Toll lane enforcement; Midtown Tunnel and DowntownTunnel. Prohibits the Department of Motor Vehicles from suspendinga person's registration certificates or licenses plates due to unpaidtolls when such toll violations occurred at the Midtown Tunnel orDowntown Tunnel connecting the Cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth.
Public schools; potable water. Establishes minimum requirements for the installation of water bottle filling stations and drinking fountains in new public school buildings, additions to existing public school buildings, and alterations to existing public school buildings estimated to cost $50,000 or more. The bill requires the Board of Education to amend its regulations to require local school divisions to allow all students to carry and utilize a water bottle while at school.
Peer-to-peer vehicle sharing platforms; taxation. Provides that peer-to-peer vehicle sharing platforms, as defined in the bill, are rentors for the purposes of taxation.
Health insurance; payment to out-of-networkproviders. Provides that when a covered person receives coveredemergency services from an out-of-network health care provider or receives out-of-network services at an in-network facility, the coveredperson is not required to pay the out-of-network provider any amountother than the applicable cost-sharing requirement. The measure alsoestablishes a standard for calculating the health carrier's requiredpayment to the out-of-network provider of the services, which standardis the lower of the market-based value for the service or 125 percentof the amount that would be paid under Medicare for the service.If such provider determines that the amount to be paid by the healthcarrier does not comply with the applicable requirements, the measure requires the provider and the health carrier to make a good faitheffort to reach a resolution on the appropriate amount of the reimbursementand, if a resolution is not reached, authorizes either party to request the State Corporation Commission to review the disputed reimbursement amount and determine if the amount complies with applicable requirements.The measure provides that such provisions do not apply to an entitythat provides or administers self-insured or self-funded plans; however, such entities may elect to be subject such provisions. Themeasure requires health carriers to make reports to the Bureau ofInsurance and directs the Bureau to provide reports to certain committeesof the General Assembly.
Virginia Council on the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children; membership. Increases the number of nonlegislative citizen members on the Virginia Council on the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children from five members to six members and requires that a parent of a military child be included in the composition of the Council. This bill was incorporated into SB 41.
Commending Mission BBQ.
Commending William H. Goodwin, Jr.
Drug Treatment Court Act; authorization andavailability. Provides that any jurisdiction or jurisdictionsintending or proposing to establish a drug treatment court shallnot be denied permission under the Code of Virginia to establishsuch court solely on the basis of funding such court. The bill alsoprovides that a drug treatment court shall be available to everydefendant irrespective of the jurisdiction.
Marijuana; decriminalization of simple marijuana possession; penalty. Decriminalizes marijuana possession and provides a civil penalty of no more than $25. Under current law, a first offense is punishable by a maximum fine of $500 and a maximum jail sentence of 30 days, and subsequent offenses are a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill creates a rebuttable presumption that a person who possesses no more than one-half ounce of marijuana possesses it for personal use and provides that the existing suspended sentence and substance abuse screening provisions apply only to criminal violations or to civil violations by a minor. The bill decreases from a Class 5 felony to a Class 6 felony the penalty for distribution or possession with intent to sell more than one-half ounce but not more than five pounds of marijuana. This bill was incorporated into HB 972.
Management of the menhaden fishery. Requires the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (the Commission) to adopt regulations to implement the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden and authorizes the Commission to adopt regulations for managing the Commonwealth's menhaden fishery. The bill also requires that any moratorium on the fishery be subject to legislative review. The bill repeals several Code sections relating to quotas, allocation of allowable landings, and administrative procedures that will be included in a regulatory framework for managing the fishery. This bill was incorporated into SB 791.
