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2019 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Education and Health

Chairman: Stephen D. Newman

Clerk: Patty Lung
Staff: Thomas Stevens
Date of Meeting: January 17, 2019
Time and Place: 8:00 a.m. - Senate Room A, Pocahontas Bldg.

S.B. 1021

Patron: Black

Driver education programs; home instruction. Requires any school board that offers a program of driver education in the safe operation of motor vehicles to make the program available to any student who receives home instruction and resides in the local school division. The bill prohibits the school board from charging a fee or assessing a surcharge for such students that exceeds the fee or surcharge required of public school students.

S.B. 1054

Patron: Locke

Ultrasound prior to abortion. Removes the requirement that a woman undergo a fetal transabdominal ultrasound prior to an abortion.

S.B. 1055

Patron: Marsden

In-state tuition; domicile; individuals granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Declares that, absent congressional intent to the contrary, any individual currently granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has the capacity to intend to remain in the Commonwealth indefinitely and is therefore eligible to establish domicile and receive in-state tuition charges at any public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth.

S.B. 1056

Patron: Marsden

Public schools; tobacco products and nicotine vapor products. Requires each school board to (i) develop and implement a policy to prohibit the use of tobacco products and nicotine vapor products on a school bus, on school property, or at a school-sponsored activity and (ii) include in its code of student conduct a prohibition against possessing tobacco products or nicotine vapor products on a school bus, on school property, or at a school-sponsored activity.

S.B. 1095

Patron: Howell


Early childhood care and education; licensing. Requires the Board of Education to establish a statewide unified public-private system for early childhood care and education in the Commonwealth to be administered by the Board of Education, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Department of Education. The bill transfers the authority to license and regulate child day programs and other early child care agencies from the Board of Social Services and Department of Social Services to the Board of Education and the Department of Education. The bill maintains current licensure, background check, and other requirements of such programs. The bill establishes the Early Childhood Innovation Fund for the purpose of facilitating regional public-private collaboration and to field test innovative strategies and evidence-based practices that support a robust system of comprehensive early childhood care and education services to deliver measurable school readiness outcomes and meet regional workforce support needs. Such provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2021.

The bill requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish a plan for implementing the statewide unified early childhood care and education system and requires the Department of Social Services and the Department of Education to enter into a cooperative agreement to coordinate the transition. The bill provides that, beginning July 1, 2021, the Department of Education will be the lead agency for the administration of the Child Care and Development Block Grant and the Head Start Collaboration Office. Finally, the bill requires the Board of Education and the Board of Social Services to promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of the bill to become effective on July 1, 2021.

S.B. 1106

Patron: Peake

Licensure of physical therapists and physical therapist assistants; Physical Therapy Licensure Compact. Authorizes Virginia to become a signatory to the Physical Therapy Licensure Compact. The Compact permits eligible licensed physical therapists and physical therapist assistants to practice in Compact member states, provided they are licensed in at least one member state. In addition, the bill requires each applicant for licensure in the Commonwealth as a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant to submit fingerprints and provide personal descriptive information in order for the Board to receive a state and federal criminal history record report for each applicant. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2020, and directs the Board of Physical Therapy to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill.

S.B. 1141

Patron: Favola

Family life education; human trafficking. Requires the Board of Education, in its curriculum guidelines for family life education, to include instruction on the prevention of human trafficking. Additionally, the bill requires any high school family life education program offered in a local school division to incorporate age-appropriate elements of effective and evidence-based programs on the prevention of human trafficking.

S.B. 1142

Patron: Favola

State School Health Advisory Committee. Requires the Board of Education to establish the State School Health Advisory Committee, consisting of no more than 20 nonlegislative citizen members, to advise the Board, the Governor, and the General Assembly on (i) the role of employees in public elementary or secondary schools in providing health care services at such schools and (ii) the need for any training associated with delivery of health care services.

S.B. 1148

Patron: Marsden

Eligibility for in-state tuition; certain individuals who have applied for permanent residency. Declares eligible for in-state tuition any individual who (i) graduated from a public or private high school in the Commonwealth or passed a high school equivalency examination approved by the Board of Education; (ii) registers as an entering student or is enrolled in a public institution of higher education; (iii) has submitted evidence that he or, in the case of a dependent student, at least one parent, guardian, or person standing in loco parentis has filed, unless exempted by state law, Virginia income tax returns for at least one year prior to the date of registration or enrollment; and (iv) provides an affidavit to the public institution of higher education in which he has registered as an entering student or is enrolled stating that he has filed an application to become a permanent resident of the United States and is actively pursuing such permanent residency or will do so as soon as he becomes eligible for such permanent residency.

S.B. 1159

Patron: Black

Family life education; female genital mutilation. Requires any family life education curriculum offered in any elementary school, middle school, or high school to incorporate age-appropriate elements of effective and evidence-based programs on the harmful physical and emotional effects of female genital mutilation, associated criminal penalties, and the rights of the victim including any civil action.

S.B. 1167

Patron: Chafin

Medicaid recipients; treatment involving opioids or opioid replacements; payment. Prohibits health care providers licensed by the Board of Medicine from requesting or requiring a patient who is a recipient of medical assistance services pursuant to the state plan for medical assistance to whom health care services involving (i) the prescription of an opioid for the management of pain or (ii) the prescription of buprenorphine-containing products, methadone, or other opioid replacements approved for the treatment of opioid addiction by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for medication-assisted treatment of opioid addiction are provided to pay costs associated with the provision of such service out-of-pocket, unless such provider has received (a) a rejection of prior authorization, (b) a rejection of a submitted claim, or (c) a written denial of reimbursement for such service from the Department of Medical Assistance Services.

S.B. 1173

Patron: McPike

Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program; eligibility. Expands the definition of "Qualified survivors and dependents" eligible for benefits of the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program to the spouse or child of all veterans who served in the Armed Forces of the United States, Reserves of the Armed Forces of the United States, or the Virginia National Guard with at least a 90 percent permanent, service-related disability. Under current law, the spouse or child would be eligible for benefits only if the veteran's disability was incurred during military operations against terrorism, on a peacekeeping mission, as a result of a terrorist act, or in any armed conflict.

S.B. 1209

Patron: Peake

Patient care team podiatrist definition; physician assistant definition and supervision requirements. Establishes the definition of "patient care team podiatrist" and amends the definition of "physician assistant." The bill modifies the supervision requirements for physician assistants by establishing a patient care team model.

S.B. 1217

Patron: Newman

Nursing homes; truth in advertising for inspections, surveys, and investigations. Requires that if inspection, survey, or investigation data is used in an advertisement regarding nursing homes, the advertisement also include the following information: (i) the date on which the survey, inspection, or investigation was conducted; (ii) a statement that the facility is required to submit a plan of correction in response to any and all statements of deficiencies; (iii) if a finding or deficiency cited in a statement of deficiencies has been corrected, a statement that the finding or deficiency has been corrected and the date on which the finding or deficiency was corrected; and (iv) a statement that the advertisement publication is not authorized or endorsed by the Virginia Department of Health, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Office of the Inspector General, or any other governmental agency. The bill provides that failure to include this required information constitutes a violation of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. The bill also requires that such information be in the same font, color, and size as the other text in the advertisement.

S.B. 1236

Patron: DeSteph

Public schools; equal access; education employee associations and professional educator liability insurance providers. Requires school boards to adopt and implement policies to ensure employees have equal access to education employee associations and professional educator liability insurance providers.

S.B. 1269

Patron: Cosgrove

Length of school term; waiver for evacuation. Requires the Board of Education to waive the requirement that school divisions provide additional teaching days or teaching hours to compensate for school closings resulting from an evacuation directed and compelled by the Governor. The bill provides that there shall be no proportionate reduction in the amount paid by the Commonwealth from the Basic School Aid Fund or the amount paid by a local governing body.

S.B. 1275

Patron: Black

Junior Reserve Officer Training programs; students receiving home instruction. Requires any school board that offers a Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps program to make the program available to any student who receives home instruction and resides in the local school division. The bill prohibits any such school board from requiring any such student to enroll on a full or part-time basis or to meet other eligibility requirements for such a program beyond those required of public school students. The bill provides that such a student may demonstrate compliance with any academic achievement requirements for participation in such a program in any manner acceptable as evidence of progress under the home instruction provisions of the Code.

S.B. 1278

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, 2021, 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, 2021.

S.B. 1283

Patron: Barker

State Medical Facilities Plan; revisions. Requires the State Medical Facilities Plan task force to review the State Medical Facilities Plan and update or validate existing criteria in the State Medical Facilities Plan at least once every two years. Currently, the task force is required to review and update or validate the State Medical Facilities Plan at least once every four years. The bill also exempts amendments to the State Medical Facilities Plan from the Administrative Procedure Act if the Board of Health (i) provides a Notice of Intended Regulatory Action in accordance with the requirements of § 2.2-4007.01, (ii) provides notice and receives comment as provided in § 2.2-4007.03, and (iii) conducts at least one public hearing on the proposed amendments.

S.B. 1289

Patron: Edwards

Board of Pharmacy: seizure of controlled substances and prescription devices. Establishes a process by which the Board of Pharmacy, an authorized agent of the Board, or law enforcement can seize and place under seal controlled substances and prescription devices that are owned or possessed by a person or entity when the registration, license, permit, or certificate authorizing such ownership or possession is suspended or revoked. The bill also provides procedures and requirements for the transfer and disposal of sealed controlled substances and prescription devices if subject to forfeiture. The bill provides that the period in which the Director of the Department of Health Professions, his authorized agent, or a law-enforcement officer may properly dispose of the seized drugs and devices in the event the owner has not claimed and provided for the proper disposition of the property is 60 days from notice of seizure. Under current law, such period is six months from notice of seizure.

S.B. 1295

Patron: Spruill

Public schools; tobacco products and nicotine vapor products. Requires each school board to (i) develop and implement a policy to prohibit the use and distribution of tobacco products and nicotine vapor products on a school bus, on school property, or at an on-site or off-site school-sponsored activity and (ii) include in its code of student conduct a prohibition against possessing tobacco products or nicotine vapor products on a school bus, on school property, or at an on-site or off-site school-sponsored activity. Current law only places these requirements on each school board with regard to electronic cigarettes. The bill requires such policy to include adequate provisions for enforcement among students, employees, and visitors, including the enumeration of possible sanctions or disciplinary action consistent with state or federal law, and referrals to resources to help staff and students overcome tobacco addiction. The bill provides such policies may include procedures for effectively communicating the policy to students, their parents and families, school personnel, visitors on school premises, and local residents, groups, businesses, and other organizations served by the school.

S.B. 1313

Patron: Dunnavant


Early childhood care and education; licensing. Requires the Board of Education to establish a statewide unified public-private system for early childhood care and education in the Commonwealth to be administered by the Board of Education, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Department of Education. The bill transfers the authority to license and regulate child day programs and other early child care agencies from the Board of Social Services and Department of Social Services to the Board of Education and the Department of Education. The bill maintains current licensure, background check, and other requirements of such programs. The bill establishes the Early Childhood Innovation Fund for the purpose of facilitating regional public-private collaboration and to field test innovative strategies and evidence-based practices that support a robust system of comprehensive early childhood care and education services to deliver measurable school readiness outcomes and meet regional workforce support needs. Such provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2021.

The bill requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish a plan for implementing the statewide unified early childhood care and education system and requires the Department of Social Services and the Department of Education to enter into a cooperative agreement to coordinate the transition. The bill provides that, beginning July 1, 2021, the Department of Education will be the lead agency for the administration of the Child Care and Development Block Grant and the Head Start Collaboration Office. Finally, the bill requires the Board of Education and the Board of Social Services to promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of the bill to become effective on July 1, 2021.

S.B. 1331

Patron: Stanley

Modernization of public school buildings and facilities. Establishes standards for the design, construction, maintenance, and operation of public school buildings and facilities and allows for a local school division to enter into a lease agreement with a private entity to meet such standards. The bill would allow for net energy metering in public school buildings and facilities. The bill would also authorize the Virginia Resources Authority to provide partial funding for school modernization projects, effective January 1, 2020.

S.B. 1366

Patron: Cosgrove

Commissioner of Health; consolidation of inspections. Requires the Commissioner of Health to identify any inspection of a medical care facility required by Title 32.1 (Health), Board of Health regulations, the Commissioner of Health, the Department of Health, or any other state regulatory boards or agencies and, in collaboration with any such inspecting entity, work to consolidate, as much as practicable, all such inspections in order to minimize the interruption of the provision of care in such medical care facilities.

S.B. 1397

Patron: Peake

Teacher licensure; criteria; assessments. Requires the Board of Education to issue a license to an individual seeking initial licensure who has not completed the professional assessments prescribed by the Board, if such individual (i) holds a provisional license that will expire within three months, (ii) is employed by a school board, (iii) is recommended for licensure by the division superintendent, (iv) has attempted, unsuccessfully, to obtain a qualifying score on the professional assessments prescribed by the Board, (v) has received an evaluation rating of proficient or above on the performance standards for each year of the provisional license and such evaluation was conducted in a manner consistent with the Guidelines for Uniform Performance Standards and Evaluation Criteria for Teachers, Principals, and Superintendents, and (vi) meets all other requirements for initial licensure. The bill removes the requirement that the Board of Education prescribe an assessment of basic skills for individuals seeking entry into an approved education preparation program and establish a minimum passing score for such assessment.

S.B. 1405

Patron: Dance

Pharmacist; counseling for new prescriptions; disposal of medicine. Allows a pharmacist to include information regarding the proper disposal of medicine when giving counsel to a person who presents a new prescription for filling.

S.B. 1412

Patron: Mason

Virginia National Guard; education grants. Increases from two to three the minimum number of years of remaining obligation that members of the Virginia National Guard are required to have to be eligible for the Virginia National Guard education grant. The bill provides that the grant may be used for vocational and nondegree credit courses and programs and that the cost of fees and textbooks will be included in the calculation of the amount of such grants.

S.B. 1433

Patron: McClellan

Department of Education; teacher employment data. Requires the Department of Education to aggregate and report to each education preparation program certain teacher employment data, as available, regarding such program's graduates.

S.B. 1439

Patron: McClellan

Death certificates; medical certification; electronic filing. Requires the completed medical certification portion of a death certificate to be filed electronically with the State Registrar of Vital Records through the Electronic Death Registration System and provides that failure to file a medical certification of death electronically through the Electronic Death Registration System shall constitute grounds for disciplinary action by the Board of Medicine. The bill includes a delayed effective date of January 1, 2020, and a phased-in requirement for registration with the Electronic Death Registration System and electronic filing of medical certifications of death for various categories of health care providers. The bill directs the Department of Health to work with stakeholders to educate and encourage physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners to timely register with and utilize the Electronic Death Registration System.

S.B. 1440

Patron: McClellan

Health Instruction; mental health. Directs the Board of Education to review and update the health Standards of Learning for students in all grades to include mental health. Legislation passed in 2018 required such review and update for students in grades nine and 10.

S.B. 1451

Patron: McClellan

Abortion; eliminate certain requirements. Eliminates the requirement that an abortion in the second trimester of pregnancy and prior to the third trimester be performed in a hospital. The bill eliminates all the procedures and processes, including the performance of an ultrasound, required to effect a woman's informed written consent to the performance of an abortion; however, the bill does not change the requirement that a woman's informed written consent be first obtained. The bill eliminates the requirement that two other physicians certify that a third trimester abortion is necessary to prevent the woman's death or impairment of her mental or physical health, as well as the need to find that any such impairment to the woman's health would be substantial and irremediable. The bill also 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. 1488

Patron: Hanger

Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; treatment of medically complex individuals experiencing mental health crisis; report. Directs the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to study and develop recommendations for addressing the treatment needs of individuals with complex medical needs who are experiencing a mental health crisis and require mental health treatment. The Department shall report its findings and conclusions to the Joint Subcommittee Studying Mental Health Services in the Commonwealth in the 21st Century by December 1, 2019.

S.B. 1493

Patron: Cosgrove

Death certificates; medical certification; electronic filing. Requires the completed medical certification portion of a death certificate to be filed electronically with the State Registrar of Vital Records through the Electronic Death Registration System and provides that failure to file a medical certification of death electronically through the Electronic Death Registration System shall constitute grounds for disciplinary action by the Board of Medicine. The bill includes a delayed effective date of January 1, 2020, and a phased-in requirement for registration with the Electronic Death Registration System and electronic filing of medical certifications of death for various categories of health care providers. The bill directs the Department of Health to work with stakeholders to educate and encourage physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners to timely register with and utilize the Electronic Death Registration System.

S.B. 1495

Patron: Chafin

Virginia Rural Information Technology Apprenticeship Grant Fund and Program. Establishes the Virginia Rural Information Technology Apprenticeship Grant Fund and Program, to be administered by the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center, for the purpose of awarding grants to small, rural information technology businesses in certain localities in the Southwest and Southside regions of Virginia to establish 18-month apprenticeship programs for full-time employees that combine mentorship and on-the-job training to enhance the experience and skills of such employees.

S.B. 1506

Patron: Carrico

Radford University; authority to establish Roanoke Division. Authorizes the Radford University Board of Visitors (the board) to establish the Radford University-Roanoke Division (the Division) through the acquisition of Jefferson College of Health Sciences, a nonprofit private institution wholly owned and operated by Carilion Clinic. The bill authorizes the board, upon establishment of the Division, to (i) exercise the same powers with respect to the operation of the Division as are vested in theboard regarding the University and (ii) offer at the Division all programs of instruction offered by Jefferson College of Health Sciences at the time of acquisition, including associate-degree programs. The bill permits Radford University to award merit-based and need-based institutional aid to students enrolled at the Division in a manner that is consistent with practices at the former Jefferson College of Health Sciences.

S.B. 1511

Patron: Carrico

Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center. Requires the board of trustees of the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center to seek opportunities to collaborate with local comprehensive community colleges to meet specialized noncredit workforce training needs identified by industry. The bill provides that if the local comprehensive community college is unable to meet such needs, then the board of trustees may seek to collaborate with other education providers or may provide Center-delivered specialized noncredit workforce training independent of local comprehensive community colleges.

S.B. 1518

Patron: Carrico

Non-opioid pharmacological therapy and non-pharmacological therapy. Requires the Board of Dentistry and the Board of Medicine to include in regulations for prescribing opioids for the treatment of chronic pain the development of a treatment plan for the patient, which shall include a discussion with the patient regarding the benefits and risks of opioid therapy and the availability of non-opioid pharmacological therapy and non-pharmacological therapy. The bill requires health insurers, health maintenance organizations, and corporations providing health care coverage subscription contracts to provide coverage for non-opioid analgesic drugs prescribed to covered individuals or a non-pharmacological therapy recommended by a prescriber as an alternative to a prescription drug to covered individuals for chronic pain. This requirement applies to policies, contracts, and plans delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed on or after January 1, 2020.

S.B. 1519

Patron: Carrico

University of Virginia's College at Wise; reduced rate tuition. Permits the board of visitors of the University of Virginia to charge reduced rate tuition to any student enrolled at the University of Virginia's College at Wise who resides in the Appalachian Region as defined in relevant federal law, is domiciled in the Appalachian Region, and is entitled to in-state tuition charges at a public institution of higher education in the Appalachian Region. The bill contains an emergency clause.

EMERGENCY

S.B. 1544

Patron: Surovell

Assisted conception; parentage presumption. Makes the relevant law regarding children born as a result of assisted conception applicable to both same-sex and opposite-sex married couples. The bill also provides that a person is presumed to be the parent of a child if such person is married to the mother at the time of the child's birth or was married to the mother within 300 days of the child's birth.

S.B. 1586

Patron: Suetterlein

Superintendent of Public Instruction; consolidation of surveys. Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to identify any survey, questionnaire, inquiry, or other communication that requires a response from a school board or division superintendent and to, in collaboration with any identified requesting entity, work to consolidate, as much as practicable, all such surveys, questionnaires, inquiries, and other communications in order to reduce the administrative burden of such response.

S.B. 1587

Patron: Suetterlein

Public schools; average daily membership; early graduation. Provides that a student who graduates from a public high school in less than four school years will be counted in the average daily membership in the relevant school division until the graduation of his class cohort or he is no longer of school-age, whichever is earlier. The provisions of the bill do not apply to any student who completes a high school equivalency examination.

S.B. 1593

Patron: Dunnavant

State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; financial aid award notification. Requires any comprehensive financial aid award notification provided to a student by a public institution of higher education or private institution of higher education to meet the requirements and best practices established by the Council in its Financial Award Letters Policies and Guidance.

S.B. 1595

Patron: Dunnavant

Family life education; special education. Requires the Board of Education to adapt its family life education Standards of Learning and curriculum guidelines, as necessary, to meet the needs of students in special education. The bill also requires a local school board offering a family life education curriculum to ensure that students in special education receive appropriate instruction consistent with any such adaptations.

S.B. 1608

Patron: Dunnavant

Virginia Fusion Intelligence Center; school safety mobile application. Requires the Virginia Fusion Intelligence Center (the Center) to develop or obtain a school safety mobile application to (i) facilitate the provision of real-time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week crisis intervention services by licensed clinicians, including support or crisis counseling, suicide prevention, and referral services to students and youth in the Commonwealth through calls, texts, and online chats and (ii) provide to students and youth in the Commonwealth a platform that is capable of receiving text, audio, images, or video to furnish information concerning a suspected, anticipated, or completed criminal violation. The Center shall coordinate with the Department of Medical Assistance Services to contract with a third-party to provide such crisis intervention services.

S.B. 1617

Patron: Ruff

Tech Talent Investment Program. Creates a grant program to assist qualified public institutions of higher education, defined in the bill, in reaching, by 2039, a goal of increasing, in the aggregate, the number of bachelor's and master's degrees awarded in computer science, computer engineering, and closely related fields by at least 25,000 degrees. To be eligible for an annual grant, a qualified institution is required to enter into a memorandum of understanding setting forth specific criteria for eligible degrees, eligible expenses, and degree production goals. The bill requires qualified institutions that are grant recipients to report annually on progress towards meeting such goals and that grants issued pursuant to the program are subject to appropriation.

S.B. 1628

Patron: Dunnavant

Public institutions of higher education; innovation. Establishes the Innovative Internship Fund and Innovative Internship Pilot Program, to be administered by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, for the purpose of awarding grants on a competitive basis to public institutions of higher education that partner with at least one private sector entity that agrees to provide matching funds to facilitate innovative internship programs for students enrolled at the institution that accomplish one or more enumerated goals related to the workforce. The bill also permits any public institution of higher education to propose in conjunction with the six-year plan process, and the General Assembly to adopt by reference in the general appropriation act, an institutional partnership performance agreement (agreement) that advances the objectives of the Virginia Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2011 by aligning the strategies, activities, and investments of the institution, the Commonwealth, and any identified partners concerning (i) college access, affordability, cost predictability, and employment pathways for undergraduate Virginia students and (ii) strategic talent development and other high-priority economic initiatives of the Commonwealth. The bill contains provisions relating to mandatory and permissive contents of, the approval process for, and the legal effect of any such agreement.

S.B. 1637

Patron: Boysko

Virginia Human Rights Act; establishment of right to reproductive choice.

S.B. 1640

Patron: Boysko

Eligibility for in-state tuition; certain individuals who have applied for permanent residency.

S.B. 1653

Patron: Stanley

Prescription Monitoring Program; veterinarians. Requires veterinarians who dispense controlled substances for a course of treatment to last 14 days or less to report certain information about the animal and the owner of the animal to the Prescription Monitoring Program. Under current law, such report is required for dispensing of controlled substances for a course of treatment to last seven days or less.

S.B. 1665

Patron: Stuart

Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program; eligibility. Expands the definition of "Qualified survivors and dependents" eligible for benefits of the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program to the spouse or child of all veterans who served in the Armed Forces of the United States, Reserves of the Armed Forces of the United States, or the Virginia National Guard with at least a 90 percent permanent, service-related disability. Under current law, the spouse or child would be eligible for benefits only if the veteran's disability was incurred during military operations against terrorism, on a peacekeeping mission, as a result of a terrorist act, or in any armed conflict.