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2017 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Education and Health

Chairman: Stephen D. Newman

Clerk: Patty Lung, Rhonda Johnson
Staff: Thomas Stevens
Date of Meeting: January 19, 2017
Time and Place: 8:30 a.m. - Senate Room B
Revised to Delete SB 1405

S.B. 877

Patron: Favola

Regulations governing hospitals; facilities performing abortions. Removes language classifying facilities that perform five or more first trimester abortions per month as hospitals for the purpose of complying with regulations establishing minimum standards for hospitals.

S.B. 894

Patron: Favola

Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; reports of critical incidents or deaths. Requires the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (the Commissioner) to provide to the Director of the Commonwealth's designated protection and advocacy system a written report setting forth the known facts of critical incidents or deaths of individuals receiving services through programs operated or licensed by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services within 15 working days of the critical incident or death. Under current law, the Commissioner is required to provide such reports only if the individual who is the subject of the report was receiving services in a state or licensed hospital, training center, psychiatric hospital, or other type of residential or outpatient mental health or developmental services facility.

S.B. 955

Patron: DeSteph

Certain educational institutions; designation of governing boards. Renames as boards of trustees the boards of visitors of certain educational institutions in the Commonwealth, including baccalaureate public institutions of higher education.

S.B. 985

Patron: DeSteph

Higher education; in-state tuition. Prohibits any percentage increase in in-state tuition or instructional fees for undergraduate students at Virginia's public institutions of higher education that exceeds the annual percentage increase, as determined by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, in the Average Consumer Price Index for all items, all urban consumers (CPI-U), as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor, from January 1 through December 31 of the year immediately preceding the affected year.

S.B. 986

Patron: DeSteph

Higher education; in-state tuition. Prohibits any percentage increase in in-state tuition or instructional fees for undergraduate students at Virginia's public institutions of higher education that exceeds the annual percentage increase, as determined by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, in the national average wage index as defined in § 209(k)(1) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 409(k)(1), of the calendar year immediately preceding the affected year.

S.B. 987

Patron: DeSteph

Higher education; in-state tuition. Prohibits any percentage increase in in-state tuition or instructional fees for undergraduate students at Virginia's public institutions of higher education that exceeds the annual percentage increase, as determined by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, of the median household income in the Commonwealth established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, of the calendar year immediately preceding the affected year.

S.B. 1005

Patrons: Hanger, Deeds

Community services boards and behavioral health authorities; services to be provided. Provides that the core of services provided by community services boards and behavioral health authorities shall include, effective July 1, 2018, (i) same-day access to mental health screening services and (ii) outpatient primary care screening and monitoring services for physical health indicators and health risks and follow-up services for individuals identified as being in need of assistance with overcoming barriers to accessing primary health services. The bill provides that the core of services provided by community services boards and behavioral health authorities shall additionally include, effective July 1, 2021, crisis services for individuals with mental health or substance use disorders; outpatient mental health and substance abuse services; psychiatric rehabilitation services; peer support and family support services; mental health services for certain members of the armed forces and veterans; care coordination services; and case management services, including targeted mental health case management services. The bill also requires the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to report annually regarding progress in the implementation of this act.

S.B. 1006

Patrons: Hanger, Deeds

Commitment hearings; sharing of records and information. Provides that records and information related to proceedings, hearings, and orders for involuntary commitment in the possession of the court, including identifiable information, shall be transmitted to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services upon request for the purpose of enabling the Department and its agents to maintain statistical archives and merge the data with other records and information in the Department's statistical archives; conduct research on the characteristics and outcomes of proceedings, hearings, and orders; and otherwise carry out its responsibilities in accordance with the provisions of Title 37.2 (Behavioral Health and Developmental Services). The bill requires the Department to take all necessary steps to protect the security and privacy of the records and information provided pursuant to the provisions of the bill in accordance with the requirements of state and federal law and regulations.

S.B. 1015

Patron: Barker

Public schools; kindergarten instructional time. Increases from 540 hours to 990 hours the minimum instructional hours in a school year for students in kindergarten. The bill directs the Board of Education to promulgate regulations by July 1, 2019, establishing standards for accreditation that include a requirement that the standard school day for students in kindergarten average at least 5.5 instructional hours in order to qualify for full accreditation. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2019.

S.B. 1020

Patron: Barker

Registration of peer recovery specialists and qualified mental health professionals. Authorizes the registration of peer recovery specialists and qualified mental health professionals by the Board of Counseling. The bill defines "qualified mental health professional" as a person who by education and experience is professionally qualified and registered by the Board of Counseling to provide collaborative mental health services for adults or children. The bill requires that a qualified mental health professional provide such services as an employee or independent contractor of a mental health service provider licensed by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. The bill defines "registered peer recovery specialist" as a person who by education and experience is professionally qualified and registered by the Board of Counseling to provide collaborative services to assist individuals in achieving sustained recovery from the effects of addiction or mental illness, or both. The bill requires that a registered peer recovery specialist provide such services as an employee or independent contractor of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, a mental health service provider licensed by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, a practitioner licensed by or holding a permit issued from the Department of Health Professions, or a facility licensed by the Department of Health. The bill adds qualified mental health professionals and registered peer recovery specialists to the list of mental health providers that are required to take actions to protect third parties under certain circumstances and notify clients of their right to report to the Department of Health Professions any unethical, fraudulent, or unprofessional conduct. The bill directs the Board of Counseling and the Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of the bill within 280 days of its enactment. 

S.B. 1024

Patron: Dunnavant

Health care practitioners; reporting disabilities of drivers. Provides that any doctor of medicine, osteopathy, chiropractic, or podiatry, any nurse practitioner, or any physician assistant who reports to the Department of Motor Vehicles the existence, or probable existence, of a mental or physical disability or infirmity of any person licensed to operate a motor vehicle which the reporting individual believes affects such person's ability to operate a motor vehicle safely is not subject to civil liability unless he has acted in bad faith or with malicious intent.

S.B. 1026

Patron: Dunnavant

Two-Year College Transfer Grant Program; Expected Family Contribution. Broadens eligibility for the Two-Year College Transfer Grant Program by including students whose Expected Family Contribution, as calculated by the federal government using the family's financial information reported on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), is no more than $12,000. Currently the program is available only to students whose Expected Family Contribution is no more than $8,000. The bill does not affect additional eligibility requirements for the Two-Year College Transfer Grant Program.

S.B. 1027

Patron: Marsden

Cannabidiol oil and THC-A oil; permitting of pharmaceutical processors to manufacture and provide. Authorizes a pharmaceutical processor, after obtaining a permit from the Board of Pharmacy (the Board) and under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist, to manufacture and provide cannabidiol oil and THC-A oil to be used for the treatment of intractable epilepsy. The bill sets limits on the number of permits that the Board may issue and requires that the Board adopt regulations establishing health, safety, and security requirements for permitted processors. The bill provides that only a licensed practitioner of medicine or osteopathy who is a neurologist or who specializes in the treatment of epilepsy may issue a written certification to a patient for the use of cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil. The bill also requires that a practitioner who issues a written certification for cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil, the patient issued such certification, and, if the patient is a minor or incapacitated, the patient's parent or legal guardian register with the Board. The bill requires further that a pharmaceutical processor shall not provide cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil to a patient or a patient's parent or legal guardian without first verifying that the patient, the patient's parent or legal guardian if the patient is a minor or incapacitated, and the practitioner who issued the written certification have registered with the Board. Finally, the bill provides an affirmative defense for agents and employees of pharmaceutical processors in a prosecution for the manufacture, possession, or distribution of marijuana. This bill contains an emergency clause.

EMERGENCY

S.B. 1028

Patron: Dunnavant

School immunization reports; posting on website. Requires a copy of the report schools are required to provide to local health departments regarding student immunizations to be posted on the individual school's website. If a school does not have a website, then a hard copy of such report shall be made available to parents.

S.B. 1046

Patron: Stanley

Board of Medicine; requirements for licensure. Removes provisions related to licensure of graduates of an institution not approved by an accrediting agency recognized by the Board of Medicine. Under the bill, only graduates of institutions approved by an accrediting agency recognized by the Board of Medicine are eligible for licensure.

S.B. 1064

Patron: Deeds

Mental health awareness training; law-enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical services personnel. Requires the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) to establish and administer a mental health awareness program for training persons in emergency services professions in recognizing potential mental health issues and assisting themselves and each other with mental health issues. The bill requires DBHDS to create and administer a process by which a program not created by DBHDS can be certified as a qualified mental health awareness program. The bill requires law-enforcement officers, emergency medical services personnel, and firefighters other than volunteer firefighters to participate in a mental health awareness program created or certified by DBHDS once every two years.

S.B. 1087

Patron: Sturtevant

Higher education; in-state tuition. Prohibits, without the prior statutory approval of the General Assembly, any percentage increase in in-state tuition or instructional fees for undergraduate students at Virginia's public institutions of higher education that exceeds twice the annual percentage increase, as determined by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, in the Average Consumer Price Index for all items, all urban consumers (CPI-U), as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor, from January 1 through December 31 of the year immediately preceding the affected year.

S.B. 1088

Patron: Sturtevant

Public institutions of higher education; fixed four-year tuition rate. Requires the governing boards of baccalaureate public institutions of higher education to annually establish an in-state tuition rate class cap that identifies the annual amount that the cost of in-state tuition will not exceed for each of the following four years. The bill prohibits the cost of in-state tuition from exceeding the class rate cap for an in-state student in the relevant class.

S.B. 1178

Patron: Chafin

Prescription of buprenorphine without naloxone; limitation. Provides that buprenorphine mono or products containing buprenorphine without naloxone shall be issued only for a patient who is pregnant.

S.B. 1180

Patron: Chafin

Boards of Dentistry and Medicine; regulations for the prescribing of opioids and buprenorphine. Directs the Boards of Dentistry and Medicine to adopt regulations for the prescribing of opioids and products containing buprenorphine. The bill contains an emergency clause.

EMERGENCY

S.B. 1221

Patron: Barker

Emergency custody or involuntary admission process; alternative transportation model. Directs the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and the Director of Criminal Justice Services, in conjunction with the relevant stakeholders, to develop a comprehensive model for the use of alternative transportation providers to provide safe and efficient transportation of individuals involved in the emergency custody or involuntary admission process as an alternative to transportation by law enforcement. The bill requires that the model be completed by October 1, 2017, and reported to the Joint Subcommittee to Study Mental Health Services in the Commonwealth in the 21st Century, the House Committee for Courts of Justice, and the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice.

S.B. 1222

Patron: Barker

Acute psychiatric patient registry. Directs the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to develop and administer a web-based acute psychiatric patient registry to collect, aggregate, and display de-identified information about individuals who meet the criteria for temporary detention to facilitate the timely identification of a facility for temporary detention and treatment of the individual. The bill requires each community services board and behavioral health authority in the Commonwealth to update information contained in the acute psychiatric patient registry to include information about a person found to meet the criteria for temporary detention and requires private providers to identify patients for whom they are able to provide temporary detention and treatment and to contact the state facility, community services board, or behavioral health agency having custody of the individual to facilitate the transfer of the patient to the provider for temporary detention and treatment.

S.B. 1230

Patron: Dunnavant

Opiate prescriptions; electronic prescriptions. Requires a prescription for any controlled substance containing an opiate to be issued as an electronic prescription and prohibits a pharmacist from dispensing a controlled substance that contains an opiate unless the prescription is issued as an electronic prescription, beginning July 1, 2020. The bill defines electronic prescription as a written prescription that is generated on an electronic application in accordance with federal regulations and is transmitted to a pharmacy as an electronic data file. The bill requires the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to convene a work group to review actions necessary for the implementation of the bill's provisions and report on the work group's progress to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by November 1, 2017 and a final report to such Chairmen by November 1, 2018.

S.B. 1242

Patron: Dunnavant

Qualified advance directive facilitators. Establishes criteria for training programs for qualified advance directive facilitators and provides that a qualified advance directive facilitator may distribute written advance directives in a form meeting the requirements of § 54.1-2984 and may provide ministerial assistance to a person completing and executing an advance directive, including reading the form of an advance directive meeting the requirements of § 54.1-2984 to a person, discussing the person's preferences with regard to items included in the form, recording the person's answers on the form, helping the person sign the form, and obtaining any other necessary signatures on the form.

S.B. 1243

Patron: Dunnavant

Parental Choice Education Savings Accounts established. Permits the parent of a public preschool, elementary, or secondary school student who meets certain criteria to apply to the school division in which the student resides for a one-year, renewable Parental Choice Education Savings Account that consists of an amount that is equivalent to a certain percentage of all applicable annual Standards of Quality per pupil state funds appropriated for public school purposes and apportioned to the resident school division in which the student resides, including the per pupil share of state sales tax funding in basic aid and any state per pupil share of special education funding to which the student is eligible. The bill permits the parent to use the moneys in such account for certain education-related expenses of the student, including tuition, deposits, fees, and required textbooks at a private, sectarian or nonsectarian elementary or secondary school or preschool that is located in the Commonwealth and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin. The bill also contains provisions relating to auditing, rescinding, and reviewing expenses made from such accounts.

S.B. 1247

Patron: Stuart

Regulation of private wells. Adds Stafford County to the list of counties and cities authorized to establish standards for the construction and abandonment of private wells that are more stringent than those standards adopted by the Board of Health.

S.B. 1323

Patron: Carrico

Board of Health to adopt regulations to include neonatal abstinence syndrome on the list of reportable diseases. Requires the Board of Health to adopt regulations to include neonatal abstinence syndrome on the list of diseases that shall be required to be reported.

S.B. 1330

Patron: Carrico

Critical incident stress management team and critical stress management team privileged communications. Renames critical incident stress management teams "peer support teams" to more accurately reflect the scope of such teams and expands the privileged communications of a peer support team member to all communications made to a member of a peer support team unless such communication is specifically excluded under the privilege. Under current law, the privilege attaches only to communications concerning a critical incident. The bill also specifies that a peer support team shall be headed by a Virginia-licensed clinical psychologist, Virginia-licensed psychiatrist, Virginia-licensed clinical social worker, or Virginia-licensed professional counselor with at least five years of experience as a mental health consultant who works directly with emergency medical services personnel or public safety personnel to meet the accreditation standards.

S.B. 1379

Patron: Petersen

Public institutions of higher education; tuition. Requires the governing board of a public institution of higher education to implement a plan to reduce in-state tuition over the next five years if the total of any budget surpluses or cash reserves is greater than 150 percent of its cost of education for the total enrollment in actual attendance during the fiscal year.

S.B. 1403

Patron: Dunnavant

Board of Pharmacy to deschedule or reschedule cannabidiol upon publication of an interim final rule. Directs the Board of Pharmacy to initiate action to deschedule or reschedule cannabidiol or any product containing cannabidiol that has been approved as a prescription medication by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 360bb and 21 U.S.C. § 355 within 90 days of publication in the Federal Register of an interim final rule.