General Assembly>Division of Legislative Services>Publications>Session Summaries>2006>Professions and Occupations

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Professions and Occupations

Passed

P HB151

Professions and occupations; funeral service interns. Changes the term "resident trainee" to "funeral service intern." Also allows the Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers to adopt a more flexible reporting schedule for funeral service interns.
Patron - Alexander

P HB211

Real Estate Board; educational requirements for licensure. Provides that as a condition of licensure as a real estate salesperson or broker, an applicant must have at a minimum a high school diploma or its equivalent. The bill also provides that it does not apply to any person holding a valid license as a real estate salesperson or broker issued by the Real Estate Board before July 1, 2006.
Patron - Cox

P HB299

Registered pharmacy technicians. Authorizes registered pharmacy technicians, working under the direct supervision of a qualified nuclear pharmacist, to accept oral prescriptions for diagnostic, nonpatient specific radiopharmaceuticals.
Patron - Jones, S.C.

P HB300

Physician assistants; forms and certificates. Provides that physician assistants may sign various forms and certificates, and provide medical information or treatment in certain situations, including situations involving the immunization of children, examination of persons suspected of having tuberculosis, required examinations of school bus drivers, prenatal tests, examinations of nursing home residents, release of certain privileged information, release of certain veterinary records, competency for driver's licenses, and assisted living facility residents.
Patron - Jones, S.C.

P HB302

Inspections of nonresident pharmacies seeking registration to conduct business in the Commonwealth. Deems an inspection report submitted by a nonresident pharmacy to be current if the inspection was conducted within the past five years. However, if the nonresident pharmacy has not been inspected by the regulatory or licensing agency of the jurisdiction in which it is licensed within the past five years, the Board may accept an inspection report or other documentation from another entity that is satisfactory to the Board or the Board may cause an inspection to be conducted by its duly authorized agent and may charge an inspection fee in an amount sufficient to cover the costs of the inspection. Technical amendments clarify that the nonresident pharmacy must disclose that it maintains a current unrestricted license in its home jurisdiction.
Patron - Jones, S.C.

P HB316

Real Estate Board; duties of licensees; limited service agents. Adds the definition of "limited service representative" to mean a licensee who acts for or represents a client with respect to real property containing from one to four residential units, pursuant to a brokerage agreement that provides that the limited service representative will not provide one or more of the duties set forth in subdivision A 2 of §§ 54.1-2131, 54.1-2132, 54.1-2133, and 54.1-2134, inclusive. A limited service representative shall have the obligations set out in the brokerage agreement, except that a limited service representative shall provide the client, at the time of entering the brokerage agreement, copies of any and all disclosures required by federal or state law, or local disclosures expressly authorized by state law, and shall disclose to the client the following in writing: (i) the rights and obligations of the client under the Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act (§ 55-517 et seq.); (ii) if the client is selling a condominium, the rights and obligations of the client to deliver to the purchasers, or to receive as purchaser, the condominium resale certificate required by § 55-79.97; and (iii) if the client is selling a property subject to the Property Owners' Association Act (§ 55-508 et seq.), the rights and obligations of the client to deliver to the purchasers, or to receive as purchaser, the association disclosure packet required by § 55-512. A limited service representative may act as the agent of the client by so providing in the brokerage agreement. If the brokerage agreement does not so state, the limited service representative shall be deemed as acting as an independent contractor of the client. The bill also clarifies the obligations of licensees vis-a-vis their clients, whether the clients are a buyer, seller, landlord, or tenant. The bill also allows a common source information company to require, as a condition of participation in or use of such common source information, that a licensee providing information through such company disclose the nature of the brokerage relationship with the client of the licensee. The bill requires the Real Estate Board to promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of this bill to be effective on July 1, 2007. Further, the Real Estate Board is required to establish a continuing education curriculum of not less than two hours and, as of July 1, 2007, every applicant for relicensure as an active salesperson or broker shall complete at a minimum one two-hour continuing education course on the amendments to the real estate agency laws prior to each renewal or reinstatement of his license. If the licensee submits a notarized affidavit to the Real Estate Board that certifies that he does not practice residential real estate and shall not do so during the licensing term, training in limited service agency shall not be required. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2007.
Patron - Albo

P HB332

Health professions; nursing education programs. Requires the Board of Nursing to set guidelines for collection of data by nursing education programs and to compile the data in an annual report. The data shall include enrollment, graduation rate, attrition rate, and number of qualified applicants that are denied admission.
Patron - Toscano

P HB351

Prohibition of certain transfers of moneys collected on behalf of health regulatory boards. Requires that all nongeneral funds (except for funds required to be deposited into the nursing scholarship and loan repayment fund) generated by fees collected on behalf of the health regulatory boards and accounted for and deposited into a special fund by the Director of the Department of Health Professions must be held exclusively to cover the expenses of the health regulatory boards, the Health Practitioners' Intervention Program, and the Department and Board of Health Professions and cannot be transferred to any agency other than the Department of Health Professions. Fees collected for and deposited in the Nursing Scholarship and Loan Repayment Fund are exempt from the provisions of this bill.
Patron - Hamilton

P HB354

Provisional license in audiology; authorized. Authorizes the Board of Audiology and Speech-Pathology to issue a provisional license to an applicant who has met educational and exam requirements for licensure. The provisional license allows for clinical experience while under supervision in accordance with the Board's regulations.
Patron - Hamilton

P HB355

Board of Pharmacy; specific powers and duties. Directs the Board of Pharmacy to limit the implementation of its pedigree system to those drugs that have left the normal distribution channel. "Normal distribution channel" is defined as (i) a chain of custody for a prescription drug from initial sale by a pharmaceutical manufacturer, through acquisition and sale by one wholesale distributor, until final sale to a pharmacy or other person dispensing or administering the controlled substance; or (ii) a chain of custody for a prescription drug from initial sale by a pharmaceutical manufacturer, through acquisition and sale by one wholesale distributor to a chain pharmacy warehouse to its intracompany pharmacies; or (iii) a chain of custody for a prescription drug from initial sale by a pharmaceutical manufacturer to a chain pharmacy warehouse to its intracompany pharmacies. The bill also exempts from the Administrative Process Act the Board's amendments to the list of drugs susceptible to counterfeiting. However, the Board is required to establish a process in regulation for amending the list that provides notice and opportunity for public comment and may make exceptions to the pedigree requirements for emergency medical reasons, as defined in regulation.
Patron - Hamilton

P HB521

Landscape architects; acceptance of plans by state and local authorities. Provides that resulting plans and specifications, submitted under the seal, stamp, or certification of a certified landscape architect, shall be accepted for review by local and state authorities in connection with both public and private projects. Currently state and local authorities have the discretion to accept such plans and specifications, but are not required to.
Patron - Oder

P HB618

Dialysis patient care technician; definition. Authorizes a person who has completed a training program in dialysis patient care to practice provisionally, under direct and immediate supervision of a licensed registered nurse, in order to obtain practical experience. The bill provides authorization for up to 24 months, or until such person has taken and received the results of any examination required by a certifying organization approved by the Board, whichever occurs sooner. The bill allows trainees to perform dialysis care as a part of a training program provided that they are identified as "trainees" while working in the dialysis facility. The bill contains an emergency clause.
Patron - O'Bannon

P HB622

Prescriptions written for patients residing in certain institutions. Provides an exception to the requirement that prescription order forms must be for only one prescription to allow for submission of a single document containing multiple prescriptions written for patients residing in adult and juvenile detention centers, local or regional jails, or work release centers operated by the Department of Corrections. Exceptions are already provided for chart orders in hospitals and long-term care facilities, for home infusion patients, and hospice patients and for the orders through pharmacies operated by various state agencies, including the Department of Juvenile Justice and the Department of Corrections.
Patron - O'Bannon

P HB776

Practice of law, legal entities. Allows persons who are legally authorized to practice law in Virginia but who are not active members of the Virginia State Bar to be members of a professional corporation, professional limited liability company or registered limited liability partnership that renders professional legal services in the Commonwealth. Under current law only active members of the Virginia State Bar may practice law in Virginia through a limited liability entity. This bill is identical to SB 482.
Patron - Albo

P HB937

Anabolic steroids; electronic ordering of Schedule II drugs; additions to Schedules IV and V. Revises the definition of anabolic steroids to remove the reference to promoting muscle growth and to add dehydroepiandrosterone. In addition, the bill amends provisions of the Drug Control Act to (i) reflect the changes made in federal regulations concerning electronic ordering of Schedule II drugs, (ii) add various anabolic steroids to Schedule III, (iii) include Zopiclone on Schedule IV, and (iv) add Pregabalin to Schedule V.
Patron - Morgan

P HB996

Dental hygienists administering certain Schedule VI analgesia and anesthesia. Allows a dentist to authorize dental hygienists to administer, under his direction, Schedule VI nitrous oxide and oxygen inhalation analgesia and, to persons 18 years of age or older, Schedule VI local anesthesia. The Board of Dentistry must adopt regulations establishing the education and training requirements for dental hygienists to administer the Schedule VI analgesia and anesthesia.
Patron - Brink

P HB1054

Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects; continuing education. Requires the Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects to promulgate regulations governing continuing education requirements for architects, professional engineers, and land surveyors. Such regulations shall require the completion of the equivalent of 16 hours per biennium of Board-approved continuing education activities as a prerequisite to the renewal or reinstatement of a license issued to an architect, professional engineer, or land surveyor. The bill provides for waivers of this requirement in cases of certified illness or undue hardship.
Patron - Reid

P HB1118

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; Board for Contractors; issuance of license. Requires the Board for Contractors to promulgate regulations for educational requirements as a condition for licensure. Under the bill, the regulations shall include the requirement that the designated employee or responsible management personnel of the applicants who are contractors or tradesmen successfully complete an approved basic business course, not to exceed eight hours of classroom instruction. The bill also requires the Board to promulgate emergency regulations to implement these education requirements. This bill is identical to SB 72.
Patron - Athey

P HB1145

Exemptions from surface transportation and removal services. Exempts emergency medical services agencies holding a permit issued by the Commissioner of Health from registration as surface transportation and removal services to remove and transport dead human bodies. The requirement that a licensed funeral service establishment receive the registration as a part of its license has been removed. The bill provides that no funeral service establishment will be required to receive such registration "in addition" to its funeral service establishment license. However, funeral service establishments must continue to comply with Board regulations governing transportation and removal services. Currently, emergency medical services agencies must apply for and receive a registration from the Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers to remove and transport dead human bodies. Emergency medical services agencies are assessed a fee for this registration. Licensed funeral service establishments receive this registration as a part of their funeral service establishment license, without an additional charge for the registration.
Patron - Orrock

P HB1146

Practice of social work. Increases the membership of the Board of Social Work from seven to nine, to be appointed by the Governor. Also, an enactment clause provides that the Board of Social Work shall consult with relevant stakeholders, including educators, professionals, and appropriate agencies and organizations, to determine (i) if current education and training requirements for social workers are adequate to assure the public of professional competency and (ii) whether current exemptions from the requirements for licensure best serve the citizens of the Commonwealth.
Patron - Orrock

P HB1147

Prescription medications; child day programs. Allows a person employed in day care centers to administer prescription medication to a child in a child day program, as defined in § 63.2-100 and regulated by the State Board of Social Services or the Child Day Care Council, if the person (i) has satisfactorily completed a training program for this purpose approved by the Board of Nursing and taught by a registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, doctor of medicine or osteopathic medicine, or pharmacist; (ii) has obtained written authorization from a parent or guardian; (iii) administers drugs only to the child identified on the prescription label in accordance with the prescriber's instructions pertaining to dosage, frequency, and manner of administration; and (iv) administers only those drugs that were dispensed from a pharmacy and maintained in the original, labeled container that would normally be administered by a parent or guardian to the child.
Patron - Orrock

P HB1487

Board of Medicine. Grants authority to the Board for the issuance of restricted volunteer licenses to practitioners of the healing arts. The restricted volunteer license will qualify the practitioners to volunteer in the clinics organized in whole or in part for the delivery of health care services without charge.
Patron - Orrock

P HB1501

Information to be provided by the Board of Medicine to individuals filing complaints against physicians. Requires that whenever an individual files a written complaint against a person licensed, certified, or registered by a health regulatory board and the board has concluded that a disciplinary proceeding will not be instituted, the board may send the person an advisory letter. The board may also inform the individual that (i) an investigation has been conducted, (ii) the matter was concluded without a disciplinary proceeding, and (iii), if appropriate, an advisory letter from the board has been communicated to the person who was the subject of the complaint or report. In providing such information, the board shall inform the source of the complaint or report that he is subject to confidentiality and discovery requirements. This bill is identical to SB 702.
Patron - Callahan

P SB72

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; Board for Contractors; issuance of license. Requires the Board for Contractors to promulgate regulations for educational requirements as a condition for initial licensure as a contractor. Under the bill, either the designated employee or a member of the responsible management personnel must successfully complete an approved basic business course which shall not exceed eight hours of classroom instruction. The bill also requires the Board to promulgate emergency regulations to implement these education requirements. This bill is identical to HB 1118.
Patron - Houck

P SB187

Prescription Monitoring Program. Modifies the reporting requirements under the Prescription Monitoring Program to reflect recent changes in federal law and to ensure that the Commonwealth is eligible to receive federal funds. This bill contains a second enactment clause requiring the Department of Health Professions to promulgate regulations within 280 days of enactment.
Patron - Wampler

P SB201

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; Contractor Transaction Recovery Act; Real Estate Transaction Recovery Act. Streamlines the administrative processing of claims filed under the Contractor Transaction Recovery Act and Real Estate Transaction Recovery Act. Under the bill, the requirement to conduct an informal fact-finding conference (IFF) is eliminated unless the regulant has requested the proceeding. If the regulant has not requested an IFF the Department will present the claim to the Board for Contractors or the Real Estate Board to decide whether to approve or deny the claim.
Patron - Houck

P SB214

Health professions; mandatory suspension or revocation of license, certificate, or registration; reinstatement hearing. Increases the time between receipt of an application for reinstatement and the relevant health regulatory board's reinstatement hearing after a mandatory suspension or revocation of a health professional's license, certificate, or registration. The bill provides that the hearing shall be not later than the next regular meeting of the board after the expiration of 60 days from receipt of the application. This is a 30-day increase in the time allowed to the boards.
Patron - Edwards

P SB281

Dentists and Dental Hygienists; display of licenses. Provides that the display requirements for dentists and dental hygienists do not apply to those dentists and dental hygienists while volunteering for a Virginia charitable organization that provides dental services to the indigent and uninsured.
Patron - Rerras

P SB416

Health professions; temporary permits for certain clinicians. Expands the authority of the Board of Dentistry to issue temporary licenses to dentists meeting certain criteria who will serve as clinicians in dental clinics operated by the Virginia Department of Corrections.
Patron - Hanger

P SB456

Nurse practitioners; prescriptive authority. Expands the prescriptive authority of nurse practitioners to include Schedule II controlled substances. Nurse practitioners currently have the authority to prescribe Schedule III through VI controlled substances.
Patron - Devolites Davis

P SB482

P SB488

Certified nurse midwives. Clarifies the relationship between licensed physicians and nurse practitioners, categorized as certified nurse midwives, as one of collaboration and consultation, rather than as one of supervision. The bill also directs the Board of Medicine and the Board of Nursing to jointly promulgate regulations specifying collaboration and consultation to include (i) development, periodic review and revision of a written protocol, (ii) development of guidelines for availability and ongoing communications that define consultation among the collaborating parties and the patient, and (iii) periodic joint evaluation of services delivered. In addition, the bill emphasizes that no person other than the certified nurse midwife who provided care to the patient will be liable for the nurse midwife's negligent, grossly negligent or willful and wanton acts or omissions; however, no other licensed midwife, doctor of medicine or osteopathy, nurse, prehospital emergency medical personnel or hospital will be exempt from liability for their own subsequent and independent negligent acts or omissions. A second enactment clause requires the Boards of Medicine and Nursing to promulgate emergency regulations to implement these provisions.
Patron - Quayle

P SB702

P SB703

Board of Nursing; instruction in child abuse recognition and intervention. Requires the Board of Nursing, on and after July 1, 2007, to require that approved nursing education programs provide instruction in child abuse recognition and intervention.
Patron - Devolites Davis

Failed

F HB54

Attorneys; continuing legal education. Awards six hours of CLE to a lawyer member of the General Assembly, except that the member is not exempt from the ethics requirement. The bill also provides a member or former member of the General Assembly certain credit towards the law-reading program. This bill is identical to HB 120.
Patron - Marshall, R.G.

F HB120

F HB173

Notification to parents of certain health services to minors. Requires any state or local government agency employee who provides services to a minor relating to sexually transmitted diseases, the provision of emergency contraception, pregnancy, illegal drug use, or the contemplation of suicide to attempt notification, within two business days of delivery of such services, to a custodial parent, legal guardian, or other person standing in loco parentis of any service and any reason, condition, or diagnosis requiring such service.
Patron - Lingamfelter

F HB187

Prohibition on the provision of certain intervening medical technology to unmarried women. Provides that no individual licensed by a health regulatory board shall assist with or perform, for or on an unmarried woman any intervening medical technology, whether in vivo or in vitro that completely or partially replaces sexual intercourse as the means of conception, including, but not limited to, artificial insemination by donor, cryopreservation of gametes and embryos, invitro fertilization, embryo transfer, gamete intrafallopian tube transfer, and low tubal ovum transfer.
Patron - Marshall, R.G.

F HB237

Certain requirements for physicians performing abortions. Requires any physician performing abortions in the Commonwealth to reside and practice in Virginia and have practice privileges in a Virginia hospital. The Board of Medicine must monitor and verify that each such physician is a resident of and practices in Virginia and has practice privileges in a Virginia hospital.
Patron - Marshall, R.G.

F HB285

Real Estate Board; criminal history background checks for licensees. Requires applicants for licensure as a real estate salesperson or broker or for renewal of such licenses to submit to a criminal history background check. If the background check reveals a prior felony conviction, no license or license renewal shall be issued by the Board, unless the applicant submits proof that his civil rights have been restored by the Governor or other appropriate authority.
Patron - Marshall, D.W.

F HB290

Board of Pharmacy; specific powers and duties. Directs the Board of Pharmacy to limit the implementation of their pedigree system to those drugs that have left the normal distribution channel. "Normal distribution channel" is defined as a chain of custody for a prescription drug from initial sale by a pharmaceutical manufacturer, through acquisition and sale by one wholesale distributor, until final sale to a pharmacy or other person dispensing or administering the controlled substance. This bill was incorporated into HB 355.
Patron - Jones, S.C.

F HB868

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

F HB1111

Health Professions; advertising physical therapy services. Prohibits anyone not licensed as a physical therapist from advertising services as "physical therapy."
Patron - Athey

F HB1112

Health professions; physical therapy. Removes the referral and supervision requirements for the practice of physical therapy except in specific instances, such as during invasive procedures. The bill also restricts advertising of "physical therapy" to those licensed by the Board of Physical Therapy.
Patron - Athey

F HB1330

Optometry; practice as a lessee of commercial establishment. Allows optometrists to locate their practice within commercial or mercantile establishments under defined, limited circumstances. The limitations include ownership by the optometrist of the practice and its records, as well as defined space and access requirements. The bill prohibits lessors from terminating or threatening to terminate a lease as a means of controlling or attempting to control a licensed optometrist, and requires optometrists to report a suspected violation of this prohibition. The bill also contains a technical amendment.
Patron - O'Bannon

F HB1355

Pawnbrokers; records on purchasers. Requires a pawnbroker to keep at his place of business an accurate and legible record of each resale by him of goods, article or thing pawned or pledged or received on account of money loaned thereon, or purchased for resale. Such records shall include the full name, residence address, telephone number, and driver's license number or other form of identification of the person purchasing such goods, article or thing from the pawnbroker.
Patron - Bell

F HB1447

Professions and occupations; dealers in firearms; definitions. Expands the definition of firearms show to include any gathering or exhibition, open to the public, not occurring on the permanent premises of a dealer in firearms, conducted by two or more persons who may or may not be engaged in the business as dealers in firearms, in which one of the purposes is exchanging, selling, or trading firearms. The bill also redefines promoter.
Patron - Watts

F HB1455

Administration of drugs or devices. Authorizes a prescriber to cause drugs or devices to be administered by a medical assistant under his direction and supervision. Current law provides that a prescriber may cause the drugs or devices to be administered by a nurse, physician assistant, or intern under his direction and supervision.
Patron - Hamilton

F HB1498

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; mold inspectors and remediators. Provides for the licensure of mold inspectors and mold remediators by the Board for Asbestos, Lead, and Home Inspectors. The bill increases the membership of this Board by one member to include a mold inspector.
Patron - Marshall, D.W.

F HB1531

Unprofessional conduct; practice of the healing arts. Establishes as unprofessional conduct by a practitioner of the healing arts the oral or written inquiry to a patient concerning the possession, ownership, or storage of firearms, where the inquiry is unrelated to the patient's condition and is for the purpose of gathering statistics or to justify patient counseling.
Patron - Armstrong

Carried Over

C HB412

Identification of gamete donors. Prohibits the use of unrelated anonymous donor oocyte or sperm in the performance of intervening medical technology that completely or partially replaces sexual intercourse as a means of conception and requires, notwithstanding any traditional practice, agreement, regulation, or law to the contrary, the identity of any unrelated oocyte or sperm donor to be noted in the health record of any woman patient whenever any healthcare practitioner licensed by a health regulatory board uses any unrelated donor gametes in the performance of or while assisting in the performance of such intervening medical technology, such as artificial insemination by donor, cryopreservation of gametes and embryos, in vitro fertilization, embryo transfer, gamete intrafallopian tube transfer, and low tubal ovum transfer.
Patron - Marshall, R.G.

C HB571

Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers; preneed funeral contracts. Clarifies that deposits in a preneed funeral trust account may be commingled for the purposes of the management of the trust account or investment of funds in the trust account.
Patron - Nixon

C HB620

Physician self-referrals; definitions. Amends the definition of "office practice" as it relates to supervision of health care services. The bill also adds a definition for "same building," relating to such supervision.
Patron - O'Bannon

C HB644

Equine dentistry. Provides an exception from the practice of veterinary medicine for the practice of equine dentistry, including the floating or filing of the points of a horse's molars and the routine extraction of single rooted teeth by trained equine dental technicians while engaged to so practice by the owner of the animal regardless of whether employed by a veterinarian.
Patron - Scott, E.T.

C HB936

Architects, professional engineers, land surveyors, and landscape architects; definitions. Adds definitions for the terms "private entity," "public entity," and "utility."
Patron - Morgan

C HB1056

Health professions; licensure of dietitians and nutritionists. Requires dietitians and nutritionists to be licensed by the Board of Health Professions. The bill establishes criteria for licensure that includes (i) a four-year bachelor of science degree, or master's degree when the bachelor's degree was not nutrition related, in human nutrition, dietetics, nutrition education, public health nutrition, nutrition research, nutritional biochemistry, foods and nutrition with a concentration in dietetics, or kinesiology/exercise science where the primary concentration of studies involves biochemistry, nutrition, or physiology; (ii) a completed board-approved work experience or program; and (iii) a successfully passed board-approved examination. The Board of Health Professions must (i) review applications for licensure; (ii) require the submission of an official college transcript; (iii) establish a Code of Ethics; and (iv) require 30 hours of continuing education credit every two years as a condition of renewal of licenses. Additionally, the bill establishes an Advisory Board on Dietitians and Nutritionists to assist the Board of Health Professions regarding the qualifications, examination, and regulation of licensed dietitians and nutritionists. The Advisory Board expires on July 1, 2009.
Patron - Reid

C HB1199

Requirements for prescribing oral contraceptives for minors; penalty. Requires any practitioner having prescriptive authority who prescribes an oral contraceptive to a minor without consent of a parent or legal guardian to review the minor's drug profile and health record, including any drugs and conditions being treated by other practitioners, to determine that such drug profile and health record do not include any current prescriptions for or indicate the likelihood of the issuance of prescriptions for controlled substances to the minor that are known to interact with oral contraceptives, such as, but not limited to, antibiotics. If the minor receiving a prescription for an oral contraceptive without a parent's or legal guardian's consent suffers an interaction, including, but not limited to, pregnancy, as a result of taking a prescription drug that the physician knew or should have known would be prescribed for her, the practitioner issuing the prescription for the oral contraceptive to the minor without a parent's or legal guardian's consent will be guilty, upon conviction, of a Class 6 felony.
Patron - Marshall, R.G.

C HB1299

Preneed funeral contract recovery fund. Establishes a recovery fund from which persons with an unsatisfied final judgment against the seller of a preneed funeral contract for damages resulting from the seller's malfeasance, misfeasance, default, failure, or insolvency in connection with the sale of a preneed funeral contract, or the seller's performance of the duties imposed on the seller by law with respect to the contract, may recover the amount of the court's judgment. The recovery fund is financed with a fee of $2 on every preneed funeral contract sold and an initial assessment of $100 on every licensed practitioner of funeral service.
Patron - Alexander

C HB1300

Continuing competency for funeral services licensees, funeral directors, and embalmers. Revises the existing requirements for five hours of annual continuing education for all funeral services licensees, funeral directors, and embalmers to authorize the Board to prescribe continued competence requirements. The Board must annually determine whether there have been any significant revisions in the practice of or the laws and regulations governing funeral services and, if revisions have occurred that will require that licensees obtain additional education in their relevant practices, the Board must prescribe continuing education accordingly and must notify relevant licensees of the requirement at the time renewal notices are next sent. The notice to licensees must specify the content and number of hours, not to exceed five hours, which must be obtained within one year from approved providers and attested to on the next renewal application. The Board may approve persons who provide or accredit continuing education in order to accomplish the purposes of this section and shall provide for the reporting of satisfactory completion and record retention of any required continuing education courses.
Patron - Alexander

C HB1389

Practice of naturopathy. Establishes licensure requirements for the practice of naturopathy. This bill establishes criteria for the practice of naturopathy, including educational requirements, examinations, scope of practice, requirements for the promulgation of regulations governing the profession, and an advisory board to the Board of Medicine. This bill is identical to SB 517.
Patron - Phillips

C HB1399

Board for Barbers and Cosmetology; regulation of laser or light therapy technicians. Requires, effective July 1, 2008, the licensure of laser or light therapy technicians by the Board for Barbers and Cosmetology. The bill defines laser or light therapy as the nonabrasive photo-rejuvenation of the skin or the removal of hair by selective photothermolysis, using laser or light therapy devices. The bill also increases the membership of the Board for Barbers and Cosmetology by adding a laser or light therapy technician. The bill also limits the current exemption from licensure for nurses by requiring them to be performing activities as part of their official duties in a medical facility under the responsibility of persons authorized by the laws of the Commonwealth to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathy or chiropractic.
Patron - Hargrove

C HB1605

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; Real Estate Recovery Fund. Provides that the maximum amount of recovery from the fund against a single regulant arising out of a single transaction is $40,000.
Patron - Shannon

C SB216

Court reporters; penalty. Creates the Virginia Board of Court Reporting to regulate the profession of court reporting. The bill defines "court reporting" as the making of a verbatim recording by means of (i) manual shorthand, (ii) machine shorthand, (iii) stenomask, or (iv) voice writer reporting of any testimony given under oath before, or for submission to, any court examiner, board, commission, or other body created by statute or by the Constitution of Virginia or in any other proceeding where a verbatim record is required. Excluded from the definition are court clerks and employees of a district or circuit court or judge who reports judicial proceedings. Under the bill, after January 1, 2007, any person who engages in court reporting for remuneration without a license shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor. The bill includes a provision requiring the Board to enact emergency regulations.
Patron - Quayle

C SB422

Exceptions and exemptions to licensure requirements by health regulatory boards. Exempts practitioners of natural foods, dietary supplements, healing therapies, homeopathic remedies and products, and natural therapies from licensure requirements of the Board of Medicine and other health regulatory boards of the Department of Health Professions. This bill also requires such practitioners to post in the interior premises of their facilities prominent signs disclosing that the practitioner does not have a medical education or other recognized health care training, and that he is not a licensed, certified, or registered health care provider by the Board of Medicine or any other health regulatory board within the Department of Health Professions. The disclosure must also provide the practitioner's name and contact information, and the types of health care services he is authorized to provide. The practitioner must provide a copy of the disclosure to consumers, and before providing care for the first time, obtain written acknowledgment from the consumer that he has been so informed and has received a copy of the statement of disclosure.
Patron - Lucas

C SB517

C SB653

Pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers. Adds the regulation of secondhand dealers, secondhand shops, and consignment shops to current statues regulating pawnbrokers. In addition, the bill also authorizes localities to enact an ordinance regulating pawnbrokers or secondhand dealers and to require pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers to report their daily transactions electronically to a designated law-enforcement official of the locality. The bill also (i) requires pawnbrokers to obtain thumbprints of both hands of the person pawning an item and (ii) authorizes fees to be charged for additional services provided.
Patron - Stolle

C SB654

Precious metals dealers. Requires a precious metals dealer to obtain the thumbprints of both hands of the individual selling the item and to hold the item purchased for a period of 15 days before it may be sold, altered, or disposed of. Currently a dealer is required to hold the item for 10 days.
Patron - Stolle

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General Assembly>Division of Legislative Services>Publications>Session Summaries>2006>Professions and Occupations

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