General Assembly>Division of Legislative Services>Publications>Session Summaries>2004>Professions and Occupations

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Professions and Occupations

Passed

P HB7

Advisory Board on Rehabilitation Providers. Abolishes the Advisory Board on Rehabilitation Providers. The advisory board was created in 1994 (i) to recommend to the Boards of Counseling; Medicine; Nursing; Psychology; and Social Work regulatory criteria for the voluntary certification of their licensees who provide rehabilitation services and for standards of conduct of licensees so certified and (ii) to recommend to the Board of Counseling regulatory criteria for certification and for standards of professional conduct of persons who provide rehabilitative services but who are exempt from licensure as professional counselors. The advisory board has not met since the development of initial regulations. The activities of the advisory board are currently subsumed within the Board of Counseling, which has the authority to form ad hoc advisory groups should the need arise for additional expertise. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee to Study the Operations, Practices, Duties, and Funding of the Commonwealth's Agencies, Boards, Commissions, Councils, and Other Governmental Entities pursuant to HJR 159 (2002).
Patron - Cox

P HB8

Advisory Committee on Certified Practices. Abolishes the Advisory Committee on Certified Practices. The advisory committee was created in 1994 to recommend to the Boards of Counseling, Medicine, Nursing, Psychology, and Social Work standards for the voluntary certification of their licensees as sex offender treatment providers and to recommend to the Board of Psychology standards for the mandatory certification of sex offender treatment providers for those professionals who are otherwise exempt from licensure. The advisory committee has not met since the development of the initial regulations. The activities of the advisory committee are currently subsumed within the Board of Psychology, which has the authority to form ad hoc advisory groups should the need arise for additional expertise. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee to Study the Operations, Practices, Duties, and Funding of the Commonwealth's Agencies, Boards, Commissions, Councils, and Other Governmental Entities pursuant to HJR 159 (2002). This bill incorporates HB 210.
Patron - Cox

P HB124

Board for Barbers and Cosmetologists; membership. Requires that of the two licensed cosmetologists on the Board for Barbers and Cosmetologists, at least one such member shall be a salon owner. Currently, of the two licensed cosmetologists appointed, one may be an owner or operator of a cosmetology school. The bill provides that it does not affect existing appointments for which the terms of current members have not expired. However, any new appointments made after July 1, 2004, shall be made in accordance with the provisions of the bill. The bill contains technical amendments.
Patron - Albo

P HB211

Medical complaint investigation committees and medical and psychological practices audit committees. Abolishes medical complaint investigation committees, medical practices audit committees, and psychological practices audit committees. The medical complaint investigation committees conduct informal inquiries for the purpose of recommending to the Board of Medicine whether sufficient grounds exist to warrant further proceedings by the Board on whether disciplinary action against a practitioner should be taken. The medical practices audit committees review the practice of the disciplined licensees to ascertain whether their practices conform to the conditions placed on their licenses by the Board of Medicine. The Board has had difficulty in finding physicians to serve on these committees. Currently, the Board of Medicine, the Department of Health Professions, the Health Practitioners' Intervention Program and expert witnesses carry out the functions of the medical practices audit and medical complaint investigation committees. Psychological practices audit committees review the practices of disciplined licensees to ascertain whether their practices conform to the conditions placed on their licenses by the Board of Psychology. The Board has always chosen to conduct audits with the assistance of expert witnesses as needed instead of appointing formal committees. This bill is identical to SB 5, which was recommended by the Joint Subcommittee to Study the Operations, Practices, Duties, and Funding of the Commonwealth's Agencies, Boards, Commissions, Councils, and Other Governmental Entities pursuant to HJR 159 (2002).
Patron - Athey

P HB270

Certain vocational rehabilitation counselors. Authorizes employees or independent contractors of the Commonwealth's agencies and sheltered workshops, who are currently exempt from obtaining Virginia certification as rehabilitation counselors unless they are providing vocational rehabilitation services through workers' compensation, to use the title "rehabilitation provider" or another similar title and to deliver vocational rehabilitation services under workers' compensation if they have obtained certification by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC) as certified rehabilitation counselors (CRC) or by the Commission on Certification of Work Adjustment and Vocational Evaluation Specialists (CCWAVES) as certified vocational evaluation specialists (CVE). At this time, there is a disconnect between the required federal standard for delivery of services under the federal Rehabilitation Act through the Department of Rehabilitative Services (DRS) and the Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired (DBVI) and the Virginia workers' compensation program. Federal authorities recognize national or state certification and Virginia workers' compensation law presently requires state certification for reimbursement. Thus, at this time, Virginia's public employees who hold national certification and work to assist individuals with disabilities to become employed or to maintain employment, cannot provide services to workers' compensation recipients unless they hold state certification. This provision eliminates this dual requirement.
Patron - Morgan

P HB283

Itinerant merchants; regulation; penalty. Provides that violations of the chapter are punishable as Class 4 misdemeanors except that any itinerant merchant improperly selling infant formula, baby formula or nonprescription drugs is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.
Patron - Cosgrove

P HB309

Occupational therapy. Requires persons who practice or advertise as occupational therapy assistants or use the designation "O.T.A." or any variation thereof to obtain initial certification from a credentialing organization approved in regulation by the Board of Medicine. This provision also makes it unlawful to practice occupational therapy without licensure from the Board. The Board is also given clear authority to require licensure of occupational therapists and certification of occupational therapy assistants. The occupational therapist members of the Advisory Board are required to be licensed. Further, the Advisory Board's powers are revised to include recommendations to the Board of credentialing organizations to be approved for initial certification of occupational therapy assistants. Current law authorizes the practice of occupational therapy assistants without certification as long as the person is supervised by an occupational therapist in compliance with Board requirements. The current law also restricts the use of titles such as "occupational therapist" to individuals who hold licensure from the Board. Under this bill, applicants for licensure will continue to use titles such as "occupational therapist, license applicant." Individuals who do not claim to be occupational therapy assistants may continue to assist in the provision of occupational therapy services under the supervision of an occupational therapist in accordance with Board requirements. Two enactment clauses require the Board to promulgate emergency regulations and condition initial compliance with the licensure and certification requirements of this provision on the timelines, etc., set forth in the Board's regulations.
Patron - Purkey

P HB409

Practice of podiatry; surgery. Increases the anatomical area of the foot where a podiatrist may perform amputations. The bill authorizes podiatrists to perform amputations proximal to the metatarsal-phalangeal joints in a hospital or ambulatory surgery center that has the appropriate statutorily required accreditation. The bill does not allow amputation of the foot proximal to the transmetatarsal level through the metatarsal shafts.
Patron - Welch

P HB422

Board for Contractors; prohibited acts; misrepresentation; penalty. Adds a prohibition for any person contracting for, or bidding upon the construction, removal, repair or improvements to or upon real property owned, controlled or leased by another person without the proper class of license as defined in § 54.1-1100 (i.e., Class A, B, or C license) for the value of work to be performed. Currently, a person is prohibited from contracting for, or bidding upon the construction, removal, repair or improvements to or upon real property owned, controlled or leased by another person without a license or certificate. The bill also provides that any person undertaking such work without the proper class of license (i.e., Class A, B, or C license) shall be fined an amount not to exceed $500 per day for each day that such person is in violation, in addition to the authorized penalties for the commission of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Patron - Watts

P HB454

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation and the Board for Contractors. Directs the Director of the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation and the Board for Contractors to establish a pilot program consisting of a cooperative agreement with at least one local governing body that authorizes the building official of such locality to assist in the investigation of complaints and the implementation of final disciplinary orders of the Board. The bill also requires the Director and the Board to submit reports to the Governor and the General Assembly on progress made in the development and implementation of the pilot program. The bill has a sunset of July 1, 2006. The bill is identical to SB 285.
Patron - McQuigg

P HB462

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; Board for Asbestos, Lead, and Home Inspectors; summary suspension of licenses. Provides authority for the Board for Asbestos, Lead, and Home Inspectors to order summary suspension of a license issued by the Board or approvals for training managers, principal instructors, and training courses issued by the Board without a hearing or an informal fact finding conference. The bill also provides that proceedings for a hearing or an informal fact finding conference must be instituted simultaneously with the suspension.
Patron - Drake

P HB463

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; Board for Asbestos, Lead, and Home Inspectors; necessity for license. Clarifies that it is unlawful to contract or perform asbestos or lead abatement activities without possessing a license as an asbestos contractor or lead contractor.
Patron - Drake

P HB524

Board of Dentistry; continuing education for dental hygienists. Eliminates the requirement that dental hygienists complete 15 hours of continuing education courses for license renewal or reinstatement after April 1, 1995. Under the bill, continuing education courses will still be required in accordance with the Board of Dentistry's regulations, which will now have the flexibility to set the requisite number of hours.
Patron - Hogan

P HB577

Health professions; disciplinary proceedings. Grants to all health regulatory boards the authority to delegate some informal fact-finding proceedings to an appropriately qualified agency subordinate pursuant to regulations adopted by the relevant board. The bill makes general an existing provision for most health regulatory boards to order a physical or mental examination of a practitioner when he is unable to practice because of excessive use of alcohol or drugs or mental illness, after preliminary investigation by an informal fact-finding proceeding. The bill moves two sections relating to reporting requirements for hospital and other health care institutions and practitioners into the general provisions for health regulatory boards. Both sections are amended to require that the reports be made to the Director of the Department of Health Professions and are made applicable to persons holding the multistate licensure privilege to practice nursing. The bill requires the Commissioner of the Department of Social Services to report health professionals who may be guilty of fraudulent, unethical or unprofessional conduct. The bill adds an immunity provision for any person who reports regarding the conduct or competency of a health care practitioner as required by law or regulation or provides information pursuant to an investigation or testifying in a judicial or administrative proceeding as a result of such report, unless the person acted in bad faith or with malicious intent. Finally, the bill requires the health regulatory boards to promulgate emergency regulations relating to the delegation of fact-finding proceedings to an agency subordinate.
Patron - Hamilton

P HB623

Registration of pharmacy technicians in free clinics. Requires the Board of Pharmacy to waive the initial registration fee and the first examination fee for the Board-approved examination for a pharmacy technician applicant who works as a pharmacy technician exclusively in a free clinic pharmacy. If such applicant fails the examination, he must be responsible for any subsequent fees to retake the examination. A person registered pursuant to this subsection will be issued a limited-use registration. A pharmacy technician with a limited-use registration will be prohibited from performing pharmacy technician tasks in any setting other than a free clinic pharmacy. The Board will also waive renewal fees for such limited-use registrations. A pharmacy technician with a limited-use registration may convert to an unlimited registration by paying the current renewal fee.
Patron - Orrock

P HB626

The practice of licensed dentists in certain dental clinics. Authorizes licensed dentists to practice as employees of dental clinics operated by the Department of Health, the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services or a Virginia charitable corporation operated as a clinic for the indigent and the uninsured that is organized for the delivery of primary health care services as a federal qualified health center or at a reduced or sliding fee scale or without charge. Present law is presumed to authorize only dentists who hold temporary permits to practice in these settings.
Patron - O'Bannon

P HB690

Filling and stocking of automated drug dispensing systems in hospital pharmacies by registered pharmacy technicians. Clarifies that the filling and stocking of automated drug dispensing systems in hospital pharmacies may be delegated to registered pharmacy technicians. A pharmacist will remain legally responsible for the proper and accurate stocking and filling of the automated drug dispensing system, i.e., either the pharmacist who is charged with filling and stocking the device or, if a registered pharmacy technician is delegated this task, the pharmacist-in-charge.
Patron - Morgan

P HB716

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; complaint information; time for filing complaints. Authorizes the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation to consider information from public sources as the basis for written complaints against a regulant. The bill also extends the period of time that a complaint may be filed against a regulant where the regulant has misrepresented, concealed or omitted any information material to the establishment of a violation to two years from the date of discovery of the misrepresentation, concealment or omission. Under current law, the period of time is extended only when the regulant materially misrepresents any information required by statute or regulation to be disclosed. The bill further provides that in cases where criminal charges involving matters that would also constitute a violation of the regulations or laws of the regulant's profession or occupation enforced by the Department are brought against the regulant, an investigation may be initiated by the Department within two years of the date that the criminal charges are brought.
Patron - Shannon

P HB783

Inventories of controlled substances required by the Board of Pharmacy; certain limited exceptions. Eliminates the requirement for the Division of Forensic Science to inventory the approximately 1200 drugs maintained in very small quantities as "standards" for making comparisons with the evidence that may be submitted for analyses. In addition, no inventory for the purpose of compliance with Board of Pharmacy requirements will be required of known or suspected controlled substances that have been received as evidentiary materials for analyses by the Division of Forensic Science. This bill tracks federal law to provide limited exceptions to the state inventory requirements, a task requiring many hours of the Division's staff time. The Division's exceptions apply to standards of (i) controlled substances on hand at the time of the inventory in a quantity of less than one kilogram, other than a hallucinogenic controlled substance listed in Schedule I of the Drug Control Act; or (ii) hallucinogenic controlled substances listed in Schedule I of the Drug Control Act, other than lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), on hand at the time of the inventory in a quantity of less than 20 grams; or (iii) LSD on hand at the time of the inventory in a quantity of less than 0.5 grams.
Patron - McDougle

P HB829

Board for Contractors; certification of elevator mechanics. Institutes a certification program by the Board for Contractors of elevator mechanics and sets forth the requirements for certification. The bill defines elevator mechanic as an individual who is certified by the Board for Contractors and is engaged in erecting, constructing, installing, altering, servicing, repairing, testing or maintaining elevators, escalators, or related conveyances in accordance with the Uniform Statewide Building Code. However, a person not certified as an elevator mechanic may perform maintenance that is not related to the operating integrity of an elevator, escalator, or related conveyance, as provided in the regulations of the Board. The bill provides a one-year waiver of the examination requirement if the applicant is able to demonstrate that he has at least five years experience as a mechanic in the elevator industry. The bill provides that elevator mechanics must be certified effective July 1, 2005.
Patron - Drake

P HB831

Board for Contractors; exemptions from licensure; penalty. Grants an exemption from licensure to any person who performs or supervises repair or improvement of residential dwelling units owned by him that are subject to the Virginia Residential Landlord Tenant Act. The bill further provides that such person and certain persons enumerated in the bill who are exempted from licensure shall comply with the Uniform Statewide Building Code. The bill contains technical amendments.
Patron - Drake

P HB849

Board for Contractors; necessity for licensure; design-build construction. Provides that, while a licensed architect or professional engineer is not required to be licensed or certified as a contractor to engage in, or offer to engage in, contracting work or operate as an owner-developer in the Commonwealth when bidding upon or negotiating design-build contracts or performing services under a design-build contract, he must be licensed as a contractor to render construction services in connection with a design-build contract.
Patron - Jones, S.C.

P HB851

Collaborative agreements between pharmacists and practitioners of medicine, osteopathy, or podiatry. Repeals the second enactment clauses of two 1999 Acts of Assembly to avoid the sunset date of July 1, 2004, and thereby continue the authority for pharmacists involved directly in patient care to participate with practitioners of medicine, osteopathy, or podiatry in collaborative agreements that authorize cooperative procedures related to treatment using drug therapy, laboratory tests or medical devices for the purpose of improving patient outcomes.
Patron - Jones, S.C.

P HB852

Exemptions from the requirements to be licensed as wholesale distributors. Exempts permitted medical equipment suppliers from being licensed as wholesale distributors when engaging in wholesale distributions of small quantities of oxygen when such wholesale distributions are in compliance with federal law and such wholesale distributions do not exceed five percent of the gross annual sales of oxygen by the relevant permitted medical equipment supplier.
Patron - Jones, S.C.

P HB854

Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects; necessity for license; design-build contracts. Provides that a contractor licensed by the Board for Contractors is not required to get an architect's or engineer's license to bid on or negotiate design-build contracts or perform services, other than architectural, engineering or land surveying services under a design-build contract. The bill provides, however, that the architectural, engineering or land surveying services offered or rendered in connection with such contracts shall only be rendered by a licensed architect, professional engineer or land surveyor.
Patron - Jones, S.C.

P HB856

Practice of optometry. Revises the requirements for the practice and licensure of optometrists by requiring that, after June 30, 2004, every person initially licensed to practice optometry must meet the qualifications for a TPA-certified optometrist, i.e., be trained to prescribed therapeutic pharmaceutical agents for treatment of diseases of the human eye and its adnexa. The bill expands the prescriptive authority of TPA-certified optometrists to include the prescribing and administering of Schedule III through VI controlled substances and devices to treat diseases of the human eye and its adnexa, within the scope of practice of optometry and as determined by the Board. Present law limits TPA-certified optometrists' prescriptive authority to Schedule III and Schedule VI. The Board of Optometry is required, pursuant to an enactment clause, to promulgate emergency regulations, i.e., within 280 days of the bill's enactment.
Patron - Jones, S.C.

P HB857

Cemetery Board; perpetual care trust funds and preneed burial contracts; appointment of receiver. Authorizes the Cemetery Board to petition the court to appoint a receiver to oversee the cemetery operations of a cemetery company in certain situations in order to protect the public. The bill also (i) increases the amount that a new cemetery company must place in an irrevocable perpetual care trust fund from $25,000 to $50,000, and (ii) clarifies that the principal of the trust fund must be used for perpetual care unless approval for other uses has been approved by the Board or the court. The bill requires the Board to promulgate regulations within 280 days.
Patron - Jones, S.C.

P HB875

Copies of patient records when professional practice closed, sold or relocated; notice; charges. Modifies the provision requiring notice specifying that copies of records will be sent to any like-regulated provider of the patient's choice or provided to the patient when a practice is being closed, sold or relocated. This bill provides that the charges for the records must not exceed the actual costs of copying and mailing or delivering the records. "Current patient" is defined as "a patient who has had a patient encounter with the provider or his professional practice during the two-year period immediately preceding the date of the record transfer." "Relocation of a professional practice" is defined as "the moving of a practice located in Virginia from the location at which the records are stored at the time of the notice to another practice site that is located more than 30 miles away or to another practice site that is located in another state or the District of Columbia."
Patron - O'Bannon

P HB1022

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; Auctioneers Board; continuing education. Provides for the Auctioneers Board to establish continuing education for licensed auctioneers. Under the bill, the Board shall require at least six hours of Board-approved continuing education courses for the renewal or reinstatement of a license. In addition, the bill provides that any continuing education courses completed by an auctioneer pursuant to a requirement of the Certified Auctioneer's Institute or participation in the educational programs sponsored by the National Auctioneer's Association or Virginia Auctioneer's Association shall satisfy the continuing education requirement.
Patron - Dillard

P HB1049

Practice of dentistry or dental hygiene by students; temporary licenses to persons enrolled in advanced dental education programs; emergency. Modernizes the authority for dental students and dental hygiene students to practice under the direction of competent instructors. This bill removes the mere authority to perform dental operations when enrolled in advanced dental programs (e.g., internships, residencies, certificate and degree programs in hospitals and schools of dentistry) and authorizes the Board to issue temporary annual licenses to these advanced dental students. The Board may promulgate regulations to carry out the temporary licensure program and may require reports from the hospitals and schools of dentistry that operate the programs. Students enrolled in schools of dentistry may perform dental operations in accredited programs, nonprofit dental clinics providing indigent care, governmental or indigent care clinics to which they are assigned in their final academic year, and private dental offices for a limited time during the final academic year. Two enactment clauses require that (i) the Board of Dentistry must promulgate emergency regulations and (ii) the act is an emergency, to be in effect from its passage.
Patron - Hamilton

P HJ118

School of pharmacy in Buchanan County. Endorses the establishment of a school of pharmacy in Buchanan County. This resolution notes the need for economic development projects in Southwest Virginia and the recent establishment of the Appalachian School of Law and the proposal for a pharmacy school at the University of Appalachia in Grundy. A $3 million loan has been granted for the construction of the pharmacy school and the Board of Supervisors of Buchanan County has strongly endorsed this project. Copies of the resolution are to be transmitted to the members of the Virginia Congressional Delegation and the Governor with directions to disseminate the resolution to relevant federal officials and various state higher education entities, respectively. This resolution is identical to SJR 49.
Patron - Stump

P HJ205

Nurse practitioner prescriptive authority. Requests the Board of Nursing to collect information on nurse practitioner prescriptive authority. The Board shall collect data regarding the (i) practice locations of nurse practitioners and (ii) number of nurse practitioners with the authority to prescribe each Schedule of controlled substances and devices. The Board of Nursing shall submit an executive summary of its findings to the Joint Commission on Health Care, the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions, and the Senate Committee on Education and Health.
Patron - Bryant

P SB5

Medical complaint investigation committees and medical and psychological practices audit committees. Abolishes medical complaint investigation committees, medical practices audit committees, and psychological practices audit committees. The medical complaint investigation committees conduct informal inquiries for the purpose of recommending to the Board of Medicine whether sufficient grounds exist to warrant further proceedings by the Board on whether disciplinary action against a practitioner should be taken. The medical practices audit committees review the practice of the disciplined licensees to ascertain whether their practices conform to the conditions placed on their licenses by the Board of Medicine. The Board has had difficulty in finding physicians to serve on these committees. Currently, the Board of Medicine, the Department of Health Professions, the Health Practitioners' Intervention Program and expert witnesses carry out the functions of the medical practices audit and medical complaint investigation committees. Psychological practices audit committees review the practices of disciplined licensees to ascertain whether their practices conform to the conditions placed on their licenses by the Board of Psychology. The Board has always chosen to conduct audits with the assistance of expert witnesses as needed instead of appointing formal committees. This bill is identical to SB 5 (Martin) and is a recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee to Study the Operations, Practices, Duties, and Funding of the Commonwealth's Agencies, Boards, Commissions, Councils, and Other Governmental Entities pursuant to HJR 159 (2002).
Patron - Martin

P SB159

Regulation of athletic trainers. Revises the regulatory requirements for athletic trainers from certification to licensure. The Board of Medicine will promulgate regulations for the credentials of athletic trainers with the assistance of the Advisory Board on Athletic Training. Athletic trainers who are certified pursuant to the law in effect on June 30, 2004, will not be required to be licensed until July 1, 2005. Enactment clauses require the Board of Medicine to promulgate emergency regulations to implement the provisions of this act and to deem that athletic trainers who are certified to practice athletic training pursuant to the law in effect on June 30, 2004, will be, upon application, in compliance with the new licensure requirements and will be issued a license to practice athletic training. The Board is authorized to charge a reasonable fee for the application for and issuance of the license.
Patron - Potts

P SB160

Physician-patient relationships; establishment, effect of certain emergency room evaluations, termination. Provides that any physician-patient relationship that may be created by virtue of an on-call physician or his agent evaluating or treating a patient in an emergency room will be deemed terminated without further notice upon the discharge of the patient from the emergency room or if the patient is admitted to the hospital, upon his discharge from the hospital and after completion of follow-up as prescribed by the physician, unless the physician and the patient affirmatively elect to continue the physician-patient relationship. This provision does not relieve a physician of his post-discharge duty to satisfy the standard of care required in Virginia, i.e., "the degree of skill and diligence practiced by a reasonably prudent practitioner in the field of practice or specialty in this Commonwealth."
Patron - Potts

P SB224

Physician disclosure of medical treatment options. Authorizes physicians to disclose fully all medical treatment options to patients whether or not (i) such treatment options are experimental or covered services, (ii) the treatment options include services that the health insurer will not authorize, or (iii) the costs of the treatment will be borne by the health insurer or the patient, if the physician determines that an option is in the best interest of the patient. This bill also prohibits health insurers from limiting, restricting, or prohibiting physicians from disclosing such information. Physicians who disclose such information to persons with whom they have a physician-patient relationship are immune from liability to any health insurer, in an action instituted solely on behalf of the health insurer, for any civil damages arising from the disclosure of such information.
Patron - Marsh

P SB285

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; Board for Contractors; cooperative agreements. Directs the Director of the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation and the Board for Contractors to establish a pilot program consisting of a cooperative agreement with at least one local governing body that authorizes the building official of such locality to assist in the investigation of complaints and the implementation of final disciplinary orders of the Board. The bill also requires the Director and the Board to submit reports to the Governor and the General Assembly on progress made in the development and implementation of the pilot program. The bill has a sunset of July 1, 2006. This bill is identical to HB 454.
Patron - O'Brien

P SB303

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; Cemetery Board; financial reports; authorization for interment. Clarifies that the annual financial report that cemetery companies are required to provide the Cemetery Board for a perpetual care trust fund or preneed trust account be provided on forms prescribed by the Board. The bill also (i) authorizes a cemetery to accept the notarized signature of one next of kin of a decedent for the purpose of authorizing the interment or entombment of the deceased or the erection of a memorial or marker unless the cemetery has written notice of a dispute among the next of kin, (ii) authorizes the Board to regulate and establish qualifications for compliance agents, and (iii) provides for the cemetery to withhold services until the parties have reached mutual agreement or a court has entered an order adjudicating the issue. In addition, the bill requires the Cemetery Board to promulgate regulations within 280 days of the effective date of the act.
Patron - O'Brien

P SB498

Podiatric specialty board certification. Allows podiatrists to list specialty board certifications awarded by the American Board of Multiple Specialties in Podiatry (ABMSP) on their practitioner profiles. Currently, the Board of Medicine only allows the listing of specialty certifications approved by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education of the American Podiatric Medical Association. The ABMSP offers specialty certification to qualified podiatrists in three areas: primary care in podiatric medicine, podiatric surgery, and prevention and treatment of diabetic foot wounds.
Patron - Mims

P SB539

Board of Accountancy. Establishes the Board of Accountancy Trust Account to provide the Board with a supplemental source of funding to study, research, investigate and adjudicate regulatory issues and possible violations of statutes and regulations governing certified public accountants (CPA) or CPA firms licensed in the Commonwealth. In addition, the bill (i) authorizes the use of CPA firms to perform peer reviews and clarifies that persons conducting the peer review must hold a valid CPA license, (ii) deletes provisions authorizing the Board to admit graduates of Bristol College and the Benjamin Franklin School of Accountancy and Financial Administration to the CPA examination, and extends such authority for the admission of graduates with a baccalaureate degree with a major in accounting or a concentration in accounting from the National College of Business and Technology, (iii) authorizes the Board to impose monetary penalties on former licensees and other individuals and entities engaged in the unlicensed practice of public accounting or using the CPA title without a license, (iv) deletes provisions prohibiting referral and contingency fees and required disclosure provisions regarding such fees, and (iv) provides for firm registrations to be renewed annually rather than biennially. The bill also contains technical amendments.
Patron - Stosch

P SB555

Pronouncements of death under certain circumstances by physician assistants. Authorizes a physician assistant practicing under the supervision of a physician to pronounce death under the following circumstances: (i) the physician assistant works at (a) a home health organization, or (b) a hospice, or (c) a hospital or nursing home, including state-operated hospitals, or (d) the Department of Corrections; (ii) the physician assistant is directly involved in the care of the patient; (iii) the patient's death has occurred; (iv) the patient is under the care of a physician when his death occurs; (v) the patient's death has been anticipated; (vi) the physician is unable to be present within a reasonable period of time to determine death; and (vii) there is a valid Do Not Resuscitate Order pursuant to § 54.1-2987.1 for the patient who has died. The physician assistant must inform the patient's attending and consulting physicians of his death as soon as practicable and must inform the chief medical examiner of unexpected deaths. The physician assistant will not make a determination of the cause of death, i.e., physicians will continue to have this responsibility. The Board of Medicine's procedures, if any, will apply to these pronouncements of death, and the physician assistant is not relieved of any liability from failure to comply with the Board's regulations. This bill provides limited authority to pronounce death to physician assistants identical to the authority registered nurses have already been granted.
Patron - Lucas

P SB573

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation and the Department of Health Professions; continuing education for certain professional licensees. Provides that the extension for compliance with requirements for maintaining professional licenses for regulants who are on active military duty shall be granted for one year after such person's release from active military duty provided such extension would not constitute a danger to the public health, safety or welfare.
Patron - Bolling

Failed

F HB139

Persons who may witness an advance directive. Removes the prohibition that a spouse or blood relative of the patient cannot serve as a witness of the signing of an advance directive. This provision authorizes any person over the age of 18, including a spouse or blood relative of the declarant, to serve as a witness for the advance directive.
Patron - Kilgore

F HB166

Rules of the Supreme Court regarding Interest on Lawyer's Trust Account (IOLTA) and Consumer Real Estate Settlement Protection Act (CRESPA) accounts. Requires the Court to prescribe rules allowing attorneys or law firms to designate charities to which the interest or dividends from IOLTA and CRESPA accounts shall be paid according to the same procedures and requirements established for the transmission of interest or dividends to the Legal Services Corporation of Virginia.
Patron - Albo

F HB210

Advisory Committee on Certified Practices. Abolishes the Advisory Committee on Certified Practices. The advisory committee was created in 1994 to recommend to the Boards of Counseling, Medicine, Nursing, Psychology, and Social Work standards for the voluntary certification of their licensees as sex offender treatment providers and to recommend to the Board of Psychology standards for the mandatory certification of sex offender treatment providers for those professionals who are otherwise exempt from licensure. The advisory committee has not met since the development of the initial regulations. The activities of the advisory committee are currently subsumed within the Board of Psychology, which has the authority to form ad hoc advisory groups should the need arise for additional expertise. This bill is identical to HB 8, which was recommended by the Joint Subcommittee to Study the Operations, Practices, Duties, and Funding of the Commonwealth's Agencies, Boards, Commissions, Councils, and Other Governmental Entities pursuant to HJR 159 (2002). This bill is incorporated into HB 8.
Patron - Athey

F HB212

Advisory Board on Rehabilitation Providers. Abolishes the Advisory Board on Rehabilitation Providers. The advisory board was created in 1994 (i) to recommend to the Boards of Counseling; Medicine; Nursing; Psychology; and Social Work regulatory criteria for the voluntary certification of their licensees who provide rehabilitation services and for standards of conduct of licensees so certified and (ii) to recommend to the Board of Counseling regulatory criteria for certification and for standards of professional conduct of persons who provide rehabilitative services but who are exempt from licensure as professional counselors. The advisory board has not met since the development of initial regulations. The activities of the advisory board are currently subsumed within the Board of Counseling, which has the authority to form ad hoc advisory groups should the need arise for additional expertise. This bill is identical to HB 7, which was recommended by the Joint Subcommittee to Study the Operations, Practices, Duties, and Funding of the Commonwealth's Agencies, Boards, Commissions, Councils, and Other Governmental Entities pursuant to HJR 159 (2002).
Patron - Athey

F HB268

Cemetery Board; powers; use of income by cemeteries. Provides that no regulation of the Cemetery Board shall require a cemetery company to provide an accounting of trust funds more often than quarterly. The bill also authorizes the use of the income from the perpetual care trust fund for any capital improvements to the cemetery deemed necessary by the cemetery company. The bill contains technical amendments.
Patron - Morgan

F HB381

Notification of parents of certain health services to minors. Requires, notwithstanding other law to the contrary and unless prohibited by federal law or regulation, any state or local government agency employee who provides services to a minor, for which such minor is deemed an adult for purposes of consent, to notify, within two business days of delivery of such services, a custodial parent, legal guardian or other person standing in loco parentis of any service and any reason, condition or diagnosis requiring such service when the service relates to sexually transmitted diseases, the provision of emergency contraception, pregnancy, illegal drug use, and the contemplation of suicide. The employee is required to provide notice in person or by telephone, or if such attempts to notify are unsuccessful, by certified mail to the authorized person; however, notification will not be required when the employee has knowledge that such notification may result in future physical or mental abuse.
Patron - Lingamfelter

F HB581

Health professions; practice of midwifery. Provides for the licensure by the Board of Medicine of those persons who have obtained the Certified Professional Midwife credential to practice midwifery pursuant to regulations adopted by the Board of Medicine. The Board of Medicine shall adopt regulations, with advice from the Advisory Board on Midwifery established in this bill. The regulations shall (i) address the requirements for licensure to practice midwifery; (ii) be consistent with the current job analysis for the profession; (iii) ensure independent practice; (iv) provide for an appropriate license fee; and (v) include requirements for licensure renewal and continuing education. The regulations shall not (a) require any agreement, written or otherwise, with another health care professional, or (b) require the assessment of a woman who is seeking midwifery services by another health care professional. Licensed midwives must disclose to clients certain background information, including their training and experience, a written protocol for medical emergencies, malpractice or liability insurance coverage, and procedures to file complaints with the Board of Medicine. The bill provides immunity to physicians, nurses, prehospital emergency personnel or health care institutions for acts resulting from the administration of services by any licensed midwife.
Patron - Hamilton

F HB696

Professions and occupations; unlawful acts; penalties. Includes public agencies and local school boards specifically as "entities" that must not engage in any enumerated unlawful acts. The bill modifies the provision relating to violating any statute or regulation governing the practice of any regulated profession or occupation to include "facilitating" the violation of any statute or regulation governing the practice of any regulated profession or occupation and to cover any statutory or regulatory requirement for direction and supervision of the practice of any regulated profession or occupation.
Patron - Morgan

F HB853

Home inspectors; voluntary certification program. Provides that nothing in law that limits the use of the term "certified home inspector" or other like terms shall be construed to prohibit a person who holds a valid license to engage in the practice of architecture or engineering issued pursuant to § 54.1-406 from rendering services as a home inspector.
Patron - Jones, S.C.

F HB870

Respiratory care practitioners; authorization to administer controlled substances within scope of practice. Adds respiratory care practitioners to the exception to the practice of medicine relating to authority to draw blood, give intravenous infusions and injections, and insert tubes. This provision also clarifies the present authority of respiratory care practitioners to administer controlled substances to coincide with current training and practice by removing the restriction on the present authority to drugs administered by inhalation. The new language allows prescribers to authorize respiratory care practitioners to administer controlled substances and devices that are within the respiratory care practitioner's scope of practice, which might include intravenous infusions and injections and the insertion of tubes. Technical amendments are included to revise the lettering of the subsections.
Patron - Byron

F HB953

Records, reports, and requirements relating to certain services delivered to minors. Requires that every local or district health department that delivers health care services, and every community services board, by whatever name known or described in law, must maintain aggregate records, without specific patient identifiers and in compliance with federal patient privacy requirements, on the services delivered to minors who are deemed to be adults for the purpose of consent that relate to sexually transmitted diseases; outpatient care, treatment or rehabilitation for substance abuse; pregnancy; and the contemplation of suicide. Such records shall, at minimum, include the following information as relevant: (i) the specific sexually transmitted disease for which treatment was sought and the treatment recommended or provided; (ii) the specific drug or drugs for which substance abuse outpatient care, treatment or rehabilitation was sought and the treatment recommended or provided; (iii) the month of pregnancy at the time prenatal care was initiated and any particular treatment recommended or provided; (iv) the reason for or any mental illness diagnosis that is implicated in the minor's contemplation of suicide; (v) any prescription drugs that the minor is currently taking; and (vi) the minor's rationale for excluding his parent from participating in the specific health care being sought. As a condition of delivery of such care, each local or district health department or community services board must require that such minors (a) disclose any prescription drugs currently being taken; (b) acknowledge, in writing, that it is best to have his parent participate in such treatment decisions and (c) disclose the rationale for excluding his parent from participating in the specific health care being sought. A report of such aggregate data must be compiled and distributed to the Governor and the General Assembly annually by June 30. Such report will include the reason for seeking health care, the diagnosis, the number of minors seen for each category of care for which a minor may be deemed an adult, the number of minors treated in the last 12 months, the number of visits any minor made for the same health condition, and the number of minors who are treated for sexually transmitted diseases who are also known to be substance abusers. The combined report of aggregate data must also be posted on the Department of Health's website in a manner that allows the general public to access the results for each local jurisdiction in the Commonwealth as well as the state at large.
Patron - Lingamfelter

F HB1219

Funeral services; exemption from licensure; board membership. Exempts from licensure as a funeral services provider persons who sell items of merchandise to consumers that will be used in connection with a funeral or an alternative to a funeral or final disposition of human remains including caskets. The bill also requires a majority of citizen members on the nine-member Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers. The Board's current composition is seven funeral services licensees and two citizen members.
Patron - Spruill

F HB1354

Midwifery not the practice of medicine. Excludes from the definition of the practice of medicine and other healing arts the usual professional activities of any midwife who is properly trained to provide care or services in giving primary assistance in the birth process either free, for trade, or for a fee.
Patron - Hamilton

F HB1403

Morning-after pill; parental consent for minors required. The bill requires a prescriber to obtain parental consent prior to prescribing Plan B, or any other form of the MAP, to an unemancipated minor. Prescribing without consent is a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Patron - Byron

F HB1459

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; examinations by regulatory boards. Provides that in awarding contracts for examination services, regulatory boards may enter into contracts with at least two businesses, as defined in § 2.2-4301, and afford to each applicant for certification or licensure the opportunity to select from among such businesses to fulfill such applicant's examination requirement.
Patron - Suit

F HJ127

Board of Health Professions; midwifery regulations. Requests the Board of Health Professions to recommend a regulatory system for establishing the appropriate regulation of certain direct entry midwives. The Board shall confer with the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM), the crediting agency for the Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), and the Commonwealth Midwives Alliance (CMA), which represents the direct entry midwives of Virginia. The Board shall also provide for public participation. The Department of Health Professions shall provide technical assistance to the Board, and the Chairman of the Board shall submit an executive summary and report no later than the first day of the 2005 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
Patron - Hamilton

F SB674

Involuntary commitment hearings; law students. Provides that it is not the unauthorized practice of law for a third-year law student at a Virginia law school to represent a petitioner in an involuntary mental commitment hearing without the presence of a practicing attorney. The student must have completed certain coursework and training. The student must inform the petitioner that he is not a licensed attorney, that he may not be compensated for his services and that he can be held liable only for intentional malfeasance.
Patron - Cuccinelli

Carried Over

C HB160

Causes for revocation or suspension of an optometrist's license or reprimand of an optometrist. Provides an additional rationale for revocation or suspension of an optometrist's license or for reprimand of an optometrist, i.e., practicing optometry in any setting or location in which there is access to or from the practice through a common door or doorway between both the practice and a commercial or mercantile establishment.
Patron - Reid

C HB455

Health professions; licensure of dietitians. Requires dietitians to be licensed by the Board of Medicine. The "practice of dietetics" is defined as the integration and application of principles derived from the sciences of nutrition, biochemistry, food, physiology, management and behavioral and social sciences to achieve and maintain health through the provision of nutrition care services that shall include (i) assessing the nutrition needs of individuals and groups based upon appropriate biochemical, anthropomorphic, physical, and dietary data to determine nutrient needs and recommend appropriate intake including enteral and parenteral nutrition; (ii) establishing priorities, goals, and objectives that meet nutrition needs and are consistent with available resources; (iii) providing dietetic nutrition counseling by advising and assisting individuals or groups on appropriate nutrition intake by integrating information from the nutrition assessment with information on food and other sources of nutrients and meal preparation consistent with cultural background and socioeconomic status; (iv) developing, implementing, and managing nutrition care delivery systems; and (v) evaluating, making changes in, and maintaining standards of quality in food and nutrition care services. The bill provides that the practice of dietetics includes medical nutrition therapy. The Board of Medicine is given the authority to establish criteria for licensure that include (a) at least a bachelors degree in human nutrition, nutrition education, foods and nutrition, food systems management, dietetics, or public health nutrition or a related field from an accredited college that meets the requirements of the Commission on Dietetic Registration; (b) at least 900 hours of supervised experience approved by the Commission on Dietetic Registration; (c) passage of the examination for registration administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration or current registration with the Commission on Dietetic Registration; and (d) documentation that the applicant for licensure has not had his license or certification as a dietitian suspended or revoked and is not the subject of any disciplinary proceedings in another jurisdiction. Exceptions to the licensure requirement are provided for (1) any student performing activities related to an educational program under the supervision of a licensed dietitian or any person completing the supervised practice required for licensure; (2) a registered dietetic technician working under the supervision and direction of a licensed dietitian; (3) a government employee or a person under contract to the government acting within the scope of such employment or contract; (4) any health professional licensed or certified under this title when engaging in the profession for which he is licensed or any person working under the supervision of such a professional; (5) a certified teacher employed by or under contract to any public or private elementary or secondary school or institution of higher education; (6) any person with management responsibility for food service department policies, procedures or outcomes in any food service department in any program or facility licensed by the Commonwealth; (7) any person who does not hold himself out to be a dietitian who furnishes general nutrition on food, food materials, or dietary supplements or explains to customers about foods or food products in connection with marketing and distribution of food or food products; or (8) any person who provides weight control, wellness, or exercise services involving nutrition provided the program has been reviewed by a licensed dietitian, no change is initiated without prior approval of the dietitian, and consultation is available from a licensed dietitian. No dietitian employed as such prior to June 30, 2004, will be required to comply with licensure until July 1, 2006. Finally, the bill creates an Advisory Board on Dietitians that expires July 1, 2007.
Patron - McQuigg

C HB602

Podiatric surgery. Modifies the statute that requires podiatrists to perform surgery under general anesthesia in a hospital or ambulatory surgery center to provide that podiatrists may provide medical direction and supervision for the practice of certified registered nurse anesthetists when performing such surgery in hospitals or ambulatory surgery centers. Currently, the Board of Nursing's regulation, 18VAC90-30-120 C, authorizes nurse anesthetists to practice only under the medical direction and supervision of doctors of medicine, osteopathy and dentistry. Thus, enactment clauses direct the Board of Nursing to revise its regulations to authorize the nurse anesthetists to so practice with podiatrists and to promulgate emergency regulations.
Patron - Dudley

C HB761

Virginia State Bar; availability of membership lists. Clarifies that the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act do not apply to requests for copies of the Virginia State Bar membership lists. The bill does provide, however, that copies shall be made available, upon request, to Virginia organizations that regularly conduct continuing legal education programs in the Commonwealth and that such lists shall be provided at a reasonable cost. Currently, copies of this list are provided to legal aid societies and the Virginia Law Foundation as well as continuing legal education providers on a cost recovery basis.
Patron - Hurt

C HB1173

Legal aid societies. Requires the Virginia State Bar to provide a check-off box on its annual bar dues statement for voluntary monetary contributions to Legal Services Corporation of Virginia.
Patron - Kilgore

C HB1415

Continued nurse practitioner competency; instruction relating to prevention, symptoms and diagnosis of certain communicable diseases. Requires the Boards of Nursing and Medicine to include, in the regulations on continued nurse practitioner competency, instruction on prevention of transmission and the symptoms and proper methods of diagnosis of communicable diseases, such as hepatitis C, that may often go undetected and untreated by health care practitioners.
Patron - Amundson

C HB1440

Delegation of certain nursing tasks; attendant care services. Requires the Board of Nursing to (i) encourage schools of nursing in the Commonwealth to include in their curricula information on delegation of certain nursing tasks not involving assessment, evaluation or nursing judgment to appropriately trained unlicensed personnel under the supervision of a registered nurse; (ii) provide a brochure about such delegation to current registered nurses; (iii) provide materials on delegation to employers of unlicensed assistive personnel; and (iv) develop through regulation, a training program for registered nurses to teach delegable nursing tasks to unlicensed personnel. The bill creates a new category of "attendant care services," and provides that nothing in Chapter 30 of Title 54.1 shall be construed to prohibit a person not licensed under the chapter from providing such services directed by or on behalf of an individual in need of in-home care. "Attendant care services" are defined as those basic and ancillary services that enable an individual in need of in-home care to live in the individual's home and community rather than in an institution and to carry out functions of daily living, self-care, and mobility. The bill also excludes attendant care services from the definition of practical nursing.
Patron - Eisenberg

C SB187

Board of Dentistry regulations on dental amalgams containing mercury. Requires the Board of Dentistry to promulgate regulations for the appropriate and safe use of dental amalgams containing mercury. The regulations must include, but need not be limited to, information on mercury and its environmental and health hazards; the safe handling of dental amalgams containing mercury to avoid human and animal exposure to mercury; appropriate disposal of mercury amalgams and waste products to prevent mercury pollution of the environment; conditions under which amalgams containing mercury are contraindicated and are not to be used in certain patients; a requirement that each patient be given informed consent about the health and safety concerns relating to amalgams containing mercury; and a requirement that any dentist who is continuing to use dental amalgams containing mercury must provide each of his patients with the option of receiving a dental filling other than dental amalgams containing mercury.
Patron - Miller

C SB272

C SB624

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation, Board for Barbers and Cosmetology; designation of shop or salon. Requires applicants for licensure as a barber, cosmetologist or nail technician to submit a designation to the Board for Barbers and Cosmetology of the licensed barbershop, cosmetology salon or nail salon at which the applicant will conduct his business. In addition, the bill requires barbers, cosmetologists and nail technicians to update the designation when the license is renewed. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2005, and provides for the Board to promulgate regulations pertaining to the designation requirement by January 1, 2005.
Patron - O'Brien

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