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2005 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Rules

Chairman: Thomas K. Norment, Jr.

Clerk: Susan Clarke Schaar
Staff: Virginia Edwards
Date of Meeting: February 4, 2005
Time and Place: 9:00 a.m.; Senate Room A; GAB

S.B. 773 Arts, Culture and Historical Commission; created.

Patron: Bell

Virginia Arts, Culture and Historical Commission.  Establishes the Virginia Arts, Culture and Historical Commission (Commission) to replace the Commission for the Arts.  The Commission will include the 13 current members of the Commission for the Arts and 13 additional members appointed by the Joint Rules Committee. The bill establishes the Commission as a policy commission to receive, allocate, and dispense funds for the support of the arts and designated cultural and historical organizations of the Commonwealth. The bill also provides for 3.125 percent of the net revenue generated by the sales and use tax to be allocated to the Commission to fund nonstate arts, cultural and historic organizations.

S.B. 804 King, Dr. Martin Luther Jr., Memorial Commission; membership.

Patron: Marsh

Martin Luther King, Jr. Living History and Public Policy Center Board of Trustees.  Amends the membership of the Board of Trustees for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Living History and Public Policy Center to provide for one representative of the named institutions of higher education upon the recommendation of the president, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the House of Delegates. Reappointment to the Board is contingent upon members attending at least one-half of the Board meetings during their current term of service. In addition, the provision pertaining to the initial hiring of certain employees by the Board has been removed in order that the Board's authority may be consistent with similar nonprofit, federal tax exempt organizations.

This bill is a recommendation of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Living History and Public Policy Center Board of Trustees.

S.B. 902 Commission on Offices of the Clerks of Circuit Courts; created.

Patron: Norment

Virginia Commission on the Offices of the Clerks of the Circuit Courts; Technology Trust Fund Fee.  Creates a legislative commission to study, report, and make recommendations on the operations of the clerks' offices of the circuit courts. The Commission expires on July 1, 2007. The bill also provides that the Technology Trust Fund Fee is to be used to fund this Commission.

S.B. 1115 Collegial bodies; certain changes to appointment and organizational requirements.

Patron: Norment

Appointment and organizational requirements for certain collegial bodies.  Makes certain technical or clarifying changes to the appointment and organization of the following collegial bodies: the State Council for Interstate Adult Offender Supervision, the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules, the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Commission, the Child Support Guidelines Review Panel, the Commonwealth Competition Council, the Consumer Advisory Board to assist the Commission on Electric Utility Restructuring, the Education Commission of the States, the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council, the Frontier Culture Museum, the Joint Commission on Health Care, the Council on Indians, the Indigent Defense Commission, the Virginia Commission on Intergovernmental Cooperation, the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, the Virginia Land Conservation Board of Trustees, the Special Advisory Commission on Mandated Health Insurance Benefits, the Advisory Commission on the Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, the Virginia Delegation to Multistate Tax Administration Discussions, the Joint Commission on Technology and Science, the Tobacco Indemnification Community Revitalization Commission, the Commission on VASAP, the Board of Veterans Services, the Virginia War Memorial Foundation. Most of the revisions are related to changing the Senate appointing authority from the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections to the Senate Committee on Rules.

S.B. 1292 Joint Commission on Rules; suspension of final rule or regulation.

Patron: Wagner

Suspension of final rule or regulation.  Provides that if the Commission makes a determination to suspend a final rule or regulation within 30 days of the beginning of the regular legislative session, the suspension shall run until the end of the second succeeding regular legislative session, notwithstanding §§ 2.2-4014 and 2.2-4015. This omits the previous timeline, which ran until the end of the legislative session.

S.J.R. 272 Progress Park Industrial Access Road; revisions of agreement with Wythe County.

Patron: Reynolds

Progress Park Industrial Access Road.  Requests the Commonwealth Transportation Board to revise its agreement with Wythe County for construction of the Progress Park Industrial Access Road so as to extend until December 18, 2008, the time by which $6 million in eligible capital outlays must be expended in connection with development of the industrial park served by the road.

S.J.R. 273 Prisoners; joint subcommittee to study program for reentry to society.

Patron: Puller

Study; prisoner reentry; report.  Establishes a joint subcommittee to study the Commonwealth's program for prisoner reentry to society. In conducting its study, the joint subcommittee shall continue the work of the Prisoner Reentry State Policy Academy established by the National Governors Association in identifying and developing strategies to address key needs and overcome barriers for offenders, prior to and upon leaving prison, to reduce the incidence of reincarceration and increase their successful social adaptation and integration into their communities.

S.J.R. 281 Prescription medicines & health insurance premiums; joint subcommittee to study insurance costs.

Patron: Hawkins

Study; insurance costs relating to the practice of medicine and the costs of prescription medicines and health insurance premiums; report.  Establishes a joint subcommittee to examine (i) the costs of medical malpractice insurance in the Commonwealth, particularly insurance premiums or rates for obstetricians/gynecologists; (ii) the costs of health insurance and prescription drugs; and (iii) causes for the increase in such insurance and medical costs, including studying whether any person, entity, or business is earning an excessive profit in regard to such insurance and medical costs. The joint subcommittee shall develop recommendations for controlling the costs of medical malpractice insurance, health insurance, and prescription drugs, including recommendations for corrective measures in any case where the joint subcommittee determines that excessive profit is directly related to such costs.

S.J.R. 282 Transportation; joint subcommittee to study issues relating thereto.

Patron: Hawkins

Study; issues relating to transportation in the Commonwealth; report.  Establishes a joint subcommittee to examine (i) whether the Commonwealth's current classification of roads into primary, secondary, and urban systems is the most suitable for addressing future transportation issues or should be replaced with a functional system that is based upon the usage of roads; (ii) whether the current statutory formula for allocating highway construction funds should be changed to better reflect transportation needs; (iii) the appropriate state and local roles in highway construction and maintenance and the revenue resources that are available to perform such roles; (iv) whether the scope of projects eligible to be built under the Public-Private Transportation Act of 1995 should be more targeted in scope than is currently provided for under the Act and whether the Act should be amended to include private funding requirements from private entities contracting with the government; (v) whether land use and transportation planning decisions should be more integrated and coordinated than is presently provided for under law; (vi) the composition of the Commonwealth Transportation Board; and (vii) such other transportation-related matters as the joint subcommittee deems appropriate. The joint subcommittee shall develop recommendations directed at placing the Commonwealth in the best position for addressing future transportation issues and challenges.

S.J.R. 317 Holistic health care; jt. subcomm. to study arrangements between physicians, etc.

Patron: Marsh

Study; mechanisms to promote collaborative arrangements between primary care physicians and oral health professionals to ensure holistic health care; report.  Establishes a joint subcommittee to study mechanisms to promote collaborative arrangements between primary care physicians and oral health professionals to ensure holistic health care. In conducting its study, the joint subcommittee shall (i) identify and review collaborative arrangements between primary care physicians and oral health professionals, in and out of state; (ii) determine the types of health care services rendered through these collaborative arrangements; (iii) evaluate the need for dental insurance in Virginia, especially such insurance for the working poor and middle-income persons; (iv) identify, to the extent possible, the health problems of Virginians resulting from or related to untreated oral disease; (v) determine which health insurance providers in the Commonwealth offer plans that integrate traditional health insurance and dental insurance plans, and provide coverage for services rendered through collaborative arrangements between primary care physicians and oral health professionals; and (vi) recommend mechanisms to promote collaborative arrangements between primary care physicians and oral health professionals to ensure holistic health care and adequate insurance coverage. The joint subcommittee must submit an executive summary of its findings and recommendations to the 2006 Session of the General Assembly.

This resolution was considered by the Joint Subcommittee Studying Access to and Costs of Oral Health Care.

S.J.R. 318 Death penalty; joint subcommittee to study moratorium thereon.

Patron: Marsh

Study; moratorium on the death penalty; report.  Establishes a joint subcommittee to study establishing a moratorium on the death penalty. The joint subcommittee shall examine, among other issues it deems appropriate, (i) the administration of criminal justice in Virginia to determine the extent to which the process has failed resulting in wrongful executions of innocent persons; (ii) issues concerning the death penalty including disparity, fairness, equity, due process, competence of counsel for capital defendants, and limitations on the introduction of newly discovered and possibly exculpatory evidence;  (iii) the execution of individuals who were juveniles at the time of their offense, and (iv) issues involved in imposing a moratorium. The joint subcommittee shall submit its findings and recommendations to the 2006 Session of the General Assembly.

S.J.R. 321 Oral health care professionals; Dental Association encouraged to continue online job bank therefor.

Patron: Marsh

Resolution; job bank for oral health care professionals. Encourages the Virginia Dental Association to continue the online job bank for oral health care professionals. The job bank is instrumental in helping to address the maldistribution of dentists and in providing employment information to oral health care professionals.

This resolution was considered by the Joint Subcommittee Studying Access to and Costs of Oral Health Care.

S.J.R. 322 Dental hygienists; Dental Association to update survey of nonemployed.

Patron: Marsh

Resolution; survey of nonemployed dental hygienists; report. Requests the Virginia Dental Association to update the survey of nonemployed dental hygienists in order to determine whether these persons are planning to reenter the profession, thereby providing a corps of skilled dental hygienists and easing the demand for these professionals in the Commonwealth. The Virginia Dental Association is requested to submit an executive summary and report of its progress in meeting the request of this resolution to the 2006 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

This resolution was considered by the Joint Subcommittee Studying Access to and Costs of Oral Health Care.

S.J.R. 324 Misdemeanors; JLARC to study needs of patients found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Patron: Puller

Study; patients found not guilty of a misdemeanor by reason of insanity; report.  Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study the needs of patients found not guilty of a misdemeanor by reason of insanity. The objectives of the study include (i) determining the appropriate treatment of acquittees; (ii) reviewing and revising diagnostic categories that are amenable to treatment and therefore eligible for inclusion as a possible NGRI defense; (iii) examining discharge alternatives that will expedite return to the community as well as free up acute care psychiatric beds; and (iv) exploring the advisability and feasibility of coordination between the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services, local community services boards and the criminal justice system when an acquittee violates conditions of release that are not related to a psychiatric illness and therefore not appropriate for rehospitalization.

S.J.R. 325 Unfunded liabilities; join subcommittee to study.

Patron: Stosch

Study; unfunded liabilities of the Commonwealth; report.  Establishes a joint subcommittee to study the unfunded liabilities of the Commonwealth and their effect on the Commonwealth's budget, and to make recommendations as to future funding.

S.J.R. 330 Professional & Occupational Regulation, Dept. of; jt. subcom. to study towing and recovery industry.

Patron: O'Brien

Study; Regulation of the towing and recovery industry.  Establishes an eight-member joint subcommittee to study regulation of the vehicle towing and recovery industry by the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation.

S.J.R. 331 Adoption; joint subcommittee to study laws and policies.

Patron: O'Brien

Study; Virginia's adoption laws and policies.  Establishes a joint subcommittee to study Virginia's adoption laws and policies. In conducting its study, the joint subcommittee shall do a comprehensive review of Virginia's adoption laws, with special emphasis paid to the recognition and effect given to foreign adoption decrees, and determine whether such laws can be rewritten and reorganized to give clear and consistent guidance to persons using the laws.

S.J.R. 333 Help America Vote Act; urging Congress to provide full funding for states.

Patron: Devolites Davis

Memorializing the Congress; Help America Vote Act funding.  Urges Congress to provide full funding for states under the Help America Vote Act.

S.J.R. 334 Wind energy development; joint subcommittee to study.

Patron: Hanger

Study; wind energy development; report.  Establishes a joint subcommittee to study wind energy development in the Commonwealth.

S.J.R. 336 Circuit court; joint subcommitte to study operations of clerks' offices.

Patron: Mims

Study; clerks' offices; report.  Establishes a joint subcommittee to study the operations of circuit court clerks' offices.

S.J.R. 343 Clean Air Act; Dept. of Environmtl. Qual. to study effect of trees & forests on ambient ozone level.

Patron: Mims

Study; tree-related measures in Clean Air Act state implementation plans to avoid loss of future federal transportation funds. Requests that the Department of Environmental Quality, in consultation with local governments and appropriate state, regional, and federal air quality and natural resource management agencies study the effect of urban trees and native forests on ambient ozone levels and other air pollutants, as well as the feasibility of including tree-related measures in state implementation plans for managing air quality to reduce health risks and avoid loss of future federal transportation funds.

S.J.R. 352 Resolution; palliative care. 

Patron: Lambert

Resolution; palliative care.  Encourages Virginia's health care community to increase the education and training of health care professionals in the techniques and benefits of palliative care, and to increase patient awareness regarding palliative care as a treatment component, in order to improve the overall quality of life for those suffering from chronic conditions, and in order to more effectively and efficiently treat the growing population of citizens suffering from chronic illnesses.

 

S.J.R. 360 Manufacturing; JLARC to study comparative burden of regulatory compliance on sector.

Patron: Wagner

Study; regulatory burden on Virginia manufacturers; report.  Directs the Joint Legislative and Review Commission to study the comparative burden of regulatory compliance on Virginia's manufacturing sector. The Commission shall evaluate the total costs on Virginia manufacturers of complying with state and federal regulations; the burden imposed on Virginia manufacturers compared to the burden imposed on other sectors of Virginia's economy; and the burden imposed on Virginia manufacturers compared to the regulatory compliance burdens on manufacturers in other mid-Atlantic and Southern states.

S.J.R. 365 Retirement system; joint subcomm. to study direct contribution retirement alternative to existing.

Patron: Cuccinelli

Study; direct contribution retirement alternative; report.  Creates a joint subcommittee to study the costs and benefits to the Commonwealth and eligible employees in establishing a direct contribution retirement alternative to the existing Virginia Retirement System.

S.J.R. 366 Hearing aids, children's; joint subcommittee to study funding and promotion thereof.

Patron: Ticer

Study of the funding and promotion of children's hearing aids; report.  Establishes a joint subcommittee to study the funding and promotion of children's hearing aids. In conducting its study, the joint subcommittee shall assess current efforts and recommend new methods to promote and publicize the Assistive Technology Loan Fund Authority (ATLFA) and the Consumer Services Fund (CSF) to parents of children determined to be born with a hearing deficiency discovered under the early identification and intervention program.

The subcommittee shall determine the costs to insurance companies that would result from a mandate to supply hearing aids to children up to age six. Further, the subcommittee shall assess whether individual case management services should be added to the early identification program in order to ensure that each child actually receives appropriate hearing aids. Case management services to be considered shall include, but not be limited to, the identification of available public and private resources or benefits, and an opt-out provision for parents who do not wish for their children to receive such services.

The joint subcommittee shall complete its meetings by November 30, 2005, and submit an executive summary of its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the 2006 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

S.J.R. 370 Housing-related issues; Housing Commission to study certain.

Patron: Whipple

Study; Virginia Housing Commission; notification and right of first refusal to local housing authorities and nonprofit housing organizations upon intended sale of multifamily properties; report.  Directs the Virginia Housing Commission to study the feasibility of requiring the owner of an existing multifamily housing property to notify the housing authority and nonprofit housing organization, if any, in the locality in which the property is located of the intended sale and to provide the authority or nonprofit housing organization with a right of first refusal for the purchase of the property.

S.J.R. 371 Voting equipment; joint subcomm. studying certification process, performance, etc.

Patron: Whipple

Voting equipment study; additional members.  Adds two nonlegislative, nonvoting citizen members with computer security expertise to the Joint Subcommittee to Study the Certification Process for Voting Equipment and Matters Related to the Performance and Proper Deployment of Voting Equipment.

S.J.R. 372 Commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Virginians with Disabilities Act.

Patron: Whipple

Commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Virginians with Disabilities Act.

S.J.R. 376 Nonprofit organizations; Housing Comm. to study exemption of those that construct low-income housing

Patron: Houck

Study; Virginia Housing Commission; exempting nonprofit organizations that construct housing for low-income persons from certain zoning provisions; report.  Directs the Virginia Housing Commission to study the feasibility of exempting nonprofit organizations that construct housing for low-income persons from zoning provisions that limit how and when property may be subdivided into individual lots.

S.J.R. 382 Lee, Robert E.; joint subcomm. to plan & coordinate 200th anniv. celebration of his birth, report.

Patron: Hanger

Study; 200th anniversary celebration of the birth of Robert E. Lee; report.  Establishes a joint subcommittee to plan and coordinate the 200th anniversary celebration of the birth of Robert E. Lee.

S.J.R. 383 Personal property tax, tangible; joint subcomm. to study elimination thereof on personal-use cars.

Patron: Hanger

Study; elimination of the tangible personal property tax on personal-use passenger cars, motorcycles, and pickup or panel trucks; report.  Establishes a joint subcommittee to examine the most efficient and equitable way to eliminate the tangible personal property tax on the first $20,000 of value of personal-use passenger cars, motorcycles, and pickup or panel trucks. The joint subcommittee shall develop recommendations for eliminating the tax that will provide a replacement for the revenues estimated to be received by local governments.

S.J.R. 387 Single family group homes; joint subcommittee to study effects of such facilities into society.

Patron: Lucas

Study; single family group homes; report.  Establishes a joint subcommittee to study the effects of excessive concentration of single family group homes, and to determine alternatives which would result in greater dispersion and integration of such facilities into society. In conducting its study, the joint subcommittee shall study the excessive concentration of single family group homes in certain neighborhoods, the adverse effects of this concentration on the residents of single family group homes, the adverse effects of this concentration on those neighborhoods, and workable regulatory alternatives that would result in more appropriate locations of single family group homes for the mutual benefit of the residents thereof and the affected neighborhoods.

S.J.R. 391 Prescription drugs; U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Serv. to approve purchas. from other countries.

Patron: Reynolds

Resolution; purchasing of prescription drugs from other countries. Memorializes the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services to approve the purchasing of prescription drugs from other countries.

S.J.R. 392 Study; Virginia's adoption laws and policies.

Patron: Reynolds

Study; Virginia's adoption laws and policies.  Establishes a joint subcommittee to study Virginia's adoption laws and policies. In conducting its study, the joint subcommittee shall do a comprehensive review of Virginia's adoption laws, with special emphasis paid to the recognition and effect given to foreign adoption decrees, and determine whether such laws can be rewritten and reorganized to give clear and consistent guidance to persons using the laws.

 

S.J.R. 400 Study; voluntary, public-private health insurance purchasing pool for small businesses; report. 

Patron: Colgan

Study; voluntary, public-private health insurance purchasing pool for small businesses; report.  Requests the Secretary of Administration to prepare a program design for a voluntary, public-private health insurance purchasing pool for businesses with 50 or fewer employees. The Secretary of Administration is directed to work with representatives of health insurers, insurance agents, health care providers, and small businesses in developing the program design. This project is a recommendation of the Lieutenant Governor's Commission on Small Business Health Insurance Costs.

S.J.R. 403 Public schools; joint subcomm. to study use of certifications, etc. for award of verified credits.

Patron: Wagner

Study; industry certifications and state licensure tests; report.  Establishes a joint subcommittee to study the permanent use of industry certifications and state licensure tests for the award of verified units of credit to be applied toward the requirements for a high school diploma.

S.J.R. 406 Hydrogen energy. 

Patron: Rerras

Hydrogen energy.  Expresses the General Assembly's support for the Virginia Hydrogen Energy Plan.

S.J.R. 411 Prescription drugs; U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Serv. to approve purchas. from other countries.

Patron: Reynolds

Resolution; purchasing of prescription drugs from other countries. Memorializes the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services to approve the purchasing of prescription drugs from other countries.

S.J.R. 428 Mathematics specialist endorsement; included in Licensure Regulations for School Personnel, report.

Patron: Watkins

Mathematics specialist endorsement; report.  Requests the Board of Education to include the mathematics specialist endorsement in the Licensure Regulations for School Personnel. The Board must design the endorsement in a manner to facilitate and improve student achievement in mathematics, and include such endorsement in the current review and revision of the Licensure Regulations for School Personnel by its Advisory Board of Teacher Education and Licensure (ABTEL). The Board of Education shall submit an executive summary and report of its progress in meeting the request of this resolution to the 2006 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

S.J.R. 437 No Child Left Behind; memorializing Congress to amend to include waiver about school accountability.

Patron: Hanger

Memorializing Congress; No Child Left Behind Act.  Urges Congress to amend the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act immediately to include a mechanism for an automatic waiver from its provisions for school accountability for states, such as Virginia, that have successfully raised student achievement through their own standards and accountability reforms, and that this waiver be made available to states so long as they maintain these proven standards and accountability programs. The resolution also requests that any further action anticipated to enforce the Act be deferred until full funding to implement the law has been authorized.

S.J.R. 440 Analysis of Potential for Alternate Ded. Revenue Serv. Washington Metro Area Transit Authority.

Patron: Whipple

Resolution; supporting recommendations on a dedicated funding source for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.  Expresses the support of the General Assembly for the recommendations of the Panel on the Analysis of and Potential for Alternate Dedicated Revenue Sources for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

S.J.R. 441 Federal Burial Allowance; Congress urged to increase.

Patron: Saslaw

Memorializing the Congress; Federal Burial Allowance.  Urges Congress to increase the federal burial allowance from $300 to $750.

S.J.R. 442 Lorton Workhouse Arts Center; General Assembly to support.

Patron: O'Brien

Lorton Arts Center. Expresses the General Assembly's support of the Lorton Workhouse Arts Center at the former District of Columbia prison facility on Route 123 in Lorton.

S.J.R. 451 U.S. Supreme Court cases on State's statutes; State Crime Commission to study impact thereof.

Patron: Mims

Study; Constitutional criminal issues; report.  Directs the Virginia State Crime Commission to study the implications for Virginia of recent United States Supreme Court cases which raise issues on the constitutionality of crime lab certificates and uncontested affidavits used at trial and opinions that call into question the enhancement of sentences on the basis of facts that have not been found by a jury.