Virginia Senate Bill 657 (Prior Session Legislation)

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Completed Legislative Action
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: Passed on March 2 2008 - 100% progression
Action: 2008-03-05 - Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0157)

Health care provider liability protections. Provides that, in the absence of gross negligence or willful misconduct, health care providers who respond to a disaster are immune from civil liability for any injury or wrongful death arising from the delivery or withholding of health care. This immunity only applies (i) if a state or local emergency has been or is subsequently declared in response to such a disaster, and (ii) if the emergency and subsequent conditions caused a lack of resources, attributable to the disaster, rendering the health care provider unable to provide the same level or manner of care that would have been required in the absence of the emergency. The bill also allows persons who hold licenses or certificates evidencing their professional or mechanical skills who render aid involving that skill during a disaster to receive reimbursement for their actual and necessary expenses. The bill also combines the definitions of the terms "man-made disaster" and "natural disaster" as contained in the Commonwealth of Virginia Emergency Services and Disaster Law of 2000 into the term "disaster" and adds the term "communicable disease of public health threat" to the definition. The bill also expands when immunity attaches for health care providers who abandon patients in order to respond to a disaster to include disasters, emergencies, and major disasters. This bill also makes technical amendments. This bill is identical to

Health care providers; those responding to disaster immune from liability.

Sen. Stephen Newman [R]

Date	Chamber	Action
2008-03-05		Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0157)
2008-03-02		Governor: Approved by Governor-Chapter 157 (effective 7/1/08)
2008-02-25		Senate: Signed by President
2008-02-21		House: Signed by Speaker
2008-02-21		Senate: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB657ER)
2008-02-21		Senate: Enrolled
2008-02-20		House: VOTE: BLOCK VOTE PASSAGE (97-Y 0-N)
2008-02-20		House: Passed House BLOCK VOTE (97-Y 0-N)
2008-02-20		House: Read third time
2008-02-19		House: Read second time
2008-02-15		House: Reported from Courts of Justice (19-Y 0-N)
2008-02-15		House: Assigned Courts sub: Civil
2008-02-12		House: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
2008-02-12		House: Read first time
2008-02-12		House: Placed on Calendar
2008-02-07		Senate: Communicated to House
2008-02-07		Senate: Read third time and passed Senate (39-Y 0-N)
2008-02-06		Senate: Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute SB657S1
2008-02-06		Senate: Committee substitute agreed to 080275280-S1
2008-02-06		Senate: Reading of substitute waived
2008-02-06		Senate: Read second time
2008-02-05		Senate: Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N)
2008-02-04		Senate: Committee substitute printed 080275280-S1
2008-02-04		Senate: Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (15-Y 0-N)
2008-01-18		Senate: Assigned Courts sub: Civil
2008-01-17		Senate: Rereferred to Courts of Justice
2008-01-17		Senate: Rereferred from Education and Health (12-Y 0-N 1-A)
2008-01-09		Senate: Referred to Committee on Education and Health
2008-01-09		Senate: Presented and ordered printed 080224806

HB403 (Same As) 2008-03-05 - Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0121)

Type	Source
Summary	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?081+sum+SB657