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2023 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor

Chair: Richard L. Saslaw

Clerk: Hobie Lehman, Hannah Dockery
Staff: Thomas Stevens, Marvi Ali
Date of Meeting: January 16, 2023
Time and Place: 15 mins after adjourn / Senate Room A (Room Correction)
Updated to Correct Room

S.B. 828

Patron: Spruill

Long-term care insurance; premium rate increases. Prohibits the State Corporation Commission from approving any long-term care insurance annual premium rate increase or premium rate schedule increase that exceeds six percent of the current rate or current rate schedule.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 38.2-5206 of the Code of Virginia, relating to long-term care insurance; premium rate increases.

23103029D

S.B. 840

Patron: Bell

Department of Labor and Industry; Safety and Health Codes Board; Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Program; use of cranes and derricks in construction; report. Requires the Safety and Health Codes Board (the Board) of the Department of Labor and Industry (the Department) to adopt regulations to the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Program (VOSH), regarding cranes and derricks in construction, to allow an active load stabilization mechanism or passive load stabilization mechanism, defined in the bill, to be used if necessary to prevent hazardous rotation of a load as determined by the project manager or safety engineer. The bill requires the Department to report the final regulations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology by November 1, 2023.

A BILL to direct the Safety and Health Codes Board of the Department of Labor and Industry to promulgate regulations to update the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Program. Report.

23102913D

S.B. 904

Patron: DeSteph

Workers' compensation; post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, or depressive disorder; law-enforcement officers, public safety telecommunicators, and firefighters. Provides that an anxiety disorder or depressive disorder, as both are defined in the bill, incurred by a law-enforcement officer, public safety telecommunicator, or firefighter is compensable under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act on the same basis as post-traumatic stress disorder. The bill adds correctional officers to the definition of law-enforcement officers for whom the workers' compensation presumption for post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, or depressive disorder applies. The bill provides that a mental health professional must diagnose the covered individual as suffering from anxiety disorder or depressive disorder as a result of a qualifying event, defined in the bill as an incident or exposure occurring in the line of duty on or after July 1, 2023, and includes other conditions for compensability. The bill requires each employer of law-enforcement officers and public safety telecommunicators to provide resilience and self-care technique training beginning July 1, 2023. The bill also adds mental health professionals to certain provisions that currently apply to physicians and surgeons.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 65.2-101, 65.2-107, 65.2-603, 65.2-605, 65.2-606, and 65.2-607 of the Code of Virginia, relating to workers' compensation; post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, or depressive disorder; law-enforcement officers, public safety telecommunicators, and firefighters.

23101042D

S.B. 906

Patron: Saslaw

Workers' compensation; presumption of compensability for certain cancers. Expands the workers' compensation presumption of compensability for certain cancers causing the death or disability of certain employees who have completed five years of service in their position to include melanoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and bladder and thyroid cancer. The presumption for these cancers does not apply for any individual diagnosed with such a condition before July 1, 2023.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 65.2-402 of the Code of Virginia, relating to workers' compensation; presumption of compensability for certain cancers.

23100602D

S.B. 927

Patron: Favola

Ethics and fairness in carrier business practices; failure to comply. Provides that any provider or person that submits a complaint to the State Corporation Commission alleging a violation of carrier or provider business practices may request a determination from the Commission of whether a carrier has failed to implement minimum fair business standards as required by the Code. Under the bill, the Commission may require a carrier to make an interim payment to a complainant for the claims in controversy. If the Commission determines that a carrier has failed to comply with the minimum fair business standards, the carrier must submit a plan of corrective action to the Commission and complainant within 30 days of the Commission's decision. The bill also permits any provider for which the Commission determines that a carrier has failed to implement minimum fair business standards to file an action to recover actual damages and obtain other injunctive relief.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 38.2-3407.15 of the Code of Virginia, relating to ethics and fairness in carrier business practices; failure to comply.

23102139D

S.B. 957

Patron: Petersen


Prescription Drug Affordability Board and Fund established; drug cost affordability review. Establishes the Prescription Drug Affordability Board for the purpose of protecting the citizens of the Commonwealth and other stakeholders within the health care system from the high costs of prescription drug products.

The bill directs the Governor to appoint the members and alternate members of the Board and requires the Board to meet in open session at least four times annually, with certain exceptions and requirements enumerated in the bill. Members of the Board are required to disclose any conflicts of interest, as described in the bill. The bill also creates a stakeholder council for the purpose of assisting the Board in making decisions related to drug cost affordability. The bill tasks the Board with identifying prescription, generic, and other drugs, as defined in the bill, that are offered for sale in the Commonwealth and, at the Board's discretion, conducting an affordability review of any prescription drug product. The bill lists factors for the Board to consider that indicate an affordability challenge for the health care system in the Commonwealth or high out-of-pocket costs for patients. The bill also provides that any person aggrieved by a decision of the Board may request an appeal of the Board's decision and that the Attorney General shall have authority to enforce the provisions of the bill.

The bill also creates the Prescription Drug Affordability Fund to be used for funding the operations of the Board and reimbursing state agencies for implementing the provisions of the bill. The bill requires the Board to report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly twice annually, beginning on July 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024.

Provisions of the bill shall apply to state-sponsored and state-regulated health plans and health programs and obligate such policies to limit drug payment amounts and reimbursements to an upper payment limit amount set by the Board, if applicable, following an affordability review. The bill specifies that Medicare Part D plans shall not be bound by such decisions of the Board.

Finally, the bill contains a severability clause and has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2024.

 

A BILL to amend and reenact § 54.1-3442.02 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Title 32.1 a chapter numbered 7.3, consisting of sections numbered 32.1-276.12 through 32.1-276.21, relating to Prescription Drug Affordability Board and Fund established; drug cost affordability review.

23100215D

S.B. 974

Patron: Peake

Financial institutions; consumer finance companies; authority of Attorney General to issue civil investigative demand. Authorizes the Attorney General, whenever he has reasonable cause to believe that any person has violated any provision relating to consumer finance companies, to issue a civil investigative demand.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 6.2-1537 of the Code of Virginia, relating to financial institutions; consumer finance companies; authority of Attorney General to issue civil investigative demand.

23101762D

S.B. 986

Patron: Peake

Corporations; filing and meeting requirements. Eliminates the requirement that a document filed with the State Corporation Commission pursuant to the Virginia Stock Corporation Act include the terms, including the preferences, rights, and limitations, of each class or series of shares. The bill changes the timeframe during which a corporation must make available for inspection the shareholders list prepared for a shareholders' meeting from two business days after notice of such shareholders' meeting through such shareholders' meeting to five business days after notice of such shareholders' meeting through the close of business on the last business day before such shareholders' meeting. Finally, the bill eliminates the requirement that a corporation make available for inspection at either an in-person shareholders' meeting or a remote shareholders' meeting the list of shareholders entitled to vote at such shareholders' meeting.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 13.1-604, 13.1-614, and 13.1-661 of the Code of Virginia, relating to corporations; filing and meeting requirements.

23103034D

S.B. 1000

Patron: Favola

Insurance agents; definitions; private family leave insurance. Expands the definitions of "health agent" and "property and casualty insurance agent" to include that such agents may sell, solicit, or negotiate private family leave insurance. The bill also clarifies that private family leave insurance is not included in either limited lines life and health insurance or limited lines property and casualty insurance as they relate to the definitions of "limited lines life and health agent" and "limited lines property and casualty agent" respectively.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 38.2-1800 of the Code of Virginia, relating to insurance agents; definitions; private family leave insurance.

23102341D

S.B. 1011

Patron: Edwards

Health insurance; tobacco surcharge. Eliminates the authority of a health carrier to vary its premium rates based on tobacco use. Under current law, a health carrier may charge premium rates up to 1.5 times higher for a tobacco user than for a nonuser. The provisions of the bill apply to health benefit plans providing individual or small group health insurance coverage entered into, amended, extended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2024.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 38.2-3447 of the Code of Virginia, relating to health insurance; tobacco surcharge.

23101373D

S.B. 1018

Patron: Edwards

Railroad companies; notice of certain action; sale or transfer of railroad rights-of-way or related facilities. Requires a railroad company operating in the Commonwealth that submits an application to the federal government for consolidation, merger, abandonment, or discontinuance to notify, in addition to the State Corporation Commission and the Governor, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Natural Resources, the Director of the Department of Rail and Public Transportation, and the Executive Director of the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority of such action.

The bill prohibits a railroad company operating or previously operating in the Commonwealth from selling or transferring railroad rights-of-way or related facilities within the Commonwealth without first offering such rights-of-way or facilities to the Department of Transportation or its designee. Under the bill, the Department is required to respond to the offer within 120 days. The bill provides that if the Department or its designee rejects the offer or 120 days have elapsed without an extension of the offer by mutual agreement, the railroad company may sell or transfer the rights-of-way or facilities to another party. The bill prohibits the railroad company from selling or transferring the rights-of-way or facilities to another party under terms more favorable than offered to the Department or its designee.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 56-345.1 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 1 of Chapter 13 of Title 56 a section numbered 56-345.2, relating to railroad companies; notice of certain action; sale or transfer of railroad rights-of-way or related facilities.

23102961D

S.B. 1029

Patron: Stanley

Public utilities; fiber optic broadband lines crossing railroads. Provides that a broadband service provider, in the construction of its works, may cross the works of a railroad company if the crossing does not interfere with the works and operations of the railroad company and is designed to prevent damage to the works of the railroad and ensure the safety of its passengers. The bill requires the broadband service provider give notice to the railroad company and pay a fee of $750 for each crossing. The bill provides that a railroad company may petition the State Corporation Commission if it asserts that the crossing will cause undue hardship on the railroad company or create the imminent likelihood of danger to public health or safety and authorizes the Commission to suspend the work of the crossing while making a determination on such petition. The bill provides that for a crossing over an abandoned section of track there is no requirement for the broadband company to pay the fee and no opportunity for the railroad company to petition the Commission.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 56-1 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 56-16.3, relating to public utilities; fiber optic broadband lines crossing railroads.

23101619D

S.B. 1037

Patron: McPike

Workers' compensation; notice to employees. Requires each employer subject to the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act to provide notice to covered employees of the employees' right to dispute the denial of a claim through the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission. The bill specifies the language of such notice. The bill also provides that an employer that fails to provide such notice may be subject to the civil penalty provisions of the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 65.2-804 of the Code of Virginia, relating to workers' compensation; notice to employees.

23101957D

S.B. 1038

Patron: McPike

Workers' compensation; presumption for arson and hazardous materials investigators. Expands the workers' compensation presumption of compensability for certain cancers causing the death or disability of certain employees who have completed five years of service in their position to include (i) arson investigators or bomb investigators employed by the Department of State Police and (ii) personnel employed by the Commonwealth or any of its agencies to collect, analyze, or handle hazardous materials, hazardous chemicals, radiological materials, biological agents, or drugs.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 65.2-402 of the Code of Virginia, relating to workers' compensation; presumption for arson and hazardous materials investigators.

23101991D

S.B. 1039

Patron: McPike

Department of Labor and Industry; Safety and Health Codes Board; Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Program; use of cranes and derricks in construction; report. Requires the Safety and Health Codes Board (the Board) of the Department of Labor and Industry (the Department) to adopt regulations to the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Program (VOSH), regarding cranes and derricks in construction, to allow an active load stabilization mechanism or passive load stabilization mechanism, defined in the bill, to be used if necessary to prevent hazardous rotation of a load as determined by the project manager or safety engineer. The bill requires the Department to report the final regulations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology by November 1, 2023.

A BILL to direct the Safety and Health Codes Board of the Department of Labor and Industry to promulgate regulations to update the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Program. Report.

23101992D

S.B. 1086

Patron: Ebbin

Living organ donors; unpaid leave; civil penalty. Requires that an employer that employs 15 or more employees provide eligible employees, defined in the bill, with (i) up to 60 business days of unpaid organ donation leave in any 12-month period to serve as an organ donor and (ii) up to 30 business days of unpaid organ donation leave in any 12-month period to serve as a bone marrow donor. The bill requires the employer to restore the employee's position following the leave, to continue to provide coverage for the employee under any health benefit plan, and to pay the employee any commission earned prior to the leave. The bill prohibits the employer from taking retaliatory action against the employee for taking organ donation leave. The bill requires the Commissioner of Labor and Industry to enforce its provisions and provides for civil penalties for violations of its requirements.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Chapter 3 of Title 40.1 an article numbered 2.2, consisting of sections numbered 40.1-33.7 through 40.1-33.12, relating to unpaid organ donation leave; required; civil penalty.

23100356D

S.B. 1088

Patron: Ebbin

Workers' compensation; post-traumatic stress disorder incurred by dispatchers. Allows dispatchers, as defined in the bill, to claim workers' compensation benefits relating to post-traumatic stress disorder under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act. Currently, only law-enforcement officers and firefighters may claim such benefits.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 65.2-107 of the Code of Virginia, relating to workers' compensation; post-traumatic stress disorder incurred by dispatchers.

23103951D

S.B. 1112

Patron: Hashmi

Health insurance; coverage for prescription contraceptives. Requires health insurance carriers to provide coverage, under any health insurance contract, policy, or plan that includes coverage for prescription drugs on an outpatient basis, for any prescribed contraceptive drug or contraceptive device. The bill prohibits a health insurance carrier from imposing upon any person receiving contraceptive benefits pursuant to the provisions of the bill any copayment, coinsurance payment, or fee, except in certain circumstances. The provisions of the bill apply to health insurance contracts, policies, or plans delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed on and after January 1, 2024.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 38.2-3407.5:1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to health insurance; coverage for prescription contraceptives.

23103101D

S.B. 1120

Patron: Stanley

Virginia Employment Commission; authorized representative or member of Commission; powers. Provides that the Commissioner of the Virginia Employment Commission has the authority to authorize any representative or member of the Commission to have the power to administer oaths and affirmations, take depositions, certify to official acts, and issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, papers, correspondence, memoranda, and other records deemed necessary as evidence in connection with the investigation or adjudication of any disputed claim or the administration of the Virginia Unemployment Compensation Act.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 60.2-111 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the Virginia Employment Commission; authorized representative or member of Commission; powers.

23101271D

S.B. 1121

Patron: Hackworth

Electric utilities; renewable energy; coal mine methane. Provides that for the purpose of the Virginia Electric Utility Regulation Act, renewable energy includes coal mine methane, defined in the bill as methane contained within a worked-out area of an underground coal mine that will eventually escape to the surface via vents, fissures, or ventilation holes.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 56-576 of the Code of Virginia, relating to electric utilities; renewable energy; coal mine methane.

23100964D

S.B. 1123

Patron: Stanley

Unemployment compensation; venue for prosecution of certain criminal cases. Provides that the venue for criminal cases involving false statements, representations, or nondisclosures by an employing unit or an individual with regard to an unemployment claim lies in the county or city wherein the statement, representation, or nondisclosure originates or, alternatively, is received by the Virginia Employment Commission. Under current law, the venue for such cases lies solely in the county or city wherein such statement, representation, or nondisclosure is received by the Commission.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 60.2-119 of the Code of Virginia, relating to unemployment compensation; venue for prosecution of certain criminal cases.

23101269D

S.B. 1126

Patron: Hackworth

Department of Labor and Industry; Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; notice of disciplinary action; method of delivery to allow for confirmation of delivery. Authorizes the use of commercial delivery services with signed and dated acknowledgment of delivery by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry when providing notice to an employer of any proposed penalty for a violation of a safety or health provision or of the employer's failure to abate a violation of a safety or health provision. Under current law, the Commissioner is authorized to provide such required notices only through certified mail or personal service. The bill also requires the regulatory boards of the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation to send to any regulant subject to a disciplinary action notice in a manner that allows for confirmation of delivery. The bill removes the current requirement that such notice be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, and retains the provision allowing delivery through electronic means, if agreed to by the parties.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 40.1-49.4 and 54.1-201 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Department of Labor and Industry; Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; notice of disciplinary action; method of delivery to allow for confirmation of delivery.

23103528D

S.B. 1131

Patron: Mason

Insurance agents; title insurance and viatical settlement. Removes the requirement that an individual applying to be a title agent provide a sworn statement that the applicant has completed the required pre-licensing course and requires that such an applicant affirm his completion of such pre-licensing course. The bill requires that viatical settlement brokers affirm that they have a fraud plan when submitting an initial application or renewal for a broker's license and that the fraud plan be made available to the State Corporation Commission upon request.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 38.2-1814.1, 38.2-6002, 38.2-6004, and 38.2-6011 of the Code of Virginia, relating to insurance agents; title insurance and viatical settlement.

23102330D

S.B. 1134

Patron: Ruff

Precision Plastic Manufacturing Grant Fund; established. Establishes the Precision Plastic Manufacturing Grant Fund to provide up to $56 million in grants between July 1, 2027, and July 1, 2035, to a qualified company that engages in the manufacture and distribution of precision plastic products in an eligible county and that between June 1, 2022, and December 31, 2035, is expected to make a capital investment of at least $1 billion and create at least 1,761 new full-time jobs related to or supportive of its business.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Title 59.1 a chapter numbered 22.20, consisting of a section numbered 59.1-284.41, relating to Precision Plastic Manufacturing Grant Fund; established.

23100960D

S.B. 1327

Patrons: McClellan, Ebbin

Comprehensive children's health care coverage program. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to establish a program to provide state-funded comprehensive health care coverage for individuals in the Commonwealth who (i) are under 19 years of age, (ii) are not covered under a group health plan or health insurance coverage, and (iii) but for their immigration status would be eligible for medical assistance services through the Commonwealth's program of medical assistance services established pursuant to Title XIX or XXI of the Social Security Act. The bill also requires the Department to ensure that all program information is made available in a manner that is accessible to individuals with limited English proficiency and individuals with disabilities through the provision of language access services, including oral interpretation and written translations, free of charge, and to ensure that information obtained by the program remains confidential and is not disclosed for any purpose not related to the administration of the program.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Title 32.1 a chapter numbered 13.01, consisting of a section numbered 32.1-353.01, relating to comprehensive children's health care coverage program.

23102538D

S.B. 1416

Patron: Pillion

Amendment of death certificates; county and city registrars. Requires a county or city registrar, upon receipt of an affidavit and supporting evidence testifying to corrected information on a death certificate within 45 days of the filing of a death certificate, to amend such death certificate to reflect the new information and evidence and to forward such affidavit and supporting evidence to the State Registrar.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 32.1-269.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to amendment of death certificates; county and city registrars.

23101943D