School boards; mental health awareness training; full-time school bus drivers. Permits any school board to require each school bus driver employed on a full-time basis in the local school division to complete mental health awareness training at least once. The bill requires the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to consider condensing and abbreviating the existing mental health first aid training program into a two-hour module that any school board may utilize in order to train full-time school bus drivers.
Access to investigational drugs, biological products, and devices; patient with severely debilitating condition. Allows a patient who has a severely debilitating condition, defined in the bill as a disease or condition that causes major irreversible morbidity, to access investigational drugs, biological products, and devices when certain criteria are met. Under current law, only a patient who has a terminal condition may access such drugs, products, and devices.
Department of Medical Assistance Services; Medicaid benefit for nutrition services programs; sunset. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services (the Department) to, conditional on the receipt of all necessary approvals and the securing of federal financial participation, implement a provision for payment of medical assistance for nutrition services programs which may include case management, nutrition counseling and instruction, home-delivered meals and pantry stocking, nutrition prescriptions, and grocery provisions. The bill directs the Department to prioritize the purchase and distribution of locally grown food wherever feasible. The implementation of nutrition services programs pursuant to the bill is conditional on the Department obtaining all necessary approvals and federal financial participation. The bill sunsets on July 1, 2027, if such approval and federal financial participation is not obtained.
Secretary of Health and Human Resources; State Health Commissioner; website; services and programs available to pregnant women. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Resources (the Secretary) and the State Health Commissioner, by July 1, 2027, to establish, maintain, and annually update a website that provides information about public and private agencies, services, and programs available to pregnant women. The bill specifies that the website shall include a portal that allows users to receive specifically tailored pregnancy information and provides for the submission of feedback on how user-friendly and helpful the portal was in providing such specifically tailored information. The bill requires the Secretary to submit a report to the General Assembly, no later than 180 days after the website and portal are established, on (i) the traffic on the website and portal; (ii) user feedback submitted regarding the website and portal; (iii) any identified gaps in services for pregnant and postpartum women, including any missing resources helpful to include in future updates; and (iv) recommendations on how to improve the user experience based upon user feedback.
Constitutional amendment (voter referendum); fundamental right to reproductive freedom. Provides for a referendum at the November 3, 2026, election to approve or reject an amendment to the Constitution of Virginia relating to the right to make one's own decisions related to reproductive health care, including access to abortion. The amendment protects patients and their doctors and nurses from being punished for making such decisions. The amendment allows the state to place restrictions on access to abortion during the third trimester of pregnancy except when the patient's life or physical or mental health is at risk or the pregnancy cannot survive. This bill is identical to HB 781.
Constitutional amendment (voter referendum); fundamental right to reproductive freedom. Provides for a referendum at the November 3, 2026, election to approve or reject an amendment to the Constitution of Virginia relating to the right to make one's own decisions related to reproductive health care, including access to abortion. The amendment protects patients and their doctors and nurses from being punished for making such decisions. The amendment allows the state to place restrictions on access to abortion during the third trimester of pregnancy except when the patient's life or physical or mental health is at risk or the pregnancy cannot survive. This bill is identical to SB 449.
