RICHMOND— Several new Virginia laws will take effect July 1, bringing changes to employment practices, health care costs, consumer protections and public safety.
Under Virginia’s equal pay act, employers may not ask job applicants about salary history or use prior wages in hiring or compensation decisions. Employers must also disclose a wage or salary range in public and internal job postings and set those ranges in good faith.
Virginians with diabetes will also see lower out-of-pocket costs under new health insurance protections. The law reduces the monthly cost-sharing cap for prescription insulin from $50 to $35 and establishes a $35 aggregate cap for diabetes equipment and related supplies.
Consumers will gain stronger protections when canceling subscriptions and automatically renewing services under a new “click-to-cancel” law. Businesses must provide a cancellation process that is at least as simple as the sign-up process and clearly disclose renewal terms and cancellation options.
Virginia also enacted statutory protections for access to contraception. The law prohibits the state or local governments from adopting policies that restrict an individual’s ability to obtain or use contraceptives and gives individuals the right to bring legal action to enforce those protections.
The commonwealth will also rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multistate carbon trading program designed to reduce power plant emissions while generating revenue for energy efficiency and flood resilience projects.
Public safety laws taking effect include stronger firearm transfer restrictions in domestic violence cases. The new law prohibits individuals convicted of assault and battery against a household member, or those subject to protective orders, from transferring firearms to someone in their household or to a person prohibited from legally possessing firearms.
Changes to voting rights will also take effect July 1. Individuals found incapacitated during guardianship proceedings will no longer automatically lose the right to vote unless a court specifically orders otherwise. Courts must now make individualized determinations before restricting voting rights. Individuals who previously lost voting rights because of guardianship or conservatorship orders may petition the court for restoration.
A separate law expands legal options for survivors of childhood sexual assault. Adult survivors, or incapacitated adults who were assaulted, may reopen the statute of limitations for civil action if new evidence becomes available or previously overlooked evidence is discovered.
In health care, a new law allows pharmacists to remotely supervise medication preparation and dispensing at opioid treatment clinics, a change intended to reduce treatment delays, particularly in areas without an on-site pharmacist. Another pharmacy-related law authorizes certain therapeutic drug substitutions, allowing pharmacists to dispense lower-cost medications with the same therapeutic effect in some cases.
Virginia schools will gain more flexibility in using at-risk funding. Beginning July 1, school divisions may use those funds to hire licensed practical nurses, registered nurses and advanced practice nurses to support student health needs.
