TALKING RICHMOND: Del. Phillip Scott
Heading into the new legislative session, Del. Scott talks two bills he is carrying this year - one concerning access to medical records, the other about the water crisis that hit Orange in 2024.
By Del. Phillip Scott
REPRESENTING HD-63
I hope everyone had a safe and fun snow week! It was certainly enjoyable getting out with my family.
I want to highlight two bills that I have committed to carrying this session.
The first is a retry of HB 2399. I’ve had multiple constituents reach out to me describing situations where they had to obtain consent from their own children to view vital health records at certain hospitals, such as UVA. After looking into it, I learned that a bill passed a few years ago made it mandatory for private hospitals to provide parents access through secure portals.
The issue lies in the details of that bill: it only covers what are called “licensed hospitals,” which are private hospitals (e.g., HCA, Sentara, etc.). It does not cover publicly funded hospitals, which many Medicaid parents rely on, especially for children who need specialized or complicated care. In an emergency, a parent may need quick access to that portal to double-check dosages, instructions, or scheduling. These are not minor tasks, and parents are currently unable to perform them under the existing law.
Last year, this bill advanced through committee but, despite having no fiscal impact, was inexplicably referred to the Appropriations Committee, where it died without a hearing. Unfortunately, the party in power sometimes uses this tactic to kill a bill without taking a recorded vote.
The second bill I have committed to carrying addresses the water crisis faced by Orange County residents in late 2024. Last session, we worked on fixing one part of the code that, had it been passed in prior years, would have helped mitigate the situation by strengthening reporting requirements for emergencies and anomalies.
In our continued search for solutions, we identified another glitch in the code that we plan to tackle this year, one dealing with something called “receivership.” Receivership is an enforcement option in dire situations where the owner of a public water system is not meeting critical needs to protect public health. It allows the Commissioner of Health to petition a circuit court for a judicial order temporarily appointing another qualified waterworks owner or entity to operate the system properly until a permanent solution is found. Due process is provided through the legal process, and the owner, the receiver, or the Commissioner of Health may ask the court at any time to terminate the receivership once the conditions that initiated it have been resolved.
The original statute was enacted in 2003 and limits receivership to “private waterworks.” This means a waterworks owned by a public entity, such as a town, city, county, or public service authority, cannot be placed into receivership. The Rapidan Service Authority in Orange County is a public service authority and is therefore exempt, along with Spotsylvania County Utilities Department. As currently written, about half of all waterworks in the state are exempt from this critical enforcement tool. My bill will put everyone on the same playing field and make it easier to ensure all Virginians have access to clean water.
I hope to have more updates soon, as my agenda for the 2026 Regular Session is finalized.
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Both pieces of legislation appear to have merit and are worth consideration. Still would welcome hearing what those in opposition (if any), or those who are neutral see as reasons to either pass or reject the bills. Still, informative article. Thank you.
Smart move fixing the receivership loophole. The fact that public waterworks are exempt from the sae enforcement tools as private ones is wild, especially after Orange. Also appreciate the transparency on the medical records bill getting burried in Appropriations last year, classic tactic to kill bills without a vote.