With a Tuesday deadline looming to act on legislation approved by the Virginia legislature this year, Gov. Bob McDonnell is mulling amendments to a bill that would extend insurance coverage to autistic children between the ages of 2 and 6.
One of the bill’s patrons, Del. Tag Greason, R-Loudoun, said he expects the governor to offer changes to the bill.
“I am expecting amendments,” Greason said. “I am very pleased with how the governor has approached the process and included us.”
The measure would cap the annual coverage at $35,000 and apply to public employees but not small businesses.
McDonnell has been lobbied heavily by both advocates of the measure, who have fought a decade-long battle to get coverage for children, and business interests like the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, who liken it to an unfunded mandate on employers.
McDonnell has consistently opposed unfunded mandates, “whether they come from Washington or Richmond,” as he said when he vetoed a measure that would require an average of 150 minutes of physical education per week for K-8 students in by 2014.
“If he chooses not to veto the bill, we would hope that any amendments would be less costly to the business community,” said Barry DuVal, President and CEO of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce.
