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2017 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Finance

Co-Chair: Thomas K. Norment, Jr. - Co-Chair: Emmett W. Hanger, Jr.

Clerk: Patty Lung, Wesley Bland
Staff: Lisa Wallmeyerr
Date of Meeting: February 16, 2017
Time and Place: 4:30 PM - Senate Room A
Revised to add 11 Bills Rereferred from Education & Health

H.B. 1400

Patron: Bell, Richard P.

Virginia Virtual School established. Establishes the Board of the Virginia Virtual School (the Board) as a policy agency in the executive branch of state government for the purpose of governing the full-time virtual school programs offered to students enrolled in the Virginia Virtual School (the School). The Secretary of Education is responsible for such agency. The 14-member Board is given operational control of the School and assigned powers and duties. Beginning with the 2019-2020 school year, the bill requires the School to be open to any school-age person in the Commonwealth and to provide an educational program meeting the Standards of Quality for grades kindergarten through 12, with a maximum enrollment of 5,000 students statewide. The bill requires the average state share of Standards of Quality per pupil funding for each enrolled student to be transferred to the School.

H.B. 1467

Patron: Greason

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.

H.B. 1530

Patron: Peace

Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity; certification of small, women-owned, and minority-owned businesses and employment services organizations; appeals. Removes the exemption from the Administrative Process Act (the Act) currently granted to regulations adopted by the Director of the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity to implement certification programs for small, women-owned, and minority-owned businesses and employment services organizations. The bill requires that such regulations provide a right to appeal the denial of an initial certification or the revocation of an existing certification as provided in Article 3 (§ 2.2-4018 et seq.) of the Act.

H.B. 1549

Patron: Farrell

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, 2019, same-day access to mental health screening services. The bill also requires the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to report annually regarding progress in the implementation of this act.

H.B. 1555

Patron: Ware

Agency directors; human resources training and succession planning. Directs the Department of Human Resource Management (the Department) to administer training programs to familiarize agency directors with state human resource policies, such as compensation management, benefits administration, and resources available at the Department. The bill requires (i) the Department to offer training programs at least twice per year, (ii) each agency director to attend a training program with the agency chief human resource officer within six months after the director's appointment and thereafter at least once every four years, (iii) the agency chief human resource officer to provide subsequent training on agency-specific human resource policies, and (iv) each agency director to develop and submit annually to the Department an agency succession plan for key personnel, executive positions, and employees nearing retirement. The bill also requires public institutions of higher education to prepare a succession plan for presentation to the board of visitors with a copy to the Department.

H.B. 1605

Patron: LaRock

Parental Choice Education Savings Accounts established. Permits the parent of a public preschool, elementary, or secondary school student 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.

H.B. 1663

Patron: Greason

Northern Virginia Community College; computer science training and professional development for teachers. Requires Northern Virginia Community College (i) in consultation with the Department of Education, to contract with a § 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to develop, market, and implement high-quality and effective computer science training and professional development activities for public school teachers throughout the Commonwealth for the purpose of improving the computer science literacy of all public school students in the Commonwealth and (ii) to establish an advisory committee for the purpose of advising the college and its nonprofit partner organization on the development, marketing, and implementation of such training and professional development activities.

H.B. 1731

Patron: Ransone

Joint Commission on Administrative Rules; periodic review of exemptions from the Administrative Process Act. Requires the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules, beginning November 1, 2017, on a schedule to be established by the Commission, to conduct an ongoing review of the exemptions authorized by the Administrative Process Act (APA). The bill also requires agencies having APA exemptions, other than the courts, any agency of the Supreme Court, and any agency that by the Constitution of Virginia is expressly granted any of the powers of a court of record, beginning August 1, 2017 to submit a written report to the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules, which report includes the date the exemption was enacted, a summary of the necessity for the exemption, and a summary of any rule or regulation adopted pursuant to the exemption in the immediately preceding two fiscal years. The bill provides that in the event that an agency having an exemption fails to submit the report required, the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules shall recommend to the Governor and the General Assembly that such agency's exemption be discontinued. The bill also requires general notice of the provisions of this requirement to be posted on the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall and published in the Virginia Register of Regulations by the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules to advise agencies of their obligations under the bill.

H.B. 1845

Patron: Cox

Department of Criminal Justice Services; model addiction recovery program; jails. Requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services, in consultation with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, to develop a model addiction recovery program that may be administered by sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, jail officers, administrators, or superintendents in any local or regional jail. The bill provides that such programs shall be based on existing addiction recovery programs being administered by any local or regional jails in the Commonwealth and requires that participation in such program be voluntary and that such program address multiple aspects of the recovery process, including medical and clinical recovery, peer-to-peer support, availability of mental health resources, family dynamics, and aftercare aspects of the recovery process.

H.B. 1974

Patron: O'Quinn

Clean Power Plan; state implementation plan; General Assembly approval. Requires the Department of Environmental Quality to receive approval from the General Assembly for a state implementation plan to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants prior to submitting the plan to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for approval.

H.B. 2148

Patron: Knight

Veterans Services Foundation; powers and duties; appointment of Executive Director; report. Requires the Veterans Services Foundation to provide an annual report on its funding levels and services to the General Assembly. The bill also (i) authorizes the board of trustees of the Foundation to appoint an Executive Director, (ii) clarifies that the Foundation may make direct request for appropriations from the General Assembly, (iii) clarifies that only the unrestricted portion of the Veterans Services Fund may be used for Foundation expenses, and (iv) changes the authority for disbursements from the Fund from the State Treasurer to the Executive Director with the approval of the board of trustees. The bill requires that allocations and expenditures of donated restricted funds be in accordance with cited provisions of the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act relating to the standard of conduct in managing and investing institutional funds.

H.B. 2209

Patron: O'Bannon

Emergency Department Care Coordination Program established. Establishes the Emergency Department Care Coordination Program in the Department of Health to provide a single, statewide technology solution that connects all hospital emergency departments in the Commonwealth to facilitate real-time communication and collaboration between physicians, other health care providers, and other clinical and care management personnel for patients receiving services in hospital emergency departments, for the purpose of improving the quality of patient care services. The bill shall not become effective unless and until the Commonwealth receive federal HITECH funds to implement its provisions.

H.B. 2229

Patron: Villanueva

Electronic Credentials Act; report. Creates standards for the Department of Motor Vehicles in issuing, reviewing, and displaying electronic credentials. The Act creates fees for access to electronic credentials and standards for a verification system that would allow users to verify the authenticity of electronic credentials.

H.B. 2262

Patron: Cox

Online Virginia Network Authority established. Establishes the Online Virginia Network Authority (the Authority) as a political subdivision of the Commonwealth for the purpose of establishing the Online Virginia Network to coordinate the online delivery of courses that facilitate the completion of degrees at George Mason University and Old Dominion University. The bill requires the Authority to be governed by a 17-member board that consists of five members of the House of Delegates appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates, four members of the Senate appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, three nonlegislative citizen members appointed by the Governor, one nonlegislative citizen member appointed by the board of visitors of George Mason University, one nonlegislative citizen member appointed by the board of visitors of Old Dominion University, the President of George Mason University, the President of Old Dominion University, and the Director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. The bill sets forth several duties of the Authority and grants the Authority operational flexibility in the areas of procurement and information technology, provided that the Authority adopts and complies with certain policies.

H.B. 2304

Patron: Orrock

Department of Medical Assistance Services; requirements related to long-term care. Provides that the Department of Medical Assistance Services shall require all individuals who administer preadmission screenings for long-term care services to receive training on and be certified in the use of the Uniform Assessment Instrument; requires the Department to develop a program for the training and certification of preadmission screeners, develop guidelines for a standardized preadmission screening process, and strengthen oversight of the preadmission screening process to ensure that problems are identified and addressed promptly; requires the Department to make a number of changes to contracts for long-term care services provided by managed care organizations through the Medallion program; directs the Department to impose additional requirements related to submission of data and information by managed care organizations participating in the Medallion program; and requires the Department to implement a number of spending and utilization control measures in conjunction with managed care organizations participating in the Medallion program.

H.B. 2342

Patron: Landes

Public schools; regional charter school divisions. Authorizes the Board of Education (Board) to establish regional charter school divisions consisting of at least two but not more than three existing school divisions in regions in which each underlying school division has an enrollment of more than 3,000 students and one or more schools that have accreditation denied status for two out of the past three years. The bill requires such regional charter school divisions to be supervised by a school board that consists of eight members appointed by the Board and one member appointed by the localities of each of the underlying divisions. The bill authorizes the school board, after a review by the Board, to review and approve public charter school applications in the regional charter school divisions and to contract with the applicant. The bill requires the state share of Standards of Quality per pupil funding of the underlying school district in which the student resides transferred to such school.

H.B. 2366

Patron: Albo

Virginia Public Procurement Act; requirements for use of construction management contracts. Restricts the use of construction management procurements by public bodies, to include state public bodies, covered institutions as defined in the bill, and local public bodies, unless (i) the total estimated contract value is $10 million or more, (ii) a written determination is provided stating that competitive sealed bidding is not practicable or fiscally advantageous, (iii) the contract is entered into prior to the schematic phase of design, (iv) prior alternative procurement method experience is not required as a prerequisite for an award, and (v) price is the critical basis for award of the contract. The bill provides that for projects where the total estimated contract value is not expected to exceed $10 million, a public body may use competitive negotiation to procure construction on a construction management basis if the above requirements are met and the project is a complex project as defined in the bill. In addition, public bodies seeking to use construction management for projects where the total estimated contract value is not expected to exceed $10 million must also obtain written approval from the local governing body for local public bodies or from the Director of the Department of General Services for state public bodies and covered institutions. The bill also  requires all such public bodies and covered institutions to (i) post on the central electronic procurement website of the Department of General Services approved projects and approved procurement methods for construction at least 30 days prior to soliciting for design services for such construction projects and (ii) report no later than November 1 of each year to the Director of the Department of General Services information on all completed capital project in excess of $2 million, (a) the project budget, (b) the actual project cost. (c) the expected timeline, (d) the actual completion time, and (e) any post-project issues. The bill provides that the Virginia Public Procurement Act (VPPA) still applies; provided however that in the event of any conflict by the VPPA or other provision of law with the new law on construction management and design-build, the latter shall control.

H.B. 2417

Patron: Landes

Department of Medical Assistance Services; fraud prevention; prepayment analytics. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to establish a program to mitigate, through the use of prepayment analytics, the risk of improper payments to providers of services that are paid through the Department's fee-for-service delivery system who commit fraud, abuse, or errors.

H.B. 2470

Patron: Jones

Drug Control Act; Schedule II and Schedule V. Adds thiafentanil to Schedule II of the Drug Control Act and Brivaracetam to Schedule V of the Drug Control Act.