General Assembly>Division of Legislative Services>Publications>Session Summaries>2007>Health

CONTENTS | < PREVIOUS | NEXT > | BILL INDEX

Health

Passed

P HB 1630

Certain certificates of public need for nursing facility or extended care services. Adjusts the previously amended certificate of public need authorization for three continuing care facilities that are established for the care of retired military personnel and their spouses or widows or widowers to extend the deadline for discontinuing the admission of private-pay patients who are not contract holders from July 1, 2008, to July 1, 2013, if the facility's contract holder occupancy rate is less than 85%.
Patron - Poisson

P HB 1690

Worksite health promotion grants program. Repeals § 32.1-11.4, relating to the worksite health promotion grants program. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Code Commission.
Patron - Landes

P HB 1691

Transition to elimination of medical care facilities certificate of public need. Repeals § 32.1-102.13, relating to the transition to elimination of medical care facilities certificate of public need. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Code Commission.
Patron - Landes

P HB 1949

Onsite Sewage Indemnification Fund; increased indemnification claim time. Requires that the Commissioner shall, at the end of each fiscal year, certify that no expenses were paid from the Fund to support the program for training and recognition of authorized onsite soil evaluators in lieu of payment to any owner or owners qualified to receive payment from the Fund.
Patron - Morgan

P HB 1965

Assisted living facilities; certain hospices exempt. Defines "hospice facility." Exempts hospice facilities with 16 or fewer beds from Certificate of Public Need laws and regulations. Provides that hospice facilities shall be licensed by the Department of Health and that regulations promulgated by the Board shall include standards for the care, treatment, health, safety, welfare and comfort of patients and their families served by the program. Eliminates existing provisions authorizing an entity licensed as a hospice to concurrently hold a license to operate as an assisted living facility and authorizing an entity licensed as an assisted living facility to concurrently hold a license as a hospice.
Patron - O'Bannon

P HB 1992

Certificate of public need; relocation of nursing home beds. Authorizes issuance of certificates of public need for the relocation of nursing home beds under certain circumstances, but also provides an exception to regulation pursuant to § 32.1-102.1.
Patron - Wittman

P HB 2035

Required vaccinations; adds human papillomavirus vaccine. Requires females to receive three properly spaced doses of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. The first dose shall be administered before the child enters the sixth grade. After having reviewed materials describing the link between the human papillomavirus and cervical cancer approved for such use by the Board of Health, a parent or guardian may elect for his daughter not to receive this vaccine. This bill contains a delayed effective date of October 1, 2008. This bill incorporates HB 1914 and is identical to SB 1230.
Patron - Hamilton

P HB 2102

Prohibition on construction of private wells. Prohibits the construction of private wells within 50 feet of the property line adjacent to agricultural property unless the owner of the adjacent property grants written permission for construction within 50 feet of the property line or the owner of the property provides certification that no other site on the property complies with the Board's regulations for the construction of a private well. Requires the Department of Health to accept private site evaluations and designs by a licensed professional engineer in consultation with an authorized onsite soil evaluator or by an authorized onsite soil evaluator. Requires the Department to obtain written affirmation from the applicant that a well construction site is in compliance with the provisions of this bill before issuing a permit.
Patron - Orrock

P HB 2161

Statewide emergency medical care system. Adds provisions for additional performance improvement measures. Adds requirement that the statewide Trauma Triage Plan be updated triennially.
Patron - O'Bannon

P HB 2210

Investigation of deaths; medical examiner fee. Clarifies that the county or city of which the deceased was a legal resident shall be responsible for the medical examiner fee up to $20.
Patron - O'Bannon

P HB 2211

Virginia Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Registry and Virginia Statewide Trauma Registry. Creates the Virginia EMS Registry within the Emergency Medical Services Patient Care Information System to collect data previously collected by the prehospital patient care reporting procedure. Creates the Virginia Statewide Trauma Registry within the Emergency Medical Services Patient Care Information System to collect information on trauma injuries in the Commonwealth.
Patron - O'Bannon

P HB 2218

Donations of food to charitable organizations; deemed exempt from food service regulations. Exempts charitable organizations that engage in food distribution to the needy from state and local regulations and ordinances that govern food service and preparation. Includes non-profit homeless shelters and hunger prevention programs under the definition of "charitable organizations" for purposes of the exemption. Permits the Board of Health to issue advisory standards for food preparation, handling, protection, and preservation. The bill contains an emergency clause and will take effect upon passage. This bill incorporates HB 2258 and is identical to SB 806.
Patron - Amundson

P HB 2290

Certified Nursing Facility Education Initiative; use of funds. Requires the Director of the Department of Medical Assistance Services to establish a Nursing Facility Quality Improvement Program. This program shall replace the role of nonprofit organizations in using civil monetary penalty funds collected by the Department to improve the health, safety, and welfare of residents in nursing facilities. Requires that the Director shall provide a strategic plan and progress report to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committees on Health, Welfare and Institutions, and Appropriations; the Senate Committees on Education and Health, and Finance; and the Joint Commission on Health Care no later than October 1, 2007.
Patron - Watts

P HB 2299

FAMIS Program; reporting requirements. Eliminates the requirement that the Department of Medical Assistance Services provide quarterly reports on Family Access to Medical Insurance Security Plan enrollment, policies affecting enrollment, outreach efforts, and other topics.
Patron - Brink

P HB 2345

Sex offender registry; nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Requires nursing homes, certified nursing facilities, and assisted living facilities to register with the Department of State Police to receive automatic notification of the registration of sex offenders within the same or a contiguous zip code area as the home or facility. The bill also requires such entities to ascertain, before admission, whether a potential admittee is a registered sex offender if it is anticipated that the admittee will stay for more than three days or if the admittee does in fact stay for more than three days. This bill is identical to SB 1229.
Patron - Bell

P HB 2346

Sex offender registry notification; nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Requires nursing homes and assisted living facilities, at the time a resident is admitted and during his stay, to provide the resident with notice of Virginia's sex offender registry, and how to access the registry on the State Police's website. The language is similar to the requirement in the Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act. This bill is identical to SB 1228.
Patron - Bell

P HB 2366

Water systems; chronically noncompliant systems. Defines "chronically noncompliant waterworks." Authorizes localities to acquire chronically noncompliant waterworks. Requires the Board of Health to promulgate regulations for the implementation of a program to (i) identify chronically noncompliant water systems and (ii) create mechanisms or enforcement options for eliminating underperforming systems. This bill is identical to SB 998.
Patron - Scott, E.T.

P HB 2367

Health care data reporting; repeals sunset. Repeals the July 1, 2008, sunset provision on health care data reporting. This bill is identical to SB 1112.
Patron - Hamilton

P HB 2378

Health Commissioner; goals of licensure. Requires the Commissioner to ensure, in the licensure of health care facilities, that quality of care, patient safety, and patient privacy are the overriding goals of such licensure and related enforcement efforts, to coordinate with the Department of Health's emergency preparedness and response efforts, and to ensure that prevention of disease and protection of public health remain the Department's overriding goals. This bill is identical to SB 1240.
Patron - Hamilton

P HB 2393

Medical Examiner's reports and findings. Requires that all Medical Examiner's reports shall be confidential and not available for discovery except as provided and creates additional exceptions for reports concerning the death of a prisoner committed to the custody of any local correctional facility. The bill also eliminates allowance for any form of disclosure other than aggregate or statistical form of disclosure.
Patron - Nixon

P HB 2520

Health records privacy; exceptions. Creates an exception to an individual's right of privacy in the content of his health records so that health care entities may disclose records to law-enforcement officers for the purpose of identifying or locating a suspect, fugitive, person required to register with the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry, material witness, or missing person. Specifies the type of information that may be disclosed.
Patron - Iaquinto

P HB 2523

Child Fatality Review Team to obtain presentence reports. Authorizes the Chief Medical Examiner to obtain and review presentence reports of any person convicted of a crime that led to the death of a child investigated by the Child Fatality Review Team.
Patron - Iaquinto

P HB 2546

Definition of projects that require certificate of public need. Increases the amount of a capital expenditure not subject to the certificate of public need requirements from $5 million to $15 million. Also requires annual revision of this amount to reflect inflation beginning July 1, 2008.
Patron - Hogan

P HB 2567

Human research review committees; publication of results. Provides that each human research review committee of an institution or agency shall ensure that the approved human research projects and the results of such projects are made public on the institution's or agency's website unless otherwise exempt from disclosure under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
Patron - Shannon

P HB 2684

Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA). Replaces current provisions in the Virginia Code with this Act, which was adopted, in substantial part, by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) in July of 2006. The original UAGA was promulgated by NCCUSL in 1968 and enacted by all states. In 1987, the UAGA was revised and updated, but only Virginia and 25 other states adopted that version. Since 1987, many states have adopted nonuniform amendments to their anatomical gift acts. This Act clarifies current law in Virginia, addresses the lack of uniformity among states, and brings the law into harmony with federal laws applicable to organ, tissue and eye donation. The revised Act addresses each step in the donation process and establishes rules of decision to resolve uncertainties and ambiguities that have arisen under prior versions of the UAGA. It ensures that if an individual wishes to make an anatomical gift or to refuse to make such a gift, those wishes will be respected without exception. It preserves the right of other persons to make an anatomical gift if the decedent did not make a gift during life, and clarifies how, to whom, and for what purpose, the gift may be made. The Act facilitates donation by expanding the list of persons who can make an anatomical gift and by establishing the priority and circumstances under which such persons may make a gift, including when they will be considered available to exercise their right to consent to, or refuse, an anatomical gift. There are numerous default rules for the interpretation of a document of gift that lacks specificity. The Act affirms that procurement organizations will have access to documents of gift in donor registries, medical records, and DMV records. It also provides that taking measures to preserve the viability of organs, tissues and eyes for their donative purpose is not inconsistent with a health-care directive requesting the withholding or withdrawal of life support systems. Other provisions address the relationship between the medical examiner and procurement organizations to ensure, to the maximum extent possible, that anatomical gifts are made from decedents under the jurisdiction of the medical examiner. The revised Act creates a new crime of falsification of a gift document and continues to prohibit the sale of bodies or body parts and increases the criminal penalty from a Class 6 to a Class 4 felony. This bill is identical to SB 918.
Patron - Frederick

P HB 2691

Environmental Health Education and Training Fund; civil penalties. Establishes the Environmental Health Education and Training Fund to support, train, educate, and recognize public- and private-sector individuals in all areas of environmental health. This bill directs the Board of Health to establish a schedule of civil penalties for violations of regulations governing onsite sewage systems, which shall be credited to the Fund. It also establishes a reinspection fee of $250 for noncompliant onsite sewage systems, which fee shall be credited to the Fund.
Patron - Suit

P HB 2692

Onsite Sewage Indemnification Fund; limitations. Limits the amount that owners of permitted onsite sewage systems can receive from the fund to the cost of replacing the system or the costs of labor and equipment required to repair the system, with a total of not more than $30,000. This bill also specifies the procedure for filing a claim and requires all claims to be filed within one year of the date the system or components thereof failed.
Patron - Suit

P HB 2730

Hospital regulations; authorized visitor designation for hospital visitation. Requires the Department of Health to establish regulations requiring each licensed hospital to include in its visitation policy a provision allowing each adult patient to receive visits from any individual from whom the patient desires to receive visits, subject to certain restrictions.
Patron - Englin

P HB 2845

Emergency preparedness; orders of isolation and quarantine. Makes several revisions to the procedures related to orders of quarantine and isolation. The bill also authorizes persons who are otherwise not authorized by law to administer or dispense all necessary drugs when the Governor has declared a disaster or a state of emergency and allows for electronic legal filings in order to protect the public from communicable diseases. The bill is identical to SB 1108.
Patron - O'Bannon

P HB 2969

Supervised training programs for medical students; prohibition of unauthorized pelvic exams. Prohibits students participating in a course of professional instruction or clinical training program from performing a pelvic examination on an anesthetized or unconscious female patient unless the patient or her authorized agent gives informed consent to such examination, the performance of such examination is within the scope of care ordered for the patient, or in the case of a patient incapable of giving informed consent, the examination is necessary for diagnosis or treatment of such patient.
Patron - Bell

P HB 3043

Health Commissioner; minority health. Requires the Commissioner to designate a senior staff member of the Department of Health, who shall be a licensed physician, to oversee minority health efforts of the Department.
Patron - Spruill

P HB 3111

Tobacco Settlement Foundation; securitization of payments. Authorizes the Governor to sell up to 10% of the revenues derived from the Master Settlement Agreement. Proceeds from the sale shall be deposited into the Tobacco Settlement Foundation Endowment.
Patron - Janis

P HB 3134

Onsite sewage systems; operation and maintenance program. Requires the Board of Health to establish a program for the operation and maintenance of alternative onsite sewage systems. Requires the owner of an alternative onsite sewage system to have the system operated by a licensed operator and visited by the operator as specified in the operation permit. Requires the Board to promulgate regulations to establish licensure requirements for operators of alternative onsite sewage systems. Establishes a statewide web-based reporting system to track the operation, monitoring, and maintenance requirements of each system, including its components, and requires reports on the results of site visits utilizing the web-based system. Creates a special fund to cover the costs of the program. Requires licensure, by the Board of Waterworks and Wastewater Works and Onsite Sewage System Professionals, of operators of alternative onsite sewage systems.
Patron - Morgan

P HB 3138

Department of Medical Assistance Services; third party payments. Conforms the Department of Medical Assistance Service's recovery of third party liability payments to the requirements of the federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.
Patron - Hall

P HB 3167

Lead poisoning prevention. Requires the Board of Health to promulgate regulations to require physicians to make available to parents information on the dangers of lead poisoning, along with a list of available resources, as part of regular well check visits for all children.
Patron - Ebbin

P HB 3183

Pregnant Women Support Act. Provides that, as a routine component of prenatal care, every licensed practitioner who renders prenatal care may provide information and support services to patients receiving a positive test diagnosis for Down Syndrome or other prenatally diagnosed conditions. This bill also creates the Virginia Pregnant Women Support Fund as a special nonreverting fund to be administered by the Board of Health to support women and families who are facing an unplanned pregnancy.
Patron - Armstrong

P HB 3188

Electronic payment of Medicaid providers. Requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services to utilize, to the extent practicable, electronic funds transfer technology for reimbursement to contractors and enrolled providers for the provision of health care services under Medicaid and FAMIS.
Patron - Sickles

P SB 740

Certain certificate of public need for nursing facility or extended care services. Adjusts the previously amended certificate of public need authorization for three continuing care facilities that are established for the care of retired military personnel and their spouses or widows or widowers to extend the deadline for discontinuing the admission of private-pay patients who are not contract holders from July 1, 2008, to July 1, 2013, if the facility's contract holder occupancy rate is less than 85%. This bill is identical to HB 1630.
Patron - Herring

P SB 806

Donations of food to charitable organizations; deemed exempt from food service regulations. Exempts charitable organizations that engage in food distribution to the needy from state and local regulations and ordinances that govern food service and preparation. Includes nonprofit homeless shelters and hunger prevention programs under the definition of "charitable organizations" for purposes of the exemption. Permits the Board of Health to issue advisory standards for food preparation, handling, protection, and preservation. The bill contains an emergency clause and will take effect upon passage. In addition, this bill incorporates SB 917 and SB 1125 and is identical to HB 2218.
Patron - Puller

P SB 918

P SB 998

Water systems; chronically noncompliant systems. Defines "chronically noncompliant waterworks" as a waterworks that is unable to provide pure water for any of several enumerated reasons. Requires the Board of Health to promulgate regulations for the implementation of a program to (i) identify chronically noncompliant waterworks and (ii) create mechanisms or enforcement options for eliminating underperforming systems. Provides that, out of such funds as may be appropriated, the Commissioner of Health, with the assistance of the Office of the Attorney General, is authorized to enter into contracts for (a) the design of a program for the identification of noncompliant waterworks and (b) the development of enforcement options to carry out the provisions of this act. This bill is identical to HB 2366.
Patron - Houck

P SB 1088

Pregnant Women Support Act. Requires that, as a routine component of prenatal care, every licensed practitioner who renders prenatal care shall provide information and support services to patients receiving a positive test diagnosis for Down Syndrome or other prenatally diagnosed conditions. This bill also creates the Virginia Pregnant Women Support Fund as a special nonreverting fund to be administered by the Board of Health to support women and families who are facing an unplanned pregnancy.
Patron - Puckett

P SB 1108

Emergency preparedness; orders of isolation and quarantine. Makes several revisions to the procedures related to orders of quarantine and isolation. The bill also authorizes persons who are otherwise not authorized by law to administer or dispense all necessary drugs when the Governor has declared a disaster or a state of emergency and allows for electronic legal filings in order to protect the public from communicable diseases. This bill is identical to HB 2845.
Patron - Wampler

P SB 1112

Health care data reporting; repeals sunset. Repeals the July 1, 2008, sunset provision on health care data reporting. This bill is identical to HB 2367.
Patron - Houck

P SB 1225

Health Commissioner; women's health. Requires the Health Commissioner to designate a senior official of the Department, who shall be a licensed physician or nurse practitioner, to coordinate all women's health efforts in the Department.
Patron - Howell

P SB 1228

P SB 1229

P SB 1230

P SB 1240

P SB 1270

Sewage disposal; certification of certain workers. Grants the Board of Health supervision and control over the maintenance, inspection and reuse of alternative onsite sewage systems. Requires the Board of Health to promulgate regulations governing the maintenance, inspection and use of alternative onsite sewage systems and the requirements for maintaining alternative onsite sewage systems. Re-establishes the Board for Waterworks and Wastewater Works Operators as the Board for Waterworks and Wastewater Works Operators and Onsite Sewage Systems Professionals, and expands the membership of the Board from seven to 11 members. Requires the Board to establish a program for licensing individuals as onsite soil evaluators, onsite sewage system installers, and onsite sewage system operators and to, in consultation with the Board of Health, adopt regulations for the licensure of certification of onsite soil evaluators, installers of alternative onsite sewage systems, and operators of alternative onsite sewage systems.
Patron - Herring

Failed

F HB 1743

Disease prevention and control; Lyme disease. Adds Lyme disease to the list of diseases required to be reported to the Department of Health.
Patron - Marshall, R.G.

F HB 1768

Stem cell research authorized; requirements. Authorizes stem cell research involving the derivation and use of human embryonic stem cells, human embryonic germ cells, and human adult stem cells from any source if approved by the Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee. Requires each institution to establish a Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee specifically for the purpose of evaluating and approving such proposals and projects. Additionally, the bill requires that for embryonic stem cells to be eligible for research in the Commonwealth they must meet each of the following requirements: (i) the stem cells must have been donated from in vitro fertilization clinics and must have been created for the purposes of fertility treatment; (ii) the stem cells must have been in excess of the needs of the individuals seeking such treatment and would otherwise be discarded (as determined in consultation with the individuals seeking fertility treatment); and (iii) the stem cells must have been donated by such individuals with written informed consent and without any financial or other inducements.
Patron - Shuler

F HB 1883

Licensure of abortion clinics. Requires all abortion clinics, defined as any facility other than a hospital or an ambulatory surgery center in which 25 or more first trimester abortions are performed in any 12-month period, to be licensed and to comply with the requirements currently in place for ambulatory surgery centers except the requirement for a certificate of public need. The Board of Health may also waive certain structural requirements.
Patron - Marshall, R.G.

F HB 1914

Required vaccinations; adds human papillomavirus vaccine. Requires females to receive three properly spaced doses of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. The first dose shall be administered on or after the child's eleventh birthday. After having reviewed materials describing the link between the human papillomavirus and cervical cancer approved for such use by the Board of Health, a parent or guardian may elect for his daughter not to receive this vaccine. This bill contains a delayed effective date of September 1, 2008. This bill was incorporated into HB 2035.
Patron - Ward

F HB 1950

Professional engineering design of onsite treatment works. Requires the State Board of Health, the Commissioner of Health, and the Department of Health to accept private site evaluations and treatment works designs from licensed professional engineers. Establishes the procedure for submission and review of evaluations and designs.
Patron - Morgan

F HB 1951

Traditional onsite sewage system; definition. Adds the definition of traditional onsite sewage system to Chapter 6 of Title 32.1.
Patron - Morgan

F HB 1952

Virginia Indoor Clean Air Act; smoking in restaurants; civil penalties. Moves the law restricting smoking in buildings and other enclosed areas from the title relating to local government (15.2) to the title relating to health (32.1) and prohibits smoking indoors in most buildings or enclosed areas frequented by the public. Exceptions are provided for (i) private homes, private residences, and private automobiles, and home-based businesses, unless used in conjunction with a licensed child care, adult day care, or health care facility; (ii) certain private functions held in public facilities; (iii) hotel or motel rooms not clearly designated as "nonsmoking" rooms that are offered for lease or rent to the public; (iv) specialty tobacco stores; and (v) tobacco manufacturers. Signs stating "Warning: Smoking Permitted" must be posted by the proprietor of any exempt building or area when smoking is allowed. Any person who continues to smoke in an area in which smoking is prohibited will be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $100 for the first offense, and $250 for subsequent offenses. Failure to comply with the smoking restrictions will subject proprietors to a $200 civil penalty for the first offense and $500 for subsequent offenses.
Patron - Morgan

F HB 2005

F HB 2038

State medical assistance plan; DMAS to contract with DMHMRSAS for mental health services. Creates a carve-out from the state medical assistance plan and requires DMAS to contract directly with DMHMRSAS for the provision of mental health services in underserved areas, as defined by the State Board of Health.
Patron - Hamilton

F HB 2045

Health professions; authority to send laboratory results directly to patient. Allows any doctor of medicine, osteopathy, chiropractic, podiatry, dentistry, optometry, or any licensed nurse practitioner as authorized pursuant to his practice protocol or licensed physicians assistant acting under the supervision of a licensed physician who orders a laboratory test of any person to request, in writing, that a copy of the report of the results of the test be provided by the laboratory directly to the subject of the test. The subject of the test shall then be considered authorized to receive the report for the purposes of the federal Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments. This bill was incorporated into HB 3061.
Patron - McQuigg

F HB 2123

Fertility treatments; disclosure required of egg donors. Requires physicians to disclose to any woman donating ova for use by another person all known risks of such donation, including (i) risks associated with the administration of ovulation stimulation drugs and (ii) risks associated with the harvesting of the ova. Also prohibits the anonymous donation of gametes for use in the treatment of infertility.
Patron - Marshall, R.G.

F HB 2155

Certificate of Public Need. Eliminates regional health planning agencies from the Certificate of Public Need (COPN) review process; exempts all equipment valued at less than $500,000 from the requirement of a COPN; increases the review threshold for capital expenditures; streamlines the approval process by increasing the number of facilities and services for which the Commissioner may issue COPNs in response to a request for applications only; creates a reporting requirement in § 32.1-102.4, requiring facilities holding a certificate to report specified information related to patient and charity care volumes, expenditures, and revenues and establishes penalties for failure to report; allows the Department to refuse to accept an application that is not complete for a current review cycle; and makes other changes to streamline the COPN review and approval process.
Patron - O'Bannon

F HB 2158

Adult Fatality Review Team; duties; membership; confidentiality; penalties; report; etc. Requires the Commissioner of the Department of Health and the Chief Medical Examiner to develop an Adult Fatality Review Team (Team) to review suspicious deaths of adults in order to create a body of information to help prevent similar fatalities. The Team is charged with reviewing the death of any incapacitated adult of age 18 or older, and any adult of age 60 or older (i) who was the subject of an adult protective services investigation, or (ii) whose death was due to abuse or neglect or acts that suggest abuse or neglect, or (iii) whose death came under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner pursuant to § 32.1-283. The bill sets forth duties, membership, confidentiality, reporting, and other requirements for the Team. The bill also exempts any information acquired during a review from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
Patron - O'Bannon

F HB 2245

F HB 2256

Christopher Reeve Stem Cell Research Fund; human embryonic stem cells. Allows the Fund to be used for research involving human embryonic stem cells.
Patron - Waddell

F HB 2258

Donations of food to charitable causes; exception to food services regulations. Exempts charitable organizations that engage in food distribution to the needy from both state and local food handling and preparation regulations with respect to requirements for commercial-grade kitchens and equipment. Includes nonprofit homeless shelters, homeless and hunger prevention programs, and any volunteer who prepares food for such organizations under the definition of "charitable organizations" for purposes of this exception. This bill will take effect at the time of its passage due to the nature of its subject. This bill was incorporated into HB 2218.
Patron - Rust

F HB 2274

Certificate of public need; deregulation of health care facilities. Establishes a three-phase, three year plan for the repeal of the certificate of public need (COPN) program. Requires that providers of services COPN-deregulated services shall comply with licensure requirements promulgated and administered by the Board of Health, consistent with appropriate existing, nationally recognized accreditation standards and shall report claims data, certain quality outcome information for selected high risk procedures, and annual financial information on indigent care. Calls for studies of the effects of the deregulation and various related health care issues at each phase of the deregulation.
Patron - Purkey

F HB 2276

Certificate of public need. Establishes a two part review process for contested and uncontested applications; reduces review period for contested applications to 90 days and uncontested applications to 60 days. Reduces fees for certificates of public need to a maximum of $10,000 for contested applications and $5,000 for uncontested applications. Establishes requirement that final and complete certificate of public need applications may be no more than 20 pages in length. Applies provisions concerning personal interests in transactions to members of regional health planning agencies and requires members of regional health planning agencies to file personal disclosure statements.
Patron - Purkey

F HB 2277

Certificates of Public Need. Eliminates regional health planning agencies from the Certificate of Public Need review process.
Patron - Purkey

F HB 2583

Health records; surgical complications reporting. Requires physicians to report complications resulting from elective outpatient surgical procedures. The report shall not contain any identifying information. Willful failure to report shall constitute a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Patron - Janis

F HB 2607

Regulations; nursing home staffing standards. Requires the Board of Health to establish staffing standards in nursing homes regarding minimum hours of direct care services to include mandatory reporting of direct care service hours to the Department beginning July 1, 2009, and an increased minimum requirement by July 1, 2012. Provides that nursing homes which do not meet the new standards by July 1, 2014, shall not accept new patients. Requires the Board to adopt regulations to define direct care services and set procedures for quarterly reporting.
Patron - Watts

F HB 2689

F HB 2717

Acknowledgments of paternity; certified copies. Provides that the State Registrar of vital records shall provide certified copies of sworn statements or acknowledgments of paternity filed pursuant to § 20-49.1, 32-257, or 63.2-1914 upon the request of either party who executed the statement or acknowledgment or upon the request of the appropriate local Department of Social Services if it is providing services to the child who is the subject of the statement or acknowledgment.
Patron - Barlow

F HB 2722

Medical assistance services; burial expenses disregard. Increases the disregard from countable resources when calculating Medicaid eligibility from $3,500 to $5,000. This bill was incorporated into HB 1953.
Patron - Nixon

F HB 2801

Land application of sewage sludge. Requires that the local government certify as part of the state permit application to land apply sewage sludge that the site of the proposed spreading of sewage sludge is in compliance with all local ordinances. The bill also gives localities the authority to adopt an ordinance that reasonably restricts the land application of sewage sludge to certain areas or parcels based on public health, welfare, or safety criteria. The Department of Environmental Quality or the Department of Health permit application filled out by the person applying the sewage sludge is not considered complete until there is such local certification.
Patron - Byron

F HB 2815

Commonwealth to purchase lowest cost appropriate medical products and services. Requires the Commonwealth to purchase the lowest cost appropriate medical products and services available, including reprocessed devices.
Patron - Sickles

F HB 2820

Virginia Biotechnology Company Seed and Early-Stage Investment Fund. Creates a seed and early-stage investment fund for Virginia biotechnology companies. Moneys in the Fund come from appropriations, gifts, grants and donations. It will be administered by the Virginia Biotechnology Research Partnership Authority for early-stage biotech companies. The maximum amount awarded to any company shall not exceed $500,000 per year.
Patron - Sickles

F HB 2843

Health professions; authority to send laboratory results directly to patient. Allows a licensed physician who orders a laboratory test or other examination of the physical or mental condition of any person to request, in writing, that a copy of the report of the results of the test or examination be provided by the person conducting the test or examination directly to the subject of the test or examination. The subject of the test or examination shall then be considered authorized to receive the report or result for the purposes of the federal Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments. This bill was incorporated into HB 3061.
Patron - Hall

F HB 2857

Stem cell research authorized; requirements. Authorizes stem cell research involving the derivation and use of human embryonic stem cells, human embryonic germ cells, and human adult stem cells from any source if approved by the Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee. Requires each institution to utilize a Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee specifically for the purpose of evaluating and approving such proposals and projects. Additionally, the bill requires that for embryonic stem cells to be eligible for research in the Commonwealth they must meet each of the following requirements: (i) the stem cells must have been donated from in vitro fertilization clinics and must have been created for the purposes of fertility treatment; (ii) the stem cells must have been in excess of the needs of the individuals seeking such treatment and would otherwise be discarded (as determined in consultation with the individuals seeking fertility treatment); and (iii) the stem cells must have been donated by such individuals with written informed consent and without any financial or other inducements. This bill was incorporated into HB 1768.
Patron - Moran

F HB 2937

Eligibility of certain aliens for state and local public benefits. Provides that no state or local funds shall be awarded or otherwise disbursed to any organization when the award or disbursement is made with the intent of circumventing the provisions of this section by enabling such organization to provide the type of benefits or assistance to persons who are otherwise ineligible. Further provides that no organization receiving state or local funds shall use the funds to provide the type of benefits or assistance to persons who are otherwise ineligible for them.
Patron - Miller, J.H.

F HB 3080

Investigation of deaths by medical examiner. Specifies that a medical examiner shall make an in-person investigation on the scene or at the morgue into the cause and manner of death.
Patron - Bell

F HB 3136

Land application of sewage sludge. Prohibits the land application of sewage sludge beginning January 1, 2008, unless the sewage sludge is applied in the same locality in which it is generated. The departments that have oversight of the spreading of sewage sludge, the Health Department and the Department of Environmental Quality, are required to certify that the sewage sludge is being applied in a manner that protects human health and the environment, and the Department of Conservation and Recreation is to certify that the nutrient management plan for applying the sewage sludge protects water quality.
Patron - Abbitt

F HB 3156

Plan for provision of medical assistance services; intensity based modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). Requires the state plan to include provision for payment of medical assistance for IMRT to treat certain cancers and tumors under specified circumstances.
Patron - Wittman

F HB 3166

Adult Fatality Review Team; duties; membership; confidentiality; penalties; report; etc. Requires the Commissioner of the Department of Health and the Chief Medical Examiner to develop an Adult Fatality Review Team (Team) to review suspicious deaths of adults in order to create a body of information to help prevent similar fatalities. The Team is charged with reviewing the death of any incapacitated adult age 18 or older, and any adult age 60 or older (i) who was the subject of an adult protective services investigation or (ii) whose death was due to abuse or neglect or acts that suggest abuse or neglect or (iii) whose death came under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner pursuant to § 32.1-283. The bill sets forth duties, membership, confidentiality, reporting, and other requirements for the Team. The bill also exempts any information acquired during a review from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
Patron - Ebbin

F HB 3170

Sewage sludge applications. Requires a person seeking permits to apply sewage sludge to land to identify the specific sites where it will be applied. The bill also institutes a $5,000 Health Department permit fee if an existing permit is amended to include additional acreage that is (i) greater than the acreage in the original permit and (ii) not contiguous to the sites identified in the original permit. Similarly, for permits issued by the Department of Environmental Quality, the addition of acreage greater than the acreage in the original permit would require an amendment to the permit and would be considered a major modification. As a major modification to the permit, the fee would be 50% of the fee charged for the original permit. This bill was incorporated into HB 2802.
Patron - Cline

F SB 839

Vital records; issuance of social security numbers. Requires the use of the Social Security Administration's Enumeration at Birth Program for the issuance of a social security number in conjunction with all live births occurring in the Commonwealth.
Patron - Devolites Davis

F SB 958

Emergency service providers; advanced life support procedures. Requires the Board of Health to promulgate regulations to allow certified advanced life support providers, in emergency situations where a second emergency provider who is at least a certified emergency medical technician is not available, to perform advanced life support procedures with whatever support may be available. In such situations, the certified advanced life support provider shall not be held liable, provided his actions are otherwise in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
Patron - Quayle

F SB 995

Medicaid eligibility; young adults transitioning from foster care. Requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services to amend the state plan to provide for the payment of medical assistance, pursuant to The Foster Care Independence Act of 1999, for any individual who (i) was receiving foster care services on his eighteenth birthday, (ii) continues to receive independent living services pursuant to § 63.2-905.1, and (iii) has not yet reached his twenty-first birthday. Such individuals shall not be subject to Medicaid income limits. This bill is dependent upon an appropriation of general funds in the 2007 General Assembly session.
Patron - Blevins

F SB 1161

Virginia Smoke Free Air Act; smoking in restaurants; civil penalties. Moves the law restricting smoking in buildings and other enclosed areas from the title relating to local government (15.2) to the title relating to health (32.1) and prohibits smoking indoors in most buildings or enclosed areas frequented by the public. Exceptions are provided for (i) private homes, private residences, and private automobiles, and home-based businesses, unless used in conjunction with a licensed child care, adult day care, or health care facility; (ii) certain private functions held in public facilities; (iii) hotel or motel rooms not clearly designated as "nonsmoking" rooms that are offered for lease or rent to the public; (iv) specialty tobacco stores; and (v) tobacco manufacturers. Signs stating "Warning: Smoking Permitted" must be posted by the proprietor of any exempt building or area when smoking is allowed. Any person who continues to smoke in an area in which smoking is prohibited will be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $100 for the first offense, and $250 for subsequent offenses. Failure to comply with the smoking restrictions will subject proprietors to a $200 civil penalty for the first offense and $500 for subsequent offenses.
Patron - Bell

F SB 1210

National criminal records background check to prevent sex offender access to children and others; costs and penalties. Provides that any business or organization required to conduct a national criminal background check also must bear the costs, unless it recoups such costs from the applicant. Assesses a civil penalty of up to $500 for knowing, willful failure to comply with background check requirements and may impose additional statutory measures to revoke the licensure of facilities or other entities.
Patron - Hanger

F SB 1325

Medical assistance services; medically needy. Requires the state plan for medical assistance services to include a provision for payment of medical assistance for aged and disabled individuals with incomes up to 100% of the federal poverty guideline as permitted by federal law. An enactment clause provides that the provisions of this act will not become effective unless an appropriation of general funds to carry out its purposes is included in a 2007 general appropriation act.
Patron - Reynolds

F SB 1423

Mobile camps for railroad employees. Establishes standards for a mobile camp provided by a railroad company for maintenance of way employees. The Board of Health is required to adopt regulations concerning mobile camps.
Patron - Lucas

CONTENTS | < PREVIOUS | NEXT > | BILL INDEX

General Assembly>Division of Legislative Services>Publications>Session Summaries>2007>Health

E-mail Webmaster