Bills & Legislation

Motor vehicle dealers; dealer records and advertisements.

Motor vehicle dealers; dealer records and advertisements. Provides that motor vehicle dealer records may be preserved in original form or electronically and removes the option to use certain obsolete archival methods. The bill removes the requirement that a dealer receive prior approval to maintain records on a computerized record keeping system. The bill additionally removes the requirement that a dealer maintain on the premises of the licensed location records regarding uninsured motor vehicle fees, which no longer exist under current law. The bill expands the application of certain naming requirements for advertisements to all advertisements placed by any licensee, rather than only to advertisements placed in newspapers and publications.

Michael B. FeggansDemocrat

Vehicles designed and used for transportation of passengers; fees, funds returned to a locality.

Fees for vehicles designed and used for transportation of passengers; funds returned to a locality; permitted uses. Expands the permitted use of funds returned to a locality from certain vehicle fees to include the purchase or maintenance of necessary equipment, supplies, facilities, and vehicles permitted by the Office of Emergency Medical Services and other operating expenses deemed necessary by the locality to ensure the provision of emergency medical services in such locality by nonprofit emergency medical services agencies. Under current law, such funds may be used for the purchase of necessary equipment and supplies for use in the locality for emergency medical services provided by nonprofit emergency medical services agencies.

Michael B. FeggansDemocrat

Bus obstruction monitoring systems; parking, stopping, and standing enforcement, civil penalties.

Parking, stopping, and standing enforcement; bus obstruction monitoring systems. Allows localities to authorize the use of bus obstruction monitoring systems by a public transit agency operating within the locality for the purpose of enforcing local ordinances related to parking, stopping, or standing in bus stop zones or in lanes reserved for transit buses during posted times. This bill is identical to SB 583.

David A. ReidDemocrat

Student literacy programs and plans; certain adjustments.

Student literacy programs and plans; certain adjustments. Prohibits any Department of Education-approved student literacy screener that is administered to identify deficiencies that warrant reading intervention services for students in grades kindergarten through eight from commencing earlier than the tenth full instructional day of the academic year, and requires the testing window established by the Department to extend no fewer than 15 full instructional days to ensure adequate instructional readiness and equitable access. The bill requires (i) the Department's template for student reading plans to (a) auto-populate all available student data from the results on the literacy screener provided by the Department; (b) minimize duplicative manual data entry; (c) authorize the use of standardized instructional profiles for students presenting substantially similar literacy needs, where appropriate; and (d) permit the batch creation of plans when it is appropriate to the instructional context; (ii) the Department to annually compile, in a de-identified format, themes and trends reported through division-level educator feedback mechanisms related to the implementation of the literacy screeners provided by the Department and the development of reading plans; and (iii) prior to the statewide implementation of any substantial modification to the literacy screeners provided by the Department or associated data systems, the Department to conduct an implementation feasibility analysis that assesses system readiness, teacher workload impact, and anticipated training needs. The bill also establishes several new requirements for divisionwide literacy plans.

Bonita G. AnthonyDemocrat

Court records; aggregated case data, request by attorney for the Commonwealth exempted.

Court records; aggregated case data; request by attorney for the Commonwealth exempted. Provides that, notwithstanding any other provision of law, if a request for a report of aggregated case data is made by an attorney for the Commonwealth to assist in the performance of his duties, the clerk or the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia, depending on if the request is made to a district court or circuit court, shall approve such request and provide such report of aggregated case data, which shall include the name, date of birth, and last four digits of the social security number of any party. Under current law, such request may be denied to ensure compliance with existing law and such reports are prohibited from including the name, date of birth, or social security number of any party and images of the individual records in the respective case files. The bill also provides that no report of aggregated case data that includes the name, date of birth, and last four digits of the social security number of any party provided to an attorney for the Commonwealth shall be disseminated further unless such information is redacted.

Karen R. "Kacey" CarnegieDemocrat

Electric cooperatives; authorized to establish and implement a virtual power plant program.

Electric utilities; virtual power plant program; electric cooperatives. Authorizes electric cooperatives to establish and implement a virtual power plant program. The bill defines a virtual power plant as an aggregation of distributed energy resources, enrolled either directly with an electric cooperative or indirectly through an aggregator, that are operated in coordination to provide one or more grid services. Under the bill, an electric cooperative may offer incentives to residential customers to purchase battery storage devices and is required to evaluate various methods to optimize demand. This bill is identical to SB 487.

David A. ReidDemocrat

Personal property taxation; establishes classification for major energy consumer equipment upgrades.

David A. ReidDemocrat

Drug Control Act; adds certain chemicals to Schedule I, penalties.

Drug Control Act; Schedule I; penalties. Adds certain chemicals to Schedule I of the Drug Control Act. The Board of Pharmacy has added these substances in an expedited regulatory process. A substance added via this process is removed from the schedule after 18 months unless a general law is enacted adding the substance to the schedule.

Jen Kiggans - to resign 12/31Republican

Driver training school and driver training instructors; standards, discipline, report.

Driver training school and driver training instructors; standards; discipline; report. Prohibits the licensure of a person as a driver training school instructor for driver education courses for minors if the person has been convicted of certain sex crimes or any offense that requires registration on the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry. The bill removes the five-year limitation on the period the Department of Motor Vehicles is authorized to set for a licensee whose license was revoked to reapply and provides that if the revocation was due to a conviction of (i) driving under the influence, (ii) reckless driving, (iii) refusal to submit to alcohol or drug testing, or (iv) vehicular manslaughter, such period shall be no less than 10 years. The bill requires the Department to establish and maintain a public, searchable database of disciplinary action taken by the Department against an instructor or driver training school. The bill requires driver training schools to notify students, prospective students, and guardians thereof of any such disciplinary actions taken in the preceding 24 months or while such student is enrolled. The bill also requires the Department to annually by November 1 submit a report to the Chairs of the House and Senate Committees on Transportation detailing such disciplinary actions. This bill is identical to SB 399.

Scott A. WyattRepublican

Administrative Process Act; appeals of case decisions regarding benefits sought, limitations.

Administrative Process Act; exemptions; limitations; appeals of case decisions regarding benefits sought. Specifies that the Administrative Process Act applies to case decisions regarding the grant or denial, including determinations of eligibility and approved levels of service, of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, general relief, auxiliary grants, or state-local hospitalization. The bill also removes provisions limiting review of case decisions to ascertaining whether there was evidence in the agency record to support the case decision of the agency.

Patrick A. HopeDemocrat

Signing of pleadings, etc., of a party represented by an attorney; attorney information required.

Signing of pleadings, motions, and other papers of a party represented by an attorney; attorney information required. Provides that every initial pleading, motion, or other paper of a party filed in any action in a court of record represented by an attorney shall include the attorney's mailing address, Virginia State Bar number, email address, and telephone number on the first pleading filed by that attorney in the action. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Boyd-Graves Conference.

Jessica L. AndersonDemocrat

Divorce decrees; reports, includes social security numbers or other control numbers.

State Registrar of Vital Records; final decree of divorce or annulment of marriage; necessary information. Specifies that the information necessary to enter a final decree of divorce or annulment of marriage shall include a party's social security number or control number issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles only if such information is known and available.

Atoosa R. ReaserDemocrat

Tangible personal property tax; establishes classification for electric landscaping equipment.

Tangible personal property tax; electric landscaping equipment. Establishes a separate classification of tangible personal property for electric-powered landscaping equipment employed in a trade or business and used to maintain commercial, public, or private gardens, lawns, trees, shrubs, or other plants, including lawn mowers, edgers, trimmers, leaf blowers, and chainsaws. Such property may be taxed by a locality at a rate not to exceed that applied to the general class of tangible personal property.

Atoosa R. ReaserDemocrat

Williamsburg, City of; amending charter, change of municipal elections.

Charter; City of Williamsburg. Amends the charter for the City of Williamsburg to reflect the change of municipal elections from May to November as required by general law. The bill also replaces numerous references to "director of finance" with "chief financial officer" and clarifies language related to the transfer of unencumbered appropriated balances between funds. This bill is identical to SB 179.

Jessica L. AndersonDemocrat

State officers and employees; state agencies to establish alternative work schedules.

State officers and employees; state agencies to establish alternative work schedules; reporting requirement. Adds to the annual reporting requirements of each state agency the requirement to include what percentage of changes to the number of employees participating in telecommuting and alternative work is a result of changes in workforce size, a reclassification of positions, or an expansion of telecommuting and alternative work opportunities and the number of employees approved and denied telecommuting and alternative work eligibility. The bill also requires the Department of Human Resource Management to review and publish on its website the statewide telecommuting and alternative work schedule policy every two years.

Jessica L. AndersonDemocrat

Nondegree workforce training programs; accreditation.

Department of Workforce Development and Advancement; accreditation of nondegree workforce training programs. Directs the Department of Workforce Development and Advancement to establish an accreditation pathway for nondegree workforce training programs in order to align the skills of the Commonwealth's workforce with the needs of industry in the Commonwealth and to provide a workforce entrance pathway for underserved populations in the Commonwealth. The bill includes minimum standards, admissions requirements, and reporting requirements for such programs. Additionally, the bill includes provisions related to the eligibility of accredited programs for state and federal workforce funding, including the federal Workforce Pell Grant.

Jessica L. AndersonDemocrat

Noise abatement monitoring systems; local authorities to place and operate, civil penalties.

Noise abatement monitoring systems; local authority; civil penalties. Authorizes counties and cities in Planning Districts 8, 9, and 15 to place and operate noise abatement monitoring systems, defined in the bill, on any highway located in the locality for the purpose of recording and enforcing exhaust system violations, also defined in the bill. The bill provides that the operator of a vehicle is liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $100, but the violation shall not be reported on the driver's operating record or to the driver's insurance agency. The bill provides that a locality may exempt from enforcement by noise abatement monitoring systems vehicles used for agricultural, horticultural, or forestry purposes as demonstrated by vehicle license plates. Under the bill, the civil penalty will be paid to the locality in which the violation occurred to be used for the cost of administering the noise abatement monitoring system program and for transportation safety initiatives. The bill contains the same data privacy and storage requirements as are in current law for photo speed monitoring devices. The bill requires any locality that places and operates such a noise abatement monitoring system to report on its public website by January 15 of each year on the number of traffic violations prosecuted, the number of successful prosecutions, and the total amount of monetary civil penalties collected. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2028. This bill incorporates HB 1349.

Jen Kiggans - to resign 12/31Republican

Admissions tax in counties; retail sales and use tax dedicated to promotion of tourism.

Admissions tax in counties; retail sales and use tax dedicated to promotion of tourism. Allows a county in which a state sales and use tax of at least one percent that is at least partially dedicated to the promotion of tourism is imposed to levy a tax on admissions for attendance at an event. Under current law, any county may levy a tax on admissions for attendance at an event except such counties in which a state sales and use tax of at least one percent that is at least partially dedicated to the promotion of tourism is imposed. This bill is identical to SB 400.

Jessica L. AndersonDemocrat

Uniform Health Care Decisions Act; civil penalty.

Uniform Health Care Decisions Act; civil penalty. Repeals most provisions of the Health Care Decisions Act and enacts the Uniform Health Care Decisions Act. The bill creates a process for the execution of advance health care directives, as defined in the bill; establishes criteria for determining the capacity of an individual to make health care decisions; provides for the establishment of a default surrogate in the absence of an appointed agent for health care decisions; establishes powers and duties of agents appointed by powers of attorney for health care; and establishes duties of health care professionals.

Patrick A. HopeDemocrat

Trees; conservation and replacement during development process in certain localities, report.

Conservation and replacement of trees during development process; work group; report. Expands certain existing local government authority to plant or replace trees during the development process by expanding such authority statewide. The bill allows localities to establish higher tree canopy replacement percentages based on density per acre. The bill also alters the current process for granting exceptions to a local ordinance by modifying a provision that requires the granting of an exception when the strict application of the ordinance would result in unnecessary or unreasonable hardship to the developer, and replacing it with a requirement that the locality concur with such a determination. The bill permits localities to monitor and assess the condition and coverage of tree canopies at development sites during a period of up to 20 years after the trees are planted. The bill also allows any town within Planning District 8 belonging to an eight-hour nonattainment area for air quality standards to require, by ordinance, that a subdivision or development provide for the preservation or replacement of trees on the development site such that the minimum tree canopy or cover 10 years after development is projected to meet specified coverage criteria. Under current law, the criteria apply to tree canopy coverage 20 years after development. Finally, the bill directs the Institute for Coastal Adaptation and Resilience to convene a work group to conduct a comprehensive review of the tree canopy laws and regulations and report the work group's findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the House Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns and Senate Committee on Local Government by November 1, 2026. This bill incorporates HB 995 and is identical to SB 589.

Patrick A. HopeDemocrat

State Government Internship Coordinator; DHRM to establish and employ.

Department of Human Resource Management; State Government Internship Coordinator. Requires the Department of Human Resource Management to establish and employ a State Government Internship Coordinator to attract high quality interns to the service of the Commonwealth with the goal of developing such interns in a manner that supports their ability to compete for positions in agencies of the Commonwealth upon conclusion of their internships and completion of their educational programs. The bill also requires the Department to establish and administer a system to provide professional development opportunities for state agency interns, intern supervisors, and human resources staff. This bill is identical to SB 286.

Jen Kiggans - to resign 12/31Republican

School Construction and Modernization, Commission on; revisions, elimination of sunset.

Commission on School Construction and Modernization; revisions; elimination of sunset. Eliminates the expiration date of the Commission on School Construction and Modernization, which, pursuant to current law, is set to expire on July 1, 2026. The bill also directs the Commission to (i) meet at least four times each year and post notice of the date, time, and location of each meeting on the central, publicly available electronic calendar maintained by the Commonwealth in accordance with applicable law; (ii) update annually the statewide needs estimate for construction and modernization of school facilities; (iii) develop and deliver by November 1, 2026, a 10-year capital roadmap; and (iv) collaborate with early childhood care and education Ready Regions and comprehensive community colleges in the Commonwealth to collect and evaluate data relating to Ready Region and comprehensive community college facility usage, availability, and needs. Finally, the bill directs the Department of Education, in order to assist the Commission with its work, to update and make available to the Commission an inventory of all public school facilities in the Commonwealth by September 1, 2026. This bill is identical to SB 498.

Alex Q. AskewDemocrat

Forest Sustainability Fund; Office of Working Lands Preservation to manage.

Office of Working Lands Preservation; powers and duties; Forest Sustainability Fund. Adds management of the Forest Sustainability Fund to the powers and duties of the Office of Working Lands Preservation within the Department of Forestry. This bill is identical to SB 522.

Karen R. "Kacey" CarnegieDemocrat

Abortion; born alive infant, treatment and care, penalty.

Abortion; born alive infant; treatment and care; penalty. Requires every health care provider licensed by the Board of Medicine who attempts to terminate a pregnancy to (i) exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of a human infant who has been born alive following such attempt as a reasonably diligent and conscientious health care practitioner would render to any other child born alive at the same gestational age and (ii) take all reasonable steps to ensure the immediate transfer of the human infant who has been born alive to a hospital for further medical care. A health care provider who fails to comply with the requirements of the bill is guilty of a Class 4 felony and may be subject to disciplinary action by the Board. The bill also requires every hospital licensed by the Department of Health to establish a protocol for the treatment and care of a human infant who has been born alive following an attempt to terminate a pregnancy and for the immediate reporting to law enforcement of any failure to provide such required treatment and care.

Karen HamiltonRepublican

Suicide Prevention Program; created, deaths by suicide of veterans or military service members.

Suicide Prevention Program Coordinator; deaths by suicide of veterans or military service members; State Registrar of Vital Records; Department of Veterans Services annual report. Adds to the duties of the Suicide Prevention Coordinator within the Department of Veterans Services the duty to (i) compile and analyze data relating to the suicides of veterans and military service members pursuant to death certificates filed with the State Registrar of Vital Records, with such data to be included in the Department's annual report, and (ii) collaborate with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to develop programs and resources related to suicide prevention for veterans and military service members. The bill provides that in any case where the death certificate of a veteran or military service member lists suicide as the manner of death, the State Registrar of Vital Records shall provide such information concerning the suicide to the Department.

Virgil ThorntonDemocrat

Compromise of claim for death by wrongful act; approval without a hearing.

Compromise of claim for death by wrongful act; approval without a hearing. Allows the court to approve a proposed compromise of a claim for death by wrongful act if the parties in interest agree to and endorse an approval order relating to such proposed compromise. The bill further requires that the endorsement of any such approval order by a beneficiary shall be notarized unless the endorsement is made by an attorney acting as guardian ad litem for such beneficiary. This bill is a recommendation of the Boyd-Graves Conference.

Virgil ThorntonDemocrat

Tourism improvement districts; transient occupancy tax in Arlington County.

Tourism improvement districts; administering nonprofits; county manager plan; transient occupancy tax. Allows tourism entities, defined in the bill, to enter into written agreements for the provision of professional services to an administering nonprofit that is under contract with a locality to administer or implement activities specified in a tourism improvement district plan. Current law does not permit such public-private partnerships in tourism improvement districts. The bill also requires a newly formed administering nonprofit's board of directors to be wholly composed of business owners and an existing administering nonprofit to create a committee of business owners to oversee the activities prescribed in the tourism improvement district plan. Finally, the bill permits any locality with the county manager plan of government (Arlington County) to impose an additional transient occupancy tax of up to one percent. This bill is identical to SB 314.

Adele Y. McClureDemocrat

Military medical personnel; definition, expands program, report.

Department of Veterans Services; Department of Health Professions; military medical personnel; program; work group; report. Expands the definition of "military medical personnel" for the purposes of the program established by the Department of Veterans Services (the Department), in collaboration with the Department of Health Professions, that allows such military medical personnel to practice and perform certain delegated acts that constitute the practice of medicine or nursing to include other enlisted service members who have successfully completed appropriate technical training and any required certifications and who were discharged or released from such service under conditions other than dishonorable. Under current law, "military medical personnel" means an individual who has recently served as a medic in the United States Army, medical technician in the United States Air Force, medical personnel in the United States Space Force, or corpsman in the United States Navy or the United States Coast Guard.The bill allows such military medical personnel participating in the program to be supervised by any licensed practitioner, as defined in the bill. Current law allows such personnel to be supervised by a physician or podiatrist. The bill directs the Department of Veterans Services to convene a work group to provide guidance on the implementation and further development of the Military Medics and Corpsmen program and to report its findings to the Chairs of the House Committee on Health and Human Services and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by November 1, 2026.

Rodney T. WillettDemocrat

Eviction Reduction Program; established, report.

Department of Housing and Community Development; Eviction Reduction Program; report. Establishes the Eviction Reduction Program within the Department of Housing and Community Development to expand the Department's work to (i) promote housing stability, (ii) identify factors that contribute to eviction filings, and (iii) provide interventions to prevent or divert evictions. The bill requires the Department to report annually to the General Assembly regarding the Program. The bill directs the Department to develop and include in its report criteria and guidelines necessary to administer the Program in consultation with stakeholders, including Eviction Diversion Program grantees as identified by the Department. This bill is identical to SB 628.

Adele Y. McClureDemocrat

Marine Resources Commission; powers and duties, impacts on wetlands, report.

Marine Resources Commission; powers and duties; wetlands; work group; report. Requires the Marine Resources Commission to ensure that, in promulgating minimum standards for protection and conservation of wetlands, no net loss of existing wetland acreage and functions is achieved. The bill requires permits for the use and development of wetlands to contain requirements for compensating impacts on wetlands sufficient to achieve no net loss of existing wetland acreage and functions. The bill also directs the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources to convene a stakeholder work group to address mitigation requirements for tidal nonvegetated wetlands and directs the work group to submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources no later than July 1, 2027.

Jen Kiggans - to resign 12/31Republican

Marine Resources Commission; beneficial use of dredged material.

Marine Resources Commission; beneficial use of dredged material. Provides that, beginning December 1, 2027, it is the policy of the Commonwealth to promote the beneficial use of dredged material, as defined in the bill, and that the Marine Resources Commission shall require the beneficial use of dredged material for all permits involving dredged material unless such approaches are not suitable based on criteria developed by the Commission. The bill also adds the sites of projects that are consistent with the beneficial use of dredged material to the sites that are given priority consideration for the disposal of that portion of dredged material determined to be suitable for such use by the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources. The bill directs the Commission to establish a work group to assist in the development of any regulations or guidance to implement the provisions of the bill. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee on Recurrent Flooding.

Jr. Robert S. BloxomRepublican

Clerk fees; secure remote access to nonconfidential court records by certain attorneys.

Clerk fees; secure remote access to nonconfidential court records by certain attorneys. Provides that no clerk shall charge a fee to an attorney for secure remote access to nonconfidential court records when such attorney is certified by the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission in the jurisdiction served by such clerk, provided that such attorney is currently appointed to represent a defendant in such jurisdiction and agrees to continue accepting appointments in such jurisdiction. The bill also provides that if, after receiving secure remote access for nonconfidential court records, such attorney (i) is found to have abused such privilege of such secure remote access; (ii) is removed from the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission's court-appointed attorney list; or (iii) ceases to accept appointments for representation from the granting court, the clerk may terminate the agreement granting such secure remote access. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission. This bill is identical to SB 82.

Jen Kiggans - to resign 12/31Republican

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; definition of essential services.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; essential services. Adds central air conditioning when supplied by the landlord and operating or represented as operating as of the effective date of the rental agreement to the list of what constitutes an essential service for purposes of the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.

Marty MartinezDemocrat

Sports betting; prohibition on use of credit cards.

Sports betting; prohibition on use of credit cards. Prohibits the Director of the Virginia Lottery from approving the use of credit cards as a method for sports bettors to fund sports betting accounts. The bill also requires a permit holder to take reasonable measures to prohibit the acceptance of credit cards to fund sports betting accounts on its sports betting platform.

Marty MartinezDemocrat

Benefit awareness & access prog.; establishes, military service members transition to civilian life.

Department of Veterans Services; benefit awareness and access; program. Establishes an outreach program to ensure military service members transitioning from military to civilian life, veterans, members of the Virginia National Guard, residents of the Commonwealth in the Armed Forces Reserves, and their family members can easily access federal, state, and local benefits and other programs and services available to them. The bill requires the outcomes of such program to be published in the annual report submitted to the Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs, the Governor, and the General Assembly.

Marty MartinezDemocrat

Suicide fatality review teams, local and regional; established, membership, penalty.

Local and regional suicide fatality review teams; penalty. Permits localities or combinations of localities to establish a local or regional suicide fatality review team. The bill provides exemptions from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act for information and records obtained or created regarding a review of a fatality by such team.

Marty MartinezDemocrat

Virginia Farm and Forest Prosperity Plan; OSAF to develop and implement comprehensive Plan, report.

Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry; Virginia Farm and Forest Prosperity Plan; report. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry, during the first year of each new gubernatorial administration, to develop and implement a written comprehensive Virginia Farm and Forest Prosperity Plan that is designed to be enacted over the course of such gubernatorial administration's term. The Secretary is directed to submit a report detailing the progress made toward the development and implementation of the Plan to the Governor and to the Chairs of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources by December 1 of the first year of each new gubernatorial administration. This bill is identical to SB 719.

Kimberly Pope AdamsDemocrat

Zoning; agricultural operations, rental of accessory dwellings.

Zoning; agricultural operations; rental of accessory dwellings. Provides that no locality shall prohibit the rental for 30 days or more of existing accessory residential dwellings located on property with an agricultural operation. The bill does not apply to areas within a town.

John Chilton McAuliffDemocrat

Uniform Power of Attorney Act; agent's duty of disclosure, execution of initial power of attorney.

Uniform Power of Attorney Act; agent's duty of disclosure. Creates a process by which the principal of a power of attorney may relieve an agent of such power of attorney from the agent's required duties of disclosure for powers of attorney created on or after July 1, 2026.

John Chilton McAuliffDemocrat

Small renewable energy projects; agrivoltaics definition.

Small renewable energy projects; agrivoltaics definition. Provides a definition of "agrivoltaics" for the purposes of small renewable energy projects. This bill incorporates HB 899 and is identical to SB 340.

John Chilton McAuliffDemocrat

Data centers; permit requirements, emission limits for certain engine-generator sets.

Permit requirements for data centers; emission limits for certain engine-generator sets. Prohibits the Department of Environmental Quality from issuing an air permit for any application submitted for a data center on or after July 1, 2026, unless the emission limit for each engine-generator, defined in the bill, established by such permit is equal to or less than the emissions achieved by a Tier 4 equivalent engine-generator.

John Chilton McAuliffDemocrat

Electric utilities; cost recovery, costs substantially related to serving data center customers.

Electric utilities; cost recovery; costs substantially related to serving data center customers. Prohibits the recovery of costs incurred by an electric utility that (i) are substantially related to the provision of electric service to data center customers and (ii) would not have been incurred but for the demand of such data center customers from being included in any rates or charges approved by the State Corporation Commission under current law, unless such rates and charges are designed to recover, or substantially recover, such costs solely from data center customers. Under the bill, "data center customers" are data centers with a peak demand of 100 megawatts or greater.

John Chilton McAuliffDemocrat

New state park; Dept. of Conservation & Recreation to acquire prop. to establish in Loudoun County.

Department of Conservation and Recreation; acquisition of property to establish a state park; Loudoun County. Allows the Department of Conservation and Recreation to acquire from the Conservation Fund approximately 1,240 acres of real property and any buildings or structures thereon between Little River Turnpike, James Monroe Highway, and Tail Race Road, known as Oak Hill Farm, in Loudoun County for the purpose of establishing and operating a state park on such property. This bill incorporates HB 239.

John Chilton McAuliffDemocrat

Income tax, state; tax credit for certain small businesses.

Income tax; tax credit for certain small businesses. Establishes a one-time, nonrefundable tax credit for taxable years 2026 through 2030 for eligible small businesses, as defined in the bill, equal to $2,500. The bill limits the total aggregate amount of small business credits claimed to $5 million per taxable year.

John Chilton McAuliffDemocrat

Certain data from water users; water use consumption for domestic, etc., purposes, data centers.

Certain data from water users; water use consumption for domestic, commercial, and industrial purposes and from data centers. Requires any water user required to register water withdrawal and use data to the State Water Control Board that provides water to another person offsite to include in its report, submitted on its regular reporting schedule, the total volume of potable water and, reported separately, the total volume of reclaimed water, as defined in the bill, provided during each month for each of the following categories: (i) a data center with an air permit issued by the Department of Environmental Quality and (ii) to the extent available without utility billing system modifications, (a) domestic purposes, (b) commercial and industrial purposes, separately or combined as available, and (c) all other non-categorized purposes. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027. This bill is identical to SB 553.

Elizabeth R. GuzmanDemocrat

Motor carrier violations; authority of law-enforcement officers.

Motor carrier violations; authority of law-enforcement officers. Authorizes the enforcement of motor carrier violations of license, registration, and tax requirements and vehicle size limitations at locations other than permanent weighing stations and clarifies that law-enforcement officers, in addition to size and weight compliance agents, may enforce such provisions.

Vivian E. WattsDemocrat

Virginia Personnel Act; hiring preference in state government, certain former federal employees.

Virginia Personnel Act; hiring preference in state government; certain former federal employees. Allows for an applicant's status as a former federal employee to be given consideration when applying for employment with the Commonwealth if such applicant was terminated from a position of employment with the federal government on or after January 1, 2025, due to a reduction in the federal budget or initiatives put in place by the federal Department of Government Efficiency, provided that such person meets all of the knowledge, skill, and ability requirements for the available position. The bill directs the Department of Human Resource Management, on or before January 1 of each year, to submit a report to the Governor and the General Assembly that includes the number of job applications submitted by candidates who self-identified as former federal employees, as well as the number of jobs offered to such candidates. The bill has an expiration date of January 21, 2029.

Elizabeth R. GuzmanDemocrat

Absentee voting; ballots received, marked, and cast electronically through the Internet.

Elections; absentee voting; accessibility; ballots received, marked, and cast electronically through the internet. Requires the Department of Elections to make available to all localities a tool to allow a voter with a visual impairment or print disability or a covered voter to receive, mark, and return his absentee ballot electronically through the internet. The bill makes the tool available through the internet in lieu of other currently available assistive technologies.

Patrick A. HopeDemocrat

School boards; mental health awareness training for full-time school bus drivers.

School boards; mental health awareness training; full-time school bus drivers. Permits any school board to require each school bus driver employed on a full-time basis in the local school division to complete mental health awareness training at least once. The bill requires the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to consider condensing and abbreviating the existing mental health first aid training program into a two-hour module that any school board may utilize in order to train full-time school bus drivers.

Elizabeth R. GuzmanDemocrat

Health insurance; coverage for early refills of prescription eye drops.

Health insurance; coverage for early refills of prescription eye drops. Prohibits a health carrier from denying coverage to a covered person of an early refill of prescription eye drops if (i) the prescription eye drops are a covered benefit, (ii) the amount of time that has elapsed from the previous dispensing of such prescription would result in at least 85 percent of such prescription eye drops being used if taken consistently with the prescriber's directions, and (iii) the prescriber has indicated that additional quantities are medically necessary and the refill requested does not exceed such additional quantity. The provisions of the bill are applicable to contracts, policies, or plans delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in the Commonwealth on and after January 1, 2027.

Patrick A. HopeDemocrat