We expected that the 2020 session would have ended this past Saturday, but the legislature did not complete their work, and especially they did not complete the budget. The last day of the session is now set to be Thursday, March 11.
A number of bills that we have been tracking have been through the entire legislative process. Some are awaiting review by the Governor. Some have been approved or amended by the Governor. During the Governor’s review, he gets the advice of relative state agencies, the Attorney General, and sometimes from other interested parties. He has the choice to approve a bill, to amend it, or to veto it. If he amends or vetoes, the legislature must then act on the proposed amendments or to override the veto.
Here are some bills of interest to the disability community that have been through the complete legislative process already:
Amended by the Governor
HB 256 (Mullin) eliminates the option for schools to pursue a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct against students. We know of many situations where schools have pressed charges against students for manifestations of their behavior-related disabilities. The Governor suggested a rewording of the proposed change, and the House and the Senate have both agreed.
Approved by the Governor
HB 65 (Miyares) – establishes a Missing Child with Autism Alert Program.
HB 134 (Runion) and SB 186 (Dunnavant) direct the Department of Education to develop guidelines for IEP teams to include age-appropriate sex education for children with disabilities.
HB 362 (Rasoul) and SB 544 (Edwards) allow physician assistants to make a determination that an individual lacks decision making capacity.
SB 261 (Chafin) makes it a civil perjury offense for a guardian or conservator to file a knowingly false statement with the court. HB 1166 (Wampler) was identical but has not yet been sent to the Governor.
SB 171 (Locke) requires school resource officers to be trained on a variety of topics, including de-escalation techniques and working with students with disabilities. HB 1419 (Jones) is identical but has not yet been sent to the Governor.
SB 170 (Locke) requires the state to collect and analyze data about incidents between school resource offices and students, including the frequency of the use of restraints and interactions with students with disabilities.
Waiting for Action from the Governor
HB 1453 (Hope) and SB 739 (Deeds) originally sought to establish additional information that should be collected for the Acute Psychiatric Bed Registry. Both bills were modified to require the Department of Behavioral Health to study the registry. The Governor’s deadline to review SB 739 is April 6, 2020; HB 1453 has not yet been sent to the Governor.
HB 1503 (Ward) and SB 1031 (Barker) require insurance providers to cover treatment for autism, even in individual and small group markets. The deadline for action by the Governor on SB 1031 is April 6, 2020; HB 1503 has not yet been sent to the Governor.
The mission of the disAbility Law Center of Virginia is to advance independence, choice and self-determination; protect legal, human and civil rights; and eliminate abuse, neglect and discrimination of people with disabilities through zealous and uncompromising legal advocacy and representation. We are available to educate policymakers about the impact of their decisions on the lives of people with disabilities.