Bills & Legislation

Real property tax; special assessment on basis of use, notice requirements.

Real property tax; special assessment for land use; notice requirements; civil penalty. Establishes notice requirements for the sale of real estate that is valued, assessed, and taxed by a locality under a special assessment on the basis of use. The bill directs the Department of Taxation to create a written notice that may be provided to the purchaser of real estate in a land use program. The notice must include disclosures regarding the special classification of the real estate and liability for roll-back taxes if a change in use occurs. The bill also requires settlement agents to provide this written notice to purchasers of real estate in a land use program and to obtain the purchaser's written acknowledgement of receipt of the notice. The willful failure of a settlement agent to provide the notice and obtain the written acknowledgement will subject the settlement agent to a civil penalty in an amount not exceeding $250. The bill directs the Real Estate Board to include in the residential property disclosure statement on its website a statement that the owner makes no representations or warranties with respect to whether the property is located in a locality that has adopted a land-use plan that may provide use value assessment and taxation for certain real estate and that advises purchasers to exercise due diligence to determine whether the property may be subject to roll-back taxes and interest for taxation on the basis of a use assessment and the liability for additional taxes and penalties that may attach if a change in use occurs. Finally, the bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.

Mark D. ObenshainRepublican

Unmanned aircraft systems; use by law-enforcement officers, search warrants.

Use of unmanned aircraft systems by law-enforcement officers; search warrants; model policy. Expedites the issuance of a search warrant for unmanned aircraft systems by law-enforcement officers upon a finding of reasonable and probable cause by an authorized judicial official, as defined in the bill, and permits the use of unmanned aircraft systems without a search warrant when law enforcement is surveying the scene of a crime or to respond to a public safety call for service when such crime scene or call for service is located on public property, to locate a person when such person has fled the offense location during the initial response to an incident, or to provide real-time aerial observation to increase on-scene safety and security. Such provisions are subject to a reenactment clause. The bill also requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services, in consultation with the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission and the Virginia Association of Commonwealth's Attorneys, to establish a model policy for the use of unmanned aircraft systems by December 1, 2026. This bill is identical to HB 1219.

Todd E. PillionRepublican

Air Pollution Control Board; regulations, small renewable energy projects, anaerobic tech., report.

Air Pollution Control Board regulations; small renewable energy projects; anaerobic digestion technology; report. Provides that for the purposes of a permit by rule for a small renewable energy project under existing law, a small renewable energy project includes an electrical generation facility in a locality in Planning District 8 with a rated capacity not exceeding 100 megawatts that generates electricity from biomass, energy from waste, or municipal solid waste and its dedicated associated interconnection facilities, provided that such facility is capable of processing the majority of its organic waste, including food waste and municipal sludge, with anaerobic digestion technology by January 1, 2030. The bill directs the Department of Environmental Quality, in coordination with relevant stakeholders, to (i) assess all practicable technologies available to waste-to-energy facilities to reduce carbon dioxide and methane emissions, (ii) assess technologies to create biomethane, and (iii) recommend any legislative changes necessary to create market conditions to ensure the viability of such program. The bill also directs the Department to report its findings to the Air Pollution Control Board by December 1, 2026.

Scott A. SurovellDemocrat

Child abuse or neglect; centralized hotline for reports or complaints, etc.

Department of Social Services; corrective action plans; centralized hotline for reports or complaints of child abuse or neglect. Establishes a centralized hotline for reports and complaints of child abuse or neglect and grants the Commissioner of Social Services the authority to create and enforce a corrective action plan for any local board of social services or local department of social services that (i) fails to administer public assistance and social services programs in accordance with applicable laws and regulations or (ii) takes any action or fails to act in a manner that poses a substantial risk to the health, safety, or well-being of a child or adult. The bill permits similar authority for any local board of social services that (a) fails to provide child welfare services in accordance with applicable law or regulations or (b) takes any action or fails to act in a manner that poses a substantial risk to the health, safety, or well-being of a child. Under the bill, if a local board or department fails to comply with a corrective action plan, the Commissioner has the authority to temporarily assume control of all or part of the local board's operations. The bill also provides that, when a local board of social services or local department of social services requests assistance, the Commissioner has the authority to utilize staff of the Department of Social Services or contract with private entities to provide public assistance and social services programs in the locality served by the local board or department. The bill requires the Department of Social Services to establish and maintain a hotline for reports and complaints of child abuse or neglect and specifies that the Department shall determine the validity of such reports and complaints. The bill eliminates the requirement that local departments must be capable of receiving and responding to reports and complaints of abuse or neglect and instead requires that any complaint of child abuse or neglect received by a local department shall be immediately forwarded to the Department's child abuse and neglect hotline. The bill also adds adult services to the definition of "social services" for purposes of Title 63.2 (Welfare (Social Services)). The bill directs the Department of Social Services to (1) promulgate regulations necessary to implement the provisions of the bill and (2) contract with a third party by August 1, 2026, to conduct a comprehensive study and review of the screening process used for child protective services complaints across Virginia. The bill also directs the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to convene a Social Services Task Force to develop a comprehensive improvement plan to address changes needed within the State Department of Social Services and the local departments of social services. The provisions of the bill related to centralized intake have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.

Todd E. PillionRepublican

Office-based buprenorphine treatment; Board of Medicine to amend regulations.

Board of Medicine; office-based buprenorphine treatment; counseling. Directs the Board of Medicine to amend its regulations regarding office-based buprenorphine treatment to require providers to offer counseling or referral to counseling to each patient as clinically necessary and mutually agreed-upon. The bill specifies that a patient's refusal of counseling does not preclude the patient from receiving office-based buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Health Care and is identical to HB 712.

Todd E. PillionRepublican

Juveniles; commitment to DJJ, petition to extend duration of indeterminate commitment.

Department of Juvenile Justice; commitment of juveniles to Department; petition to extend duration of indeterminate commitment. Creates a process by which the Department of Juvenile Justice, upon determining that a juvenile currently committed to the Department should continue such commitment beyond the high end of the length of stay guidelines established by the State Board of Juvenile Justice, may petition the court that ordered a juvenile's indeterminate commitment to the Department to extend such juvenile's commitment. The bill requires the Department to file such petition at least 60 days prior to the expiration of the high end of the length of stay range, along with a report on the juvenile's progress. If the Department determines fewer than 60 days before expiration that an extension is necessary, it shall file a petition for review that includes a statement explaining the specific circumstances causing the late filing. The bill provides that the court shall schedule a hearing on the petition at which the court shall consider such progress report and may consider additional evidence as described in the bill. The bill provides that, at the conclusion of the hearing, the court shall order either that the juvenile be released or that the juvenile's period of commitment be extended for a period not to exceed six months, provided that such extension does not exceed the limitations for an indeterminate commitment provided by current law. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Virginia Commission on Youth.

Barbara A. FavolaDemocrat

Virginia Human Rights Act; nondiscrimination, procedures for charge of unlawful discrimination.

Virginia Human Rights Act; procedures for a charge of unlawful discrimination. Provides that, for the purposes of nondiscrimination in places of public accommodation, "place of public accommodation" includes educational institutions. The bill reduces from 15 to five the number of employees in the definition of "employer" for purposes of nondiscrimination in employment. The bill also amends from 300 days to two years the timeframe for filing a complaint alleging unlawful discrimination with the Office of the Attorney General.

Adam P. EbbinDemocrat

Emergency medical services and medical support; VDH to publish resources regarding large events.

Department of Health; resources for provision of emergency medical services for events. Directs the Department of Health to publish on its website a document for event planners and event venues to provide to prospective clients containing (i) notice that emergency medical services personnel may be made available for events, (ii) information regarding the benefits of appropriate medical support for large or high-risk events, and (iii) a list of emergency medical services providers available to provide services at event venues in each locality of the Commonwealth.

Kannan SrinivasanDemocrat

Elections; candidates and elected officials, confidentiality of personally identifiable information.

Elections; candidates and elected officials; address confidentiality. Prohibits the custodian of any filing made by a candidate from releasing the address, phone number, or email address of such candidate in response to a request made under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The bill permits a candidate to provide the unique identifier assigned to him in the voter registration system pursuant to relevant law in place of his residence address on any candidate filing. The State Board of Elections is prohibited from requiring candidates to disclose their address or unique identifier on petitions prior to their being filed. The bill also adds elected officials to the list of people who may furnish, in addition to their residence street address, a post office box address located within the Commonwealth to be included in lieu of their street address on the lists of registered voters. The certificate of election delivered to the winner of an election is required to be accompanied by a notice that the person meets the qualifications for being granted protected voter status along with instructions for updating their voter registration in order to attain such status. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027. This bill is identical to HB 835.

Lashrecse D. AirdDemocrat

Health insurance; tobacco surcharge.

Health insurance; tobacco surcharge. Eliminates the authority of a health carrier to vary its premium rates based on tobacco use. Under current law, a health carrier may charge premium rates up to 1.5 times higher for a tobacco user than for a nonuser. The provisions of the bill apply to health benefit plans providing individual or small group health insurance coverage entered into, amended, extended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2027. This bill is identical to HB 220.

Jennifer D. Carroll FoyDemocrat

Graduation with an advanced studies diploma; requirements, complet. of Int'l Baccalaureate diploma.

Board of Education; high school graduation; simultaneous completion of International Baccalaureate diploma and advanced studies diploma. Requires the Board of Education to permit any student who (i) during or after grade 10, transferred into a public high school in the Commonwealth and (ii) is simultaneously pursuing an advanced studies diploma and an International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma to complete certain courses or sequences of courses required for an IB diploma, as approved by the Board, including substitutes for the Virginia and U.S. history and government courses and for the economics and personal finance credit requirement. The bill also directs the Board to grant a waiver from the training in emergency first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and the use of automated external defibrillators required for graduation to any student who (a) pursuant to his individualized education program or Section 504 Plan cannot successfully complete the training or (b) after grade 10, transfers from a school or other education program that does not require or give credit for such training. This bill is identical to HB 595.

Saddam Azlan SalimDemocrat

Health insurance; reporting requirements.

Health insurance; reporting requirements. Amends various reporting requirements related to health insurance, including by requiring the State Corporation Commission to maintain and publicly post an inventory of mandated benefits and providers, requiring health carriers to report annually on provider terminations and reinstatements, and consolidating reports related to balance billing and arbitration. The bill repeals reporting requirements related to the Comparable Health Care Service Incentive Program and Virginia Health Savings Account Plan. This bill is identical to HB 618.

Mark D. ObenshainRepublican

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 HB 527.

Mamie E. LockeDemocrat

Electric utilities; electric grid utilization metrics; State Corporation Commission.

Phase I and Phase II Utilities; electric grid utilization metrics. Requires Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power to petition the State Corporation Commission for approval of grid utilization metrics by October 15, 2026, which petition may be consolidated with the integrated resource plan filing for Dominion Energy in 2026. Under the bill, the petition shall include certain assessments comparing current electric grid system performance with optimal utilization of existing electric grid assets. The bill also requires the Commission to include in an existing annual report its findings on each applicable utility's assessment of relevant grid utilization metrics, which shall include an analysis of the potential for each applicable utility to increase electric grid utilization through the deployment of non-wires alternatives. This bill is identical to HB 434.

Kannan SrinivasanDemocrat

Real estate salesperson; DPOR to conduct review of current process for obtaining licensure.

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; review of real estate salesperson licensure process; report. Directs the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation to conduct a comprehensive review of the Commonwealth's current process for obtaining licensure as a real estate salesperson and to submit, on or before January 1, 2027, a report of its findings to the Chairs of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology.

Todd E. PillionRepublican

Motion picture production; extends income tax credit sunset.

Motion picture production tax credit; sunset extended. Extends the motion picture production tax credit sunset date from taxable year 2026 to taxable year 2030. This bill is identical to HB 400.

Todd E. PillionRepublican

Peer recovery specialists; VDH & DOC to develop guidelines for hiring.

Department of Health; Department of Corrections; peer recovery specialists. Directs the Virginia Department of Health and the Virginia Department of Corrections to develop agency guidelines for hiring peer recovery specialists with previous criminal convictions for compensated employment. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Health Care. This bill is identical to HB 209.

Todd E. PillionRepublican

Accountancy, Board of; licensing requirements, inactive and emeritus status.

Board of Accountancy; licensing requirements; inactive and emeritus status. Directs the Board of Accountancy to establish "Inactive" and "Emeritus" CPA license statuses for licensees who no longer provide services to the public or services to or on behalf of an employer. The bill requires the Board to develop guidelines to provide active and inactive licensees additional clarity governing the manner in which such licensees should reference autobiographical and biographical information with respect to their CPA licensure to remain historically accurate and compliant with the law and relevant regulations. The bill directs the Board of Accountancy to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill. This bill is identical to HB 870.

Mark D. ObenshainRepublican

Virginia National Guard; nonjudicial disciplinary proceedings.

Nonjudicial disciplinary proceedings in the Virginia National Guard. Removes the restriction on nonjudicial disciplinary proceedings that prevents reduction in rank for members with more than 10 years of service who are in the rank of E-5 or above.

Bryce E. ReevesRepublican

Constitutional amendment; qualifications of voters, right to vote, persons not entitled to vote.

Constitutional amendment (voter referendum); qualifications of voters; right to vote; persons not entitled to vote. Provides for a referendum at the November 3, 2026, general election to approve or reject an amendment that would provide for the fundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth, revise the qualifications of voters so that a person convicted of a felony is not entitled to vote during his period of incarceration but is automatically invested with the right to vote upon release from incarceration, and update the existing prohibition on voting by persons found to be mentally incompetent to instead apply to persons who have been found to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting. This bill is identical to HB 963.

Mamie E. LockeDemocrat

Contraception; definitions, establishes right to obtain, applicability, enforcement.

Contraception; right to contraception; applicability; enforcement. Establishes a right to obtain contraceptives and engage in contraception, as such terms are defined in the bill. The bill clarifies that none of its provisions shall be construed to permit or sanction the performance of any sterilization procedure without a patient's voluntary and informed consent. The bill creates a cause of action that may be instituted against anyone who infringes on such right. This bill is identical to HB 6.

Jennifer D. Carroll FoyDemocrat

Electric utilities; renewable portfolio standard program, zero-carbon electricity, etc.

Electric utilities; renewable energy portfolio standard; zero-carbon electricity; accelerated clean energy buyers. Revises the conditions under which accelerated clean energy buyers, defined in existing law as accelerated renewable energy buyers, may contract with Appalachian Power or Dominion Energy Virginia to obtain renewable energy certificates (RECs). The bill exempts an accelerated clean energy buyer obtaining capacity, energy, or RECs from qualifying resources or facilities from the assignment of non-bypassable costs associated with compliance with the renewable portfolio standard program based on the amount and type of renewable energy certificates obtained in proportion to such accelerated clean energy buyer's total electric energy consumption. This bill incorporates SB 470. This bill is identical to HB 369.

R. Creigh DeedsDemocrat

Mechanics and storage liens; vehicle data.

Mechanics and storage liens; abandoned vehicles; vehicle records. Removes the requirement that the Department of Motor Vehicles, when searching for owner or lienholder information for a vehicle titled in another jurisdiction for (i) the enforcement of a mechanic's or storage lien or (ii) determining ownership of an abandoned vehicle, ascertain such information by contacting the other jurisdiction. The bill retains the requirement that the Department ascertain such information upon initiation of a search by the bailee or person in possession of an abandoned vehicle.

Bill DeStephRepublican

Motor vehicle insurance; unauthorized addition of insured drivers prohibited.

Motor vehicle insurance; unauthorized addition of insured drivers prohibited. Prohibits an insurance carrier authorized to issue motor vehicle liability insurance policies from automatically adding any person to the list of persons insured under a motor vehicle owner's policy or to the household of a named insured for purposes of such policy based solely on certain information enumerated in the bill.

Bill DeStephRepublican

Career and technical education courses, pathways, and credentials; biennial review, report.

Board of Education; career and technical education courses, pathways, and credentials; biennial review; report. Requires the Board of Education and the Virginia Board of Workforce Development, with the assistance of the Department of Workforce Development and Advancement, the Virginia Office of Education Economics, the Department of Education, the Virginia Community College System, and the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, to conduct, beginning with the fiscal year starting July 1, 2026, and each odd-numbered year thereafter, a biennial review of all career and technical education course, pathway, and credential offerings available to public school students across the Commonwealth for the purpose of ensuring that all such career and technical education course, pathway, and credential offerings are (i) aligned with current and emerging industry and workforce needs, demands, and standards and (ii) designed to effectively prepare students for postsecondary success through gainful employment in a high-demand industry or field, enrollment in postsecondary education, or enlistment in the United States Armed Forces. The bill requires the Board of Education and the Virginia Board of Workforce Development to develop and submit to the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Labor, and the Chairs of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by October 1 of each odd-numbered year a report on each such biennial review.

Lamont BagbyDemocrat

Income tax, state; free tax filing program for individuals.

Department of Taxation; free tax filing program for individuals. Directs the Tax Commissioner to develop and offer a free individual state income tax filing program, effective beginning in taxable year 2028, that is similar to the federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Direct File Program as it existed during the 2025 tax filing season. The bill contains technical amendments that remove obsolete language regarding fillable forms. This bill is identical to HB 1180.

Jeremy S. McPikeDemocrat

Photo speed monitoring devices; photo-monitoring systems for traffic signals, proof of violation.

Photo speed monitoring devices; photo-monitoring systems for traffic signals; school bus video-monitoring systems; proof of violation; certain persons swearing to or affirming certificates; training. Authorizes retired sworn law-enforcement officers, registered special conservators of the peace, and technicians employed by a locality to swear to or to affirm certificates for the purposes of enforcement of violations recorded by traffic light signal violation monitoring systems, traffic control device violation monitoring systems, photo speed monitoring devices, or school bus video-monitoring systems upon completion of a training course developed and approved by the Department of Criminal Justice Services. The bill also requires law-enforcement officers swearing to or affirming such certificates to complete such training course. These provisions of the bill have an effective date of July 1, 2027. The bill also requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to develop, approve, and make available such training course no later than January 1, 2027. This bill incorporates SB 81 and is identical to HB 684.

J.D. "Danny" DiggsRepublican

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 HB 564.

Saddam Azlan SalimDemocrat

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 is identical to HB 549.

Saddam Azlan SalimDemocrat

Fairfax, City of; amending charter, elections, compensation for members of boards or commissions.

Charter; City of Fairfax; financial powers; elections; compensation for members of boards or commissions. Amends the charter for the City of Fairfax by replacing a cap on the transient occupancy tax with a reference to general law. The bill also amends the charter to align it with current law requiring municipal elections to be held at the November general election. Finally, the bill removes the limit of $50 per meeting for compensation of members of boards and commissions and provides that such compensation is in such amounts as established by the City Council. This bill is identical to HB 1342.

Saddam Azlan SalimDemocrat

Individuals receiving services in a hospital, training center, etc.; right to send and receive mail.

Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; individuals receiving services; right to send and receive mail. Allows state facilities operated by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to process sealed letter mail for electronic delivery. This bill is identical to HB 1304.

Mark J. PeakeRepublican

Elections; deadline for receipt of absentee ballots and certain other information, etc.

Elections; deadline for receipt of absentee ballots and certain other information; 5:00 p.m. on the third day after the election. Moves the deadline for receipt of an absentee ballot, information required to cure an absentee ballot, or proof of identification to accompany a provisional ballot provided for lack of identification from noon to 5:00 p.m. on the third day after the election. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027. This bill is identical to HB 82.

Barbara A. FavolaDemocrat

Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act; required disclosures for buyer beware.

Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act; required disclosures for buyer to beware; proximity to military ground installation. Adds a property's proximity to any military ground installation to the residential property disclosure statement provided by the Real Estate Board on its website for the buyer to beware as to whether a property may be impacted by related noise or other effects of military operations.

Bryce E. ReevesRepublican

Virginia Public Procurement Act; joint and cooperative procurement, construction exception.

Virginia Public Procurement Act; joint and cooperative procurement; construction exception. Excludes certain intergovernmental support agreements pursuant to federal law from provisions of law under the Virginia Public Procurement Act that provide an exception for construction where a public body may purchase from another public body's contract if the request for proposal or invitation to bid specified that the procurement was a cooperative procurement being conducted on behalf of other public bodies.

Bryce E. ReevesRepublican

Auctioneers Board; citizen members.

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; Auctioneers Board; citizen members. Clarifies that no citizen member appointed to the Auctioneers Board shall (i) have training or experience as an auctioneer; (ii) be the spouse, parent, child, or sibling of an auctioneer; or (iii) have any direct or indirect financial interest, except as a consumer, in auctioneering. The bill further prohibits appointing any citizen member of the Board currently licensed in, employed by, or financially affiliated with any profession or occupation that provides similar services to auctioneers, including a real estate broker or salesperson.

Bryce E. ReevesRepublican

Military Affairs, Dept. of, emergency vehicles; equipped with flashing red and white warning lights.

Flashing red and white warning lights; emergency vehicle exemptions; Department of Military Affairs emergency vehicles. Authorizes Department of Military Affairs emergency vehicles to (i) be equipped with flashing, blinking, or alternating red or red and white combination warning lights and (ii) disregard certain regulations regarding the operation of vehicles without being subject to criminal prosecution while responding to an emergency. This bill is identical to HB 351.

Bryce E. ReevesRepublican

Voter registration; requiring membership in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC).

Voter registration; list maintenance; data sharing; requiring membership in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). Requires the Commissioner of Elections to apply for, enter into, and maintain membership for the Commonwealth in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC).

Schuyler T. VanValkenburgDemocrat

Virginia Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund; claim limits, license threshold amounts.

Virginia Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund; claim limits; license threshold amounts. Expands the scope of Chapters 127 and 133 of the Acts of Assembly of 2025, which increased certain claim limits and license threshold amounts, to apply to any claimant who filed a verified claim with the Director of the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation on or after June 6, 2024, for recovery from the Virginia Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund and whose claim was thereafter approved by the Board for Contractors.

Jen Kiggans - to resign 12/31Republican

Public schools; student instruction, addictive potential of time spent using certain electr. device.

Public schools; student instruction; addictive potential of time spent using certain electronic devices. Requires instruction concerning time spent using electronic devices such as computers, cell phones, and other smart devices and the addictive potential thereof to be provided by the public schools as prescribed by the Board of Education. This bill is identical to HB 1486.

Jen Kiggans - to resign 12/31Republican

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 HB 496.

Kannan SrinivasanDemocrat

Forgery, or certain violations; amends venue provisions for prosecution.

Forgery; venue. Clarifies that the venue provision for prosecution of forgery applies to forging public records, etc., forging coin or bank notes, and forging, uttering, etc., other writings.

Bryce E. ReevesRepublican

Sex offenses; prohibiting proximity to children on premises of state parks, penalty.

Sex offenses prohibiting proximity to children; state parks; penalty. Provides that every adult who is convicted of an offense prohibiting proximity to children, when the offense occurred on or after July 1, 2026, shall as a part of his sentence be forever prohibited from going, for the purpose of having any contact whatsoever with children who are not in his custody, within 100 feet of a playground, athletic field or facility, or gymnasium he knows or has reason to know is located on the premises of a state park. A violation is a Class 6 felony.

J.D. "Danny" DiggsRepublican

Undue influence; presumptions in actions contesting validity of a trust or trust instrument.

Undue influence; presumption in actions contesting validity of certain trust or instrument. Provides that, in an action contesting the validity of a trust or trust instrument, where a presumption of undue influence arises, the fact finder shall presume that the undue influence was exerted over the decedent unless evidence leads the fact finder to determine that the decedent did intend for the real or personal property to be conveyed or transferred as indicated. Current law applies this presumption of undue influence only to actions contesting the validity of a will.

Mark D. ObenshainRepublican

Nursing homes and certified nursing facilities; required liability insurance coverage.

Nursing homes and certified nursing facilities; required liability insurance coverage. Provides that the regulations of the Board of Health shall require purchasers of licensed nursing homes or certified nursing facilities with claims-made policies of liability insurance coverage to purchase an extended reporting endorsement of two years after the date of sale or to purchase liability insurance coverage with dates that begin two years prior to the date the existing owner's policies end.

Mark D. ObenshainRepublican

Conflict of Interests Act, State/Local Gov't.; electronic discl. by local govt officers & employees.

State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act; electronic disclosure by local government officers and employees. Requires local government officers and employees to file annual disclosure statements electronically with the Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council in accordance with approved standards. Such officers and employees shall be able to file the annual disclosure statement electronically beginning January 1, 2027, but such electronic filing shall be required (i) for localities with populations in excess of 250,000, beginning January 1, 2028; (ii) for localities with populations in excess of 100,000 but not more than 250,000, beginning January 1, 2029; and (iii) for localities with populations not exceeding 100,000, beginning January 1, 2030. The bill provides that the Department of Elections shall be responsible for coordinating the electronic filing by candidates for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, the Senate, or the House of Delegates, and the general registrars shall be responsible for coordinating the electronic filing by candidates for constitutional offices, local governing bodies, and elected school boards.

Kannan SrinivasanDemocrat

Zoning; development and use of accessory dwelling units, delayed effective date.

Zoning; development and use of accessory dwelling units. Requires a locality to include in its zoning ordinances for single-family residential zoning districts accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, as defined in the bill, as a permitted accessory use. The bill requires a person to seek a permit for an ADU from the locality, requires the locality to issue such permit if the person meets certain requirements enumerated in the bill, and restricts the fee for such permit to $500 or less. The bill prohibits the locality from requiring (i) setbacks for the ADU that are greater than the setback required for the primary dwelling or the setback required for accessory structures on the residential lot, whichever is less; (ii) conditions for ADUs that are more restrictive than those for single-family dwellings within the same zoning area with regard to height, rear, or side setbacks, lot size or coverage, or building frontage; or (iii) consanguinity or affinity between the occupants of the ADU and the primary dwelling. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.

Kannan SrinivasanDemocrat

Alcoholic beverage control; banquet license, municipality or nonprofit organization.

Alcoholic beverage control; banquet license; municipality or nonprofit organization. Allows a manufacturer, bottler, broker, importer, or wholesaler to sponsor or provide support, including equipment, staff, financial, and other support, for a special event for which a municipality or nonprofit organization has been issued a banquet license when such special event is to be held on the grounds of a museum or a government-registered national, state, or local historic site at which the municipality or nonprofit organization is licensed to operate a gift shop, provided that any retail license issued to the premises has been deactivated by the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority for the duration of such special event. The bill limits such municipalities or nonprofit organizations to no more than eight banquet licenses for such special events per year. This bill is identical to HB 1343.

Richard H. StuartRepublican

Pharmaceutical Substance Manufacturing Grant Fund; created.

Pharmaceutical Substance Manufacturing Grant Fund. Establishes the Pharmaceutical Substance Manufacturing Grant Fund to provide grant installment awards between July 1, 2026, and July 1, 2045, in an amount not to exceed $34 million per fiscal year and in an aggregate amount not to exceed $191,255,000, to a qualified company that (i) engages in the manufacture of pharmaceutical substances, (ii) executes a memorandum of understanding with the Commonwealth, and (iii) is expected to make a capital investment of at least $4 billion and create and maintain at least 500 new full-time jobs. This bill is identical to HB 1076.

R. Creigh DeedsDemocrat

Public schools; school security and discipline, employment of school security officers, training.

Public schools; school security and discipline; employment of school security officers; training requirements. Amends the requirements for the training course of which an individual employed as a school security officer is required to submit proof of completion to the Department of Criminal Justice Services in order to carry a firearm in the performance of his duties by (i) eliminating the requirement that such training course include training in active shooter emergency response and, instead, requiring it to include training in critical incident preparedness and response and (ii) clarifying that such training course include training in behavioral threat assessment.

J.D. "Danny" DiggsRepublican

Misdemeanor proceedings; competency treatment.

Competency treatment in misdemeanor proceedings. Provides that in cases where the defendant has been charged with a misdemeanor offense, the court may (i) order inpatient or outpatient treatment or (ii) dismiss the charges. Where a defendant is found to be incompetent, the bill permits a court to (a) order that such defendant receive treatment to restore his competency on an outpatient basis in a local correctional facility or at a location determined by the appropriate community services board or behavioral health authority, (b) order that such defendant receive treatment to restore his competency on an inpatient basis at a hospital designated by the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services as appropriate for treatment of persons under criminal charge, (c) order that such defendant be evaluated to determine whether he meets the criteria for temporary detention, or (d) dismiss the misdemeanor charge and release such defendant. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.

Jen Kiggans - to resign 12/31Republican