Laws and Regulations

Legislative Tracking

The Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing tracks, or follows, activity in the Virginia General Assembly that might directly and specifically impact persons who are deaf or hard of hearing. Depending on the nature of the bill and the specific state agencies impacted, VDDHH may provide comments to the Secretary of Health and Human Resources and the Governor's Office on some of these bills. If VDDHH is directly impacted or if the issue directly relates to this agency, we may also testify before General Assembly committees on a bill.

During the 2002 General Assembly, VDDHH tracked the following bills:

House Bill 9, related to the privatization of the Department for the Rights of Virginians with Disabilities (DRVD). This bill passed the General Assembly and is awaiting the Governor's signature.

Senate Bill 303, which updates Code language for several agencies considered "social services" agencies, including VDDHH. The VDDHH Code section has been moved from §63.5-85.1:1, the part of the Code, which deals with Social Services to §51.5-106 et seq., which deals with persons with disabilities. The bill does not substantively change the powers and duties of the agency but it does replace references to "hearing impaired" with the phrase "persons who are deaf or hard of hearing." This bill passed and is awaiting the Governor's signature.

Senate Bill 401 and Senate Bill 429, which would have mandated hearing aid coverage options by insurance companies, did not pass.

House Joint Resolution 409, commending and supporting movie theatres that show opened captioned, first-run movies, passed. The resolution will promote awareness that there is a population that will benefit from captioning.

You may track activities in the Virginia General Assembly by visiting Virginia's Legislative Information System (LIS) web site. To learn more about the Virginia General Assembly, its members and rules, visit the Virginia General Assembly home page.