdemeanor traffic offense.The bill provides that an accused shall be released from custodyafter a summons has been issued.
Campaign contributions; filing of finance reports. Changes the reporting requirement from any single contribution of $1,000 or more to all financial activity of a campaign committee of a candidate for a statewide office or the General Assembly knowingly received or reported by the candidate or his treasurer on behalf of his candidacy during the period beginning January 1 and ending on the day immediately before the first day of a regular session of the General Assembly to be reported to the State Board of Elections not later than January 15. Under current law, such single contributions of $1,000 or more during such time period are also required to be included in the next report of the candidate, but under the bill, none of the financial activity reported for such time period is required to be reported on any subsequent report.
Public schools; severe weather conditions andother emergency situations; unscheduled remote learning days. Providesthat when severe weather conditions or other emergency situationshave resulted in the closing of any school in a school division forin-person instruction, the school division may declare an unscheduledremote learning day whereby the school provides synchronous or asynchronousinstruction, or some combination thereof, to all students in theschool in lieu of in-person instruction without a reduction in theamount paid by the Commonwealth from the Basic School Aid Fund, providedthat the school division has established an unscheduled remote learningday plan that ensures that every student is provided instruction and services on such unscheduled remote learning day that are comparablein quality to the instruction and services provided to learners onany other remote learning day.
DMAS; work group to study options forincreasing access to virtual supports and services; individuals withintellectual and developmental disabilities. Directs the Departmentof Medical Assistance Services to study and develop recommendationsrelated to options for increasing access to virtual supports andservices for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities,including increasing access to assistive technology and environmentalmodifications to facilitate increased access to virtual supports and services, with the goal of addressing such recommendations aspart of any concurrent review of regulations related to servicesfor individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities,and to report its findings and conclusions to the Governor and theGeneral Assembly by November 1, 2021.
Natural gas pipelines; stop work orders. Authorizes the Department of Environmental Quality to conduct inspections of the land-disturbing activities related to construction of any natural gas transmission pipeline equal to or greater than 24 inches inside diameter. Current law authorizes such inspections only if such inside diameter is greater than 36 inches. The bill also specifies certain instances that may give rise to such inspection and authorizes the Department to issue a stop work order for every work area in Virginia in the event that substantial adverse impacts or likely adverse impacts are found on a repeated, frequent, and widespread basis.
Parole Board; notice to victim. Requires the Parole Board, within seven days of making any decision regarding the parole of a prisoner, to provide written or electronic notice of such decision to the victim of the crime for which the prisoner was incarcerated, unless the victim has submitted a written request to forgo such notice.
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 the association (a) has at the outset a minimum of 100 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 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) shall 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 the State Corporation Commission retains its regulatory authority over any such association health plan and may impose insurance requirements, as it deems appropriate.
Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act; license plate readers. Prohibits law-enforcement and regulatory agencies from using license plate readers to collect and maintain personal information on individuals without a warrant. The bill provides that license plate data may be collected if intended for prompt evaluation and potential use in investigating suspected criminal activity, civil or regulatory violations, or terrorism, or in support of the Department of Motor Vehicle's (DMV) emissions inspection program. The data may only be retained for 30 days and shall not be subject to any outside inquiries or internal usage except for the investigation of a report of a missing person, suspected criminal activity, civil or regulatory violations, or terrorism by any person. The bill also prohibits an agency from acquiring personal information collected from license plate readers from a third-party private vendor if the agency would not have been permitted to collect or retain the information on its own, unless such license plate reader technology is being utilized as part of the DMV's emissions inspection program.