January 31, 2020

The Avoli Report

2021 SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Dear friends and constituents of the 20th District,

In my second year as your representative in the House of Delegates, I would be remiss not to mention how thankful I am for the opportunity to serve you. It is an honor that I take great pride in.

Thank you for your trust in me.

This Session of the General Assembly is unlike any other. Like many of you, our daily commute is virtual this year. We are scattered across the Commonwealth rather than meeting together to conduct business as usual due to the health concerns of the COVID pandemic. One benefit is that I am home in the 20th District working closer to you from my office at Ingleside Golf Resort. With that said, I will travel to Richmond for any business when needed. If you would like to schedule an appointment for a meeting or voice your position on proposed legislation, please contact my office at DelJAvoli@house.virginia.gov or (540) 200-8112 to speak to my Legislative Aide, Travis Smiley.

My Legislation

HB 1957 Passed the House of Delegates by a unanimous vote and sent to the Senate.

HB 1957: removes the requirement that a judge must order an investigation and report to be conducted when a petition is filed for the adoption of a person 18 years of age or older. This bill simplifies the procedure and provides judges the ability to exercise their discretion to allow two consenting adult parties to formally become a family. The bill reported unanimously from committee, where we heard a powerful and heartfelt testimony about the personal experience of one of my constituents during the adoption of her daughter, and the hoops she had to jump through to satisfy current requirements.

HB 1958 Passed the House of Delegates by a vote of 83-17 and sent to the Senate.

HB 1958: designates a 6.5 mile segment of the South River in Waynesboro as a component of the Virginia Scenic Rivers System. This designation benefits local tourism and business development and enhances civic pride. The bill comes by request of the City of Waynesboro and is supported by Scenic Virginia, the Virginia Conservation Network, and the Virginia League of Conservation Voters.

Middle River Regional Jail Authority Expansion Budget Amendment:

Superintendent Jeffery Newton of the Middle River Regional Jail lobbied my office to propose an amendment to the Governor’s Budget which adds the Middle River Regional Jail expansion project to the current list of local and regional jail capital projects. This expansion will allow Middle River Regional Jail to address overcrowding and to enhance medical and behavioral health services for its inmates. I continue to lobby for this much needed expansion project.

COVID Vaccine Distribution

SB 1445 has undergone some friendly amendments to improve its implementation. Bipartisanship is prevailing as SB 1445 and HB 2333 have passed their respective chambers and await Governor Northam’s signature. I am encouraged that this emergency legislation will help get more vaccines into more arms all across the Commonwealth soon.

To recap what SB 1445 will do, bill will expand the process to include any qualified and available health care provider in the Commonwealth to volunteer to administer the COVID vaccine to Virginians. The bill also requires the Department of Health to establish a process on its website whereby medical care facilities, hospitals, hospital systems, corporations, businesses, pharmacies, public and private institutions of higher education, and any other professional or community entities operating in the Commonwealth may register such entity’s facilities as sites that the Commissioner of Health and the Department may jointly approve as sites where administration of the COVID-19 vaccine may occur. The bill permits a public institution of higher education or a private institution of higher education in the Commonwealth to volunteer to provide assistance to the Department and local health departments for data processing, analytics, and program development related to the COVID-19 vaccine through the use of its employees, students, technology, and facilities.

This is exactly the type of action I and many of my colleagues have lobbied Governor Northam to take. We need to improve the rate at which we are vaccinating Virginians. Senator Dunnavant and Delegate Byron’s bill will undoubtedly achieve this goal. 20 Delegates and all 39 Senators, of both parties, have co-signed this bill. This is not a partisan issue. This is a human health emergency. Senator Dunnavant believes the bill can become law in as little as seven days. I urge both chambers to pass and Governor Northam to sign into law SB 1445 and HB 2333 as soon as possible.

I understand the need to provide access to the vaccine for citizens in rural areas. I will continue to work with state, regional, and local health organizations to provide access to vaccinations for senior citizens who lack internet access. If these bills become law, the vaccine will immediately become more accessible all across the Commonwealth. This will make accessing the vaccine easier, especially for Virginians in rural areas like Augusta, Highland, and Nelson Counties. The ability for local health providers – who are capable, eager, and ready – to begin administering the vaccine at local sites will make it safer and easier for people everywhere in Virginia to get vaccinated – without traveling long distances or waiting in long lines.

Bills I Co-sponsored that Passed the House

HB 1845: Extends through the end of 2021 the bill that allows restaurants, bars, and stores to deliver wine or beer that the business is authorized to sell without a delivery permit. This will help our local businesses continue to operate and profit from the sale of alcohol to cover losses in revenue from limited capacity and the restriction on bar seating. I hope you will continue to support your local restaurants and bars to the best of your ability so that we all may return to enjoy their friendly confines once the pandemic is behind us.
Passed the House of Delegates by a unanimous vote and sent to the Senate.

HB 1874: Requires the State Board of Local and Regional Jails, in establishing the minimum standards for behavioral health services in local correctional facilities, to assess the need for mental health services for an inmate whose behavioral health screening shows that an inmate may have a mental illness and that the mental health assessment shall be conducted within 72 hours of the time of the behavioral health screening. This is an important bill that will improve Jails’ ability to address the mental health problems that are all too common among inmate populations.
Passed the House of Delegates by a unanimous vote and sent to the Senate.

HB 2216: Renames the Virginia Missing Child with Autism Alert Program to the Virginia Missing Person with Autism Alert Program and expands it to apply to any missing person with autism, regardless of age. The Virginia Missing Child with Autism Alert Program is an excellent system and addresses an important need to help locate minors who suffer from autism that go missing. This bill expands and will help adults who suffer from autism and, when missing, also need help being located and safely returned to a caregiver.
Passed the House of Delegates by a unanimous vote and sent to the Senate.

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