New Virginia Laws in Effect July 1, 2022

A wide range of bills approved by the General Assembly and signed by the Governor officially became law in the Commonwealth today. Some of the notable additions and revisions are as follows:  

Senate Bill 350: Health records; patient’s right to disclosure.  

This bill amends §8.01-413 and §32.1-127.1:03 of the Code of Virginia to require health care providers to include in their disclosure of an individual’s health records an audit trail of any additions, deletions, or revisions to the health record, if same is specifically requested. This bill also permits the health care provider to charge the requester reasonable costs to produce the audit trail.  

Senate Bill 681: Health insurers; duty of in-network providers to submit claims, prohibited practices. 

This bill amends § 8.01-27.5 of the Code of Virginia to provide that any in-network health care provider that provides health care services to a covered patient (a patient whose health care services are covered under terms of a health care policy) be subject to a civil penalty of $1,000 per violation if the provider does not submit a claim to the health insurer for the health care services it rendered. This civil penalty is to be collected by the Attorney General and deposited into the Literary Fund. 

House Bill 481: Hospitals, price transparency.  

This bill amends §32.1-137.05 of the Code of Virginia to require that every hospital make information about standard charges for items and services provided by the hospital available on the hospital’s website. Specifically, the website must contain in plain language and in a format that easily accessible by the public a list of all standard charges for all items and services provided by the hospital and a list of standard charges for the 300 most frequently provided services and items.  

House Bill 381: Consumer Data Protection Act; data deletion request.  

This bill amends §59.1-577 of the Code of Virginia which shall become effective on January 1, 2023. This bill adds that a controller that has obtained personal data about a consumer from a source other than the consumer shall be deemed in compliance with a consumer’s request to delete such data by opting the consumer out of the processing of that data for (i) targeted advertising, (ii) the sale of personal data, or (iii) profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects concerning the consumer.  

House Bill 1273: Hunting with dogs; dogs to wear tags.  

This bill adds a section numbered 29.1-516.2 to the Code of Virginia. Dogs used for lawful hunting are now required to wear a substantial collar and tag identifying the name of their owner or custodian and their current telephone number.  

Senate Bill 124: Misuse of power of attorney; financial exploitation of incapacitated adults by an agent, penalty.  

This bill incorporates Senate Bill 10 and 690 and is identical to House Bill 497, it amends Virginia Code Sections §§64.2-1608 and 64.2-1621 and adds §18.2-178.2. The addition of §18.2-178.2 makes the penalty for an agent under a power of attorney to knowingly or intentionally engage in financial exploitation of an incapacitated adult who is the principal of that agent a Class 1 Misdemeanor. Punishment for a conviction of a Class 1 Misdemeanor is confinement in jail for not more than twelve months and a fine of not more than $2,500, either or both.  

Senate Bill 777: Front and rear bumpers; height limits.  

Commonly referred to as the “Carolina Squat,” this bill amends §46.2-1063 of the Code of Virginia to make it unlawful for any passenger car or pickup truck operating on a public highway to have a front bumper height four or more inches greater than the height of the rear bumper. 

If you have any questions regarding these new laws, or others you may have heard about, contact our office today at 888-691-9319.