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2005 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Education and Health

Chairman: H. Russell Potts, Jr.

Clerk: Jocelyn Lance
Date of Meeting: February 3, 2005
Time and Place: Thursday, 8:00 a.m., Senate Room B, General Assembly Building
Health bills will be heard first

S.B. 742 Medical assistance; employer information, report.

Patron: Miller

Medical assistance; employer information.  Requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services to require any applicant for health care benefits under public health programs, including the state plan for medical assistance services, the State/Local Hospitalization Plan, and the Family Access to Medical Insurance Security Plan, to identify the employer of the proposed beneficiary of the health care benefit and to report employers who employ 25 or more public health program beneficiaries to the Governor and General Assembly. The report shall include each employer's name, location, the total number of its employees and dependents who are enrolled in each health care program, and the total cost to the Commonwealth of providing health care benefits for the employees and enrolled dependents of each named employer.

S.B. 767 School boards; increase of salaries for members in City of Salem.

Patron: Bell

School board salaries. Increases from $3,600 to $4,800 the maximum salary to be paid members of the Salem school board.

S.B. 829 Optometrists; treatment of narrow angle glaucoma.

Patron: Mims

Health; treatment of narrow angle glaucoma.  Provides that treatment of narrow angle glaucoma by optometrists must include timely referral to an ophthalmologist for consideration of preventive invasive procedures. The bill also includes definitions of "narrow angle glaucoma" and "adnexa" and prohibits treatment by optometrists of the paranasal sinuses, eyebrows, the brain, the oropharyngeal cavity, and certain systemic disease processes including hypertension, diabetes, and collagen vascular diseases.

S.B. 839 Abortion clinics; regulation and licensure.

Patron: Cuccinelli

Regulation of abortion clinics.  Requires the regulation of abortion clinics as a category of outpatient surgical hospital and sets forth the requirements for the licensure of abortion clinics in a new article. Abortion clinics will not be required to comply with certificate of public need requirements or health care data reporting. The provision becomes effective on January 1, 2006. The Board of Health must promulgate emergency regulations that include licensure fees for abortion clinics in an amount calculated to cover only the costs of the regulation required in this act.

S.B. 931 Endowment funds; use by higher educational institutions.

Patron: O'Brien

Higher education endowment funds; supplementing salaries.  Clarifies that public institutions of higher education may use endowment funds to supplement faculty salaries and benefits.

Current law provides that the Commonwealth cannot consider the availability of private endowment moneys when determining its fiscal support for public colleges and universities.

Pursuant to various institutions' statutes, the governing boards are typically empowered to employ "all teachers, and fix their salaries..."

S.B. 948 No Child Left Behind Act; Board of Education to seek waiver.

Patron: Potts

No Child Left Behind; waiver applications.  Requires the Board of Education to file an application for a waiver from a specified accountability provision included in No Child Left Behind when requested, by resolution adopted in open meeting by any of the eight superintendents' regions. The superintendents' regions must review the provisions of NCLB and may request the filing of an application for a waiver.

S.B. 949 Teachers; licensure.

Patron: Potts

Teacher licensure by reciprocity.  Provides for teacher licensure by reciprocity for an individual who has completed a state-approved teacher training program through a regionally accredited four-year college or university and who has obtained a valid out-of-state license that is in force at the time the application for a Virginia license is made. The individual must establish a file in the Department of Education by submitting a complete application packet, which shall include official student transcripts. No professional teacher's assessment or service requirements shall be imposed for these licensed individuals.

Current Board of Education regulations (8 VAC 20-21-90) require a professional teacher's assessment (PRAXIS) for out-of-state applicants who (i) have completed a state-approved teacher training program through a regionally accredited four-year college or university, or (ii) hold a valid out-of-state teaching license in force at the time the license application is made. These persons must also provide student transcripts. 

S.B. 950 Economics education & financial literacy; requirement in public schools, etc.

Patron: Potts

Economics education and financial literacy in the public schools and institutions of higher education.  Requires instruction in economics education and financial literacy in public middle and high schools, and public institutions of higher education of the Commonwealth. The Board of Education is required to develop and approve objectives for a course of instruction in economics and financial literacy in grades six through 12. The principles of the American economic system and financial literacy must also be systematically infused in the Standards of Learning for Mathematics and History, and in career and technical education programs. However, these objectives are not required to be included in the Standards of Learning assessments. In addition, to provide for experiential learning and practical application of economic and financial literacy principles, public schools may establish on-site banking programs for students. In addition, public institutions of higher education are required to establish economic and financial literacy programs which all students must complete no later than the second year after their admission to the institution. The provisions of §§ 22.1-200.02 and 22.1-208.2:3, which provide for instruction in certain mathematics and finance objectives, and the Banking-at-School Partnership Program, respectively, have been incorporated in this bill. Sections 22.1-200.02 and 22.1-208.2:3 have been repealed.

S.B. 951 Influenza vaccine; Gov. to stimulate location of pharmaceutical facility that plans to produce.

Patron: Potts

Location or relocation of a pharmaceutical manufacturing company in the Commonwealth; production of influenza vaccine.  Directs the Governor to stimulate the location or relocation of a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility to the Commonwealth, particularly a company that produces or plans to produce influenza vaccine. The Governor must direct the Secretaries of Commerce and Labor, Health and Human Resources, and Finance to assist him in this endeavor. The Governor is required to use his vast powers and resources to leverage the location or relocation of a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility, including, but not limited to, all relevant Virginia tax benefits, economic development mechanisms and partnerships, local government aspirations, and cooperative investment arrangements within his purview.

S.B. 958 Standards of Quality; requires employment of speech-language pathologists.

Patron: Potts

Standards of Quality; speech-language pathologists.  Requires local school boards to employ speech-language pathologists in a manner to provide a ratio of one full-time speech-language pathologist for every 60 students. The bill also requires that these positions be supported through state funding.

S.B. 964 Substitute teachers; definition.

Patron: O'Brien

Substitute teachers.  Defines a long-term substitute as a teacher who is employed in the same position for more than 20 days.

Current Board of Education regulations provide that substitutes teachers "[b]e a minimum of 18 years of age (21 years of age preferred); [p]ossess good moral character; [h]ave earned a high school diploma or General Education Diploma (GED); and attend an orientation to school policies and procedures conducted by the local school division"(8 VAC 20-640-10).

Currently, Virginia school divisions typically define "long-term substitute" in employment policy.

The federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act directs states to ensure that, by the end of 2005-06, teachers in the core academic areas are "highly qualified." Ensuring accountability for highly qualified instructional personnel is a required annual "report card" from each state, detailing teacher qualifications and the percentage of classes not served by "highly qualified" teachers.

Pursuant to Title I, Part A, of the Act, schools must give each parent timely notice when their child has been assigned, or has been taught for four or more consecutive weeks, by a teacher who is not highly qualified (Section 1111(h)(6)(B)(ii)).

According to the U.S. Department of Education (No Child Left Behind:  A Toolkit for Teachers (updated 2004)), while "short-term substitute teachers do not need to meet the highly qualified teacher requirements under No Child Left Behind, it is strongly recommended that a long-term substitute teacher meet the requirements for a highly qualified teacher as defined in the law. In addition, as states and districts establish a definition for 'long-term substitute,' they should bear in mind that the law requires parent notification if a student has received instruction for four or more consecutive weeks by a teacher who is not highly qualified."

S.B. 981 Schools or day-care centers; noncustodial parent as an emergency contact.

Patron: O'Brien

Noncustodial parent as emergency contact.  Provides that, unless a court order has been issued to the contrary, the noncustodial parent of a student enrolled in a public school or day care center must be included, upon the request of such noncustodial parent, as an emergency contact for events occurring during school or day care activities.

S.B. 1006 Children in foster care; public schools shall provide free education.

Patron: Hanger

Educational protections for children in foster care.  Clarifies that the public schools in a school division shall be free to children in foster care living in that school division in the same manner as provided to homeless children and youth pursuant to the McKinney-Vento Act and state law.

S.B. 1023 Persons with mental illness, mental retardation or substance abuse; recodification of Title 37.1.

Patron: Mims

Recodification of Title 37.1; persons with mental illness, mental retardation, or substance abuse.  Recodifies Title 37.1 as Title 37.2. In accordance with § 30-152, the Virginia Code Commission, in 2003, undertook the recodification of Title 37.1. Title 37.1 is the legal authority for the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services under the Secretariat of Health and Human Resources, as well as the Office of the Inspector General for Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services. Title 37.1 is also the legal authority for community services boards and behavioral health authorities. The title was last revised in 1968. During the past 37 years, much has happened to affect laws governing mental health, mental retardation, and substance abuse services. The Virginia Code Commission has rewritten and combined sections or parts of sections to clarify provisions and to eliminate archaic, obsolete, or redundant language. Additionally, certain substantive changes are made, many of which reflect current practices, delete eliminated programs, or conform provisions to other statutes and regulations.

The Virginia Code Commission has divided Title 37.2 into four subtitles. Subtitle I contains general provisions applicable to the entire title. The title-wide definitions are included as general provisions. Subtitle II deals with mental health, mental retardation, and substance abuse services. A newly created chapter within Subtitle II consolidates sections related to state facilities that were previously scattered throughout Title 37.1. Subtitle III contains chapters related to admissions and dispositions. Subtitle IV contains guardianship, conservatorship, and judicial authorization of treatment provisions.

Current §§ 37.1-207 and 37.1-207.1, relating to the Substance Abuse Services Council are relocated to Title 2.2 (Administration of Government) as part of the title revision. This executive branch advisory council coordinates the Commonwealth's public and private efforts to control substance abuse and it is more appropriately placed in this general government title.

Two current chapters are not carried forward as part of Title 37.2 and will be repealed: Chapter 3 (Persons Not Confined to State Hospitals) and Chapter 7 (Extradition of Persons of Unsound Minds). Both chapters are obsolete.

 

S.B. 1036 Controlled substances; requires pedigree of normal distribution chain.

Patron: Ruff

Prescription drugs; pedigree of normal distribution chain required.  Requires any person engaged in the wholesale distribution of a controlled substance to provide a paper or electronic pedigree identifying each sale, trade, or transfer of a controlled substance when it leaves the normal distribution channel and is sold, traded, or transferred to any other person. Such pedigree shall include all necessary identifying information concerning each sale in the chain of distribution of the product from the manufacturer through acquisition and sale by any wholesale distributor or repackager until final sale to a pharmacy or other person dispensing or administering the drug. The bill also includes the following restrictions on transactions of controlled substances: (i) in any calendar month a wholesale distributor must sell, distribute, or transfer at least 95 percent of its total amount of controlled substances to a pharmacy or other person dispensing or administering the controlled substance; (ii) prior to selling a controlled substance to any person, a manufacturer or wholesale distributor must verify that the person is legally authorized to receive such substances; and (iii) a wholesale distributor may not purchase a controlled substance from a pharmacy unless it was originally purchased by the pharmacy from the wholesale distributor. Under no circumstances may a wholesale distributor receive a greater quantity of a controlled substance from a pharmacy than was originally sold by the distributor to the pharmacy or pay a pharmacy more for any controlled substance than the pharmacy originally paid the distributor.

S.B. 1045 Diplomas; guidelines for awarding.

Patron: Wagner

Diplomas; student-selected verified credits.  Directs the Board of Education to establish guidelines for local school boards, to be effective for the graduating class of 2007, for the award of verified credits, not to exceed two such credits per student, for passing scores on industry certifications and assessments approved by the Board of Education for substitution for the Standards of Learning assessments. Such guidelines shall be designed to ensure that students have acquired the knowledge and skills required to enter a technical or skilled trade upon graduation. School boards shall report annually to the Board of Education the number of industry certifications obtained and will include this number as a category on the school's achievement report card

Currently, the Standards of Accreditation (SOA) require the accumulation of a specific number of standard and verified units of credit for standard diplomas. The verified unit of credit is awarded upon passage of the relevant Standards of Learning (SOL) test (additional tests approved by the Board of Education), as well as the course (8 VAC 20-131-110 A, B). The Standard Diploma requires 22 credits, six of which must be verified units of credit, while the Advanced Studies Diploma requires 24 credits, with nine verified units. The SOA currently require verified units of credit in specific subjects, such as English, mathematics, science, history and social science. The Modified Standard Diploma is awarded to students with disabilities who are "unlikely to meet the credit requirements for a Standard Diploma" (8 VAC 20-131-50).

School accreditation is based on pass rates for the SOL assessments (8 VAC 20-131-300).

S.B. 1053 Higher educational institutions; intellectual property policies.

Patron: Wagner

Public institutions of higher education; intellectual property policies.  Establishes the circumstances pursuant to which public institutions of higher education are required or authorized to transfer or assign intellectual property that is developed through externally-sponsored research to the sponsor of the research.

S.B. 1127 Dentists and dental hygienists; licenusure.

Patron: Houck

Health; licensure of dentists by credentials and volunteer licenses for retired dentists and dental hygienists.  Authorizes the Board of Dentistry to grant, without an additional examination, a license to practice dentistry to persons licensed to practice dentistry in another state if certain conditions, including the completion of a clinical licensing examination substantially equivalent to the one required of Virginia licensees, are met.  However, such a license shall be automatically revoked if (i) the licensee does not practice dentistry solely within the Commonwealth within two years of the license being granted or (ii) if having held the license for two years, the licensee ceases to actively practice dentistry solely within the Commonwealth. The bill further authorizes the Board to issue a volunteer license to retired dentists or dental hygienists. Such volunteer licensees may practice only in certain types of facilities, and may serve as a supervising dentist in an accredited dental hygiene school. The Board must promulgate emergency regulations.

S.B. 1132 Immunization Information System (VIIS); established.

Patron: Howell

Virginia Immunization Information System (VIIS).  Requires the Board of Health to establish the Virginia Immunization Information System, a statewide immunization registry that consolidates patient immunization histories from birth to death into a complete, accurate, and definitive record that may be made available to participating health care providers throughout Virginia. The Board must promulgate regulations addressing voluntary participation, a secure system for data entry or delivery, incorporation of the data already reported on children's immunizations, the nature of the data to be reported, data-sharing agreements with other state and regional immunization registries, use of vital statistic data, requests for records in compliance with existing requirements, release of aggregate data without personal identifiers, and the use of the data in an epidemic or outbreak of a vaccine-preventable disease.

The bill also establishes the criteria for disclosure of protected health information to VIIS, i.e., ensuring the integrity of the health care system and prevention of disease. Immunity is provided to participants, the Board and Commissioner of Health, and employees of the Department of Health. Current responsibilities for record maintenance and obtaining immunization of children are retained as well as existing exemptions on religious or health grounds.

S.B. 1136 No Child Left Behind Act; Board of Education to seek waiver.

Patron: Hanger

No Child Left Behind Act; Board of Education to seek waiver.  Directs the Board of Education to seek a waiver from compliance with those provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind Act that are duplicative of the Commonwealth's prior educational accountability system as set forth in the Standards of Quality, Standards of Learning, and Standards of Accreditation, or are lacking in cost effectiveness, and that already comply with the spirit and intent of the federal act.

S.B. 1191 Indoor Clean Air Act; smoking restrictions, civil penalty.

Patron: Mims

Virginia Indoor Clean Air Act; civil penalties.  Moves the law restricting smoking in buildings and other enclosed areas from the title relating to local government (15.2) to the title relating to health (32.1) and prohibits smoking indoors in most buildings or enclosed areas frequented by the public. Exceptions to the smoking prohibition are provided for (i) private homes, private residences, and private automobiles, unless used as or in the operation of any establishment or facility in which smoking is prohibited; (ii) private functions; hotel, or motel rooms clearly designated as "smoking" rooms; (iii) hotel or motel rooms clearly designated as "smoking" rooms so long as such rooms do not exceed 25 percent of the total accommodations within the establishment that are offered for lease or rent to the public; (iv) bar or lounge areas separately enclosed from any establishment in which smoking is prohibited; (v) specialty tobacco stores; and (vi) private separately enclosed office or work areas that are not entered by the general public in the normal course of business or use of the premises unless a person who works in such private separately enclosed office or work area objects to smoking in such area. Signs stating "Warning: Smoking Permitted" must be posted by the proprietor of any exempt building or area when smoking is allowed. Any person who continues to smoke in an area in which smoking is prohibited after having been asked to refrain from smoking will be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $100. Civil penalties of $250 will be levied for subsequent offenses. Failure to comply with the building restrictions will subject proprietors to a $200 civil penalty for the first offense and $500 for subsequent offenses. Any law enforcement officer may issue a summons regarding a violation of this law. The Board of Health and the Commissioner of Labor and Industry will jointly promulgate regulations to enforce these requirements and must annually report on their enforcement efforts by January 15, beginning in 2006. The bill sets out relevant definitions and notes that any proprietor of a building or area excepted has the right to prohibit smoking and that any principal or other administrator of an educational facility may adopt smoking prohibitions that are more stringent, including restrictions on smoking in areas on the facility's campus that are not enclosed; that signs will not be required on private homes or residences or private vehicles; and that the new chapter must not be construed to permit smoking where it is otherwise prohibited by the proprietor of any establishment, building, or area or by other applicable law. Enactment clauses repeal the present title relating to counties, cities, and towns and postpone the effective date for prohibiting smoking in such bars and lounges that are not separately enclosed from other establishments until July 1, 2006, and authorize, until such time, smoking in bars and lounges to the same extent as allowed under present law or ordinances.

S.B. 1194 Christopher Reeve Stem Cell Research Fund; created.

Patron: Potts

Christopher Reeve Stem Cell Research Fund.  Establishes a special nonreverting, revolving and permanent fund for the support of stem cell research in honor of Christopher Reeve. The Fund will be used to support medical and biomedical stem cell research conducted in Virginia institutions of higher education relating to the causes and cures of disease, including, but not limited to, paralysis caused by spinal cord injury, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and neurological disorders, such as Lou Gehrig's disease. The Fund will consist of appropriations, gifts, grants, and donations from public or private sources, will be administered by the Commonwealth Health Research Board (an existing board with appropriate expertise), will not require matching funds from the institutions, and may be used to support stem cell research that is not eligible for federal research funds through the National Institutes of Health.  A second enactment clause calls for a general fund appropriation of $1,000,000, to be deposited to the Fund in fiscal year 2006.

S.B. 1208 Patient safety; establishment of toll-free hotline for reports, & protection of health records.

Patron: Mims

Patient protections; safety.  Requires the Department of Health (i) to establish a confidential toll-free hotline for reports on patient safety and quality of patient care in hospitals, nursing homes, and certified nursing facilities that may be made anonymously or in the name of any health care provider or consumer; (ii) respond to complaints and provide a concise description of any action taken pursuant to the complaint; and (iii) prohibits retaliation against complainants.

The bill also requires facilities to develop, implement, and assure compliance with a patient safety plan and to submit the patient safety plan to the Department of Health prior to the date of license renewal. All facilities and all physicians are required to report serious medical errors to the patient who was the subject of the error and to the Board of Medicine.  The facilities must require medical error reports from physicians with practice privileges, contracts with or employed by the facilities, which must be, in turn, reported to the Board of Health.  The Board of Health must require that the reports of serious medical errors received by hospitals, nursing homes, and certified nursing facilities be submitted to the patient-level database.

The bill also prohibits alteration, destruction or discarding of an individual's health record in an effort to conceal any serious medical error. Any physician of medicine, osteopathy, or podiatry found liable in three or more medical malpractice suits in a three-year period will be investigated to determine whether he is violating the regulatory law and should be the subject of a license revocation proceeding. The Director of the Department of Health Professions is authorized to provide a summary of any action taken as a result of a complaint to the complainant.

S.B. 1247 Medical assistance services; recovery of overpayment.

Patron: Bolling

Health; recovery of overpayment for medical assistance services.  Provides that the Director of Medical Assistance Services must issue an informal fact-finding conference decision in appeals from agency determinations concerning provider reimbursement. Further, the timelines for notification to providers of Medicaid overpayment are revised to require issuance of the notice within the earlier of (i) four years after payment of the claim or other payment request, (ii) four years after filing by the provider of a complete cost report, or (iii) fifteen months after filing by the provider of the final complete cost report.

S.B. 1250 Special education in public schools; medically fragile students entitled to services.

Patron: O'Brien

Medically fragile students; special education. Adds medically fragile students to those children with disabilities entitled to special education services in public schools.

The Board of Education shall promulgate regulations defining "medically fragile" students to include, at a minimum, those students with a medical condition that (i) has been diagnosed by a licensed physician; (ii) is unstable, pervasive, intermittent, chronic, progressive, or degenerative; and (iii) affects the student's ability to access effectively the general curriculum. The Board shall promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of this act to be effective within 280 days of its enactment.

S.B. 1251 Higher education; hiring and admission of military personnel.

Patron: O'Brien

Higher education; hiring and admission of military personnel. Requires Virginia's public institutions of higher education to include veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces who were honorably discharged or who are currently members in good standing in the active or inactive Reserves or National Guard as a duly recognized group in any affirmative action plan for (i) hiring as faculty or nonfaculty or (ii) admission as students. The measure also requires institutions to file annual reports on hiring and admission of veterans and military personnel.

S.B. 1262 Learning Technology, Office of; created within Council of Higher Education.

Patron: Potts

Higher education; Office of Learning Technology. Creates the Office of Learning Technology within the State Council of Higher Education to facilitate and coordinate the voluntary participation of public and private institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth that are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in technology-enriched learning initiatives.

The Office is empowered to (i) establish and administer agreements with public and private institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth and other entities to conduct studies examining the need for technology-enriched learning initiatives, including distance and distributed learning initiatives, for currently served populations and underserved constituencies; (ii) enhance student access to technology-enriched educational programs and opportunities; (iii) reduce unnecessary duplication in technology-enriched learning initiatives; (iv) assist in the development of standards for improving access to, training for, and efficiency in such learning initiatives; and (v) enter into contracts for related program development.

S.B. 1285 Teachers; salary to equal or surpass nat'l. average for those in public schools, annual evaluation.

Patron: Whipple

Teacher quality; evaluation and compensation.  Establishes as a policy of the Commonwealth that the average salary for Virginia public school teachers equals or surpasses the national average salary for public school teachers, and directs the Board of Education and the General Assembly to implement this policy in prescribing and revising the Standards of Quality.

The measure also requires annual evaluations for all teachers.

Board of Education guidelines would address these annual evaluations of instructional personnel and the review by the division superintendent or his designee of an unsatisfactory evaluation. The guidelines may provide for formal and informal evaluations in alternating years.

Under current law, probationary teachers are to be evaluated annually (§ 22.1-303). The Code also directs the Board of Education to develop criteria for use by division superintendents and principals for the evaluation of instructional personnel; these criteria can be found in the Board's "Guidelines for Uniform Performance Standards and Evaluation Criteria for Teachers, Administrators, and Superintendents."

S.B. 1290 Compulsory school attendance; children 5 yrs. of age on or before July 31 to be enrolled in school.

Patron: Hanger

Compulsory school attendance.  Provides that, unless a waiver applies, all children who will have reached their fifth birthday on or before July 31 of any school year and who have not passed their eighteenth birthday shall be enrolled in a public or private school or receive home instruction. Currently, compulsory school attendance is required for children who will have reached their fifth birthday on or before September 30 of any school year.

S.B. 1296 Shaken baby syndrome; requires nurse midwives and hospital to give information to maternity patient.

Patron: Wampler

Certain information on shaken baby syndrome required.  Requires information on shaken baby syndrome to be made available to maternity patients by nurse midwives and hospitals with maternity services.

S.B. 1310 William and Mary, College of; extending term of Rector, change in number of members of board.

Patron: Norment

College of William and Mary; rector.  Extends the term of the current rector of the College of William and Mary for one year, to June 30, 2006. The measure also authorizes the expansion of the 17-member board to 18 from July 1, 2005, to June 30, 2006.

Finally, the measure deletes obsolete language.

S.B. 1318 School boards; to issue guideline for time release programs in grades K-5 on school-by-school basis.

Patron: Hanger

Education; time release programs.  Directs the local school boards to issue guidelines for time release programs in grades K-5 on a school-by-school basis. However, no time release program may be authorized unless two-thirds of the parents of children enrolled at a school vote in support of creating such program. The bill further prohibits the discontinuance of a time release program unless a majority of the parents of enrolled children vote in support of the discontinuance and provides for initiation of a vote to create or discontinue a time release program by petition.

S.B. 1326 Wholesale drug distributors; provisions.

Patron: Ruff

Wholesale drug distributors. Penalty.

S.B. 1333 Children's group homes and residential facilities; summary suspension of licenses.

Patron: Martin

Summary suspension of licenses of certain children's group homes and residential facilities; penalty.  Authorizes the Commissioner of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services to issue an order of summary suspension of a license to operate a group home or residential facility for children, including homes or facilities licensed under core licensure regulations, in cases of immediate and substantial threat to the health, safety, and welfare of residents.

S.B. 1336 Vaccines; prohibits price gouging of those in high demand.

Patron: Rerras

Health; determining the price of vaccines in high demand.  Provides that the price of certain vaccines that are in high demand shall not be determined or increased in response to a shortage of the supply and the public demand of such vaccines.

S.B. 1344 Wheelchair interfacility transport services and vehicles; exemption from regulation.

Patron: Lucas

Wheelchair interfacility transport services and vehicles; emergency medical services.  Exempts wheelchair interfacility transport services and wheelchair interfacility transport service vehicles from regulation under the emergency medical services law. Currently, a license must be obtained by the service and a permit must be obtained for the vehicle. Wheelchair interfacility transport services and wheelchair interfacility transport service vehicles are the entities and vans engaged in the business, service, or regular activity, whether or not for profit, of transporting wheelchair-bound passengers between medical facilities in the Commonwealth.