Virginia Bills

Authorizes the Commissioner of Health (the Commissioner) to establish and operate local or regional comprehensive harm reduction programs during a declared public health emergency that include the provision of sterile and disposal of used hypodermic needles and syringes. The objectives of the programs are to reduce the spread of HIV, viral hepatitis, and other blood-borne diseases in Virginia, to reduce the transmission of blood-borne diseases through needlestick injuries to law-enforcement and other emergency personnel, and to provide information to individuals who inject drugs regarding addiction recovery treatment services. The programs will be located in at-risk communities, in accordance with criteria established by the Department of Health. The bill requires the Commissioner to establish standards and protocols for the comprehensive harm reduction programs and requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Public Safety to approve such standards and protocols.

Creates a new retail on-premises wine and beer license for nonprofit historic cinema houses. The bill defines "historic cinema house" and sets out the privileges of the license and imposes a $200 annual state license tax and a $20 annual local license tax.

Authorizes the board of trustees of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation to enter into contracts for the use and rental of agency facilities, structures, spaces, and personal property under the control of the Foundation. This bill is identical to

Changes the standard a locality may use to calculate the charges for water and sewer connection services from fair and reasonable to practicable and equitable defined by a number of factors. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2018.

Provides that the Chief Medical Examiner may appoint a medical examiner for each county or city in the Commonwealth. Under current law, the Chief Medical Examiner is required to do so. The bill authorizes appointed medical examiners to assist the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner with cases requiring medicolegal death investigations. Finally, the bill clarifies that the appointment of a medical examiner to fill a vacancy is not required to start on October 1 of the year of appointment, and the term length of such appointment is for the unexpired term.

Provides that notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, persons granted a wine and beer license may deliver such wine or beer in closed containers for off-premises consumption (i) to a person's vehicle if located in a designated parking area of the retailer's premises where such person has electronically ordered wine or beer in advance of the delivery or (ii) if the licensee holds a delivery permit issued by the ABC Board, to such other locations as may be permitted by Board regulation. The bill contains technical amendments.

Provides that banquet licensees that are nonprofit corporations or associations conducting fundraisers (i) shall also be authorized to sell wine, as part of any fundraising activity, in closed containers for off-premises consumption to persons to whom wine may be lawfully sold and (ii) shall be limited to no more than one such fundraiser per year.