SEARCH SITE

VIRGINIA LAW PORTAL

SEARCHABLE DATABASES

ACROSS SESSIONS

Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.

2005 SESSION

  • print version
Senate Committee on Education and Health

Chairman: H. Russell Potts, Jr.

Clerk: Jocelyn Lance
Date of Meeting: February 10, 2005
Time and Place: 8:00 a.m., Senate Room B, GAB
Education bills will be heard first.

H.B. 160 Optometrists; classification of practicing in a commercial or mercantile establishment.

Patron: Reid

Practice of optometry in commercial or mercantile establishments.  Provides that an optometrist shall be deemed to be practicing in a commercial or mercantile establishment if he practices in any location that provides direct access to or from such an establishment.  The bill defines "direct access," and stipulates that certain optometric and ophthalmologic practices are not commercial or mercantile establishments.  It remains unlawful under this bill for optometrists to practice in commercial and mercantile establishments.  The bill contains a delayed enactment clause (December 31, 2005).

H.B. 1570 Nosocomial infections; procedures for hospitals to release information.

Patron: Purkey

Information on nosocomial infections.  Requires the Board of Health to develop a procedure whereby aggregate information on each hospital's incidence of nosocomial infections, without patient identifiers, may be released to the public, upon request; filed in the hospital's licensure records within the Department of Health; and transmitted to the Division of Consumer Counsel and the Administrator of Consumer Affairs for use in determining any necessary actions to protect the interests of Virginia's consumers. Nosocomial infections are acquired in a hospital or other health care setting. The Board of Health is required to promulgate emergency regulations to implement this provision.

H.B. 1606 Nurses; endorsement of certain licensure of certification.

Patron: Baskerville

Expedited licensure or certification of certain nurses.  Provides for expedited licensure of registered nurses and licensed practical nurses and expedited certification of nurse aides who are relocating to the Commonwealth pursuant to their military-connected spouses' official military orders.  Nurses who hold licenses from other states that are also parties to the Nurse Licensure Compact will be deemed to have met the qualifications required of registered nurses or practical nurses in the Commonwealth and shall be issued a license by endorsement upon submission of the appropriate application and fees.  The bill also authorizes relocating licensed nurses to practice for a period of 120 days pending licensure in Virginia; current law provides for 30 days of employment pending licensure.

H.B. 1607 Public health emergency; includes veterinarians in contact information.

Patron: Shuler

Contact information during a health emergency.  Requires the Department of Health Professions, as the licensing authority, to provide to the State Veterinarian the email addresses, telephone numbers and facsimile numbers of licensed veterinarians in the event of an animal health emergency. The Department and the State Veterinarian are prohibited from publishing, releasing or making available the contact information for any other purpose.

H.B. 1624 Insurance Plan for Seniors; created.

Patron: Purkey

Department of Medical Assistance Services; Virginia Insurance Plan for Seniors (VIPS); prescription drug assistance.  Establishes the VIPS to provide assistance in the purchase of prescription drugs for those persons who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare but who do not qualify for prescription coverage under Medicaid. Payment assistance is limited to $80 per month per eligible person, and participants must pay a $10 copayment for each prescription. Participants are also required to use generic drugs unless they are willing to pay the difference between the generic and brand-name drug. Any licensed pharmacist may participate according to the rules adopted for the program and will be paid a reasonable reimbursement to cover the cost of the drug and costs for dispensing prescriptions. Three enactment clauses require the Board of Medical Assistance Services to promulgate emergency regulations; the Department of Medical Assistance Services to seek a waiver for VIPS from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, if necessary; and set the effective date of the act as July 1, 2006, with implementation to occur on the earlier of 90 days following the adoption of emergency regulations or July 1, 2007.

H.B. 1685 School property; allows local school boards to sell for transportation purposes.

Patron: Tata

Sale of school property; transportation purposes.  Empowers a local school board of a school division comprised of a city having a population of 350,000 or more and adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean (Virginia Beach) to sell property to the Virginia Department of Transportation or the Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner when the Commissioner has determined that (i) such conveyance is necessary and (ii) when eminent domain has been authorized for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, maintenance, and repair of the public highways of the Commonwealth, and for all other purposes incidental thereto, including, but not limited to, the relocation of public utilities as may be required.

H.B. 1687 Birth records; access by grandparents.

Patron: Alexander

Vital records; grandchild's birth certificate.  Requires the State Registrar or the city or county registrar to disclose data about or issue a certified copy of a birth certificate of a child to the grandparent of the child upon the written request of the grandparent when the grandparent has demonstrated to the State Registrar evidence of need, as prescribed by Board regulation, for the data or birth certificate.

H.B. 1716 Schools; reporting of certain offenses by school authorities.

Patron: Fralin

Reporting of offenses by school authorities.  Provides that principals and division superintendents, in reporting certain serious incidents and crimes for annual recordation and publication by the Department of Education, shall accurately indicate any offenses, arrests, or charges as recorded by law-enforcement authorities and required to be reported by such authorities.

H.B. 1719 Schools, postsecondary; clarifies role of Council of Higher Education in certification thereof.

Patron: Tata

Certification of postsecondary schools.  Clarifies the role of the State Council of Higher Education (SCHEV) in the certification of postsecondary schools (degree-granting schools other than public institutions of higher education and noncollege degree schools). Previously, SCHEV approved programs of study; this measure provides for the certification of schools rather than program approval. This certification authority does not address professional or training programs subject to a Virginia health regulatory board or other state or federal governmental agency.

H.B. 1727 Death certificates; allows attorney and funeral directors to obtain copy.

Patron: Alexander


Vital statistics; death certificates.  Requires the Board of Health, in its regulations on public or private agencies or persons obtaining copies of death certificates in the conduct of their official duties, to include within its definition of "legal representative" (i) any attorney licensed to practice law in Virginia, upon presentation of his bar number and evidence of need to obtain such copy; and (ii) any funeral director licensed to practice by the Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers, upon presentation of evidence of licensure to so practice and evidence of being in charge of final disposition of the registrant's remains or evidence of need to obtain such copy.

H.B. 1743 Auto-injectable epinephrine; allows possession & self-administration by students in public schools.

Patron: Ward

Self-injected epinephrine; self-administration by students.  Adds self-injected epinephrine to those medications that public school students diagnosed with asthma or anaphylaxis, or both, may self-administer under certain conditions.  School and health department personnel supervising the administration of this medication are immune from civil liability.  In addition, principals and school board employees are not liable for any civil damages for any injuries or deaths resulting from the misuse of such auto-injectable epinephrine.  Additional amendments add auto-injectable epinephrine to current provisions addressing other self-administered medications.

H.B. 1762 Standards of Quality; changes in provisions.

Patron: Dillard

Standards of Quality.  Revises the Standards of Quality to require local school boards to (i) provide for data collection and analysis and to use such results in instructional program evaluation; (ii) implement any actions identified through the academic review of schools accredited with a warning; (iii) analyze and report annually the results of industry certification examinations; (iv) annually review their professional development programs; and (v) report compliance with the Standards of Quality annually to the Board of Education.

In addition, the bill (i) increases from 10 to 17 the full-time equivalent instructional positions for each 1,000 students identified as having limited English proficiency; (ii) provides that teacher, administrator, and superintendent evaluations shall be consistent with the performance objectives included in the Guidelines for Uniform Performance Standards and Evaluation Criteria for Teachers, Administrators, and Superintendents developed by the Board of Education; (iii) replaces Board- and locally-adopted six-year statewide or divisionwide plans, as the case may be, (including those for educational technology) with "comprehensive" statewide or divisionwide plans; and (iv) replaces individual school six-year plans with "comprehensive" plans.

The measure also includes a number of technical or clarifying amendments and additional cross-references for other Code sections.

H.B. 1767 Home schooling; notification of certain examinations.

Patron: Dillard

Home instruction; notification regarding examinations.  Directs local school boards to implement a plan for the notification of students receiving home instruction and their parents of the availability of Advanced Placement (AP) and Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) examinations and the availability of financial assistance to low-income and needy students to take these examinations.

The definition of "parent" deleted, as it is duplicative of the definition already set forth in § 22.1-1 as applicable to the entire title.

H.B. 1770 Home schooling; testing of students.

Patron: Dillard

Testing of students receiving home instruction.  Requires the Department of Education to maintain a list of achievement tests, evaluations, and assessments that may be used to satisfy the requirement thatthe homeschooler's parent annually provide evidence of the student's academic progress.

A technical amendment deletes the definition of "parent," as § 22.1-1 already sets forth this definition for the entire Title.

H.B. 1778 Methadone clinics; prohibited in certain counties.

Patron: Kilgore

Providers of treatment for persons with opiate addiction; standards required; moratorium. Requires the State Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services Board to establish standards to evaluate the need and appropriateness for the issuance of new licenses to providers of treatment for persons with opiate addiction. The standards will include various criteria relating to the number of persons needing such treatment in the service area, the proposed site of the clinic, the existing access to such treatment, the geographic and demographic parameters of the service area, and the proposed clinic's security and accountability measures. A moratorium on the issuance of new licenses for providers of treatment for persons with opiate addiction is established from the enactment date of this act until the date on which the standards become effective. The Board is authorized to promulgate emergency regulations.

 

H.B. 1781 Teachers; extends sunset provision for division superintendent to report shortages to school board.

Patron: BaCote

Critical teacher shortage areas.  Extends from 2005 to 2010 the current sunset on the requirements that (i) division superintendents identify and report critical shortages to the school board, upon request (§ 22.1-70.3); and (ii) local school boards identify and report critical shortages to the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Virginia Retirement System (VRS)(§ 22.1-79).

The measure does not address use of this reported information by VRS.

Also sunsetting in 2005, and not included in this bill, is the requirement that the Superintendent of Public Instruction annually survey school divisions to identify critical teacher shortage areas and report these shortages to the Virginia Retirement System (§ 22.1-23).

H.B. 1782 Teachers; extends provision for Superintendent of Public Instruction surveying shortage in schools.

Patron: BaCote

Critical teacher shortage areas.  Extends from 2005 to 2010 the current sunset on the requirements that the Superintendent of Public Instruction annually survey school divisions to identify critical teacher shortage areas and report these shortages to the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) (§ 22.1-23).

The measure does not address use of this reported information by VRS.

Also sunsetting in 2005, and not included in this bill, are the requirements that (i) division superintendents identify and report critical shortages to the school board, upon request (§ 22.1-70.3); and (ii) local school boards identify and report critical shortages to the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Virginia Retirement System (§ 22.1-79).

H.B. 1854 Drugs; returns, exchanges, or re-dispensing, exceptions.

Patron: Eisenberg

Returns, exchanges, or re-dispensing of drugs; exceptions.  Authorizes hospitals to enter into voluntary agreements with pharmacies to transfer drugs, upon compliance with various conditions, that have been originally dispensed to hospital patients, but have been returned, and may be re-dispensed by the pharmacy to indigent patients, free of charge.

H.B. 1865 Pharmacy, Board of; requires executive director to be a pharmacist.

Patron: Morgan

Health professions; executive director of the Board of Pharmacy.  Requires the executive director of the Board of Pharmacy to be a pharmacist.

H.B. 1938 Community services boards and behavioral health authorities; funding

Patron: O'Bannon

Community services boards and behavioral health authorities.  Permits the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services to transfer appropriated funds for mental health, mental retardation, and substance abuse services directly to operating community services boards and behavioral health authorities.

H.B. 1939 Health professionals; unprofessional conduct.

Patron: O'Bannon

Health professions; unprofessional conduct. Removes the Virginia Academy of Clinical Psychologists from the nomination process for the appointment of members to the Board of Medicine because the clinical psychologist position on the Board was abolished. The bill amends the Board's provisions on unprofessional conduct to consolidate all elements of unprofessional conduct into one section and now clearly provides that the provisions apply to applicants for licensure, as well as licensees of the Board. Finally, the bill incorporates the general provisions of unlawful acts for all professions to provide the Board authority to deal with a practitioner of the healing arts who has been practicing unlawfully.

H.B. 1989 School boards; increase of salaries for members in City of Salem.

Patron: Griffith

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

H.B. 2018 Bedding and used upholstered furniture; regulations.

Patron: Hall

Bedding and upholstery.  Provides that a retailer may sell, give away or rent used upholstered furniture that has been purchased by the retailer as new and has been used in the course of business.  Such used furniture shall be (i) conspicuously identified as used, (ii) reduced in price, sold at auction, donated to charity, or made available for a rental fee, and (iii) tagged in compliance with Board of Health regulations. The retailer must notify the Department of Health of any such circumstances in accordance with the Board of Health's regulations. Technical amendments are also included.

H.B. 2038 Midwifery; licensure.

Patron: Hamilton

Health professions; practice of midwifery.  Provides for the licensing by the Board of Medicine of those persons who have obtained the Certified Professional Midwife credential to practice midwifery pursuant to regulations adopted by the Board of Medicine. The Board of Medicine shall adopt regulations, with advice from the Advisory Board on Midwifery established in this bill. The regulations shall (i) address the requirements for licensure to practice midwifery, (ii) be consistent with the current job analysis for the profession except that prescriptive authority and the possession and administration of controlled substances shall be prohibited, (iii) ensure independent practice, (iv) provide for an appropriate license fee, and (v) include requirements for licensure renewal and continuing education. The regulations shall not (a) require any agreement, written or otherwise, with another health care professional or (b) require the assessment of a woman who is seeking midwifery services by another health care professional. Licensed midwives must disclose to clients certain background information, including their training and experience, written protocol for medical emergencies, malpractice or liability insurance coverage, and procedures to file complaints with the Board of Medicine. The bill provides immunity to physicians, nurses, prehospital emergency personnel or health care institutions for acts resulting from the administration of services by any licensed midwife.

H.B. 2071 Southside Virginia Higher Education Center; created.

Patron: Hogan

Southside Virginia Higher Education Center.  Continues the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center, previously established as an off-campus center of Longwood University, as an educational institution charged to, among other things, encourage the expansion of higher education, including adult and continuing education, associate, undergraduate, and graduate degree programs and foster partnerships between the public and private sectors to enhance higher education in the region.

The Center is governed by a 15-member Board of Trustees, consisting of the Director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia or his designee; the Chancellor of the Virginia Community College System or his designee; the presidents or chancellors, as appropriate, or their designees of Longwood University, Danville Community College, and Southside Virginia Community College; three legislators; and six gubernatorially-appointed nonlegislative citizen members. The Board is authorized to establish agreements with public and private institutions of higher education to provide associate, undergraduate, and graduate level instructional programs at the Center.

Currently, the Center is located in South Boston and is governed by the Southern Virginia Higher Education Consortium, which includes Longwood University, Southside Virginia Community College, and Danville Community College.

H.B. 2166 Long-term health care; Sec. of Health & Human Resources to develop public info.campaign.

Patron: Reese

Long-term health care public information campaign.  Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Resources and the Commissioner of Insurance to develop a long-term health care public information campaign to inform the citizens of the Commonwealth of (i) the impending long-term health care crisis, its effect on the Virginia Medicaid program, and its effect on the finances of families and their estates; (ii) alternatives to institutional long-term health care; and (iii) common terminology contained in long-term care insurance policies and certificates and explanations therefor.

H.B. 2223 Student expulsion; procedures for readmission.

Patron: Rust

Expulsion of students; petition for readmission.  Provides that the local school board, or a committee thereof, or the division superintendent may review petitions for readmission by expelled students. If the division superintendent or a school board committee denies the petition, the student may petition the full school board for review of the denial of readmission.

H.B. 2242 Pharmacy interns; provisions.

Patron: O'Bannon

Pharmacy interns.  Permits pharmacy interns to provide medication counseling and perform all other acts a pharmacist may perform under the Drug Control Act, including immunizations, if the supervising pharmacist is directly monitoring these activities.

H.B. 2266 Character education; harassment prevention required.

Patron: Bell

School boards; policies on bullying.  Directs the Board of Education to include bullying in its standards for school board policies on student conduct and requires school boards to include (i) instruction on the inappropriateness of bullying in their character education programs and (ii) bullying provisions in their student conduct codes.  In addition, the measure requires the reporting of incidents of stalking to principals and division superintendents.  Finally, except as may be prohibited by federal law, regulation, or jurisprudence, principals must report certain violent acts, stalking, and other conduct to parents of the minor student who is the target of the conduct; included in this report is disclosure that the incident has been reported to law enforcement, and that the parent may contact law enforcement for further information.

H.B. 2337 Articulation agreements; admission of community college students into four-year public institution.

Patron: Athey

Articulation agreements.  Requires the governing board of each four-year public institution of higher education, beginning with academic year 2006-2007, to develop additional articulation and transfer agreements with uniform application to all institutions within the Virginia Community College System that (i) meet appropriate general education and program requirements at the four-year institutions; and (ii) provide additional opportunities for associate degree graduates to be admitted and enrolled.  The State Council of Higher Education, consistent with its responsibility to facilitate the development of articulation agreements, must develop guidelines for such agreements.

Current law requires the State Council to develop a State Transfer Module designating those general education courses that are offered within various associate degree programs at the public two-year institutions that are transferable for credit or admission with standing as a junior (third year) to the public four-year institutions.

H.B. 2363 Health records; emphasizes right of an individual to have access thereto, exceptions.

Patron: Melvin

Health records privacy.  Emphasizes the right of an individual to have access to his health records with certain exceptions; defines the term "psychotherapy notes"; clarifies the list of persons to whom disclosure of protected health information may be made; underscores the confidentiality of psychotherapy notes and prohibits the disclosure of such psychotherapy notes, with exceptions for training programs, legal processes, protection of third parties, and various law-enforcement and regulatory investigations; and states specifically that state law controls the procedures for requesting health records.

H.B. 2366 Hospitals and nursing homes; Bd. of Health must include min. standards for design and construction.

Patron: Bryant


Design and construction of hospitals and nursing homes.  Requires the Board of Health, in a section 1 bill, to promulgate regulations pursuant to § 32.1-127 of the Code of Virginia for the licensure of hospitals and nursing homes that must include minimum standards for the design and construction of hospitals, nursing homes, and certified nursing facilities consistent with the current edition of the Guidelines for Design and Construction of Hospital and Health Care Facilities issued by the American Institute of Architects Academy of Architecture for Health.

H.B. 2368 Dentists and dental hygienists; licensure and continuing education.

Patron: Bryant

Licensure of dentists and dental hygienists; continuing education requirements; trade names.  Revises the licensure requirements for dentists and dental hygienists. Licensure requirements for dentists are amended to include (i) passage of Parts I and II of the examination given by the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations, (ii) completion of a clinical examination, and (iii) fulfillment of other qualifications as determined by regulations of the Board of Dentistry. Licensure requirements for dental hygienists are amended to include passage of the dental hygiene examination given by the Joint Commission on Dental Examinations and completion of a clinical examination. The Board may grant a license to practice dentistry or dental hygiene to an applicant licensed to practice in another jurisdiction if he meets all licensure requirements, holds a current unrestricted license to practice dentistry or dental hygiene in another jurisdiction in the United States, and has not committed any act set forth in the Code that would constitute grounds for denial. Practitioners of dentistry and dental hygiene must complete continuing education requirements to renew or reinstate their professional licenses; however, such practitioners holding volunteer or temporary licenses shall not be subject to continuing education requirements. The bill further authorizes temporary permits for hygienists serving in certain Virginia Charitable corporations; adds the Commonwealth Dental Hygienists' Society to the organizations that may submit names to the Governor to fill professional vacancies on the Board of Dentistry; permits the use of trade names, with certain limitations, by a dentist, partnership, professional corporation, or professional limited liability company that owns a dental practice; and repeals current provisions prohibiting licensure by reciprocity or endorsement. Emergency regulations are authorized to be promulgated by the Board of Dentistry.

 

H.B. 2422 Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center; membership.

Patron: Johnson

Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center.  Increases from five to seven the citizen members of the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center, (thereby increasing the board membership from 21 to 23) and specifies that the citizen members shall include two business and industry leaders, and three individuals, one each representing the technology, tourism, and health care industries, respectively.

Current law requires that a public school teacher or a division superintendent be included among the citizen members.

H.B. 2429 Prescription Monitoring Program; includes reporting by out-of-state dispensers.

Patron: Hamilton

Prescription Monitoring Program.  Expands the Prescription Monitoring Program to include reporting by out-of-state dispensers (nonresident pharmacies) and to cover the entire Commonwealth. To assist in verifying the validity of a prescription, the bill extends the authority to query the system to prescribers licensed in other states and to pharmacists. The fourth and fifth enactment clauses of Chapter 481 of the 2002 Acts of Assembly are repealed to remove the funding contingencies and the restriction on the application of the program to a pilot project covering the southwestern region of Virginia. The program requires the reporting of "covered substances,"  that, pursuant to this bill, will include all controlled substances in Schedules II, III, and IV of the Drug Control Act (§ 54.1-3400 et seq.) of Title 54.1. Emergency regulations must be promulgated by the Director. Although the bill will be effective in due course, i.e., July 1, 2005, its provisions will not be implemented or enforced until the date on which the emergency regulations become effective. The Director is required to notify all out-of-state and Virginia dispensers who will be newly subject to the reporting requirements of the Prescription Monitoring Program prior to the date on which the provisions of this act will be implemented and enforced.  This bill is identical to SB1098.

H.B. 2514 Health care providers; elim. provisions governing disclosure of patient info. to third party payors.

Patron: O'Bannon

Disclosure of patient information by certain health care providers.  Repeals provisions governing disclosure of patient information to third party payors by mental health, mental retardation, and substance abuse professionals. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Health Care.

H.B. 2515 Medical records; charge for copies distinguished between patient request & subpoenaed records.

Patron: O'Bannon

Charge for copying health records.  Distinguishes between the charges that may be levied by a health care provider (also referred to as "health care entity") for copies of health records when the patient requests his own health records and the records are subpoenaed or otherwise requested by a third party. The patient (individual who is the subject of the record) will be charged "a reasonable cost-based fee" that will only include costs of supplies and labor, postage, and preparation of any summary of the information. Current charges authorized for copies in anticipation of litigation or in the course of litigation will not apply to patients requesting their own records.

H.B. 2516 Health records; revises certain provisions for privacy of minors.

Patron: O'Bannon

Health records privacy; minors' records.  Revises certain provisions relating to minors' health records to provide a measure of consistency with the federal regulations that were promulgated by the federal Secretary of Health and Human Services pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act concerning access to and authority to disclose protected health information.

H.B. 2522 Emergency Medical Services Advisory Board; increase in membership & deletion of obsolete cross ref.

Patron: O'Bannon

State Emergency Medical Services Advisory Board; membership.  Increases Board membership from 25 to 28 by including one representative from each of the regional emergency medical services councils. Current law states that each of the "eight" regional councils shall be represented, but 11 such councils actually exist. The bill also deletes an obsolete cross-reference regarding the automated external defibrillator registry, which no longer exists.

H.B. 2523 Ambulance services; localities authorized to charge insurers.

Patron: O'Bannon

Localities' authority to charge insurers for ambulance services.  Clarifies that localities are currently permitted to charge insurers for ambulance services provided to any person covered by an accident and sickness insurance policy that provides coverage for ambulance services.

H.B. 2526 Athletic trainers; allows administration of certain topical drugs.

Patron: O'Bannon

Health professions; athletic trainers.  Allows out-of-state practitioners of one of the professions regulated by the Board of Medicine to travel with a team or athlete and practice in Virginia for the duration of the event. The bill allows licensed athletic trainers to possess and administer certain Schedule IV topical drugs routinely used in their practice and to possess and administer epinephrine for anaphylactic shock. The bill also contains a technical amendment.

 

H.B. 2538 Nonresident pharmacies; registration.

Patron: Jones, S.C.

Health; registration of nonresident pharmacies; summary proceedings. Provides that the Board of Pharmacy shall only register nonresident pharmacies that maintain a current unrestricted registration or license as a pharmacy in a jurisdiction that may lawfully deliver prescription drugs directly or indirectly to consumers within the United States. Such registration of nonresident pharmacies shall be immediately suspended, without a hearing, upon receipt of documentation by the licensing agency in the jurisdiction where a nonresident pharmacy registered with the Board is located that it has had its license or registration as a pharmacy revoked or suspended by that agency or that the nonresident pharmacy no longer holds a valid unexpired license or registration as a pharmacy. Further, the Board may summarily suspend the registration of any nonresident pharmacy without a hearing, simultaneously with the institution of proceedings for a hearing, if it finds that there is a substantial danger to the public health or safety that warrants such action. A nonresident pharmacy with a suspended registration shall not ship, mail, or deliver any Schedule II through VI drugs into the Commonwealth unless reinstated by the Board.

H.B. 2601 Medical assistance services; establishing more restrictive asset transfer limit.

Patron: Landes

Medical assistance services; asset transfer limit waiver.  Permits the Department of Medical Assistance Services, when appropriate and practicable, to seek a waiver pursuant to § 1115 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 1315) from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to establish asset transfer limits that are more restrictive than those currently permitted under federal Medicaid law or regulations.

H.B. 2639 Medical care facilities certificate of public need; reissuance of request for new nursing home beds.

Patron: Hurt

Medical care facilities certificate of public need.  Requires the Commissioner of Health to reissue a Request for Applications for 60 new nursing home or nursing facility beds in Planning District 12 when the scheduled construction date has passed, the company issued a certificate pursuant to a 1997 Request for Applications has not begun construction, and the certificate has expired. The Commissioner may give preference to an applicant who was denied the certificate under the 1997 RFA and who proposes a new facility in the county seat of the county in which the nursing facility granted the previously-issued certificate is located.

H.B. 2711 Hearing aids; practice of fitting or dealing.

Patron: Sickles

Practice of fitting or dealing in hearing aids.  Amends current definition of the practice of fitting and dealing in hearing aids to be the practice of fitting "or" dealing in hearing aids. The bill makes similar changes to the relevant licensing provisions.

H.B. 2716 Controlled substances; additions and deletions to Schedule I and II list.

Patron: Morgan

Health professions; pharmacy and the schedule of drugs. Adds and deletes certain drugs to Schedule I and adds Dihydroetorphine, Carfentanil, and Sufentanil to Schedule II to conform to recent changes in federal drug schedules. The bill corrects errors in spelling, nomenclature, and formatting and adds other names for chemical entities already listed.

H.B. 2790 Teachers; licensure qualifications.

Patron: Frederick

Teacher licensure qualifications.  Requires the Board of Education, in its regulations governing teacher licensure, to establish criteria and a procedure to allow persons seeking initial licensure as teachers through an alternative route as defined by Board regulations to substitute experiential learning in lieu of coursework. The bill also includes a technical amendment to provide appropriate cross references between relevant statutes.

 

H.B. 2831 Clinical drug trials; publication of certain data.

Patron: Watts

Health; publication of certain data on clinical drug trials. Requires any person conducting any clinical drug trial in the Commonwealth to (i) register with and submit information to the Clinical Trials Data Bank established by the Secretary of Health and Human Services and (ii) ensure the publication of aggregate data, with personal identifiers redacted, on the results of such human research.

H.B. 2870 Human rights committees, state & local; requires 1 appt. to each shall be a health care provider.

Patron: Lewis

State and local human rights committees.  Requires that at least one appointment to each state or local human rights committee shall be a health care provider. These committees address alleged violations of human rights of consumers of public and private mental health, mental retardation and substance abuse services.

H.B. 2879 Harassment; school bds. to establish measure to prevent, and guidelines for video monitoring.

Patron: Marshall, R.G.

School boards; policies on bullying.  Directs the Board of Education to include bullying in its standards for school board policies on student conduct and requires school boards to include (i) instruction on the inappropriateness of bullying in their character education programs and (ii) bullying provisions in their student conduct codes.  In addition, the measure requires the reporting of incidents of stalking to principals and division superintendents.  Finally, except as may be prohibited by federal law, regulation, or jurisprudence, principals must report certain violent acts, stalking, and other conduct to parents of the minor student who is the target of the conduct; included in this report is disclosure that the incident has been reported to law enforcement, and that the parent may contact law enforcement for further information.

 

H.B. 2912 Teachers; school boards to provide sick leave for those w/debilitating or life-threatening illness.

Patron: Eisenberg

Teachers; sick leave.  Requires local school boards to adopt policies providing for leave without pay for school board employees with debilitating or life-threatening illness or injury, without regard to the employee's length of service with the school board.