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2015 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Finance

Co-Chair: Walter A. Stosch - Co-Chair: Charles J. Colgan

Clerk: Patty Lung
Staff: Lisa Wallmeyer, Nicole Brenner
Date of Meeting: February 5, 2015
Time and Place: 4:30 p.m. Senate Room A
Additional bills added

S.B. 674 Virginia Information Technologies Agency; email archiving.

Patron: Martin

Virginia Information Technologies Agency; email archiving. Requires any state agency in the executive branch of government that receives email services from VITA to also utilize email archiving services provided by VITA.

S.B. 718 Telemedicine; Department of Health to establish a three-year pilot program, report.

Patron: Stanley

Telemedicine; pilot program. Directs the Department of Health, in partnership with a hospital licensed in the Commonwealth, to establish a three-year telemedicine pilot program designed to reduce patient use of emergency department facilities for the treatment of low-acuity conditions. The bill requires the Department to report the results of the pilot program to the State Board of Health and to the General Assembly by October 1, 2018.

S.B. 736 Courthouse and courtroom security; increases assessment.

Patron: Howell

Courthouse security; assessment. Increases from $10 to $20 the maximum amount a local governing body may assess against a convicted defendant as part of the costs in a criminal or traffic case in district or circuit court to fund courthouse security.

S.B. 739 State Police, Department of; appointment of supervisory officers.

Patron: Carrico

Department of State Police; appointment of supervisory officers. Establishes a career progression program for State Troopers and Special Agents based on years of satisfactory service. For State Troopers, the program provides for promotion to the rank of Senior Trooper after 10 years of service and promotion to the rank of Master Trooper after 20 years of service. For Special Agents, the program provides for a salary increase after 10 years and a salary increase and promotion to the rank of Senior Special Agent after 20 years of service. The bill prohibits a sworn employee of the Department from receiving more than two career progression salary increases, regardless of such employee's assignment or promotion to Special Agent.

S.B. 754 Vehicle registration; increases fees, allocates funds for Department of State Police.

Patron: Carrico

Vehicle registration fees; funds for Department of State Police. Raises the vehicle registration fee an additional $1.25 per year on each July 1 from 2015 through 2024 and allocates the funds to the Department of State Police.

S.B. 791 Motor vehicle safety inspection; increases charge.

Patron: Carrico

Vehicle safety inspection fees. Increases the price of a vehicle safety inspection by $1 for each category of vehicle and allocates $0.50 of the additional $1 to the Department of State Police toward the Department's costs in administering the motor vehicle safety inspection program; the remaining $0.50 is retained by the inspection station.

S.B. 827 Voting systems; use of direct recording electronic machines on and after July 1, 2016.

Patron: Miller

Voting systems; use of direct recording electronic machines. Prohibits the use of direct recording electronic (DRE) machines in elections on and after July 1, 2016, except for the express purpose of providing accessible voting equipment as required by law. The bill allows the modification of previously acquired DREs for the express purpose of providing accessible voting equipment.

S.B. 997 Emergency medical services personnel; background checks, process.

Patron: Stuart

Emergency medical services personnel; background checks; process. Creates an alternative method for criminal history background checks for emergency medical services personnel, allowing local governments that have procedures in place for the collection of fingerprints and personal descriptive information and the forwarding of such fingerprints and information directly to the Department of State Police or the Federal Bureau of Investigation to do so instead of forwarding fingerprints and information through the Central Criminal Records Exchange to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the national criminal history background checks.

S.B. 1209 New Economy Industry Credential Assistance Training Grants; established.

Patron: Wagner

Grants for earning workforce training credentials; New Economy Industry Credential Assistance Training Grants. Establishes a grant program that would pay grants to certain individuals successfully completing a noncredit workforce training program and earning the related credential in a high-demand field. The grant, up to a total of $1,000, would be limited to payment of tuition charged for the training program, the cost of any required textbooks, and the cost of any examination required to earn the credential. Individuals (i) enrolled in a public or private high school and participating in a dual enrollment program or (ii) not enrolled in a public or private middle or high school would be eligible for the grant. The noncredit workforce training program must be provided or sponsored by (i) a Virginia community college, (ii) a private institution certified to operate in Virginia by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) that has elected to participate in the grant program, or (iii) the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, New College Institute, Roanoke Higher Education Center, Southern Virginia Higher Education Center, Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center, or Eastern Virginia Medical School. Individuals would apply for grants directly to the school that provided or sponsored the workforce training program. The Virginia Board of Workforce Development would maintain a list of high-demand fields and the related credentials on its website. The amount of grants available each year for the program would be determined by the general appropriation act. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2016.

 

S.B. 1230 ABC Board; regulation of distribution and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products.

Patron: Reeves

Regulation of the distribution and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board; penalty. Transfers the regulation of the distribution of cigarettes and other tobacco products from the Department of Taxation to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. The bill also creates a new retail dealer's license for the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products to be granted and otherwise regulated by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. The bill sets out the licensing requirements for distributors and retail dealers, sets out recordkeeping requirements, and provides penalties for violation. The bill contains technical amendments and is a recommendation of the State Crime Commission.

S.B. 1283 Certificate of public need; eliminates regional health planning agencies and adds an exception.

Patron: Martin

Certificate of public need. Eliminates regional health planning agencies and adds an exception to the definition of project to exclude (i) an increase in the total number of non-nursing home beds in an existing general hospital, psychiatric hospital, or rehabilitation hospital or operating rooms in an existing general hospital; (ii) the introduction of open heart surgery at a hospital that registers the new service and performed at least 1,100 adult inpatient or outpatient cardiac catheterizations, including at least 400 therapeutic catheterizations, or discharged at least 800 patients with the principal diagnosis of ischemic heart disease during the 12 months immediately preceding such registration; and (iii) the introduction of intermediate-or specialty-level neonatal special care services at an existing medical care facility that registers the new service and delivered more than 1,000 infants in the 12 months immediately preceding such registration.

S.B. 1305 Unclaimed property; use of death master file.

Patron: Reeves

Unclaimed property; death master file. Requires insurance companies to perform a semiannual comparison of their in-force policies, annuities, and retained asset accounts issued in the Commonwealth after January 1, 2016, against the U.S. Social Security Administration death master file or its equivalent to identify potential death master file matches. If a match between information contained in the death master file and an in-force policy, annuity, or account is found, the measure requires the insurance company, within 90 days of obtaining such information, to complete a good faith effort to verify the death of the individual through other available records and information. If the individual's death is confirmed and a beneficiary or authorized representative has not communicated with the insurance company within the 90-day period, it shall take reasonable steps to locate and contact the beneficiary or beneficiaries or authorized representative. If the beneficiaries or owners cannot be found, the benefits are presumed abandoned and the insurance company is required to report and remit the benefits to the State Treasurer under the Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act. The requirements do not apply to any life or endowment insurance policy, annuity, or retained asset account for which the insurance company is receiving premiums outside of the policy account value by check, bank draft, payroll deduction, or any other similar method of active premium payment within the 18 months immediately preceding death master file comparison. The State Treasurer, in consultation with the Commissioner of Insurance, may adopt rules and regulations that (i) limit the insurance company's comparison to the death master file to its electronic searchable files; (ii) approve a plan and timeline for converting the insurance company's files to electronic searchable files; (iii) exempt an insurance company from the death master file comparison requirements or permit such comparisons to be conducted less frequently if compliance would impose a financial hardship; or (iv) establish a plan and timeline that phases in compliance with these requirements. The measure also includes provisions allowing an insurance company to report and remit the proceeds to the State Treasurer on an early reporting basis, without further notice to or consent by the State Treasurer, after attempting to contact the beneficiary.

S.B. 1325 Vapor products; prohibits purchase, etc., by minors, liquid nicotine packaging, civil penalty.

Patron: Stuart

Purchase, etc., of tobacco products by minors; vapor products; liquid nicotine packaging; civil penalty. Prohibits the sale of vapor products to a minor and the purchase or possession of vapor products by a minor. The bill defines vapor product as a noncombustible product, which may or may not contain nicotine, that employs a heating element, power source, electronic circuit, or other means that can be used to produce vapor from a substance in a solution or other form. Current law prohibits the sale of nicotine vapor products to a minor and the purchase or possession of nicotine vapor products by a minor. The bill also provides that no person shall sell or distribute, or offer for sale or distribution, a liquid nicotine container on or after October 1, 2015, unless the liquid nicotine container is packaged in child-resistant packaging and complies with labeling requirements consistent with regulations adopted by the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The bill requires the Board to adopt regulations establishing standards for child-resistant packaging and labeling requirements no later than September 1, 2015. Any person who sells or distributes, or offers for sale or distribution, a liquid nicotine container on or after October 1, 2015, in packaging that does not meet the child-resistant packaging and labeling requirements is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $100 for a first violation, $200 for a second violation, and $500 for a third or subsequent violation.

S.B. 1386 Teacher licensure; professional development.

Patron: Vogel

Teacher licensure; professional development. Requires every person seeking initial teacher licensure or renewal of a teaching license to receive professional development on the screening, intervention, accommodation, and use of technology for students with reading disabilities, including dyslexia.

S.B. 1408 Emergency services; routine review, report.

Patron: Deeds

Routine review of emergency services; report. Requires the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to establish benchmarks and standards for emergency services provided by community services boards and behavioral health authorities and to conduct annual reviews of emergency services provided by community services boards and behavioral health authorities to determine the extent to which they meet such benchmarks and standards. The bill requires the Department to report the results of such review to the General Assembly no later than December 1 of each year.

S.B. 1409 Community services boards; DBHDS to enter into agreements with certain health care providers.

Patron: Deeds

Community services boards; emergency services; access to experts. Requires the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to enter into agreements with health care providers experienced in the provision of emergency services for the provision of technical assistance and guidance to employees and designees of community services boards and behavioral health authorities who conduct evaluations for emergency custody and temporary detention and who provide other emergency services.

S.B. 1441 Transfer of firearms at gun shows; voluntary background check; penalties.

Patron: Lucas

Transfer of firearms at gun shows; voluntary background check; penalties. Requires the Department of State Police to be available to perform background checks for non-dealer sales at gun shows if requested by a party involved in a transaction. The promoter of the firearms show shall furnish the Department of State Police sufficient facilities to perform the background checks. In order for the bill to become effective, the U.S. Department of Justice must approve the policies and procedures that the Department of State Police will use to implement the provisions of the bill.

S.B. 1449 Virginia Energy Economic Development Advisory Board; Governor's Energy Fund; report.

Patron: Saslaw

Virginia Energy Economic Development Advisory Board; Governor's Energy Fund; report. Establishes the Governor's Energy Fund (the Fund) to award incentive grants in the form of reduced electricity rates consisting of (i) special rate classes, (ii) temporary rate credits, or (iii) any other methodology that may be authorized by law. The bill also creates the Virginia Energy Economic Development Advisory Board to advise the Governor on the award of energy incentive grants from the Fund.