Each year, hundreds of bills are submitted for consideration by the General Assembly. In this weekly series, the Mercury takes a look at some of lawmakers’ 2024 proposals that might not otherwise make headlines during a whirlwind legislative session.
House Bill 354: Regulation of public pools
HB 354 by Del Patrick Hope (D-Arlington) would direct the Virginia Board of Health to adopt regulations regarding the operation, maintenance, and safety of public swimming pools, water parks, and spas.
Hope told a House subcommittee on health last month that the bill is necessary because the Virginia Department of Health only has regulatory oversight of campgrounds, summer camps and hotel swimming areas. He said he can’t regulate neighborhood pools in areas where there are no regulations regarding lifeguards, inspections or signage.
“VDH cannot even require that fecal matter be removed from public pools and spas,” Hope told the House of Commons this month. “Talk about something terrible.”
If someone is drowning at the bottom of a pool, lifeguards need to be able to see them, he argued. However, there are no state regulations for muddy streams. Additionally, out of the 26 states east of the Mississippi River, only three (other than Virginia) have no regulations regarding swimming pools.
“This is common sense legislation that will protect Virginians, make public pools and spas safer, and reduce drownings,” Hope said.
Hope’s bill passed the Senate Education and Health Committee on an 8-6 vote.
House Bill 1278: Authorized to use 5-needle auricular acupuncture protocol
The bill, by Rep. Eric Zehr, R-Bedford, would allow anyone to perform the five-needle auricular acupuncture protocol, a technique that inserts up to five needles into the outer ear to reduce the effects of behavioral health conditions. It is intended to do so.
The bill aims to add low-cost, non-drug treatments to the repertoire of treatment options for people suffering from depression, anxiety and the effects of trauma, Zehr told the House Behavioral Health Subcommittee this month. He said that he is doing so.
The bill would require practitioners to be properly trained by a certifying body and not imply that they are an acupuncturist or that the five-needle procedure is regulated by Virginia. It is prohibited.
Josie Hull, a certified professional counselor and trained as an “acudetox specialist” (a title used by those who practice the 5-needle protocol), says the technique evolved from traditional Chinese medicine. he told the subcommittee. She says it stimulates neural pathways associated with the central nervous system, releasing neurotransmitters that aid in relaxation, pain relief, and emotional balance.
Current law limits its use to people with chemical dependence on the substance, which “inadvertently perpetuates stigma and narrows its reach,” she said.
Hull said that by amending this law, Virginia will “recognize the full range of behavioral health conditions that may benefit from this treatment and will ensure that our health care providers are able to utilize this valuable treatment.” We are now able to assist first responders, health care workers, disaster victims, and veterans who may be in need.” ”
The bill passed the House with a vote of 97-3.
House Bill 550: Allow access to birth certificate of adopted adult
The bill, by Rep. Wendell Walker, R-Lynchburg, would allow adopted children over the age of 18 to access their original birth certificate by requesting it from the state’s Registrar of Vital Records.
Under current law, adult adoptees can only access their birth certificate with approval from the Department of Social Services or by court order.
Rebecca Ricardo, executive director of nonprofit adoption agency C2Adopt, told the House Human Services Subcommittee last month that she had tried to obtain a court-ordered birth certificate, but “believed that the judge could not prove probable cause.” He said he knows of many adopted children who were rejected because of the child’s death. ”
Even if adopted children are granted access to their birth certificates, the current process can take months or years, Ricardo said.
Walker said his bill simply ensures equal access to birth certificates for everyone, whether adopted or not.
“Important records are not national property,” the representative said. “This bill does what is fair. It makes the right to record one’s birth a right that every Virginian enjoys, which is not the case.” [just] These are people who were never adopted. ”
Subcommittee Chairwoman Eileen Shinn (D-Fairfax) said the bill would allow adopted children to potentially learn the names of their birth parents even in closed adoptions where the parents choose not to be identified. He expressed concern that it meant something.
But Ricardo said adopters can already find that information through a number of resources, including requesting adoption agencies get consent from birth parents, looking it up on Google, and taking DNA tests. said that it can be done.
Walker’s bill passed the House 66-32 last month despite majority Democratic opposition. The bill is currently before the Senate Rehabilitation and Human Services Committee.
This story has been updated to reflect the status of HB550.
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