Virginia Bills

Eliminates the current limit of no more than two flashing or steady-burning red or red and white warning lights that any member of a fire department, volunteer fire company, or volunteer emergency medical services agency and any police chaplain may utilize on one vehicle owned by him. The bill requires that such vehicles be equipped with a siren, exhaust whistle, or air horn designed to give automatically intermittent signals.

Provides that no statements made by a person in a good faith effort to promptly report an incident involving the threatened or actual use of justifiable physical or deadly physical force may be used against that person in any civil or criminal proceeding. The bill also provides that any documents or reports regarding a statement made by a person in a good faith effort to promptly report an incident involving the threatened or actual use of justifiable physical or deadly physical force, in a good faith effort to obtain emergency medical or law enforcement assistance, shall not be released to the public or news media prior to its use in a trial involving such incident if it is reasonably expected that a trial involving such incident will occur. If it is not reasonably expected that a trial involving such incident will occur, the contents of the report may be released to the public or news media at the discretion of the attorney for the Commonwealth or with the consent of the person who made the statement. The bill also provides that any person who uses any statements made by a person in a good faith effort to promptly report an incident involving the threatened or actual use of justifiable physical or deadly physical force against him in a civil or criminal proceeding, or provides any documents that are not releasable to the public, is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor for the first offense, a Class 6 felony for a second offense, and a Class 5 felony for a third or subsequent offense.

Provides a uniform procedure for the way in which wireless communications infrastructure is approved by localities and approved and installed in public rights-of-way.

Defines "charity care" as care provided in accordance with a provider's policy of providing health care services free of charge or at a reduced rate because of the indigence or medical indigence of the patient. The bill requires all hospitals, doctors of medicine and osteopathy, and dentists licensed to practice as oral and maxillofacial surgeons to whom a certificate of public need has been issued to establish charity care policies and post information about such policies in a public place; requires health care providers to submit to the Commissioner of Health data on the amount of charity care provided; provides that the value of charity care shall be determined in accordance with fee schedules for Medicare services established by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); provides that in the case of a health care provider providing services at more than one facility, charity care shall be reported for each facility at which services are provided and shall not be aggregated by the provider; and requires not-for-profit hospitals to (i) conduct community needs assessments and develop strategies to meet the needs identified, (ii) establish financial assistance policies for patients, (iii) establish limits on charges for emergency and other medically necessary care for individuals eligible for assistance under the financial assistance policy, and (iv) ensure that the hospital does not engage in extraordinary actions to collect amounts owed before determining whether the person is eligible for financial assistance. The bill also requires not-for-profit hospitals to report annually to the Commissioner of Health on (a) the outcomes of the community needs assessment and the implementation of the strategy developed to meet the community health needs identified through such assessment; (b) the financial assistance policy and the utilization thereof; and (c) the steps the hospital has undertaken to determine whether a person to whom services have been delivered is eligible for assistance under the hospital's financial assistance policy and efforts of the hospital to ensure that any collections activities undertaken by the hospital to collect amounts owed by such persons are not extraordinary action. Such report shall also include (1) a statement disclosing any for-profit subsidiaries owned by the not-for-profit hospital and (2) a statement of the amount of compensation paid by the not-for-profit hospital to executive staff of the hospital.