Summary

District Description: County of Chesterfield (part); City of Colonial Heights
Current Delegate: Kirk Cox since 1990 (R)

According to Ned Oliver of Virginia Mercury:

“Cox, the Republican speaker of the House, saw his district shift under the court-ordered redistricting plan from a seat in which Republicans had a 25.5 point advantage to a seat in which Democrats now hold a 6.5 point advantage (again, as calculated based on 2012 presidential election results). But a win for Democrats is far from a sure thing. Cox is well known from years of representing the area and has access to a massive $788,000 fundraising haul, which in typical years he’d use to boost other Republicans in tight races but is already tapping into to blanket the airwaves with television ads.”

OnAir Post: VA House 66 – 2019

VA House District 66

District Map (PDF)

VA State House District #66

Kirkland Cox

Current Position: State Delegate for VA House District 66
Affiliation: Democrat

Candidate: 2019 State Delegate VA House District 66

For more information, see Kirkland Cox’s post.

Kirkland CoxKirk Cox was first elected from the 66th District to the House of Delegates in 1989. The 66th House District includes all of Colonial Heights and parts of Chesterfield. Kirk is proud to represent the very district where he grew up and graduated from High School. Following his graduation from Colonial Heights High School, he graduated from James Madison University where he holds a B.S. in both Political Science and General Social Science.

On January 10, 2018, Kirk was unanimously elected as Speaker of the House by the members of the House of Delegates. Upon being sworn in, Kirk became the first Speaker in state history from Colonial Heights, the first Speaker to represent a portion of Chesterfield County since the 1800s, and the first Speaker whose profession was that of a public school teacher.

Despite serving as Speaker of the House, Kirk’s priority has always been his hometown district. As Delegate Kirk is honored to represent many of the same students he taught in the classroom during a teaching career that spanned three decades. During the majority of his career, he would serve in Richmond during the day and work on teaching lesson plans at night. As a government teacher, Kirk always believed students learned best by being able to see first hand the workings of their government. Many times, Kirk would welcome his students to the Capitol so they could see first-hand representative democracy in action.

Kirk’s history as a teacher gives him a unique aspect about the job teachers perform everyday. That is why Kirk has fought to make sure teacher’s receive the pay they deserve, supporting 4 pay raises for teachers in the past 6 years, including a 5% raise in 2019.

Kirk works tirelessly to make Colonial Heights, Chesterfield, and all of Virginia the best place to live, work, and raise a family. In addition to championing a quality public education system, Kirk is also dedicated to improving veteran services, supporting citizens with disabilities, increasing economic development opportunities, and creating jobs.

Most important to Kirk is listening to what ideas and concerns are on the minds of the constituents he represents. He credits many of his major legislative successes to the suggestions made by constituents who he meets while knocking on doors in their community.

Just in 2019, Kirk championed legislation to lift the age cap on Autism related healthcare coverage, make our schools some of the safest in the nation, protect the unborn, take care of our veterans and their families, and provide tax relief to hard working middle class families.

Kirk lives in Colonial Heights with his wife, Julie. Colonial Heights is where they met while in High School, and later where they raised their four sons—Lane, Carter, Blake, and Cameron. The Coxes are members of The Heights Baptist Church where he serves as a Deacon. Kirk is active in the Colonial Heights community and previously coached youth baseball for 14 seasons.

Sheila Bynum-Coleman

Current Position: Real Estate
Affiliation: Democrat

Candidate: 2019 State Delegate VA House District 66

For more information, see Sheila Bynum-Coleman’s post.

Sheila Bynum-Coleman 1Sheila is a proud lifelong resident of Chesterfield County. She is a #MomOnAMission to bring true representation to the people of District 66.

Sheila Bynum-Coleman is a native of Chesterfield County where she attended Monacan High School. Sheila received her B.A. from the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Sheila is a mother of five children, all of whom have attended Chesterfield Public Schools. A successful small business owner and community advocate, Sheila first got involved in politics once her delegate decided it wasn’t worth his time to discuss her child with special needs. Since then, she has made it her mission to advocate for improved school services for children with learning disabilities.

Sheila has also dealt with one of a parent’s worst nightmares: her daughter was shot in 2016. While she thankfully survived, Sheila is determined to ensure that as few families as possible in our community experience the trauma and grief of having a loved one affected by senseless gun violence.

But in many ways, Sheila is a Chesterfield success story. She has a background in real estate and construction, maintaining several successful small businesses. She was also appointed by former Governor Terry McAuliffe as the first African American woman to the Board of Contractors.

Sheila spends much of her free time teaching classes for first time home buyers, leading entrepreneurial development workshops, and coaching businesses on fiscal management. Sheila helps numerous organizations such as Veterans Helping Veterans, which supports our veterans in the Richmond Area.

Issues

Economy

Kirkland Cox

Creating Virginia Jobs

Kirk understands the vital importance of helping businesses create new jobs. As a Delegate, he works to help bring both new businesses and new jobs to the Commonwealth. In 2016, Kirk successfully carried legislation creating the Virginia Growth and Opportunity Board (GO Virginia). This business-driven initiative facilitates greater collaboration between the business community, higher education, and local governments. By aligning the needs of the three segments, we will encourage the creation of good-paying jobs in high demand fields, and make economic development dollars go further. Overall, Kirk understands that the General Assembly must support legislation that will improve economic growth, create private sector jobs, and significantly decrease burdensome regulations on our small businesses.

2019 Session – Small Business

HB2440 Intangible personal property; classification and exemption of certain business property. (Campbell, R.-R-24) Classifies as intangible property, and exempts from taxation, personal property that is employed in a trade or business, has an original cost of less than $25, and is not classified as machinery and tools, merchants’ capital, or short-term rental property. Status: Passed the House 97-Y, 1-N. Passed the Senate 40-Y, 0-N. HB2197 Summary judgment; limited use of discovery depositions and affidavits. (Gilbert-R-15) Allows for the limited use of discovery depositions and affidavits in support of or in opposition to a motion for summary judgment, provided that the only parties to the action are business entities and the amount at issue is $50,000 or more.
Status: Passed the House 97-Y, 0-N. Passed the Senate (25-Y, 15-N). Signed into law by Governor.

Sheila Bynum-Coleman

Virginia’s minimum wage has remained at $7.25 for years, despite the escalating cost of living — it’s literally a poverty wage for working single mothers. Juggling several jobs is not uncommon, in an effort to make ends meet. Sheila believes that if someone works 40 hours a week, they should be able to provide for their families, and she will work towards that goal

Education

Kirkland Cox

Promoting a World Class Education

As a retired public school teacher with 30 years of in-classroom experience and the father of four public school graduates, Kirk believes that a world-class education system is critical to growing Virginia’s economy. Kirk’s vision for K-12 education is rooted in increased accountability and encouraging innovation in the classroom. He supported increased funding targeted to classrooms—not school bureaucracy – and co-patroned legislation adding more school choice options and reducing the number of SOL tests. Kirk led the effort to fund teacher pay raises in the state budget in 2014 and 2017. Additionally, the state’s adopted budget sent 35% of lottery funds, or $191 million, back to local school divisions with no strings attached.

2019 Session – Education & School Safety

HB1729 Guidance counselors; changes name to school counselors, staff time. (Landes-R-25) School counselors; nomenclature; staff time. Changes the name of guidance counselors to school counselors and requires each school counselor employed by a school board in a public elementary or secondary school to spend at least 80 percent of his staff time during normal school hours in the direct counseling of individual students or groups of students.
Status: Passed the House 97-Y, 0-N. Passed the Senate 40-Y, 0-N. Signed into law by Governor.

HB2018 Career and Technical Education Work-Based Learning Guide; Bd of Education shall review and revise. (Peace-R-97) Board of Education; Career and Technical Education Work-Based Learning Guide. Requires the Board of Education to review and revise, in consultation with certain stakeholders and no later than December 1, 2019, its Career and Technical Education Work-Based Learning Guide to expand the opportunities available for students to earn credit for graduation through high-quality work-based learning experiences such as job shadowing, mentorships, internships, and externships.
Status: Passed the House 99-Y, 0-N. Passed the Senate 40-Y, 0-N. Signed into law by Governor.

HB2014 Family First Prevention Services Act; statutory alignment. (Peace-R-97) Family First Prevention Services Act; statutory alignment. Aligns the Code of Virginia with the Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018. The bill contains an emergency clause for provisions of the bill relating to background checks for employees of, volunteers at, and contractors providing services to juveniles at children’s residential facilities.
Status: Passed the House 93-Y, 0-N. Passed the Senate 40-Y, 0-N.

HB1930 Concussions in student-athletes; guidelines, policies, and procedures shall be biennially updated. (Richard P. Bell-R-20) Concussions in student-athletes; guidelines, policies, and procedures. Requires (i) the Board of Education to collaborate with various stakeholders to biennially update its guidelines on policies to inform and educate coaches, student-athletes, and student-athletes’ parents or guardians of the nature and risk of concussions, criteria for removal from and return to play, risks of not reporting the injury and continuing to play, and the effects of concussions on student-athletes’ academic performance and (ii) each local school division to biennially update its policies and procedures regarding the identification and handling of suspected concussions in student-athletes.
Status:Passed the House 97-Y, 0-N. Passed the Senate 40-Y, 0-N. Signed into law by Governor.

HB1734 Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety; threat assessment, case management tool. (Marshall -R-14) Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety; threat assessment; case management tool. Requires the Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety to develop a case management tool for use by public elementary and secondary school threat assessment teams and requires such threat assessment teams to use such tool to collect and report to the Center quantitative data on its activities.
Status: Passed the House 99-Y, 0-N. Passed the Senate 40-Y, 0-N.

HB2449 Scholastic records; disclosure of directory information. (Wilt-R-2) Scholastic records; disclosure of directory information. Provides that a school or institution of higher education may disclose certain directory information of a student to certain internal persons for educational purposes or internal business if the student has not opted out of such disclosure. Under current law, such disclosures require written consent. The bill also provides an exception for state and federal law requirements from the prohibition of such disclosures.
Status: Passed the House 99-Y, 0-N. Passed the Senate 40-Y, 0-N.

Increasing Access and Affordability to Higher Education

Sheila Bynum-Coleman

Teachers in Virginia face significant challenges. They are underpaid, as salaries have remained stagnant while living costs continue to soar. The current legislature has not adequately funded our schools, and the result is crumbling buildings and overcrowded classrooms. Excellent public education is crucial to ensure our graduates can meet the needs of Virginia’s businesses and to enhance property values in our state.

Civil Rights

Sheila Bynum-Coleman

Women’s Rights

Women’s rights are under attack in this country, and Virginia is no exception. It is crucial to win more seats in our state legislature. Bills affecting a woman’s right to choose will be on the ballot next year, and we must protect a woman’s right to make her own medical decisions.

Additionally, the Equal Rights Amendment needs only one more state to ratify it — another reason why we need to flip VA blue this November.

LGBTQ Rights

Sheila is strong support of LGBTQ rights here in Virginia. Equality is equality. Period. She believes that no one should be discriminated against because of their identity—especially in the workplace or at home. While the Republican leadership killed off a bill that enjoyed bipartisan support to ban discrimination, flipping VA blue will help move this issue forward.

Health Care

Kirkland Cox

Fighting the Heroin and Prescription Drug Crisis

The ongoing heroin and prescription drug crisis impacts families from all walks of life in all corners of our Commonwealth. In the House of Delegates, Kirk supported common sense legislation aimed at cracking down on pill mills and doctors that over prescribe. Kirk has observed the effects of heroin use first hand by visiting inmates in the Heroin Addiction and Recovery Program (HARP) started by Sheriff Karl Leonard at Chesterfield County Jail. During the 2017 session, Kirk successfully passed legislation to create a statewide pilot program for addiction recovery programs, modeled off HARP. Kirk will continue fighting the heroin and prescription drug crisis and support legislation meant to keep Virginians safe.

2019 Session – Healthcare
HB2247 Optometry, Board of; adds requirements for members. (Robinson-R-27) Adds to the requirements for the five licensed optometrist members of the Board of Optometry that they be individuals who at the time of appointment (i) have met all requirements for practice as an optometrist and are qualified to engage in the full scope of the practice of optometry and (ii) are actively engaged in the delivery of clinical care to patients for an average of at least 20 hours per week.
Status: Passed the House 98-Y, 0-N. Passed the Senate 40-Y, 0-N.

HB1970 Telemedicine services; payment and coverage of services. (Kilgore-R-1) Requires insurers, corporations, or health maintenance organizations to cover medically necessary remote patient monitoring services as part of their coverage of telemedicine services to the full extent that these services are available.
Status: Passed the House 97-Y, 0-N. Passed the Senate 40-Y, 0-N.

HB2260 Health insurance; catastrophic health plans. (Robinson-R-27) Authorizes health carriers to offer catastrophic plans on the individual market and to offer such plans to all individuals.
Status: Passed the House 51-Y, 48-N. Passed the Senate 27-Y, 11-N.

HB2538 Balance billing; emergency and elective services. (Ware-R-65) Requires a facility where a covered person receives scheduled elective services to post the required notice or inform the covered person of the required notice at the time of pre-admission or pre-registration.
Status: Passed the House 9-Y, 0-N. Passed the Senate 40-Y, 0-N.

HB2559 Electronic transmission of certain prescriptions; exceptions. (Pillion-R-4) Provides certain exceptions, effective July 1, 2020, to the requirement that any prescription for a controlled substance that contains an opioid be issued as an electronic prescription.
Status: Passed the House 99-Y, 0-N. Passed the Senate 40-Y, 0-N.

HB2639 Health care shared savings; incentive programs. (Byron-R-22) Requires health carriers to establish a comparable health care service incentive program under which savings are shared with a covered person who elects to receive a covered health care service from a lower-cost provider. Incentive payments are not required for savings of $25 or less.
Status:Passed the House 97-Y, 1-N. Passed the Senate 40-Y, 0-N.

HB1971 Health professions and facilities; adverse action in another jurisdiction. (Stolle-R-87) Provides that the mandatory suspension of a license, certificate, or registration of a health professional by the Director of the Department of Health Professions is not required when the license, certificate, or registration of a health professional is revoked, suspended, or surrendered in another jurisdiction based on disciplinary action or mandatory suspension in the Commonwealth.
Status: Passed by the House 99-Y, 0-N. Passed the Senate 40-Y, 0-N. Signed into law by the Governor.

HB1917 DOC; Director to establish health care continuous quality improvement committee. (Stolle-R-87) Requires the Director of the Department of Corrections to establish a health care continuous quality improvement committee, consisting of the Director and specified health care professionals employed by the Department.
Status: Passed the House 98-Y, 0-N. Passed the Senate 40-Y,0 -N.

HB2558 Medicaid recipients; treatment involving opioids or opioid replacements, payment. (Pillion-R-4) Prohibits health care providers licensed by the Board of Medicine from requesting or requiring a patient who is a recipient of medical assistance services pursuant to the state plan for medical assistance to pay out-of-pocket costs associated with the provision of service involving (i) the prescription of an opioid for the management of pain or (ii) the prescription of buprenorphine-containing products, methadone, or other opioid replacements approved for the treatment of opioid addiction by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for medication-assisted treatment of opioid addiction.
Status: Passed the House 97-Y, 0-N. Passed the Senate 40-Y, 0-N.

HB1640 Health carriers; services provided by nurse practitioners. (Ransone-R-99) Requires health insurers and health services plan providers whose policies or contracts cover services that may be legally performed by licensed nurse practitioners to provide equal coverage for such services when rendered by a licensed nurse practitioner. The bill contains an enactment that exempts the measure from the requirement that the Health Insurance Reform Commission review any legislative measure containing a mandated health insurance benefit or provider. The bill has a delayed effective date of October 1, 2019.
Status: Passed the House 99-Y, 0-N. Passed the Senate 40-Y, 0-N.

HB2318 Naloxone; possession and administration by school nurses and local health department employees. (McGuire-R-56) Possession and administration of naloxone; school nurses; local health department employees. Adds school nurses, local health department employees that are assigned to a public school pursuant to an agreement between the local health department and school board, and other school board employees or individuals contracted by a school board to provide school health services, to the list of individuals who may possess and administer naloxone or other opioid antagonist, provided that they have completed a training program.
Status: Passed the House 95-Y, 0-N. Passed the Senate 40-Y, 0-N.

HB1952 Patient care team; podiatrists and physician assistants. (Campbell-R-6) Establishes the definition of “patient care team podiatrist” and amends the definition of “physician assistant.” The bill modifies the supervision requirements for physician assistants by establishing a patient care team model.
Status: Passed the House 99-Y 0-N. Passed Senate 40-Y, 0-N. Signed into law by the Governor.

HB2126 Accident and sickness insurance; step therapy protocols. (Davis-R-84) Requires carriers issuing health benefit plans to utilize certain clinical review criteria to establish step therapy protocols. The measure establishes clinical review criteria used to establish such protocols and requires carriers to establish a process by which a patient or provider may seek a step therapy override exception determination.
Status:Passed the House 99-Y, 0-N. Passed Senate 40-Y, 0-N.

HB1682 Dental services; contracts between carriers and providers, PPO network arrangement, etc. (Ware – R – 65) Establishes limits on the ability of a health insurer or other person to sell or otherwise grant access, as provided in a dentist’s or oral surgeon’s provider contract, to a third-party carrier. Access as provided in a provider contract refers to the right to have dental services provided by the participating provider to the enrollees of the third-party carrier in accordance with the terms of a provider contract. The measure provides that such access may be granted only if it is expressly permitted by the provider contract and notice is given to the affected participating providers.
Status: Passed the House 98-Y, 0-N. Passed the Senate 40-Y, 0-N.

HB2169 Physician assistants; licensure by endorsement. (Thomas-R-28) Physician assistants; licensure by endorsement. Authorizes the Board of Medicine to issue a license by endorsement to an applicant for licensure as a physician assistant who (i) is the spouse of an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States or the Commonwealth, (ii) holds current certification from the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants, and (iii) holds a license as a physician assistant that is in good standing, or that is eligible for reinstatement if lapsed, under the laws of another state, the District of Columbia, or a United States possession or territory.
Status: Passed the House 96-Y, 0-N. Passed Senate 40-Y, 0-N.

Veterans

Kirkland Cox

Helping Our Veterans

A strong supporter of the military, veterans, and their families, Kirk has introduced over 120 pieces of legislation designed to make life easier for active duty military, veterans, and their families. Kirk worked tirelessly to fund the establishment of a veterans’ care center in Richmond and subsequent buildings and expansions in Salem, Prince William, and Hampton Roads. His efforts led to funding for the expansion of the Virginia War Memorial and its Paul & Phyllis Galanti Education Center. Kirk introduced legislation establishing the Wounded Warrior Program (now the Virginia Veteran & Family Support program) in Virginia to better assist service members with TBI and PTSD, as well as their families. To ensure veterans receive their earned benefits, he has fought to increase the number of authorized veterans’ claim officers and to invest in the development of the automated claims system that will lessen the time a claim takes.

2019 Session – Veterans

HB1623 Military families; relocation to the Commonwealth; student registration. (Cole-R-88) Permits any student whose parent has received orders to relocate to a duty station in the Commonwealth to register for courses and other academic programs and participate in the lottery process for charter schools and college partnership laboratory schools in the school division in which such student will reside at the same time and in the same manner as students who reside in the local school division. The bill requires each such student to provide to the school board proof of residency in the local school division no later than 10 days after his parent establishes such residency.
Status: Passed the House 99-Y, 0-N. Passed the Senate 40-Y, 0-N.

HB1636 Trespass; unmanned aircraft system; military airfield or military helicopter landing zone; penalty. (Knight-R-81) Provides that any person who knowingly and intentionally causes an unmanned aircraft system to enter the airspace within one mile of the boundary of any military airfield or military helicopter landing zone in the Commonwealth, for any reason, is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Status: Passed the House 98-Y, 0-N, 1-A. Passed the Senate 39-Y, 1-N.

HB1655 Real property tax exemption for disabled veterans; surviving spouse’s ability to change residence. (Miyares-R-82)Enacts as law an amendment to subdivision (a) of Section 6-A of Article X of the Constitution of Virginia that was adopted by the voters on November 6, 2018, which applies the real property tax exemption for surviving spouse of a disabled veteran to such spouse’s principal place of residence regardless of whether spouse moves to a different residence.
Status: Passed the House 94-Y, 0-N. Passed the Senate 40-Y, 0-N. Signed into law by Governor.

HB1832 Special license plate; Navy and Marine Corps Medal. (Leftwich-R-78) Creates a special license plate for persons awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal or for unremarried surviving spouses of such persons.
Status: Passed the House 96-Y, 0-N. Passed by the Senate 40-Y, 0-N. Signed into law by Governor.

HB2551 Commercial driver’s licenses; military service members. (Thomas-R-28) Requires the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles to waive certain knowledge and skills tests required for obtaining a commercial learner’s permit or commercial driver’s license or a commercial driver’s license endorsement for certain current or former military service members, as authorized by federal law.
Status: Passed the House 99-Y, 0-N. Passed by the Senate 40-Y, 0-N. Signed into law by Governor.

HB2632 Veterans Services, Board of; increases membership and clarifies scope of responsibilities. (Helsel-R-91) Increases the membership of the Board of Veterans Services by adding an additional member of the House of Delegates, an additional member of the Senate of Virginia, an additional non-legislative citizen member, and an additional ex officio member, the Chairman of the Virginia War Memorial Foundation. The bill also clarifies the scope of responsibility of the Board to include policy recommendations related to the mission of the Virginia War Memorial. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2020.
Status: Passed the House 99-Y, 0-N. Passed the Senate 40-Y, 0-N.

Better Government

Kirkland Cox

Reducing Unnecessary Government Spending

Kirk believes strongly that government should focus on the core functions of government and must live within its means. Nowhere is this more evident than when he is working on the state budget. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee and a Budget Conferee, Kirk advocates for a balanced, responsible budget that does not raise taxes or fees on hardworking Virginians. Kirk believes in leading by example, and that means cutting spending within the legislature itself. Since 2010, the legislative branch returned over $19 million in savings to the state’s general fund. By focusing on passing conservative, responsible, and balanced budgets, Kirk’s leadership has placed Virginia in a position to move forward.

2019 Session – Gov Spending

HB2653 Higher educational institutions, public, institutional partnership performance agreements. (Cox–R–66) Permits any public institution of higher education to propose in conjunction with the six-year plan process, and the General Assembly to adopt by reference in the general appropriation act, an institutional partnership performance agreement that advances the objectives of the Virginia Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2011 by aligning the strategies, activities, and investments of the institution, the Commonwealth, and any identified partners concerning (i) college access, affordability, cost predictability, and employment pathways for undergraduate Virginia students and (ii) strategic talent development and other high-priority economic initiatives of the Commonwealth. The bill contains provisions relating to mandatory and permissive contents of, the approval process for, and the legal effect of any such agreement. Status: Passed the House 94-Y, 0-N. Passed the Senate 40-Y, 0-N.

HB1920 New Economy Workforce Credential Grant Fund and Program; grant priority. (Stolle-R-83) Requires the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, in awarding grants pursuant to the New Economy Workforce Credential Grant Program, to give priority to institutions that offer noncredit workforce training programs in high-demand fields in which employer demand is currently unmet by the available workforce. Status: Passed the House 99-Y, 0-N. Passed the Senate 39-Y, 0-N.

HB1729 School counselors; nomenclature; staff time. (Landes-R-25) Changes the name of guidance counselors to school counselors and requires each school counselor employed by a school board in a public elementary or secondary school to spend at least 80 percent of his staff time during normal school hours in the direct counseling of individual students or groups of students. Status: Passed the House 99-Y, 0-N. Passed the Senate 40-Y, 0-N. Signed into law by the Governor.

HB2192 Public school buildings and facilities; modernization. (Rush-R-7) Provides that it is the legislative intent that public school buildings and facilities be designed, constructed, maintained, and operated to generate more electricity than consumed, and allows local school boards to enter into leases with private developers to achieve that goal. The bill also provides that private developers that contract with local school boards to modernize public school buildings and facilities may receive financing from the Virginia Small Business Financing Authority. Status: Passed the House 96-Y, 1-N. Passed Senate 40-Y, 0-N.

HB1737 School crisis, emergency management, and medical emergency response plans; development and review.(Wright-R-61)Requires each school board to include the chief law-enforcement officer, the fire chief, the chief of the emergency medical services agency, the executive director of the relevant regional emergency medical services council, and the emergency management official of the locality, or their designees, in the development and review of school crisis, emergency management, and medical emergency response plans. Under current law, the school board is required to provide copies of such plans to the chief law-enforcement officer, the fire chief, the chief of the emergency medical services agency, and the emergency management official of the locality but is not required to include such first responders in the development and review of such plans. Status: Passed the House 99-Y, 0-N. Senate 40-Y ,0-N. Signed into law by the Governor.

HB1970 Telemedicine services; payment and coverage of services. (Kilgore-R-1)Requires insurers, corporations, or health maintenance organizations to cover medically necessary remote patient monitoring services as part of their coverage of telemedicine services to the full extent that these services are available. The bill defines remote patient monitoring services as the delivery of home health services using telecommunications technology to enhance the delivery of home health care, including monitoring of clinical patient data such as weight, blood pressure, pulse, pulse oximetry, blood glucose, and other condition-specific data; medication adherence monitoring; and interactive video conferencing with or without digital image upload. The bill requires the Board of Medical Assistance Services to include in the state plan for medical assistance services a provision for the payment of medical assistance for medically necessary health care services provided through telemedicine services.Status: Passed the House 97-Y, 0-N. Passed the Senate 40-Y, 0-N.

HB1611 Virginia College Savings Plan; prepaid tuition contracts; pricing reserves. (Landes-R-25)Provides that in the event that the ratio of the assets of the Virginia College Savings Plan (the Plan) to the obligations of the Plan exceeds 105 percent, the pricing reserve, which the bill defines as the percentage by which the sum of advanced payments to be made pursuant to each prepaid tuition contract of the Plan exceeds the amount estimated to be required to provide tuition at the fixed, guaranteed level that is specified in such prepaid tuition contract, shall not exceed five percent. The bill provides that in the event that the ratio of the assets of the Plan to the obligations of the Plan does not meet or exceed 105 percent, the pricing reserve may exceed five percent but shall not exceed 10 percent.Status: Passed the House 94-Y, 5-N. Passed the Senate with substitute 40-Y, 0-N.

HB2538 Balance billing; emergency and elective services. (Ware-R-65)Requires a facility where a covered person receives scheduled elective services to post the required notice or inform the covered person of the required notice at the time of pre-admission or pre-registration. The bill also requires such a facility to inform the covered person or his legal representative of the names of all provider groups providing health care services at the facility, that consultation with the covered person’s managed care plan is recommended to determine if the provider groups providing health care services at the facility are in-network providers, and that the covered person may be financially responsible for health care services performed by a provider that is not an in-network provider, in addition to any cost-sharing requirements.Status: Passed the House 99-Y, 0-N. Passed the Senate 40-Y, 0-N.

HB2577 Health Insurance; coverage for autism spectrum disorder. (Thomas-R-28)Requires health insurers, health care subscription plans, and health maintenance organizations to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorder in individuals of any age. Currently, such coverage is required to be provided for individuals from age two through age 10. Status: Passed the House 97-Y, 1-N 1-A. Passed the Senate 39-Y, 0-N.

HB1655 Real property tax exemption for disabled veterans; surviving spouse’s ability to change residence. (Miyares-R-82)Enacts as statutory law an amendment to subdivision (a) of Section 6-A of Article X of the Constitution of Virginia that was adopted by the voters on November 6, 2018, which applies the real property tax exemption for the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran to such spouse’s principal place of residence regardless of whether such spouse moves to a different residence. The provisions of the bill would apply to taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2019. The bill makes technical corrections related to the real property tax exemptions for surviving spouses of members of the armed forces killed in action and surviving spouses of certain persons killed in the line of duty.Status: Passed the House 94-Y, 0-N. Passed the Senate 40-Y 0-N. Signed into law by the Governor.

HB2528 Felony homicide; certain drug offenses, penalty. (Hugo-R-40)Provides that a person is guilty of felony homicide, which constitutes second degree murder and is punishable by confinement of not less than five nor more than 40 years, if the underlying felonious act that resulted in the killing of another involved the manufacture, sale, gift, or distribution of a Schedule I or II controlled substance to another and (i) such other person’s death results from his use of the controlled substance and (ii) the controlled substance is the proximate cause of his death. Status: Passed the House 69-Y, 30-N. Passed Senate 40-Y, 0-N.

HB2719 Health insurance; small employers. (Pillion-R-4)Revises the definition of “small employer” for purposes of group health insurance policies to provide that an individual who performs any service for remuneration under a contract of hire for (i) a corporation in which he is a shareholder or an immediate family member of a shareholder, or (ii) a limited liability company in which he is a member, regardless of the number of members of the limited liability company, shall be deemed to be an employee of the corporation or the limited liability company. The measure provides that a health insurance issuer shall not be required to issue more than one group health plan for each employer identification number issued by the Internal Revenue Service for a business entity, without regard to the number of shareholders or members of such business entity.Status: Passed the House (99-Y 0-N). Passed the Senate 40-Y, 0-N.HB2529 Income tax, state; conformity of taxation system. (Hugo-R-40)Advances conformity of the Commonwealth’s tax code with the federal tax code to December 31, 2018, effective starting in taxable year 2018. Starting in taxable year 2019, the bill deconforms from the provisions of the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that limit the deduction for state and local taxes and that suspend the overall limit on itemized deductions. The bill establishes income tax subtractions starting in taxable year 2018 for Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI) and for one-fifth of the amount of business interest that is disallowed as a deduction from federal income tax. The bill increases the standard deduction to $4,500 for single individuals and $9,000 for married persons filing jointly for taxable years 2019 through 2025. Under current law, the standard deduction is $3,000 for single individuals and $6,000 for married couples filing jointly. The bill provides for a refund, not to exceed a taxpayer’s tax liability of up to $110 for individuals and $220 for married persons filing a joint return. The refund will be issued in October 2019 and will be available only for a taxpayer filing a final return by July 2019. The refunds will be reduced and prorated if the additional revenues generated by the TCJA are insufficient to fully fund the refunds. The bill establishes the Taxpayer Relief Fund (the Fund). For fiscal years 2019 through 2025, any additional revenues attributable to the TCJA, beyond those necessary to fund the provisions of the bill, would accrue to the Fund. The bill directs the General Assembly to appropriate money from the Fund to enact permanent or temporary tax reform measures. Status: Passed the House 95-Y, 4-N. Passed Senate with substitute 35-Y, 5-N. Signed into law by the Governor.

Safety

Sheila Bynum-Coleman

Gun Violence

We need common sense gun laws, including universal background checks, and surveys confirm that most voters support such legislation. Sheila’s daughter was shot while attending a house party. Fortunately, her daughter survived, but this experience has made Sheila a vocal champion for gun safety laws in the commonwealth

Criminal Justice Reform

The criminal justice system is inherently unjust and is not doing the job for which it was intended. The system leads to the incarceration of far too many, particularly for drug crimes. People of every race use illegal drugs at similar rates, yet African-Americans are far more likely to be imprisoned than whites. African-Americans are 3-4 times more likely to be arrested for drug crimes and six to ten times more likely to be imprisoned. Additionally, our legislature has shown no interest in helping inmates successfully reintegrate into our communities and productively contribute to society. Nor are they interested in restoring the constitutional right to vote to felons who have done their time.