Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority; work group; alternative beer distribution program; report. Directs the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, in coordination with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, to convene a work group to evaluate alternative avenues of distribution that could be made available to limited brewery and certain brewery licensees. The bill establishes the membership of the work group and directs the work group to develop a legislative proposal that includes (i) analysis of a distribution program similar to the Virginia Winery Distribution Company; (ii) criteria for determining which limited brewery or brewery licensees will be eligible to participate in the distribution program; (iii) criteria for determining which products and the quantity of products that may be distributed through the program; (iv) an implementation plan that includes all actions, including the phasing and sequencing of actions, necessary to make the distribution program operational; (v) a funding model; and (vi) resolution of all issues that remain to be undertaken from the Department's work group required by Chapter 334 of the Acts of Assembly of 2022. The bill requires the Authority to report its findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services by September 15, 2023. Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority; work group; alternative beer distribution program; report. Directs the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, in coordination with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, to convene a work group to evaluate alternative avenues of distribution that could be made available to limited brewery and certain brewery licensees. The bill establishes the membership of the work group and directs the work group to develop a legislative proposal that includes (i) analysis of a distribution program similar to the Virginia Winery Distribution Company; (ii) criteria for determining which limited brewery or brewery licensees will be eligible to participate in the distribution program; (iii) criteria for determining which products and the quantity of products that may be distributed through the program; (iv) an implementation plan that includes all actions, including the phasing and sequencing of actions, necessary to make the distribution program operational; (v) a funding model; and (vi) resolution of all issues that remain to be undertaken from the Department's work group required by Chapter 334 of the Acts of Assembly of 2022. The bill requires the Authority to report its findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services by September 15, 2023.

Towing and recovery operators; vehicle storage. Prohibits towing and recovery operators from refusing to allow, consistent with current law, the owner of a towed vehicle, upon presenting proof of ownership, to access and recover any personal items without retrieving the vehicle and without paying any fee. Towing and recovery operators; vehicle storage. Prohibits towing and recovery operators from refusing to allow, consistent with current law, the owner of a towed vehicle, upon presenting proof of ownership, to access and recover any personal items without retrieving the vehicle and without paying any fee.

Virginia Retirement System; retired law-enforcement officers employed as school security officers. Provides that if a retired law-enforcement officer was employed by a local school division as a school security officer on or after January 1, 2020, but before January 1, 2023, and had a bona fide break in service of at least one month between retirement and employment as a school security officer, such person is not required to establish the 12-month break in service that would otherwise be required by law.

Highway use fee; exemptions; low-speed vehicles. Exempts registered low-speed vehicles from the existing highway use fee calculated on the basis of average fuel economy and miles traveled per year and replaces such fee with an annual flat fee of $25. Highway use fee; exemptions; low-speed vehicles. Exempts registered low-speed vehicles from the existing highway use fee calculated on the basis of average fuel economy and miles traveled per year and replaces such fee with an annual flat fee of $25.

Cannabis control; retail market; transitional sales by pharmaceutical and industrial hemp processors; penalties. Establishes a framework for the creation of a retail marijuana market in the Commonwealth. The bill creates a regulatory and licensing structure for such retail market and for the cultivation, manufacture, and wholesale of marijuana and marijuana products to be administered by the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority. The bill allows certain pharmaceutical and industrial hemp processors, pending establishment of the retail market, to cultivate, manufacture, and sell to persons 21 years of age or older cannabis products. The bill also relocates and modifies numerous criminal provisions regarding marijuana offenses. The bill has staggered effective dates. The bill satisfies the reenactment requirement of Chapters 550 and 551 of the Acts of Assembly of 2021, Special Session I, but makes numerous modifications to the provisions of the 2021 legislation related to licensure, criminal penalties, expungement, regulation of certain hemp products, local regulation, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Cannabis control; retail market; transitional sales by pharmaceutical and industrial hemp processors; penalties. Establishes a framework for the creation of a retail marijuana market in the Commonwealth. The bill creates a regulatory and licensing structure for such retail market and for the cultivation, manufacture, and wholesale of marijuana and marijuana products to be administered by the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority. The bill allows certain pharmaceutical and industrial hemp processors, pending establishment of the retail market, to cultivate, manufacture, and sell to persons 21 years of age or older cannabis products. The bill also relocates and modifies numerous criminal provisions regarding marijuana offenses. The bill has staggered effective dates. The bill satisfies the reenactment requirement of Chapters 550 and 551 of the Acts of Assembly of 2021, Special Session I, but makes numerous modifications to the provisions of the 2021 legislation related to licensure, criminal penalties, expungement, regulation of certain hemp products, local regulation, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Emergency medical services agencies; ordinances or resolutions; designation as emergency response agencies. Requires that ordinances or resolutions establishing an emergency medical services agency specify the geographic boundaries of the agency's primary service area within the locality. The bill also directs that emergency medical services agencies that respond to medical emergencies be a designated emergency response agency and be recognized as an integral part of the official public safety program of the locality with responsibility for providing emergency medical response.

Health insurance; electronic prior authorization and disclosure of certain information; out-of-pocket costs; report. Requires each health insurance carrier, beginning July 1, 2025, to establish and maintain an online process that (i) links directly to all e-prescribing systems and electronic health record systems that utilize the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs SCRIPT standard and the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs Real Time Benefit Standard; (ii) can accept electronic prior authorization requests from a provider; (iii) can approve electronic prior authorization requests (a) for which no additional information is needed by the carrier to process the prior authorization request, (b) for which no clinical review is required, and (c) that meet the carrier's criteria for approval; (iv) links directly to real-time patient out-of-pocket costs for the office visit; and (v) otherwise meets the requirements for contracts between carriers and participating health care providers. The bill prohibits a carrier from (a) imposing a fee or charge on any person for accessing the required online process who is required to do so or (b) accessing, absent provider consent, provider data via the online process other than for the enrollee. The bill also requires carriers, no later than July 1, 2024, to provide contact information of any third-party vendor or other entity the carrier will use to meet the requirements of the bill to any provider that requests such information. The carrier may post such information on its website to meet such requirement. Health insurance; electronic prior authorization and disclosure of certain information; out-of-pocket costs; report. Requires each health insurance carrier, beginning July 1, 2025, to establish and maintain an online process that (i) links directly to all e-prescribing systems and electronic health record systems that utilize the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs SCRIPT standard and the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs Real Time Benefit Standard; (ii) can accept electronic prior authorization requests from a provider; (iii) can approve electronic prior authorization requests (a) for which no additional information is needed by the carrier to process the prior authorization request, (b) for which no clinical review is required, and (c) that meet the carrier's criteria for approval; (iv) links directly to real-time patient out-of-pocket costs for the office visit; and (v) otherwise meets the requirements for contracts between carriers and participating health care providers. The bill prohibits a carrier from (a) imposing a fee or charge on any person for accessing the required online process who is required to do so or (b) accessing, absent provider consent, provider data via the online process other than for the enrollee. The bill also requires carriers, no later than July 1, 2024, to provide contact information of any third-party vendor or other entity the carrier will use to meet the requirements of the bill to any provider that requests such information. The carrier may post such information on its website to meet such requirement. The bill requires participating health care providers, beginning July 1, 2025, to ensure that any e-prescribing system or electronic health record system owned by or contracted for the provider to maintain an enrollee's health record has the ability to access, at the point of prescribing, the electronic prior authorization process established by a carrier and real-time patient-specific benefit information, including out-of-pocket costs and more affordable medication alternatives made available by a carrier. The bill provides that a provider may request a waiver of compliance for undue hardship for a period not to exceed 12 months. The bill requires any carrier or its pharmacy benefits manager to provide real-time patient-specific information to enrollees and contracted providers for the office visit, including any out-of-pocket costs and more affordable medication alternatives or prior authorization requirements, and to ensure that the data is accurate. The bill requires that such cost information data be available to the provider at the point of prescribing in an accessible and understandable format, such as through the provider's e-prescribing system or electronic health record system that the carrier or pharmacy benefits manager or its designated subcontractor has adopted that utilizes the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs SCRIPT standard and the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs Real Time Benefit Standard from which the provider makes the request. The bill requires the State Corporation Commission's Bureau of Insurance to, in coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Resources, establish a work group to assess implementation and develop recommendations for electronic prior authorization and real-time cost benefit information for prescription drugs, to evaluate and make recommendations to establish a process for electronic prior authorization for surgery and other procedures, and to evaluate and make recommendations to establish an online process for a real-time link at the point of prescribing for any available prescription coupons. The work group shall report its findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the Senate Committees on Commerce and Labor and Education and Health and the House Committees on Commerce and Energy and Health, Welfare and Institutions annually by November 1 and shall make its final report by November 1, 2025.

Law-enforcement officers; protected personal information. Provides that any law-enforcement officer who provides information relative to a criminal investigation or in proceedings preliminary to a criminal prosecution may refuse, unless ordered by a court, to disclose his residence address, home telephone number, or any personal information concerning his family. The bill also provides that any law-enforcement officer who testifies as a witness in a criminal case may refuse to disclose personal information concerning his family unless it is determined by the court that such evidence is relevant to the case.

General Assembly; 2023 Session schedule. Establishes a schedule for the conduct of business coming before the 2023 Regular Session of the General Assembly of Virginia.

Henrietta Lacks Day. Designates October 4, in 2023 and in each succeeding year, as Henrietta Lacks Day in Virginia. Henrietta Lacks Day. Designates October 4, in 2023 and in each succeeding year, as Henrietta Lacks Day in Virginia.

Commending Gillfield Baptist Church.

Real property tax; exemption for disabled veterans and surviving spouses. Provides that a person who is eligible for the real property tax exemption for certain disabled veterans and surviving spouses is entitled to a refund, retroactive to his date of eligibility, of taxes paid during the period of exemption, excluding interest or penalties. Under the bill, the refund is exempt from the statute of limitations for applications for correction of an assessment.

Land use plans; zoning; notice. Alters the notice requirements related to local government adoption of land use plans and zoning ordinances by no longer requiring the notice to contain a descriptive summary of the proposed action but continues to require the locality to identify in the notice the place or places within the locality where copies of the proposed plans, ordinances, or amendments may be examined. Furthermore, such notice must include the street address or tax map parcel number of the parcels as well as the approximate acreage subject to the action. With regard to notice of proposed zoning actions, the bill also (i) removes the requirement to state general usage and density of the proposed zoning action and (ii) eliminates the requirement for an extra public hearing when land is zoned to a more intensive use classification than was contained in the previous public notice.

General Assembly; 2024 Session prefiling schedule. Establishes a schedule for the prefiling period for the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly of Virginia.

Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; Department of Education; best practice standards related to the transition of records and transfer of services for students with disabilities. Directs the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, in coordination with the Department of Education and relevant stakeholders, to develop and disseminate best practice standards for the transition of services and transfer of records for students with disabilities who reach the age of majority.