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2012 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services

Chairman: Frank W. Wagner

Date of Meeting: February 17, 2012
Time and Place: 8:30 AM, Senate Room B

H.B. 74

Patron: Bell, Richard P.

Mandatory report of suspected child abuse; time limit.  Reduces the time limit for reporting suspected child abuse or neglect by mandated reporters from 72 hours to 24 hours. In addition, the bill provides that in cases in which the initial report of suspected abuse or neglect is made by a mandated reporter to the person in charge of the institution or department in which the mandated reporter works, as provided in current law, the person who receives the report shall notify the person who made the initial report when the suspected child abuse or neglect is reported to the local department or state hotline and of the name of the individual receiving the report and shall forward any communications or information about action taken regarding the report to the person who made the initial report.

H.B. 189

Patron: Gilbert

Child-placing agency; conscience clause.  Provides that, to the extent allowed by federal law, no private child-placing agency shall be required to perform, assist, counsel, recommend, consent to, refer, or participate in any placement of a child for foster care or adoption when the proposed placement would violate the agency's written religious or moral convictions or policies. In addition, the bill provides that (i) the Commissioner of Social Services shall not deny an application for an initial license or renewal of a license, nor revoke a license, of any private child-placing agency and (ii) no state or local government entity shall deny a private child-placing agency any grant, contract, or participation in a government program because of the agency's objection to performing, assisting, counseling, recommending, consenting to, referring, or participating in a placement that violates the agency's written religious or moral convictions or policies. The bill provides that the refusal of a private child-placing agency to perform, assist, counsel, recommend, consent to, refer, or participate in a placement that violates its written moral or religious convictions or policies shall not form the basis of any claim for damages. This bill is identical to SB349.

 

H.B. 285

Patron: Iaquinto

Foreign adoption; procedure to obtain Virginia certificate of birth. Provides that in certain foreign adoptions, adoptive parents seeking to obtain a Virginia certificate of birth for the adopted child may provide either certified or notarized copies of the final order of adoption entered by the foreign court and a certified translation or a notarized copy of a certified translation of the final order of adoption in cases in which the original order is not in English. Under current law, the documents must be certified. The bill also provides that an affidavit indicating that the parents have received supervision from a licensed or approved child-placing agency in the United States and have satisfied all post-adoption requirements as required by the foreign country from which the child was adopted shall be sufficient to satisfy the requirement that parents receive supervision from a licensed or approved child-placing agency prior to receiving a Virginia certificate of birth for a child adopted from a foreign country. The bill also clarifies that only adoptive parents who are residents of the Commonwealth at the time of the adoption may obtain a Virginia birth certificate via this procedure.

H.B. 359

Patron: McClellan

Alcohol Beverage Control; regulations; leasing of licensed premises by breweries.  Requires the ABC Board to adopt regulations prescribing the terms and conditions under which a licensed brewery may manufacture beer pursuant to an agreement with a brand owner not under common control with the manufacturing brewery and sell and deliver the beer to the brand owner.  The bill requires certain provisions to be included in the regulations. 

H.B. 451

Patron: Toscano

Adoption; appointment of counsel.  Provides that a parent who does not consent to the adoption of the parent's child, but whose consent to the adoption is required, shall be appointed counsel upon the parent's request if such parent is determined to be indigent. The bill also provides that the court shall provide written notice to the birth parent withholding consent of the parent's right to counsel prior to any hearing or decision on a petition for adoption. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Boyd-Graves Conference.

H.B. 470

Patron: Albo

Alcoholic beverage control; advertising "Happy Hour."  Requires the ABC Board to adopt regulations to allow a retail on-premises licensee to post on a website or social media site maintained or administered by the licensee or his agent information about the time periods during which alcoholic beverages are being sold at reduced prices and to include in connection therewith the terms "Happy Hour" or "Drink Specials," provided (i) such information is not sent or otherwise disseminated electronically by the licensee and (ii) the licensee complies with all other provisions of ABC law and ABC Board regulations.

H.B. 471

Patron: Albo

Alcoholic beverage control; outdoor advertising; penalty.  Requires all outdoor advertising of alcoholic beverages to be in compliance with ABC law, ABC Board regulations, and VDOT law and regulations concerning outdoor advertising. The bill also set the general rule that no outdoor alcoholic beverage advertising shall be placed within 500 linear feet on the same side of the road, and parallel to such road, measured from the nearest edge of the sign face upon which the advertisement is placed to the nearest edge of a building or structure located on the real property of (i) a church, synagogue, mosque or other place of religious worship; (ii) a public, private, or parochial school, college, or university; (iii) a public or private playground or similar recreational facility; or (iv) a dwelling used for residential use.The bill provides that the provisions of ABC law relating to outdoor advertising of alcoholic beverages shall not apply to any sign that is included in the Integrated Directional Sign Program administered by the Virginia Department of Transportation or its agents. The bill sets out the penalties for violation. The bill contains technical amendments.

EMERGENCY

H.B. 549

Patron: Comstock

Child support arrearages; publication of names.  Requires the Division of Child Support Enforcement of the Department of Social Services to publish a list of parents who are delinquent in the payment of child support in order to facilitate locating such parents and to enhance enforcement of child support obligations. Currently, the law only requires that the Division publish a list of the "most wanted delinquent parents."

H.B. 555

Patron: Albo

Alcoholic beverage control; mixed beverage license for certain motor sports facilities.  Creates an annual mixed beverage motor sports facility license for persons operating concessions at an outdoor motor sports facility that hosts a NASCAR national touring race. The bill sets out the privileges of the license and the state and local license taxes. This bill is identical to SB 521.

H.B. 579

Patron: Helsel

Electronic application for public assistance.  Provides that applications for public assistance may be made electronically.

H.B. 744

Patron: Fariss

Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children. Provides that regulations adopted by the Board of Social Services to implement the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children shall not prohibit the placement of a non-resident child in a children's residential facility in the Commonwealth by a custodial parent who assumes full financial responsibility for the child prior to final approval of the placement pursuant to the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children when the placement is made without the involvement of a public officer or agency. This bill is identical to SB366.

H.B. 896

Patron: Albo

Alcoholic beverage control; operation of government stores.  Removes the current limitations on the operation of government stores on Sunday and authorizes the ABC Board to determine which such stores shall be open on Sunday after 1 p.m.

H.B. 897

Patron: Albo

Virginia Child Protection Accountability System.  Requires the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission to report information about sentences imposed in cases involving certain criminal violations and requires the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia to report information from the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Courts' Case Management System on removal orders, protective orders, and protective orders alleging family abuse to the Virginia Child Protection Accountability System. This bill is identical to SB 363.

H.B. 970

Patron: Bell, Robert B.

Mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse; public and private college employees. Adds any person employed by a public or private institution of higher education to the list of individuals required to report suspected abuse or neglect of a child.

H.B. 971

Patron: Bell, Robert B.

Barrier crimes. Adds the following crimes to various barrier crimes statutes: abduction, extortion, and felony violations of protective orders. People who have been convicted or are the subject of pending charges of one of those crimes will not be able to work in a licensed nursing home, home care organization, or hospice and cannot work, volunteer, or provide services on a regular basis at a children's residential facility that is regulated or operated by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, certain structured residential programs for juveniles, or children's residential facilities regulated or operated by the Departments of Social Services, Education, or Military Affairs. Persons convicted of such crimes cannot be approved by a child placing agency as adoptive or foster parents and cannot be an adult foster care home provider or a provider of home-based adult services. In addition, they cannot work at certain schools, assisted living facilities, adult day care centers, child welfare agencies, or family day homes.

H.B. 997

Patron: Ransone

Application for public assistance; information to applicant.  Requires local departments of social services to provide each applicant for public assistance with electronic or written and oral information regarding all rights and responsibilities of the applicant related to eligibility for and continued receipt of public assistance and to require the applicant to acknowledge, in a format approved by the Board of Social Services, that such information has been provided.

H.B. 1091

Patron: O'Bannon

ABC; unlawful possession. Clarifies that ABC underage buyers acting for law enforcement may purchase alcohol in the performance of their duties. This bill is identical to SB 406.

H.B. 1211

Patron: O'Bannon

Auxiliary grants; third-party payments.  Provides that assisted living facilities and adult foster care homes may accept payments from third parties for certain goods and services provided to auxiliary grant recipients provided certain requirements are met. The Department of Social Services shall not count such payments as income for the purpose of determining eligibility for or calculating the amount of an auxiliary grant. The bill also provides that assisted living facilities and adult foster care homes shall provide each auxiliary grant recipient with a written list of the goods and services that are covered by the auxiliary grant. This bill is identical to SB 596.

H.B. 1237

Patron: Scott, E.T.

Mandatory reporting of child abuse; penalty.  Adds individuals associated with or employed by any public organization responsible for the care, custody, or control of children to the list of individuals required to report suspected child abuse or neglect; reduces the time limit for reporting suspected child abuse or neglect by mandated reporters from 72 hours to 24 hours and increases the penalty for a second or subsequent failure to report from not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 to a fine of not less than $1,000; provides that, in cases evidencing acts of rape, sodomy, or object sexual penetration, a person who knowingly and intentionally fails to make the required report shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor; and provides that no mandatory reporter shall be required to make a report if the person has actual knowledge that the same matter has already been reported to the local department or the Department's toll-free child abuse and neglect hotline.