Department of Health; perinatal health hub work group; report. Directs the Department of Health, in collaboration with the Virginia Neonatal Perinatal Collaborative, the Virginia Maternal Quality Care Alliance, and Urban Baby Beginnings, to convene a work group of stakeholders to evaluate strategies to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates and make recommendations to enhance maternal health and public health support systems through expansion of the perinatal health hub model. The bill directs the Department of Health to report on the results and recommendations of the work group to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations by December 1, 2023. Department of Health; perinatal health hub work group; report. Directs the Department of Health, in collaboration with the Virginia Neonatal Perinatal Collaborative, the Virginia Maternal Quality Care Alliance, and Urban Baby Beginnings, to convene a work group of stakeholders to evaluate strategies to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates and make recommendations to enhance maternal health and public health support systems through expansion of the perinatal health hub model. The bill directs the Department of Health to report on the results and recommendations of the work group to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations by December 1, 2023.

Certified nurse midwives, certified registered nurse anesthetists, clinical nurse specialists, and nurse practitioners; designation as advanced practice registered nurses. Changes references to certain practitioners in the Code to advanced practice registered nurse in order to align the Code with the professional designations established by the Consensus Model for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses Regulation established by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Certified nurse midwives, certified registered nurse anesthetists, clinical nurse specialists, and nurse practitioners; designation as advanced practice registered nurses. Changes references to certain practitioners in the Code to advanced practice registered nurse in order to align the Code with the professional designations established by the Consensus Model for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses Regulation established by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.

Electric utilities; net metering. Provides that a contract that provides for the ownership, maintenance, or operation of an electrical generating facility by a third party through a lease agreement with fixed monthly payments does not constitute the sale of electricity and does not cause an eligible customer-generator or the third party that owns, maintains, or operates the electrical generating facility through such a lease agreement to be considered an electric utility. The bill prohibits an eligible customer-generator or eligible agricultural customer-generator from being required to provide proof of liability insurance or to purchase additional liability insurance as a condition of interconnection. The bill exempts eligible customer-generators and eligible agricultural customer-generators that operate a battery storage device in conjunction with an electrical generating facility from standby charges. The bill provides that net metering provisions do not limit the ability of an eligible customer-generator or eligible agricultural customer-generator to participate in a distributed energy resource aggregation or other retail program involving demand response, energy efficiency, or peak reduction from dispatch of onsite battery service, provided that the compensation received is in exchange for a distinct service that is not already compensated by net metering credits for electricity exported to the electric distribution system.

Taxable income; Paycheck Protection Program loans. Allows an individual and corporate income tax deduction or subtraction, as applicable, for any amount of business expenses funded by forgiven Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan proceeds that are paid or incurred prior to taxable year 2023. Under current law, the allowable amount that may be deducted or subtracted is limited to $100,000 of business expenses funded by forgiven PPP loan proceeds paid or incurred prior to taxable year 2021.

Insurance agents; definitions; private family leave insurance. Expands the definitions of "health agent" and "property and casualty insurance agent" to include that such agents may sell, solicit, or negotiate private family leave insurance. The bill also clarifies that private family leave insurance is not included in either limited lines life and health insurance or limited lines property and casualty insurance as they relate to the definitions of "limited lines life and health agent" and "limited lines property and casualty agent" respectively.

Uninsured motorist fee; repeal. Repeals the option to register an uninsured motor vehicle upon payment of the uninsured motor vehicle fee of $500. The repeal has an effective date of July 1, 2024. The bill authorizes the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles to continue registering uninsured vehicles from July 1, 2023, to July 1, 2024, but provides that all such registrations shall expire prior to July 1, 2024.

Virginia Self-Service Storage Act; default by occupant; watercraft. Allows the owner of a self-storage facility, in the case of a stored watercraft for which an occupant has been in default for more than 60 days, to have such watercraft towed in lieu of conducting a public sale of such watercraft.

Alcoholic beverage control; winery and farm winery licenses; requirements and privileges. Makes numerous changes to the privileges of and requirements for winery and farm winery licenses. Such changes relate to the characteristics of and tasks to be performed on the licensed premises, license qualifications, manufacturing and sale requirements and limitations, and utilization of contract winemaking services. Alcoholic beverage control; winery and farm winery licenses; requirements and privileges. Makes numerous changes to the privileges of and requirements for winery and farm winery licenses. Such changes relate to the characteristics of and tasks to be performed on the licensed premises, license qualifications, manufacturing and sale requirements and limitations, and utilization of contract winemaking services.

Civil commitment of sexually violent predators; penalty. Creates a Class 6 felony for any civilly committed sexually violent predator who tampers with or in any way attempts to circumvent the operation of his GPS equipment while on conditional release.

Prescription Drug Affordability Board and Fund established; drug cost affordability review. Establishes the Prescription Drug Affordability Board for the purpose of protecting the citizens of the Commonwealth and other stakeholders within the health care system from the high costs of prescription drug products. Prescription Drug Affordability Board and Fund established; drug cost affordability review. Establishes the Prescription Drug Affordability Board for the purpose of protecting the citizens of the Commonwealth and other stakeholders within the health care system from the high costs of prescription drug products. The bill directs the Governor to appoint the members and alternate members of the Board and requires the Board to meet in open session at least four times annually, with certain exceptions and requirements enumerated in the bill. Members of the Board are required to disclose any conflicts of interest, as described in the bill. The bill also creates a stakeholder council for the purpose of assisting the Board in making decisions related to drug cost affordability. The bill tasks the Board with identifying prescription, generic, and other drugs, as defined in the bill, that are offered for sale in the Commonwealth and, at the Board's discretion, conducting an affordability review of any prescription drug product. The bill lists factors for the Board to consider that indicate an affordability challenge for the health care system in the Commonwealth or high out-of-pocket costs for patients. The bill also provides that any person aggrieved by a decision of the Board may request an appeal of the Board's decision and that the Attorney General shall have authority to enforce the provisions of the bill. The bill also creates the Prescription Drug Affordability Fund to be used for funding the operations of the Board and reimbursing state agencies for implementing the provisions of the bill. The bill requires the Board to report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly twice annually, beginning on July 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024. Provisions of the bill shall apply to state-sponsored and state-regulated health plans and health programs and obligate such policies to limit drug payment amounts and reimbursements to an upper payment limit amount set by the Board, if applicable, following an affordability review. The bill specifies that Medicare Part D plans shall not be bound by such decisions of the Board. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act. Finally, the bill contains a severability clause and has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2024.

Alexandria Historical Restoration and Preservation Commission; surety bonds for membership. Removes the requirement that each member of the Alexandria Historical Restoration and Preservation Commission give a surety bond in the sum of $10,000 that is executed by a surety company, payable to the Governor and his successors in office, and conditioned upon the member's faithful performance of his duties.

Public institutions of higher education; immunization requirements. Declares that the General Assembly has the sole authority to impose immunization requirements on students enrolled in public institutions of higher education and any policy or any revision to any policy of a public institution of higher education relating to immunization requirements is void to the extent that it is inconsistent with the law of the Commonwealth. The bill also expands the scope of exemptions from such immunization requirements by (i) providing that any student shall be exempt from the immunization requirements or from the health history requirement if the student or, if such student is under the age of 18, the parent of such student objects on the grounds that compliance with the requirement would conflict with the student's or the parent's religious tenets or practices and (ii) removing the exception providing that the religious exemption to any immunization requirement shall not apply if the Board of Health declares an emergency or epidemic of disease.

Compensation of court-appointed counsel. Increases the statutory caps for fees paid to court-appointed counsel in indigent cases. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act. Compensation of court-appointed counsel. Increases the statutory caps for fees paid to court-appointed counsel in indigent cases. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.

State agencies; telecommuting policy. Increases the target for eligible state employee participation in telecommuting from 20 percent to 45 percent by January 1, 2024.

Department of Health Professions; applications for licensure, certification, and registration; mental health conditions and impairment; emergency. Directs each health regulatory board within the Department of Health Professions to amend its licensure, certification, and registration applications to remove any existing questions pertaining to mental health conditions and impairment and to include the following questions: (i) Do you have any reason to believe that you would pose a risk to the safety or well-being of your patients or clients? and (ii) Are you able to perform the essential functions of a practitioner in your area of practice with or without reasonable accommodation? The bill contains an emergency clause.