Bills & Legislation

Children; use of communication systems to facilitate certain offenses, exception.

Use of communications systems to facilitate certain offenses involving children; exception. Provides that the crime of using communications systems to facilitate certain offenses involving children only applies when (i) the child involved is within the age ranges prescribed by law or (ii) the other person involved is a law-enforcement officer posing as a child within the age ranges prescribed by law while in the performance of his official duties.

Wendell S. WalkerRepublican

Consumer protection; automatic renewal or continuous service offers, disclosure and cancellation.

Consumer protection; automatic renewal or continuous service offers; disclosure and cancellation. Amends certain definitions related to automatic renewal or continuous service offers, including the definition of "clear and conspicuous" as it relates to seller disclosures and requirements to provide a simple cancellation mechanism. The bill replaces the term "supplier" in current provisions with "seller" and provides a definition for such term. The bill requires sellers to provide a cancellation mechanism that is at least as easy to use as the mechanism used to initiate the automatic renewal or continuous service offer, and includes additional requirements for providing such cancellation mechanism. Under the bill, certain businesses are no longer exempt from disclosure and cancellation requirements for automatic renewal or continuous service offers, and a violation of the provision constitutes a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. This bill is identical to SB 493.

Atoosa R. ReaserDemocrat

Sexual abuse during infancy or incapacity; accrual.

Sexual abuse during infancy or incapacity; accrual. Adds to the accrual provisions for personal injury actions resulting from sexual abuse during the infancy or incapacity of a person that accrual occurs when corroborative evidence, as defined in the bill, is discovered or by the exercise of due diligence reasonably should have been discovered.

Atoosa R. ReaserDemocrat

Affordable housing; development of an assisted living facility.

Affordable housing; assisted living facilities. Allows localities that have adopted an affordable housing program to require that, in an application for a special exception or special use permit, affordable rental units be included for any proposed development of an assisted living facility.

Atoosa R. ReaserDemocrat

Veterans & Defense Affairs, Sec. of; study to recommend plan to guide legislation rel. to veterans.

Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs; work group; report. Directs the Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs to convene a work group every four years to study and develop recommendations for implementing a statewide strategic plan to guide legislation and budget decisions relating to veterans in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the work group to submit a report to the Governor and the General Assembly by November 1, 2026, and every four years thereafter.

Atoosa R. ReaserDemocrat

Health Coordination Network Program; patient data collection.

Health Coordination Network Program; patient data collection. Renames the Smartchart Network Program as the Health Coordination Network Program and relocates it within the Code. The bill expands patient level data elements and requires the Commissioner of Health to enter into contract with an authorized nonprofit organization to create, operate, maintain, and administer the Health Coordination Network Program.

Atoosa R. ReaserDemocrat

School boards; excusing students from attendance at school, verified medical reasons.

School boards; excusing students from attendance at school; grounds; verified medical reasons. Requires each school board to excuse from attendance any pupil who, for any continuous period of time not exceeding 30 school days in length, is absent from school for medical reasons as verified in writing by the student's health care provider.

Kathy K.L. TranDemocrat

Incapacitated persons; finding of lack of capacity to understand act of voting.

Incapacitated persons; finding of lack of capacity to understand act of voting. Provides that a finding that a person is incapacitated in a proceeding for guardianship or conservatorship shall not be synonymous with a finding that such person lacks the capacity to understand the act of voting and therefore is not qualified to vote in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of Virginia. The bill provides that no person shall be deemed disqualified to vote due to a lack of capacity for the purposes of the Constitution of Virginia unless a court makes a specific finding by clear and convincing evidence that such person lacks the capacity to understand the act of voting. This bill is identical to SB 34.

Kathy K.L. TranDemocrat

Cats and dogs; Virginia Cooperative Extension Service to create a list of toxic houseplants.

Virginia Cooperative Extension Service; cats and dogs; list of toxic houseplants. Requires the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service to create a list of common houseplants that are toxic to cats and dogs no later than November 1, 2026, and to update such list at least every four years thereafter. The bill requires the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to make such list publicly available on its website.

Kathy K.L. TranDemocrat

Motor vehicle sales and use tax; exemption for electric vehicles, etc.

Motor vehicle sales and use tax; exemption. Exempts from the retail sales and use tax imposed on motor vehicles in Virginia, any electric vehicle, defined in the bill, being registered for the first time in the Commonwealth if the applicant holds a valid, assignable title or registration issued to him by another state or a branch of the United States Armed Forces and such applicant has owned the vehicle for less than 12 months and provides evidence of purchasing the vehicle while a resident of another state. Current law provides such first-time registration exemption only if the vehicle has been owned by the applicant for longer than 12 months or less than 12 months if such applicant provides evidence of such sales tax payment made to another state.

Kathy K.L. TranDemocrat

Schedule VI controlled substances; TPA-certified optometrists permitted to sell and dispense.

TPA-certified optometrists; sale and dispensation of Schedule VI controlled substances; requirements. Permits TPA-certified optometrists to sell and dispense Schedule VI controlled substances to their own patients provided that they obtain a license to do so from the Board of Pharmacy and comply with requirements related to dispensation, storage, packaging, labeling, recordkeeping, and reporting of the controlled substances sold and dispensed. The bill permits the Board of Optometry and the Board of Pharmacy to adopt regulations to implement the provisions of the bill and establish a limited-use license for TPA-certified optometrists pursuant to the bill. The bill exempts such initial regulations from the APA requirements. This bill is identical to SB 212.

Kathy K.L. TranDemocrat

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; rental payment methods, prohibited fees.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; rental payment methods; prohibited fees. Requires a landlord subject to the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act to accept payment of periodic rent and any security deposit by check and money order. The bill additionally prohibits such a landlord from requiring a tenant to pay any fee to submit periodic rent payments or other amounts due in excess of the actual out-of-pocket expenses charged to the landlord by a third party to process a payment. Finally, the bill prohibits a landlord from requiring a tenant to pay any fee for the maintenance or repair of any dwelling unit unless the repair is necessitated by the tenant's violation of the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. This bill is identical to SB 313.

Kathy K.L. TranDemocrat

Minimum wage; increases incrementally to $15.00 per hour by January 1, 2028.

Minimum wage. Increases the minimum wage incrementally to $15.00 per hour by January 1, 2028. The bill codifies the adjusted state hourly minimum wage of $12.77 per hour that is effective January 1, 2026, and increases the minimum wage to $13.75 per hour effective January 1, 2027, and to $15.00 per hour effective January 1, 2028. Effective January 1, 2029, and annually thereafter, the bill requires the minimum wage to be adjusted to reflect increases in the consumer price index. This bill is identical to SB 1.

Jeion A. WardDemocrat

Transportation network companies; establishes minimum compensation rates, civil penalty.

Kathy K.L. TranDemocrat

Utilities, certain; notice procedures for nonpayment.

Electric, natural gas, and water or wastewater utilities; disconnection procedures for nonpayment. Requires certain utilities, for the purposes of required notices related to disconnections for nonpayment, to provide such notices in an additional language for customers residing in a locality that is required to provide voting or election materials in such additional language. The bill prohibits certain utilities from disconnecting a residential customer without making reasonable efforts to offer bill payment assistance, arrange a payment plan, or provide information to the customer for other bill payment assistance or energy savings programs. The bill directs the Department of Elections to post on its website a list of the localities designated as a covered locality for the purposes of providing voting or election materials in an additional minority language by September 1, 2026, and to update such list as necessary.

Kathy K.L. TranDemocrat

Payment or delivery of small asset by affidavit; Office of the Executive Secretary to prepare form.

Payment or delivery of small asset by affidavit; Office of the Executive Secretary to prepare form. Provides that an affidavit presented by any person having possession of a small asset to the designated successor of a decedent shall be on a form prepared by the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia.

Jason S. BallardRepublican