January 28, 2016 Legislative Highlight

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2016 Virginia General Assembly

January 28, 2016

The disAbility Law Center of Virginia will be monitoring bills in the legislature that may be of interest to people with disabilities.  We are available to educate policy makers about the potential impact of legislative proposals.  Please let us know of any legislative proposals or budget issues that you think we should be following.  Contact us at info@dlcv.org or by calling 1-800-552-3962 or 804-225-2042.

Mental Health – administrative housekeeping

There are several bills before the House Courts of Justice subcommittee on Mental Health that are, essentially, housekeeping, administrative or minor adjustments to current procedures:

HB 364 (Loupassi) increases the amount to be paid to court appointed attorneys.

HB 523 (LeMunyon) stresses that information may be shared between colleges and treating professionals only to the extent allowed by law.

HB 616 (Bell) requires that a person be advised of their right to create an advanced directive prior to discharge from a treatment facility.

HB 785 (Adams) excuses very small law enforcement agencies (two persons or one person agencies) from responsibilities under a temporary detention order.

Mental Health Bills of Concern

HB 606 (Bell) requires a person who agrees to a voluntary admission, after having been found to meet the commitment standard, to be advised that he will lose his right to possess a firearm.

HB 811 (Bell), HB 1110 (Bell) and HB 1112 (Bell) all create an obligation to involve or inform an individual’s family or personal representative in various phases of a commitment proceeding.

SB 567 (Barker) is identical to HB 1110 currently.

SB 568 (Barker) is identical to HB 1112 currently.

None of these bills are currently on the agenda for any meeting, but must be heard in advance of crossover on February 16, 2016.

The mission of the disAbility Law Center of Virginia is to protect and advance the legal, human and civil rights of people with disabilities, to combat and prevent abuse, neglect and discrimination, and to promote independence, choice and self-determination by persons with disabilities.