Summary
Meets on: Friday at 8:30 a.m. in Senate Room A, Pocahontas Building
Members: Barbara Favola (Chair) – Jennifer Boysko – John Cosgrove – Bill DeSteph – Emmett Hanger – Jen Kiggans – Mamie Locke – Monty Mason – Ryan McDougle – Jeremy McPike – Joe Morrissey – Bryce Reeves – Lionell Spruill – Scott Surovell
(8 Democrats and 6 Republicans)
Subcommittees:
- ABC
- Marijuana
- Social Services
Below is a short summary by Chair Barbara Favola about what the Rehabilitation and Social Services committee does.
OnAir Post: Rehabilitation and Social Services
News
Virginia Legislative Information System,
https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?212+lst+PAS
Virginia onAir YouTube Channel – May 20, 2021 (03:03)
Virginia Legislative Information System
Note: Details on bills passed below are in the Heading “Bills passed”)
- SB 1297: Emergency order for adult protective services; acts of violence, etc., or financial exploitation
- SB 1299: Alcoholic beverage control; sale and delivery of mixed beverages and pre-mixed wine
- SB 1300: Inmates; Board of Local and Regional Jails to review services provided during pregnancy, etc
- SB 1321: Confirmatory adoption; expands the stepparent adoption provisions
- SB 1328: State-Funded Kinship Guardianship Assistance program; created
- SB 1366: Aging services; economic and social needs
- SB 1397: Parole and conditional release; notice by electronic means and certification
- SB 1428: Alcoholic beverage control; operation of government stores, sale of low alcohol beverage coolers
- SB 1471: Alcoholic beverage control; local special events license, taxes and fees
- SB 1472: Individuals w/ intellectual & developmental disabilities; DMAS to study use of virtual support, etc
RICHMOND, Va. – A bill that would have restored parole in Virginia was killed Friday after lawmakers heard emotional testimony from family members of crime victims who pleaded with them to guarantee their assailants would stay locked up.
The Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee voted to send the measure to the Virginia State Crime Commission for study, ending the bill’s chances of passing this year.
Virginia abolished discretionary parole in 1995 and began requiring offenders to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences.
Marijuana Moment, – January 22, 2021
A Virginia Senate committee on Friday approved a bill to legalize marijuana in the Commonwealth, bringing the proposal one step closer to a full floor vote. Before advancing the legislation to another panel, lawmakers defeated a proposal to remove home cultivation rights for cannabis.
The Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee approved the legislation in a 8-7 vote. Members also accepted a series of recommended amendments from a newly formed subcommittee that’s singularly focused on marijuana policy and that held two hearings on the bill earlier this week.
The legislation, which was unveiled by Gov. Ralph Northam (D) last week and is being carried by top Senate and House leaders, would create a system of regulated and taxed marijuana sales and production, and allow adults 21 and older to purchase and possess up to one ounce of cannabis and cultivate up to four plants for personal use, two of which could be mature.
abc8News, – January 25, 2021
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Nine of the 11 Virginia state senators who voted against a bill that would have abolished for-profit prison management by 2024 received campaign contributions ahead of this year’s General Assembly session from the company operating the state’s only privately run facility, according to campaign finance reports.
On Jan. 15, the Virginia Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee debated SB 1179, proposed by Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria), that sought to end the for-profit prison management system in the commonwealth by stripping the authority of the director of Virginia’s Department of Corrections to enter into contracts with private prison operators.
The only prison in Virginia not operated by the Department of Corrections is Lawrenceville Correctional Center, which has been run by GEO Group, Inc., a Florida-based private prison contractor, since 2003.
Virginia Mercury, – January 15, 2021
A proposal to bring Virginia’s only privately operated prison under state management failed in the General Assembly on Friday when it was voted down by members of the Senate’s Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee.
The decision means GEO Group, a publicly traded corporation based in Florida, will likely continue to oversee the Lawrenceville Correctional Center in Brunswick County, where advocates and some lawmakers worried persistent staffing shortages have jeopardized inmate safety.
“They do not hold up their end of the contract as far as medical, dental,” said Franchesca Hylton, who told lawmakers during a hearing on the legislation that her husband is an inmate at the facility and was not getting proper care for his heart condition. “There’s a lot of stuff going on at that facility that shouldn’t be.”
About
From Senate Rules: “A Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services, 15 Senators, to consider matters concerning alcoholic beverages; correctional and penal institutions; morals; social services and welfare; and substance abuse.”.
Web Links
Bills
(none at this time)
Bills reported out
SB 1104: Provides that the Department of Corrections shall release a prisoner no sooner than 21 business days after the date of notification by the Virginia Parole Board (the Board) to the appropriate attorney for the Commonwealth of the decision to grant parole.
SB 1125: Requires the Parole Board, within seven days of making any decision regarding the parole of a prisoner, to provide written or electronic notice of such decision to the victim of the crime for which the prisoner was incarcerated, unless the victim has submitted a written request to forgo such notice.
SB 1297: Allows the circuit court, upon a finding that an incapacitated adult has been, within a reasonable period of time, subjected to an act of violence, force, or threat or been subjected to financial exploitation, to include in an emergency order for adult protective services one or more of the following conditions to be imposed on the alleged perpetrator: (i) a prohibition on acts of violence, force, or threat or criminal offenses that may result in injury to person or property; (ii) a prohibition on such other contacts by the alleged perpetrator with the adult or the adult’s family or household members as the court deems necessary for the health and safety of such persons; or (iii) such other conditions as the court deems necessary to prevent (a) acts of violence, force, or threat; (b) criminal offenses that may result in injury to persons or property; (c) communication or other contact of any kind by the alleged perpetrator; or (d) financial exploitation by the alleged perpetrator. The bill provides that any person who violates any such condition is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
SB 1299: Allows distillers that have been appointed as agents of the Board of Directors (the Board) of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (the Authority), mixed beverage restaurant licensees, and limited mixed beverage restaurant licensees to sell mixed beverages for off-premises consumption and deliver such mixed beverages to consumers subject to requirements set forth in the bill.
SB 1300: Directs the Board of Local and Regional Jails (the Board), in consultation with a stakeholder work group, to (i) identify and analyze all obstetric and gynecological services and any other services provided by local and regional jails to inmates during pregnancy, pregnancy termination, labor and delivery, and postpartum recovery; (ii) compare such services to best practices recommended by the American Correctional Association, American Jail Association, National Commission on Correctional Health Care, and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; and (iii) develop recommendations to ensure that proper services are provided to inmates during pregnancy, pregnancy termination, labor and delivery, and postpartum recovery.
SB 1301: Prohibits the use of isolated confinement in state correctional facilities and juvenile correctional centers, subject to certain exceptions. Isolated confinement is defined in the bill as the confinement of a prisoner or juvenile to a cell, alone or with another prisoner or juvenile, for 20 hours or more per day for an adult or for 17 hours or more per day for a juvenile, other than for the purpose of providing medical or mental health treatment.
SB 1321: Expands the stepparent adoption provisions to allow a person who is not the child’s stepparent but has a legitimate interest in the child to file a joint petition for adoption with the child’s birth parent or parent by adoption.
SB 1328: Creates the State-Funded Kinship Guardianship Assistance program (the program) to facilitate child placements with relatives, including fictive kin, and ensure permanency for children.
SB 1363: Restores the authority of the State Board of Local and Regional Jails (the Board) to (i) ensure the development of long-range policies, programs, and plans for corrections services provided at the state and local levels; (ii) review and comment on all budgets and requests for appropriations for the Department of Corrections (the Department) prior to submission to the Governor and on all applications for federal funds; and (iii) monitor the activities of the Department and its effectiveness in implementing the standards and goals of the Board. Chapter 375 of the Acts of Assembly of 2011 repealed the Board’s authority to perform these functions
SB 1366: Requires the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, in providing aging services, to use available resources to provide services to older persons with the greatest economic or social needs.
SB 1397: Provides that the Department of Corrections shall set the release date for an inmate granted discretionary parole or conditional release no sooner than 30 business days from the date that the Department of Corrections receives notification from the Chairman of the Parole Board of the Board’s decision to grant discretionary parole or conditional release, except that the Department of Corrections may set an earlier release date in the case of a terminally ill inmate granted conditional release.
SB 1406: Eliminates criminal penalties for simple possession of marijuana, modifies several other criminal penalties related to marijuana, and provides for an automatic expungement process for those convicted of certain marijuana-related crimes.
SB 1428: Prohibits the Board of Directors (the Board) of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority from selling in government stores low alcohol beverage coolers not manufactured by licensed distillers.
SB 1462: Requires the Department of Social Services to establish a pilot program to provide a fixed reimbursement for the costs of broadband services to households currently participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
SB 1471: Allows the Board of Directors of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to increase the frequency, duration, and designated area of events held under a local special events license upon the request of a locality after adoption of an ordinance allowing such increases.
SB 1472: Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to study and develop recommendations for the permanent use of virtual supports and increasing access to virtual supports and services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities by promoting access to assistive technology and environmental modifications
Bills Passed
- SB 1297: Emergency order for adult protective services; acts of violence, etc., or financial exploitation
Allows the circuit court, upon a finding that an incapacitated adult has been, within a reasonable period of time, subjected to an act of violence, force, or threat or been subjected to financial exploitation, to include in an emergency order for adult protective services one or more of the following conditions to be imposed on the alleged perpetrator: (i) a prohibition on acts of violence, force, or threat or criminal offenses that may result in injury to person or property; (ii) a prohibition on such other contacts by the alleged perpetrator with the adult or the adult’s family or household members as the court deems necessary for the health and safety of such persons; or (iii) such other conditions as the court deems necessary to prevent (a) acts of violence, force, or threat; (b) criminal offenses that may result in injury to persons or property; (c) communication or other contact of any kind by the alleged perpetrator; or (d) financial exploitation by the alleged perpetrator. The bill provides that any person who violates any such condition is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. Also, the bill provides that hearings on emergency orders for adult protective services shall be held no earlier than 24 hours and no later than 72 hours after the notice required has been given, unless such notice has been waived by the court. Current law just requires such hearing be held no earlier than 24 hours. Lastly, the bill provides that if the court enters an order containing any of the aforementioned conditions, the primary law-enforcement agency providing service and entry of protective orders shall enter the name of the perpetrator into the Virginia Criminal Information Network and the order shall be served forthwith on the perpetrator. This bill is identical to HB 2018. - SB 1299: Alcoholic beverage control; sale and delivery of mixed beverages and pre-mixed wine
Allows distillers that have been appointed as agents of the Board of Directors (the Board) of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (the Authority), mixed beverage restaurant licensees, and limited mixed beverage restaurant licensees to sell mixed beverages for off-premises consumption and deliver such mixed beverages to consumers subject to requirements set forth in the bill. The bill allows the Board to summarily revoke a licensee’s privileges to sell and deliver mixed beverages for off-premises consumption for noncompliance with the requirements set forth in the bill or applicable provisions of current law. The bill also allows farm winery licensees to sell pre-mixed wine for off-premises consumption. The bill directs the Authority to convene a work group to study the sale and delivery of mixed beverages and pre-mixed wine for off-premises consumption and report its findings to the Chairmen of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services by November 1, 2021. The provisions of the bill sunset on July 1, 2022. This bill incorporates SB 1388 and is identical to HB 1879. - SB 1300: Inmates; Board of Local and Regional Jails to review services provided during pregnancy, etc
Directs the Board of Local and Regional Jails (the Board), in consultation with a stakeholder work group, to (i) identify and analyze all obstetric and gynecological services and any other services provided by local and regional jails to inmates during pregnancy, pregnancy termination, labor and delivery, and postpartum recovery; (ii) compare such services to best practices recommended by the American Correctional Association, American Jail Association, National Commission on Correctional Health Care, and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; and (iii) develop recommendations to ensure that proper services are provided to inmates during pregnancy, pregnancy termination, labor and delivery, and postpartum recovery. The bill directs the Board to (a) post its findings and recommendations on its website and report such findings and recommendations to the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security and the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services, House Committee for Courts of Justice, and House Committee on Public Safety by July 1, 2022, and (b) adopt regulations consistent with its findings and recommendations. - SB 1321: Confirmatory adoption; expands the stepparent adoption provisions
Expands the stepparent adoption provisions to allow a person who is not the child’s stepparent but has a legitimate interest in the child to file a joint petition for adoption with the child’s birth parent or parent by adoption. - SB 1328: State-Funded Kinship Guardianship Assistance program; created
Creates the State-Funded Kinship Guardianship Assistance program (the program) to facilitate child placements with relatives, including fictive kin, and ensure permanency for children. The bill sets forth eligibility criteria for the program, payment allowances to kinship guardians, and requirements for kinship guardianship assistance agreements. - SB 1366: Aging services; economic and social needs
Requires the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, in providing aging services, to use available resources to provide services to older persons with the greatest economic or social needs. The bill defines “economic need” as need resulting from an income level at or below the poverty line. The bill defines “social need” as need caused by noneconomic factors, including (i) physical and mental disabilities, which include developmental disabilities and human immunodeficiency virus; (ii) language barriers; and (iii) cultural, social, or geographic isolation, including that which is related to a history of discrimination for factors such as racial or ethnic status, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation that can affect an individual’s ability to perform normal daily tasks or threatens such individual’s capacity to live independently. - SB 1397: Parole and conditional release; notice by electronic means and certification
Provides that the Department of Corrections shall set the release date for an inmate granted discretionary parole or conditional release no sooner than 30 business days from the date that the Department of Corrections receives notification from the Chairman of the Parole Board of the Board’s decision to grant discretionary parole or conditional release, except that the Department of Corrections may set an earlier release date in the case of a terminally ill inmate granted conditional release. The bill provides that in the case of an inmate granted parole who was convicted of a felony and sentenced to a term of 10 or more years, or an inmate granted conditional release, the Board shall notify the attorney for the Commonwealth in the jurisdiction where the inmate was sentenced (i) by electronic means at least 21 business days prior to such inmate’s release that such inmate has been granted discretionary parole or conditional release or (ii) by telephone or other electronic means prior to release that a terminally ill inmate has been granted conditional release where death is imminent. - SB 1428: Alcoholic beverage control; operation of government stores, sale of low alcohol beverage coolers
Prohibits the Board of Directors (the Board) of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority from selling in government stores low alcohol beverage coolers not manufactured by licensed distillers. Under current law, the Board may sell any low alcohol beverage coolers in government stores. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2022. - SB 1471: Alcoholic beverage control; local special events license, taxes and fees
Renames the “local special events” license as the “designated outdoor refreshment area” license. The bill allows the Board of Directors of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to increase the frequency and duration of events held under such license after adoption of an ordinance by a locality requesting such increase in frequency and duration. Under current law, localities are limited to holding 16 events per year under such license, with each event lasting no more than three consecutive days, except during the effective dates of any rule, regulation, or order that is issued by the Governor or State Health Commissioner to meet a public health emergency and that effectively reduces allowable restaurant seating capacity. The bill also increases the state and local license fees for designated outdoor refreshment area licenses issued pursuant to a local ordinance. This bill is identical to HB 2266. - SB 1472: Individuals w/ intellectual & developmental disabilities; DMAS to study use of virtual support, etc
Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to study and develop recommendations for the permanent use of virtual supports and increasing access to virtual supports and services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities by promoting access to assistive technology and environmental modifications. The bill requires the Department to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly by November 1, 2021.
Commissions & Boards
State Executive Council for Children’s Services
Source: Webpage
To oversee the administration of Office of Children’s Services and make such decisions as may be necessary to carry out its purposes.
Commonwealth Council on Aging
Source: Webpage
To promote an effective, coordinated approach to meeting the needs of older Virginians.
Child Support Guidelines Review Panel
Source: Webpage
Review Child Support Guidelines established pursuant to § 20-108.2 H. The Panel shall determine the adequacy of the guideline for the determination of appropriate awards for the support of children by considering current research and data on the cost of and expenditures necessary for rearing children, and any other resources it deems relevant to such review.
