Trends for House and Senate Bills Passed During the 2018 General Assembly Session

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Luke Siebert, B.A.
ILPPP Research Assistant
MPH Candidate Spring 2020

The following post describes the various house and senate bills related to mental health that were passed in the 2018 General Assembly session. For more information about these bills, check out our recent DMHL publication here or click on the links below to go to the Virginia Legislative Information System page for each bill.

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Trends for House Bills

15 House bills were passed during the 2018 General Assembly session. Representatives Hope (3) and Bell (2) were the only Representatives to have more than one bill passed.

Of the 15 bills passed, several encompassed similar issues. Four addressed issues related to the ongoing opioid and substance abuse epidemic, two addressed policies regarding the location of mental health evaluations, specifically sanity and competency, two addressed policies for the administration of TDOs, and two addressed hospital policies and procedures.

Bills concerning mental health education in schools, sentencing policies for those declared NGRI, the disclosure of health records, the definition for a qualified mental health professional, and a mandated annual suicide prevention report were also passed.

Of note, HB842 was made effective immediately upon being signed by the Governor. All other bills are effective as of July 1, 2018.

Trends for Senate Bills

12 Senate bills were passed during the 2018 General Assembly session. Senators Deeds (3), Dunnavant (3) and Barker (2) were the only Senators to have more than one bill passed.

Of the bills passed, three addressed policies regarding research and data sharing and two addressed individuals who had been subjected to involuntary mental health treatment. Other bills addressed topics including the location of opioid treatment clinics, ECO protocol, training firefighters and EMS personnel on mental health awareness, the definition of a licensed mental health practitioner, the assessment of sexually violent offenders prior to their release, substance abuse education, and the employment of convicted criminals with a history of mental illness and/or substance abuse.

Of note, SB 669 was made effective immediately upon being signed by the Governor. All other bills are effective as of July 1, 2018.

Summary of House and Senate Bills Passed During the 2018 General Assembly Session

Opioid and Substance Abuse (5)

HB322 (Bourne) – Possession and administration of naloxone This bill adds Department of Corrections employees, designated as either probation and parole officers or correctional officers, to the list of individuals permitted to possess and administer naloxone following completion of a training program. A signed version of the bill, effective July 1st of 2018, is available here.     

HB842 (LaRock) - Possession or distribution of controlled paraphernalia; hypodermic needles and syringes; naloxone As originally proposed, this bill would have authorized certain licensed medical professionals, as well as individuals certified by DBHDS, who are authorized to possess and administer naloxone to individuals experiencing overdose to also possess hypodermic needles and syringes, and to a) use them to administer naloxone to individuals in the midst of an opioid overdose and b) dispense them to individuals who have completed training in administering naloxone. These needles and syringes would be used solely for the purpose of administering naloxone to a person experiencing an opioid overdose. An amended version of the bill, available here, added language to clarify that the authorized distribution of needles and syringes is solely for injecting naloxone. The final version of the bill, available here, became effective immediately upon being signed by the Governor.

HB1173 (Pillion) - Limits on prescription of controlled substances containing opioids This bill eliminates a current exception to a requirement in the Virginia Code which states that a prescriber is not required to request certain information from the Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) for opioid prescriptions of up to 14 days to a patient as part of treatment for a surgical or invasive procedure. Previously, the Code required that a prescriber must request certain information from the PMP when initiating a new course of treatment that includes prescribing opioids for a human patient for more than 7 days. This bill’s elimination of the exception expires July 1, 2022. A final version of the bill, effective July 1st of 2018, is available here.

HB1194 (Garrett) - Schedule I controlled substances This bill adds a number of drugs to the list of Schedule I controlled substances. The final version of this bill, effective July 1st of 2018, is available here.

SB329 (Dunnavant) - Clinics for the treatment of opioid addiction; location As originally proposed, this bill would have provided the following exception to the statutory prohibition on locating clinics for the treatment of persons with opiate addiction through the use of methadone or opioid replacements within one-half mile of a public or private licensed day care center or a public or private K-12 school: licensure may be available for an applicant to operate in its current location or to relocate an existing facility when the facility is currently located within one-half mile of a public or private licensed day care center or a public or private K-12 school in the City of Richmond, and when the clinic has been licensed and operated as a facility to provide treatment for persons with opiate addiction through the use of methadone or other opioid replacements by another provider immediately prior to submission of the application for a license, and, upon issuance of the license, will be operated by a behavioral health authority.

The Senate passed a substitute to this bill that allowed an existing opioid clinic in both Richmond and Henrico County to continue operating in its current location despite being within a half-mile of a school or daycare facility. A similar bill, SB455, was incorporated into this bill. The final version of the bill, entitled SB329ER, became effective July 1st of 2018

Data Sharing/Research (4)

HB569 (Gooditis) - Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; report on suicide prevention activities This bill requires the DBHDS Commissioner to report annually, by December 1st, to the Governor and the General Assembly on the Department’s activities related to suicide prevention across the lifespan. A final version of the bill, effective July 1st of 2018, is available here.

SB719 (Dunnavant) - Data sharing; substance abuse data As originally proposed, this bill would have established a Substance Abuse Data Sharing and Analytics Clearinghouse, administered by the Secretary of Health and Human Resources in consultation with the Substance Abuse Data Sharing and Analytics Advisory Committee that would also be created by the bill. The purpose of the Clearinghouse would be to share or disseminate data related to substance abuse among and between involved agencies, with a focus on opioid addiction and abuse, in order to, among other things, conduct research and apply data analytics to identify the most efficient and efficacious treatments and to streamline administrative processes and reduce burdens on persons being served. Under this bill, the Secretary of Health and Human Resources would also have the authority to enter into agreements with private entities and public institutions of higher education to further the goals of the Clearinghouse. Additionally, the Secretary would be required to report annually to the Governor and the General Assembly regarding the results achieved through the use of the Clearinghouse, including cost savings and policy recommendations. The bill would also specify that data sharing among state and local agencies in certain circumstances was a proper use of personal data.

The Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology incorporated this bill (and three others) into SB580 (Hanger). A final version of the bill, effective July 1st of 2018, is available here. 

SB728 (Dunnavant) - Prescription Monitoring Program; prescriber and dispenser patterns As originally proposed, this bill would have required the Director of the Department of Health Professions to annually review controlled substance prescribing and dispensing patterns through adding a new subsection to the Virginia Code. The review would have been conducted in consultation with an advisory panel consisting of representatives from relevant health regulatory boards, the Department of health, the Department of Medical Assistance Services, and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. Additionally, the bill would have required the Director to make any changes to the criteria for unusual patterns of prescribing and dispensing and to report any findings and recommendations for best practices to the Joint Commission on Health Care by November 1st of each year.

The Senate passed a substitute to the original which implements the same requirements by amending an existing subsection of the Virginia Code rather than adding a new subsection. The final version of the bill, effective July 1st of 2018, is available here.

SB804  (Carrico) - Reporting, collection, analysis and dissemination of controlled substance overdose data As originally proposed, this bill would have required the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, state and local law-enforcement agencies, emergency medical services agencies, and hospitals to report information about overdoses of controlled substances within 120 hours of receiving such information to the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Resources, and for the Secretary to establish a system to collect and analyze such data and make such information available to public health, law-enforcement, emergency medical service agencies, fire departments and companies within 120 hours of receiving the information. The Senate Finance Committee incorporated this bill into SB580, which is available here.

ECOs and TDOs (3)

HB364 (Rush) – Execution of temporary detention orders; inmates in local correctional facilities This bill states that when a magistrate issues a TDO for an inmate at a local correctional facility, a deputy sheriff or jail officer employed by that facility may be authorized to serve the TDO. A final version of the bill, effective July 1st of 2018, is available here. 

HB1355 (Hope) - Designating an alternative facility for placement of a minor under a temporary detention order This bill establishes the same procedure and discretion for minors as adults in regards to magistrates ordering the transfer of an individual under a TDO from one facility to another. The final version of this bill, effective July 1st of 2018, is available here. 

SB673 (Deeds) - Emergency custody; time period As originally proposed, this bill would have repealed the enactment that put a June 30th, 2018 “sunset” on a subsection in the Virginia Code which provides that when a person is being held under an ECO, the local CSB and the state hospital, to which the person would otherwise be placed under a TDO, may continue attempting to find a facility other than the state hospital that is both able and willing to accept the individual for up to 4 hours after the 8-hour period of the ECO has run.

The Senate passed a substitute that accomplishes the same thing by amending the Virginia Code rather than repealing subsections of it. The final version of the bill, effective July 1st of 2018, is available here. 

Hospitals, Emergency Services, and Respective Personnel (3)

HB886 (Stolle) - Admissions for mental health treatment; toxicology As originally proposed, this bill would have required the Board of Health to include a requirement in its regulations that every hospital providing inpatient psychiatric services must establish a protocol for cases in which the hospital refuses to admit a patient on the grounds that the patient’s toxicology report raises a question of medical stability or medical appropriateness for admission. As a part of this requirement, the on-call physician in the psychiatric unit would be required to participate in direct verbal communication with a clinical toxicologist or certified poison specialist in order to review the results of the toxicology screen and determine whether a medical reason for refusing admission to the psychiatric unit related to the results of the toxicology screen exists.

An amended version of the bill, named HB886E, provides that the conversation with the toxicologist must occur only if the referring physician requests it. The final version of the bill, effective July 1st of 2018, is available here.   

HB1088 (Boysko) - Hospitals; security and emergency department staff; mental health training As originally proposed, this bill would have required that the Virginia Department of Health include a requirement in their regulations that licensed hospitals have their security staff and ED staff receive training in identifying and safely addressing situations involving patients and others experiencing a mental health crisis.

An amended version of the bill, HB1088ER, requires that the training be based on a trauma-informed approach and that the training address behaviors arising from substance abuse as well. A final version of the bill, effective July 1st of 2018, is available here. 

SB 670 (Deeds) – Mental health awareness training; firefighters and emergency medical services personnel This bill, identical to HB 1412, requires fire departments and emergency medical services agencies to a curriculum for training their personnel on mental health awareness. This training would qualify for continuing education credits. A final version of the bill, effective July 1st of 2018, is available here. 

Definitions (2)

HB1375 (Tyler) - Definition of qualified mental health professional This bill expands the definition of “qualified mental health professional” to include employees and independent contractors of the Department of Corrections who are professionally qualified and registered by the Board of Counseling to provide collaborative mental health services. A final version of the bill, effective July 1st of 2018, is available here.

SB762 (Barker) - Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; definition of "licensed mental health professional" This bill directs the State Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to include behavior analysts and assistant behavior analysts as those who qualify to be and those who may be licensed as licensed mental health professionals.

The Senate passed an amended version of the bill, titled SB762ER, which removed assistant behavior analyst from the list of titles qualified enough to be considered licensed mental health professionals. A final version of the bill, effective July 1st of 2018, is available here.

Sentencing and Releasing of Insane or Sexually Violent Offenders (2)

HB1193 (Bell) - Persons acquitted by reason of insanity; commitment; sentencing As originally proposed, this bill would have amended sections of the Virginia Code to provide that if a person is convicted of one offense and acquitted by reason of insanity for another offense in the same proceeding and the court finds that the person is in need of inpatient psychiatric hospitalization, the court must order the person’s commitment to inpatient hospitalization. The time that the person is committed would not be deducted from the length of their sentence. This bill would have also provided that the person in charge of a correctional facility must file a petition for the hospitalization of any person incarcerated in their facility should the court determine that such person requires inpatient hospitalization after being acquitted of an offense by reason of insanity.

A substitute to the bill, found here, essentially mandated the opposite. Under the substitute, a person convicted and sentenced for a criminal offense who is also acquitted of another offense by reason of insanity must serve their criminal sentence before being transferred to DBHDS. The bill also requires that if a person has already been committed to DBHDS following a finding of NGRI and is later sentenced to prison for a separate offense, the person must be transferred from DBHDS to Corrections to serve the criminal sentence. The final version of this bill, effective July 1st of 2018, is available here. 

SB267 (Howell) - Sexually violent predators; assessment protocol As originally proposed, this bill would have required the Director of the DOC to review monthly a database of prisoners convicted of sexually violent offenses who are scheduled for released within 24 months of that review and identify those who appear to meet the definition of a sexually violent predator through the use of an assessment protocol that has been approved by both the Director and the Commissioner of DBHDS.

The Senate passed an amended version of the bill, available here, with the amendment providing that the assessment protocol be “evidence based.” The House approved the bill after amending it with language (found here) requiring the DBHDS Commissioner to report annually to the key House and Senate Committee chairs on the protocol adopted to identify violent sexual predators and the numbers of prisoners so identified, with comparisons to findings in previous years.

The Governor recommended several changes to the bill, including language requiring that the DOC Director’s review include “defendants” as well as “prisoners” in DOC custody. A final version of the bill, effective July 1st of 2018, is available here. 

Location of Mental Health Evaluations (2)

HB52 (Hope) - Competency and sanity evaluations; location of evaluation As originally proposed, this bill would have required that competency and sanity evaluations be conducted on an outpatient basis at a mental health facility or in jails and would have removed the court’s authority to order hospital-based evaluations.

An amended version of the bill, passed as HB52ER, requires competency and sanity evaluations to be performed on an outpatient basis at a mental health facility or in jails unless 1) the outpatient evaluation finds that a hospital-based evaluation is needed to “reliably reach an opinion,” or 2) the defendant is already in the custody of DBHDS through an involuntary commitment order. A final version of the bill, effective July 1st of 2018, is available here. 

HB53 (Hope) - Persons acquitted by reason of insanity; evaluation As originally proposed, this bill would have authorized the Commissioner of DBHDS to determine where the evaluation of an insanity acquittee will be conducted on an outpatient basis or in a hospital setting.

An amendment in the nature of a substitute, available here, was passed which provides the trial court the ability to authorize whether or not the evaluation of an insanity acquittee is to be conducted on an outpatient basis. If the evaluation is permitted to be conducted on an outpatient basis, it is then up to the discretion of the Commissioner to determine whether or not the evaluation will occur in an inpatient or outpatient setting. The amendment also provides that in the vent an evaluation recommends release of a hospitalized acquittee, the discharge plan will be prepared by both DBHDS and the appropriate CSB. A final version of the bill, effective July 1st of 2018, is available here.

Involuntary Mental Health Treatment (2)

SB392 (Barker) - Involuntary commitment of a juvenile; notification of parents As originally proposed, this bill would have required that a petition for the involuntary commitment of a minor not be dismissed for failure to immediately serve both parents with a copy of the petition and notice of the hearing as long as one parent is present at the hearing and the judge deems that a reasonable effort was made to notify the other parent.

The Senate passed a substitute providing that the court may proceed with the hearing in instances where both parents cannot be notified if the court makes the determination that a reasonable effort was made to serve the petition and notice of the hearing to both parents. The House approved a substitute to the Senate’s substitute, SB392H1, which provided that the hearing may proceed if the court finds that one parent was served with both a copy of the petition and notice of the hearing and that reasonable efforts were made to serve both parents. The final version of the bill, effective July 1st of 2018, is available here. 

SB669 (Deeds) - Involuntary mental health treatment; minors; access to firearms As originally proposed, this bill would have made it illegal for an individual to possess, purchase, or transport a firearm if, as a minor age 14 or older, they had a) previously been ordered to involuntary admission to a mental health facility or to mandatory outpatient treatment or b) previously been subjected to a temporary detention order (TDO) and then agreed to voluntary admission. These restrictions would have applied to the individual both as a minor and as an adult. Affected individuals would still have the right to utilize the current statutory procedure for petitioning for the restoration of their firearm rights. The bill also would have required that the minor be advised that their firearm rights will be revoked if they are involuntarily admitted or consent to admission. Lastly, the bill would have set forth procedures for the submission by the court clerk to the CCRE of involuntary admission orders and consents to admission following temporary detention.

An amendment was made to the bill to correct an unintended wording error. The final version of the bill, available here, was made effective upon the Governor’s signing. 

Education (2)

HB1604 (Bell) - Health instruction; mental health This bill requires that public schools incorporate mental health and the relationship of physical and mental health into existing health instruction. The bill also directs the Board of Education to review and update the health Standards of Learning for students in 9th and 10th grade to include mental health. A final version of the bill, effective July 1st of 2018, is available here. It should be noted that this bill is identical to SB953  (Deeds). 

SB120 (Favola) - Alcoholic beverage control; substance abuse prevention; Virginia Institutions of Higher Education Substance Use Advisory Committee established As originally proposed, this bill would have amended directed the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority Board to establish and appoint members to the Virginia Institutions of Higher Education Substance Use Advisory Committee, which would develop and update a statewide strategic plan for substance use education, prevention, and intervention at Virginia's public and private institutions of higher education.

 The Senate passed a substitute that directs the ABC Board to establish the same advisory committee, but with the more specific task of advising the Board regarding the Higher Education Alcohol Drug Strategic United Prevention (HEADS UP) program to ensure that the program utilizes best practices, collects meaningful data, and assists institutions of higher learning with their strategic plans. The Advisory Committee, which shall include representatives of public and private institutions of higher learning, students, directors of student health and others, must report to the Governor and General Assembly by December 1st of each year. SB120ER, passed by both houses, broadens the Advisory Committee’s role, giving it a goal of developing a comprehensive strategic plan for substance abuse education, prevention and intervention at Virginia’s institutions of higher learning. A final version of the bill, effective July 1st of 2018, is available here. 

Miscellaneous (2)

HB301 (Watts) - Disclosure of health records; state and local correctional facilities As originally proposed, this bill would have mandated that the standard requirements for disclosing health records not apply to the release of health records to a state correctional facility or to a local or regional correctional facility.

An amendment in the form of a substitute was approved which included the provisions noted above while adding amendments to the Virginia Code which provide that when an individual is committed to one of these facilities, the person in charge of the facility (or a designee) is entitled to obtain medical records concerning the individual from a health care provider. A final version of the bill, effective July 1st of 2018, is available here.

SB555 (Mason) - Barrier crimes; adult substance abuse and mental health treatment providers As originally proposed, this bill would have allowed DBHDS-licensed substance abuse or mental health treatment providers to employ persons who have been convicted of burglary to work in adult substance abuse or mental health treatment programs if the hiring provider determines that the criminal behavior was substantially related to the individual’s substance abuse or mental illness. The hiring provider must also determine that the person has been successfully rehabilitated and is not a risk to individuals receiving services.

The Senate passed a substitute that added local CSBs to the list of potential employers for these individuals. A final version of the bill, effective July 1st of 2018, is available here.