2025 SESSION

SENATE SUBSTITUTE

25104344D

SENATE BILL NO. 833

AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE

(Proposed by the Senate Committee on Education and Health

on January 16, 2025)

(Patron Prior to Substitute—Senator Locke)

A BILL to provide for the operation of the City of Hampton district health department.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. § 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the local governing body of the City of Hampton (the local governing body) shall enter into a contract with the Department of Health (the Department) to operate a district health department to provide local health services in the City of Hampton. Such district health department shall be a separate district from the existing Hampton and Peninsula Health District. The Department shall operate the district health department, pursuant to the terms of the contract and the general appropriation act. The local governing body shall not eliminate any service required by law or reduce the level of service below that required by law. In addition, the local governing body shall not eliminate or reduce the level of any service currently delivered in connection with the Commonwealth's program of medical assistance services.

Any contract executed between the local governing body of the City of Hampton and the Department shall set forth the rights and responsibilities of the Department and the local governing body for the delivery of health services and shall require that the State Health Commissioner appoint the local director of health services, who shall be employed full time as an employee of the Department and shall be responsible for directing all state-mandated public health programs. All employees of the district health department shall be employees of the Department.

The power to contract conferred by this act shall not be deemed to confer any additional authority for the City of Hampton to impose fees for local health services.