Capitol briefs: Senate panel OKs anti-smoking bills

Gov. Bob McDonnell has signed emergency legislation that fixes a snag in the autism-insurance measure that passed last year.

The 2011 legislation requires health insurers to cover some treatments for autistic children ages 2 to 6, with a cap on annual coverage costs of $35,000. It does not apply to self-insured companies and would exempt businesses with 50 or fewer employees.

After the bill passed, the attorney general's office concluded that the state Board of Medicine did not have the power to create the regulations that lawmakers asked the panel to devise.

House Bill 1106, sponsored by Del. Thomas A. "Tag" Greason, R-Loudoun, gives the Board of Medicine the power to promulgate the regulations and directs them to do it within 280 days.

Senate panel OKs anti-smoking bills

Smoking would be prohibited on public school grounds and in government-owned and -leased buildings under two bills approved Tuesday by the Senate Local Government Committee.

Senate Bill 467, sponsored by Sen. Ralph S. Northam, D-Norfolk, would expand the prohibition on smoking in school buildings to include the grounds of the schools and the inside of any public school administration building. It passed the committee — the only committee in the Senate with a majority of Democrats — on a 12-3 vote.

Senate Bill 468, also sponsored by Northam, would prohibit smoking in any building owned or leased by the state and give localities the option of enacting a similar ordinance. It cleared the committee 11-4.

Northam, a physician, called the legislation a "no-brainer."

Senate panel approves protections for elderly

The Senate Finance Committee Tuesday unanimously approved legislation that would establish a separate felony offense for financial exploitation of the elderly.

Senate Bill 431 would apply to anyone who uses, obtains, converts or controls an elderly or incapacitated adult's property. If the violation is committed by a caregiver or a person entrusted with the adult's finances, the severity of the punishment is increased.

Supporters of the measure, including the AARP, cite a 38 percent increase in these crimes, with more than 1,000 cases reported in 2011. They say the legislation is necessary because not all financial crimes against the elderly can be adequately prosecuted or punished under existing fraud and larceny laws.

The bill was sponsored by Sen. Richard H. Stuart, R-Stafford, with co-sponsors Sen. Mark R. Herring, D-Loudoun, and Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel, R-Fauquier.