Rx Drug Assistance
Prescription Drug Assistance (SR)
| Bills | Committee | Last action | Date |
| HB 123 – Morrissey – Specialty criminal court dockets; court may establish to address specialized needs of defendants. | (H) Committee for Courts of Justice | (H) Stricken from docket by Courts of Justice | 01/23/12 |
| notes: Provides that any court may establish specialty criminal dockets to address the specialized needs of similarly situated defendants. Such dockets may be authorized by the chief judge of the respective court. The bill requires that the court may utilize only the resources already existing and available to the court in the community notwithstanding the source of funding and that additional funding for such court dockets or the creation of a formal specialized court shall require the approval of the General Assembly. |
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| HB 148 – Ransone – Unemployment benefits; each applicant, for eligibility, to provide VEC results of a drug test. | (H) Committee on Commerce and Labor | (H) Assigned C & L sub: #1 | 01/17/12 |
| notes: Requires each applicant for unemployment benefits, as a condition of eligibility, to provide the Virginia Employment Commission with the results of a drug test that is negative for the use of a nonprescribed controlled substance. |
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| HB 221 – Head – VIEW; substance abuse screening and assessment of public assistance applicants and recipients. | (H) Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions | (H) Subcommittee recommends incorporating (HB73-Bell, Richard P.) | 01/23/12 |
| notes: Requires local departments of social services to screen each VIEW program participant to determine whether probable cause exists to believe the participant is engaged in the use of illegal drugs. This bill provides that, when a screening indicates reasonable cause to believe a participant is using illegal drugs, the local department of social services shall require a formal substance abuse assessment of the participant, which may include drug testing. Any person who fails or refuses to participate in a screening or assessment without good cause or who tests positive for the use of illegal drugs shall be ineligible to receive TANF payments for a period of one year, unless he enters into and complies with the requirements of a drug treatment program. |
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| HB 347 – Miller – Prescription Monitoring Program; disclosures. | (H) Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions (S) Committee on Education and Health |
(S) Referred to Committee on Education and Health | 01/25/12 |
| notes: Modifies the Prescription Monitoring Program to (i) require dispensers of covered substances to report the method of payment for the prescription, (ii) require the Director of the Department of Health Professions to report information relevant to an investigation of a prescription recipient, in addition to a prescriber or dispenser, to any federal law-enforcement agency with authority to conduct drug diversion investigations, (iii) allow the Director to disclose information indicating potential misuse of a prescription by a recipient to the State Police for the purpose of investigation into possible drug diversion, and (iv) allow prescribers to delegate authority to access the Program to an unlimited number, rather than the current limit of two, of regulated health care professionals under their direct supervision. |
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| HB 420 – Watts – Eligibilty for TANF; drug-related felonies. | (H) Committee on Appropriations | (H) Assigned App. sub: Health & Human Resources | 02/03/12 |
| notes: Provides that a person who is otherwise eligible to receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families assistance shall not be denied assistance solely because he has been convicted of a felony offense of possession of a controlled substance provided he complies with all obligations imposed by the court and the Department of Social Services, is actively engaged in or has completed substance abuse treatment, and participates in drug screenings. |
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| HB 562 – Marshall, D.W. – Substance abuse assessment and screening; unemployment benefits. | (H) Committee on Commerce and Labor | (H) Assigned C & L sub: #1 | 01/17/12 |
| notes: Provides that an unemployed individual is not eligible to receive unemployment benefits until a representative of the Virginia Employment Commission has screened the individual to determine whether probable cause exists to believe the individual is engaged in the use of nonprescribed controlled substances. If a screening indicates reasonable cause to believe an individual is using illegal drugs, the Commission shall require a formal substance abuse assessment of the individual, which may include drug testing. An individual who fails or refuses to participate in a screening or assessment without good cause or who tests positive for the use of a nonprescribed controlled substance shall be ineligible to receive unemployment benefits. |
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| HB 596 – Crockett-Stark – Methamphetamine laboratory; in same place as child, etc, is guilty of a felony. | (H) Committee on Appropriations | (H) Referred to Committee on Appropriations | 02/03/12 |
| notes: Provides that any adult who knowingly allows a child or a mentally incapacitated or physically helpless person to be present in the same dwelling, apartment, unit of a hotel, garage, shed, or vehicle where the components for manufacture or attempted manufacture of methamphetamine are present is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not less than 10 nor more than 40 years, five years of which shall be a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment. Current law provides for enhanced punishment for the manufacture of methamphetamine in the presence of a child and omits the mandatory minimum term of imprisonment. |
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| HB 858 – Yost – Tramadol; added to list of Schedule IV controlled substances. | (H) Committee on Appropriations | (H) Assigned App. sub: Public Safety | 02/03/12 |
| notes: Adds tramadol, an opiate painkiller, to the list of Schedule IV controlled substances. |
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| HB 986 – Loupassi – Cannabinoids, synthetic; amends provisions regarding criminalization. | (H) Committee for Courts of Justice | (H) Subcommittee recommends laying on the table | 01/23/12 |
| notes: Amends provisions added to the Code last year regarding the criminalization of synthetic cannabinoids and chemicals known as “bath salts” to add newly identified chemical combinations. The bill also adds a more generic chemical description of synthetic cannabinoids so that new combinations will be illegal without the precise chemical combination being added to the Code. |
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| HB 1273 – Peace – Oral chemotherapy medications; access. | (H) Committee on Appropriations | (H) Assigned App. sub: Compensation and Retirement | 01/31/12 |
| notes: Prescribed, orally administered medications necessary for the treatment of cancer shall be available on a basis no less favorable than coverage provided for intravenously administered or injected anticancer medications, regardless of formulation or benefit category determination by the insurer, corporation, or health maintenance organization. Prescribed, orally administered anticancer medications are currently available from health insurers, health care subscription plans, and health maintenance organizations whose pharmaceutical benefit category determination provides coverage. This classification will apply to the state employees’ health insurance plan and to the local choice health program. |
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| SB 318 – Carrico – VIEW; screening and assessment of public assistance recipients for use of illegal substances. | (S) Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services | (S) Incorporated by Rehabilitation and Social Services (SB6-Martin) (15-Y 0-N) | 02/03/12 |
| notes: Requires local departments of social services to screen each VIEW program participant to determine whether probable cause exists to believe the participant is engaged in the use of illegal substances. The bill provides that when a screening indicates reasonable cause to believe a participant is using illegal substances, the local department of social services shall require a formal substance abuse assessment of the participant, which may include drug testing. Any person who fails or refuses to participate in a screening or assessment without good cause or who tests positive for the use of illegal substances shall be ineligible to receive TANF payments for a period of one year. |
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| SB 320 – Carrico – Schedule II, Schedule III, etc, controlled substances; required check with Program. | (S) Committee on Education and Health | (S) Continued to 2013 in Education and Health (15-Y 0-N) | 02/02/12 |
| notes: Requires any prescriber who prescribes to a patient a controlled substance included in Schedule II, III, or IV of the Drug Control Act to request and review information about that patient from the Prescription Monitoring Program, and to continue to do so at least annually for so long as the prescriber continues to prescribe the controlled substance to the patient. |
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| SB 321 – Carrico – Prescription Monitoring Program; disclosures. | (S) Committee on Education and Health | (S) Constitutional reading dispensed (37-Y 0-N) | 02/03/12 |
| notes: Modifies the Prescription Monitoring Program to (i) require dispensers of covered substances to report the method of payment for the prescription, (ii) require the Director of the Department of Health Professions to report information relevant to an investigation of a prescription recipient, in addition to a prescriber or dispenser, to any federal law-enforcement agency with authority to conduct drug diversion investigations, (iii) allow the Director to disclose information indicating potential misuse of a prescription by a recipient to the State Police for the purpose of investigation into possible drug diversion, and (iv) allow prescribers to delegate authority to access the Program to an unlimited number, rather than the current limit of two, of regulated health care professionals under their direct supervision. |
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