Bills & Legislation

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 SB 6.

Marcia S. "Cia" PriceDemocrat

Voter registration; restoration of political rights upon release from incarceration.

Voter registration; restoration of political rights upon release from incarceration; certain adjudications. Provides that any person who loses his political rights as a result of a felony conviction shall be invested with those rights upon his release from incarceration and shall be entitled to register to vote. The bill directs the Department of Corrections and the State Board of Local and Regional Jails to transmit to the Department of Elections certain information for incarcerated persons with a pending date of release and requires the Department of Elections to process the information and make the necessary changes to the voter registration system to permit such persons to register to vote by the date of the person's scheduled date of release. On the date of an incarcerated person's release, the appropriate authority is required by the bill to provide a voter registration application, information on returning the form by mail or completing it by electronic means, and an official release document to serve as a safety net for voter registration. The bill also amends the language regarding adjudications of mental incompetency for purposes of being qualified to vote; a person adjudicated to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting shall not be entitled to vote until that capacity has been reestablished. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027, contingent upon the approval of the constitutional amendments at the November 3, 2026, general election. This bill is identical to SB 162.

Marcia S. "Cia" PriceDemocrat

National Popular Vote Compact; enters Virginia into an interstate compact.

Presidential electors; National Popular Vote Compact. Enters Virginia into an interstate compact known as the Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote. Article II of the Constitution of the United States gives the states exclusive and plenary authority to decide the manner of awarding their electoral votes. Under the compact, Virginia agrees to award its electoral votes to the presidential ticket that receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The compact goes into effect when states cumulatively possessing a majority of the electoral votes have joined the compact. A state may withdraw from the compact; however, a withdrawal occurring within six months of the end of a President's term shall not become effective until a President or Vice President has qualified to serve the next term. The bill also provides for the manner of appointing electors when such agreement does and does not govern the appointment of electors. This bill is identical to SB 322.

Marcia S. "Cia" PriceDemocrat

Voting Rights Act of Virginia; revises provisions.

Elections; Voting Rights Act of Virginia. Revises provisions of the Voting Rights Act of Virginia (the Act) by (i) clarifying the legal standards for evaluating claims of alleged voter suppression and vote dilution, (ii) providing guidance to the courts to follow when determining whether a violation of the prohibition against voter suppression or vote dilution has occurred, and (iii) outlining the factors that the courts are permitted to consider and those factors that the courts are prohibited from considering. The bill expands the class of persons who may initiate a cause of action for an alleged violation of the Act to include organizations whose membership includes members of a protected class, organizations whose mission would be frustrated by a violation of the Act, and organizations that would expend resources in order to fulfill their mission as a result of a violation of the Act. The population thresholds for a locality to be designated as a covered locality for purposes of minority language accessibility pursuant to the Act are also amended. Current law designates a locality as a covered locality if, in the locality, (a) more than five percent of the voting age population or (b) more than 10,000 of the voting age population are members of a single language minority and are unable to speak or understand English adequately enough to participate in the electoral process; the bill reduces those thresholds from five to three percent and from 10,000 to 5,000. The bill contains technical amendments for organizational purposes.

Marcia S. "Cia" PriceDemocrat

Election results; counting machine-readable ballots, processing absentee ballots.

Election results; counting machine-readable ballots; processing absentee ballots. Requires ballot scanner machines to be used to count machine-readable ballots and prohibits such ballots from being counted by hand unless (i) the ballot scanner machine is inoperative, (ii) there is no other available scanner, and (iii) it would be unreasonable to wait for (a) the inoperative ballot scanner to be made operative or (b) an operative ballot scanner machine to be delivered to the polling place rather than hand counting the ballots. "Ballot scanner machine" and "machine-readable ballot" are defined terms under current law. The bill also provides that if, in the processing and counting of provisional and absentee ballots, any machine-readable ballot is damaged or defective, a team of election officials representing both parties shall make a true duplicate copy of such damaged ballot as a substitute for such damaged ballot. This bill has a delayed effective date of September 1, 2026.

Marcia S. "Cia" PriceDemocrat

Virginia Gun Violence Prevention Center; work group to develop policy, etc., to establish.

Secretary of Public Safety; firearm violence. Directs the Secretary of Public Safety to convene a work group to develop policy and legislative recommendations to establish the Virginia Gun Violence Prevention Center. The bill allows the work group to (i) meet both in-person and virtually, (ii) have small group breakouts for the purpose of advancing work in a timely and efficient manner, and (iii) collaborate with experts and other representatives as needed. The bill requires the work group to report its findings and any legislative and policy recommendations to the General Assembly by December 15, 2026. This bill is identical to SB 364.

Marcia S. "Cia" PriceDemocrat

Dental assistants; supragingival scaling and coronal polishing, certification.

Dental assistants; additional treatments; certification. Permits any dental assistant I or dental assistant II with a minimum of 1,800 hours of clinical experience to obtain certification pursuant to the requirements of the bill to perform supragingival scaling and coronal polishing. This bill is identical to SB 178.

Marcia S. "Cia" PriceDemocrat

College student-athletes; biometric data, protections and limitations.

College student-athletes; biometric data; protections and limitations. Prohibits any private institution of higher education, associate-degree-granting public institution of higher education, or baccalaureate public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth from disclosing to any individual or entity outside of the institution any enrolled student-athlete's biometric data, as defined in the bill, without the prior written consent of the student-athlete. The bill also prohibits any individual or entity from making the possession, use, or ownership of or the rights to any student-athlete's biometric data a condition of any contract with the student-athlete for the use of the student-athlete's name, image, or likeness without the prior written consent of the student-athlete in a writing that is separate and apart from such contract.

Marcia S. "Cia" PriceDemocrat

Voter registration; list maintenance activities, cancellation procedures, required record matches.

Voter registration; list maintenance activities, cancellation procedures, required record matches. Requires certain, specified identification information to be included on the lists received by the Department of Elections (the Department) for list maintenance purposes and requires the Department, upon receiving any such list, to do an initial comparison of the information included on such list with the list of registered voters and to determine the confidence score for any match. The Department is required to transmit matches with a confidence score of at least 80 to the appropriate general registrars. The bill prohibits the use of voter data received from another state or jurisdiction or through a list comparison for list maintenance purposes when the data file does not include a unique identifier for each individual whose information is contained in the data file. The bill requires the Department to annually review all sources of data utilized for list maintenance activities for the purpose of determining the validity, completeness, accuracy, and reliability of the data received from each source, and to include the results of such review in its annual report to the House and Senate Committees on Privileges and Elections regarding its list maintenance activities. The bill provides that the Department of Elections may only use the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program (SAVE Program) operated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for the sole purpose of individually verifying that voters listed in the Virginia voter registration system are United States citizens. The Department of Elections is prohibited from (i) using information received from the SAVE Program as the sole reason for rejecting a registration application, (ii) uploading lists of registered voters to the SAVE Program for verifying their citizenship status in bulk, or (iii) transferring any information to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or any subdivision thereof beyond the minimum information necessary. The bill requires the general registrars to send notice prior to cancelling a voter's registration regardless of the reason for cancellation. Lastly, the bill clarifies that when a voter's registration is cancelled, a cancellation record must be created, and that such records are public in accordance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and the National Voter Registration Act. The bill includes numerous technical amendments for organizational purposes. Certain provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027. This bill incorporates HB 966.

Marcia S. "Cia" PriceDemocrat

Health records; disclosure of laboratory test results, waiting period.

Health records; disclosure of laboratory test results; waiting period. Requires health care entities to wait 72 hours before disclosing test results that could indicate malignancy or genetic markers as part of a patient's health records unless the disclosure of such test results is requested by the patient, is not possible due to the health care entity's electronic health records system, or such early disclosure is in the patient's best interest. The bill permits health care entities to disclose health records to an electronic health information exchange to comply with the federal 21st Century Cures Act.

Marcia S. "Cia" PriceDemocrat

Witness impeachment evidence designation; review process.

Witness impeachment evidence designation; review process. Provides a review process when the attorney for the Commonwealth designates a law-enforcement officer as a witness with a witness impeachment evidence designation within certain time frames specified in the bill. The bill defines "witness impeachment evidence designation" as a determination that is made by or a designation that is created by the attorney for the Commonwealth relating to a law-enforcement officer who has engaged in conduct that meets the requirements for disclosure in a criminal prosecution according to the Constitution of the United States for any criminal prosecution in which the officer is a participant. The bill prohibits a law-enforcement officer from being discharged, disciplined, or threatened with discharge or discipline solely due to the designation of such officer as a witness with a witness impeachment evidence designation.

Marcia S. "Cia" PriceDemocrat

Alcoholic beverage control; food-to-beverage ratio, report.

Alcoholic beverage control; food-to-beverage ratio; report. Reduces the current 45 percent food-to-beverage ratio for certain mixed beverage licensees. The bill requires that a mixed beverage restaurant, caterer's, or limited caterer's licensee meet or exceed the following: (i) for such licensees with monthly food sales averaging at least $48,000, the food-to-beverage ratio shall not apply; (ii) for such licensees with monthly food sales averaging at least $25,000 but less than $48,000, the food-to-beverage ratio shall meet or exceed 30 percent; and (iii) for such licensees with monthly food sales averaging at least $4,000, but less than $25,000, the food-to-beverage ratio shall meet or exceed 45 percent, except that for any licensee with monthly food sales averaging less than $25,000 with a seating capacity of less than 30 seats and an occupancy permit for less than 60 people total, the food-to-beverage ratio shall meet or exceed 30 percent. The bill also requires that restaurants have at least as many seats at tables as at counters. The bill requires the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to collect data regarding the compliance of mixed beverage licensees with the provisions of the bill and the impact of the change to the food-to-beverage ratio on the gross amount of food consumed on a licensee's premises. The bill requires the Authority to report such data to the Chairs of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services by November 1, 2027.

Elizabeth B. Bennett-ParkerDemocrat

Person in temporary detention process; alternative transportation provider.

Transportation of person in the temporary detention process. Provides that an alternative transportation provider shall be deemed to be able to provide transportation of a person in the temporary detention process in a safe manner if the alternative transportation provider is (i) an employee of, or the person providing services pursuant to a contract with, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services or (ii) an employee of a private or state hospital within the confines of the Commonwealth. The bill also provides further requirements for an alternative transportation provider to be deemed available to provide transportation for a minor in the temporary detention process in a safe manner. The bill also permits law-enforcement agencies or alternative transportation providers to transfer custody of a minor to a facility or location where the minor is awaiting transport if such facility or location (i) agrees to accept custody of the minor and (ii) is capable of providing the level of security necessary to protect the minor and others from harm. Finally, the bill provides restrictions on the use of restraint related to the transportation of a minor for the purposes outlined in the bill.The provisions of this bill are identical to relevant provisions of SB 75.

Marcia S. "Cia" PriceDemocrat

Retail Sales and Use Tax; taxation on various services, includes digital personal property.

Taxation in the Commonwealth. Levies the retail sales and use tax on the following services: admissions; charges for recreation, fitness, or sports facilities; nonmedical personal services or counseling; dry cleaning and laundry services; companion animal care; residential home repair or maintenance, landscaping, or cleaning services when paid for directly by a resident or homeowner; vehicle and engine repair; repairs or alterations to tangible personal property; storage of tangible personal property; delivery or shipping services; travel, event, and aesthetic planning services; and digital services. Digital services are defined in the bill as the following: software application services, computer-related services, website hosting and design, data storage, and digital subscription services. The services taxed under the bill include any transaction for digital services where the purchaser or consumer of the service is a business but do not include any service otherwise exempt under law. The bill also imposes the retail sales and use tax on digital personal property, defined in the bill as a digital product delivered electronically that the purchaser owns or has the ability to continually access without having to pay an additional subscription or usage fee to the seller after paying the initial purchase price. Revenues generated by the taxes levied on services and digital personal property shall be allocated in the same manner as other sales and use taxes; however, revenues from the state portion of the sales and use tax that would be allocated to the general fund shall instead be allocated as follows: first, (i) revenue generated by the imposition of such tax on delivery services in the Northern Virginia Transportation District shall be distributed to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and (ii) all other revenues generated by the imposition of such tax on delivery services shall be distributed to the Commonwealth Transportation Fund. Of the remaining revenues, (a) 60 percent shall be distributed to localities on the basis of school-age population and (b) 40 percent shall be distributed to localities on the basis of the high-need student population in the locality. The bill clarifies that a high-need student population includes students who are (1) automatically certified for free school meals because of participation in social services programs, (2) participants in a program of special education, or (3) English language learners. The bill provides certain exemptions to the sales and use tax on services, including health care services that must be performed by a person licensed or certified by the Department of Health Professions, veterinary services, professional services, internet access services, and services provided by a person who does not receive more than $2,500 per year in gross receipts for performance of such services. The bill exempts services purchased by a nonprofit organization and services purchased by a homeowners' association or by a landlord for the benefit of his tenant. The bill also repeals the service exemptions currently provided for the sale of custom programs and modification of prewritten programs. Finally, the bill exempts food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products from all state, local, and regional sales taxes on and after July 1, 2026. Under current law, food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products are subject only to the one percent local option sales tax.

Vivian E. WattsDemocrat

Taxation provisions; increases standard deduction.

Taxation provisions. Increases the standard deduction to $10,000 for single individuals, $15,000 for individuals eligible to claim head of household for federal tax purposes, and $20,000 for married individuals beginning in taxable year 2027 and indexes such deduction amount for inflation beginning in taxable year 2028. The bill also removes the aggregate amount of housing opportunity tax credits that may be claimed for qualified projects across all calendar years and exempts food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products from the local sales tax. The bill establishes two new tax brackets beginning on and after January 1, 2027, that tax income in excess of $600,000 but not in excess of $1,000,000 at a rate of eight percent and income in excess of $1,000,000 at a rate of 10 percent. Finally, the bill provides that 50 percent of revenues generated by the new tax brackets will be dedicated to localities for maintenance, operation, capital outlays, debt and interest payments, or other expenses incurred in the operation of public schools.

Vivian E. WattsDemocrat

Photo speed monitoring devices; placement and operation.

Photo speed monitoring devices; placement and operation. Authorizes the governing body of any locality to provide by ordinance for the placement and operation of a photo speed monitoring device by a law-enforcement agency in a safety red zone, defined in the bill, for the purpose of recording vehicle speed violations in such safety red zone. The bill directs the Supreme Court of Virginia to develop a summons for vehicle speed violations captured by photo speed monitoring devices and requires summonses issued for such vehicle speed violations to be such summons. The bill makes various changes to the requirements for the use of photo speed monitoring devices, including the use of funds from collected civil penalties, signage, data retention and storage, photo speed monitoring device calibration, making certain information available to the public, requirements for private vendors, and reporting. The bill establishes civil penalties for violations of requirements and provides that for any summons issued, failure to comply with the requirements for the operation of photo speed monitoring devices renders such summons invalid.The bill also limits the use of photo speed monitoring devices in highway work zones to when workers are present, as defined in the bill, and provides that a certificate sworn to or affirmed by a law-enforcement officer or a retired sworn law-enforcement officer is not prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein for a photo speed monitoring device placed in a highway work zone unless the operator of the photo speed monitoring device provides a sworn certification verifying that workers were present at the time of the vehicle speed violation.The bill directs the Commissioner of Highways to develop criteria for designating a highway segment as a high-risk pedestrian corridor for purposes of identifying safety red zones.The bill contains delayed effective dates for certain provisions.

Holly M. SeiboldDemocrat

Postsecondary Education Rehabilitation Transition Program; plan for expansion of Program.

Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services; Department of Education; Postsecondary Education Rehabilitation Transition Program. Directs the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, in collaboration with the Department of Education, to develop a plan to expand the Postsecondary Education Rehabilitation Transition (PERT) Program to increase the number of students assisted in the transition from high school to postsecondary programs. The bill requires such plan to equip local community services boards with the resources to assist an increased number of students in such transition, publish online resources about the transition process, and develop an online dashboard to provide information about possible postsecondary education programs.

Holly M. SeiboldDemocrat

Long-term care insurance; premium rate increases, regulations.

Long-term care insurance; premium rate increases; regulations. Requires regulations promulgated by the State Corporation Commission for long-term care insurance rates to (i) provide a cap on premium rate schedule increases; (ii) require any capped premium rate schedule increase to be spread by the insurer over a period of not less than five years, during which time no further rate schedule increases may be requested; and (iii) prohibit additional premium rate schedule increases after prior cumulative rate schedule increases amount to 250 percent of the original premium. Under the bill, no additional rate increases shall be approved for a long-term care insurance policy that has already reached or surpassed the limit of 250 percent of its original premium. The bill directs the Commission to adopt regulations to implement the provisions of this act, including by establishing a regulatory cap on premium rate schedule increase for long-term care insurance policies that is no more than 30 percent of the maximum amount of premium rate schedule increase permitted under current regulations, as calculated on the request date of the premium rate increase.

Holly M. SeiboldDemocrat

Menstrual products ingredient labeling; restriction of substances, delayed effective date.

Menstrual supplies ingredient labeling; restriction of substances; civil penalty. Requires that each package or box containing menstrual supplies, as defined in the bill, contain a label of all ingredients that are included within such products when sold within the Commonwealth. Such label shall be displayed by the manufacturer in a manner that is visible and easy to understand for the consumer. The bill requires any manufacturer to make changes to the label reflecting any changes of ingredients within 18 months of any such changes. The bill also requires the manufacturer to post the required label information on its website. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.

Holly M. SeiboldDemocrat

Financial institutions; out-of-state credit unions.

Financial institutions; out-of-state credit unions. Clarifies that the National Credit Union Administration is not required to designate an agent for service of process and agree that in the absence of such designation service may be upon the clerk of the State Corporation Commission. Current law requires out-of-state credit unions conducting business in the Commonwealth to have any insurer of shares designate such an agent and agree to such service in the absence of such a designation.

Alfonso H. LopezDemocrat

Electric utilities; performance-based regulatory framework.

Electric utilities; performance-based regulation; work group; report. Directs the State Corporation Commission to independently consider whether elements of an effective performance-based regulatory framework to evaluate and potentially improve electric utility performance and cost control incentives in the Commonwealth are in the public interest and to develop related legislative recommendations. The bill requires the Commission to include its findings and recommendations in a report required by existing law by July 1, 2027. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation. This bill is identical to SB 251.

Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan, Jr.Democrat

Persons other than ministers who may perform rites of marriage; clerk may issue order.

Persons other than ministers who may perform rites of marriage; clerk; issuance of order; bond requirement. Provides that a clerk of a circuit court may issue an order authorizing one or more persons to celebrate the rites of marriage in the Commonwealth. Under current law, only a circuit court judge may issue such an order. The bill further makes discretionary the entrance into a bond in the penalty of $500 prior to performing the rites of marriage for a person authorized to celebrate the rites of marriage; under current law, such entry is mandatory. Finally, the bill civilly immunizes the clerk of any circuit court from a cause of action arising from the issuance or rescinding of such order, absent gross negligence or willful misconduct.

Alfonso H. LopezDemocrat

Energy load flexibility protocols; SCC et al., to evaluate high electric demand customers, report.

State Corporation Commission; work group; energy load flexibility protocols; high electric demand customers; report. Directs the State Corporation Commission to convene a work group to evaluate and assess energy load flexibility protocols for high electric demand customers, including any commercial or industrial customer located in the Commonwealth with an electricity demand of greater than 50 megawatts. In conducting its assessment, the work group shall consider factors as outlined in the bill, provide an analysis of the current regulatory framework in the Commonwealth regarding high electric demand customers, and develop recommendations for improving load flexibility protocols and demand response management programs by electric utilities or the regional transmission entity. The work group shall include members as outlined in the bill and shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations by November 1, 2026. This bill is a recommendation of the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation.

Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan, Jr.Democrat

Towing advisory boards; changes membership.

Towing advisory boards; membership. Changes the membership of a towing advisory board appointed by a local governing body to an equal number of representatives of local law-enforcement agencies, representatives of licensed towing and recovery operators, and members of the general public, specifies that such membership requirements apply to voting members, and provides that vacancies of members of the general public shall not prevent the advisory board from meeting or taking any authorized action. Under current law, the membership of such towing advisory boards consists of an equal number of representatives of local law-enforcement agencies and representatives of licensed towing and recovery operators and one member of the general public. The bill removes the requirement for the chairmanship of a towing advisory board to rotate between certain representatives and the one year term limit for such chairmanship.

Alfonso H. LopezDemocrat

Elections; certain conduct prohibited at polling places applicable to locations for absentee voting.

Elections administration; certain activities or conduct prohibited at polling places applicable to locations for absentee voting in person; prohibited possession of firearm within 100 feet of certain locations. Clarifies that the provisions of law prohibiting certain activities or conduct in and around a polling place shall also apply to locations where absentee voting in person is available. The bill also prohibits any person, with certain exceptions, from (i) knowingly carrying any firearm and (ii) knowingly doing so within 100 feet of the entrance of a polling place, the building used by the local electoral board to meet to ascertain election results, the building used to conduct a recount of an election, and other additional locations used for voting-related and elections-related activities. Under current law, this prohibition applies within 40 feet of such entrances.

Irene ShinDemocrat

Comprehensive statewide housing needs assessment; review of certain parcels.

Department of Housing and Community Development; powers and duties of Director; comprehensive statewide housing needs assessment; review of certain parcels. Requires the Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development to conduct a review of parcels owned by certain partnerships, corporations, or real estate investment trusts as part of the comprehensive statewide housing needs assessment conducted by the Department at least every five years.

Irene ShinDemocrat

Limited-duration licenses, driver privilege cards, and permits; validity periods for documents.

Limited-duration licenses, driver privilege cards and permits, and identification privilege cards; expiration. Extends the validity of limited-duration licenses, driver privilege cards and permits, and identification privilege cards, other than REAL ID credentials and commercial driver's licenses and permits, to a period of time consistent with the validity of driver's licenses, which, under current law, is a period not to exceed eight years or, for a person age 75 or older, a period not to exceed five years, and permits and special identification cards. The bill aligns requirements for eligibility for limited-duration commercial driver's licenses and permits and REAL ID-compliant limited-duration commercial driver's licenses with federal requirements and clarifies the validity periods for such documents. The bill directs the Department of Motor Vehicles to implement the extended validity periods for limited-duration licenses, driver privilege cards, or permits upon renewal or reissuance. This bill is identical to SB 446.

Alfonso H. LopezDemocrat

Public Instruction, Superintendent of; reverse certain recent actions, etc.

Superintendent of Public Instruction; reverse certain recent actions and restore certain rescinded resources. Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to reverse all actions previously taken by the Superintendent of Public Instruction on or after January 15, 2022, pursuant to the then-current Governor's Executive Order One of January 15, 2022, to rescind certain policies, programs, and resources that promoted cultural competency, encouraged inclusion and belonging, educated about the history of slavery and the civil rights movement, and continued work to combat racism in the Commonwealth and to restore all such policies, programs, and resources, including the Department of Education's EdEquityVA website and all included and associated resources and certain other enumerated resources, including certain Superintendent's memos.

Alfonso H. LopezDemocrat

Local Environmental Impact Fund; created.

Local Environmental Impact Fund. Allows a locality to create a permanent and perpetual fund to be known as the Local Environmental Impact Fund. The bill provides that the Fund shall consist exclusively of appropriated local moneys and any gifts, donations, grants, bequests, and other funds received on its behalf, and that the Fund is to be created for the purpose of granting funds to residents or locally owned businesses for the mitigation of environmental impacts. Such grants from the Fund shall be used only for the purchase of energy efficient (i) lawn care and landscaping equipment; (ii) home appliances; (iii) heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment; or (iv) micromobility devices. The bill requires the Fund to be administered and managed by the locality.

Alfonso H. LopezDemocrat

Local taxation; tax extension for federal government shutdown.

Local taxation; extension for federal government shutdown. Allows a local governing body to provide an extension on personal property taxes owed by federal employees who are furloughed due to a federal government shutdown and essential federal employees who continue to work during such shutdown but do not receive immediate payment for such work as a result of such shutdown. The bill states that any such extension granted shall end and the taxes shall be due no later than 90 days following the reopening of the federal government.

Alfonso H. LopezDemocrat

Concealed handgun permit; demonstrated competence, effective clause.

Concealed handgun permit; demonstrated competence. Adds a handgun shooting class or course that teaches (i) efficient, effective, and responsible use of a concealed handgun for self-defense outside of the home; (ii) state laws pertaining to handguns; and (iii) proper handgun storage techniques to those programs that satisfy the demonstration of competence requirement for the issuance of a Virginia resident or nonresident concealed handgun permit. The bill removes the requirement that such a training course must be conducted by the National Rifle Association or the United States Concealed Carry Association. The provisions of the bill do not become effective unless reenacted by the 2027 Session of the General Assembly.

Alfonso H. LopezDemocrat

Compounding pharmacies; use of bulk drug substances, recordkeeping.

Board of Pharmacy; compounding pharmacies; use of bulk drug substances; recordkeeping. Establishes additional requirements for when pharmacists may use bulk drug substances in compounding and specifies prohibitions on pharmacist use of (i) bulk drug substances that were withdrawn or removed from the market for reasons of safety and effectiveness or were covered by an investigational new drug application and not approved and (ii) compounded drug products that are essentially a copy of commercially available drug products. The bill permits the Board of Pharmacy to request records of all compounded drug products and requires pharmacists to furnish such records within 48 hours of such request or within a reasonable time as determined by the Board. The bill also permits the Board of Pharmacy to submit any information related to investigations, disciplinary proceedings, or inspection of a licensee to the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.

Rodney T. WillettDemocrat

Virginia Clean Energy Research and Support Center; established, report.

Virginia Clean Energy Research and Support Center; established. Establishes the Virginia Clean Energy Research and Support Center (the Center) as an interdisciplinary study, research, and informational resource for individuals and businesses in the Commonwealth. The Center is governed by a board of directors that includes representatives from several colleges and universities in the Commonwealth, the Department of Energy, the Department of Environmental Quality, and the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation. The board is directed to establish an advisory council to provide expertise and guidance related to the functions and duties of the Center. Functions and duties of the Center include providing technical assistance in matters related to energy technologies, siting, permitting, project design, interconnection, electric infrastructure, electric utilities, ratepayer proceedings, and environmental impacts of energy projects. Under the bill, the Center shall conduct an annual evaluation and collaborate with state agencies and institutions of higher education to provide technical assistance, research, or support in matters related to siting and permitting, programs to improve electric grid reliability, energy programs established at a participating institution of higher education, and administration and implementation of the Virginia Energy Plan. The bill also requires the Center to submit an annual report to the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation summarizing its research activities and any funding received by the Center by November 1 of each year. This bill is a recommendation of the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation.

Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan, Jr.Democrat

Retail Sales and Use Tax; impose firearm and ammunition tax.

Firearm and ammunition tax. Imposes a firearm and ammunition tax equal to 11 percent of the gross receipts from the retail sale of any firearm or ammunition by a dealer in firearms, firearms manufacturer, or ammunition vendor, as such terms are defined in the bill. The bill provides that proceeds from such tax shall be distributed to the Virginia Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention Fund.

Alfonso H. LopezDemocrat

Electric utilities; licensed retail suppliers, renewable portfolio standard requirements.

Electric utilities; licensed retail suppliers; notice period for return to service. Permits an individual nonresidential retail customer of electric energy of Appalachian Power or Dominion Energy Virginia whose noncoincident peak demand exceeded five megawatts during the most recent calendar year to purchase electric energy from a licensed supplier within the Commonwealth. Currently, such a customer may only purchase electric energy from a licensed supplier if the customer's peak demand did not exceed one percent of the incumbent electric utility's peak load during the most recent calendar year unless the customer had a noncoincident peak demand of more than 90 megawatts. The bill changes from five years to eighteen months the advance notice period required for such a customer to return to service by an incumbent electric utility. This bill is identical to SB 818.

Alfonso H. LopezDemocrat

County manager plan of government; affordable dwelling unit ordinance.

County manager plan of government; affordable dwelling unit ordinance. Increases local authority over affordable housing for counties that have adopted the county manager plan of government (Arlington County) by (i) potentially increasing the cash contribution to the county's affordable housing fund by developers in lieu of providing affordable dwelling units and (ii) providing that applications for a special exception approval for a change of use of an existing building from commercial to residential may be subject to an affordable housing requirement.

Alfonso H. LopezDemocrat

Public Instruction, Super. of; state program to support improvement of low-performing schools.

Board of Education and Superintendent of Public Instruction; state program to support the improvement of low-performing schools. Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to consistently and effectively implement a state program to support the improvement of low-performing schools based on school accountability standards established by the Board of Education within the standards of accreditation. The bill requires the Superintendent to ensure that the Department of Education is appropriately organized and employs qualified staff to effectively provide this support to such low-performing schools. The bill requires the Board to ensure that the Superintendent and the Department administer an effective school improvement program to support such low-performing schools. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission.

Sam RasoulDemocrat

Virginia Human Rights Act; unlawful discriminatory practices, civil actions, statute of limitations.

Virginia Human Rights Act; unlawful discriminatory practices; civil actions; statute of limitations. Provides that a complaint alleging discrimination in employment in violation of the Virginia Human Rights Act shall be filed no later than two years from the day upon which the alleged discriminatory practice occurred. Under current law, the filing requirement is no later than 300 days. The bill further provides that if 180 days have passed since a complaint was filed in a local human rights commission, an aggrieved person may commence a timely civil action in an appropriate general district or circuit court. Under current law, such allowance is limited to filings in the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Law.

Alfonso H. LopezDemocrat

Outdoor shooting of firearm on property without reasonable care; prohibition, penalty.

Prohibition on outdoor shooting of firearm on property without reasonable care; penalty. Permits localities to adopt an ordinance prohibiting outdoor shooting of a firearm unless the discharge of such firearm is conducted (i) on land of at least five acres and (ii) with reasonable care, described in the bill, to prevent a projectile from crossing the bounds of the land. The bill permits such an ordinance to create a rebuttable presumption that the discharge of firearms across or over the bounds of a property without written permission of that property owner was without reasonable care. The bill requires that a violation of such an ordinance not exceed a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Alfonso H. LopezDemocrat

Uniform Power of Attorney Act; acknowledged power of attorney, definition.

Uniform Power of Attorney Act; acknowledged power of attorney; definition. Amends the definition of "acknowledged" as it relates to a power of attorney under the Uniform Power of Attorney Act to mean purportedly verified before a notary public or other individual authorized to take acknowledgements. Under current law, "acknowledged" as it relates to a power of attorney under the Act means verified before a notary public or other individual authorized to take acknowledgements. The bill further eliminates the provisions of the Act prohibiting a person relying in good faith upon an acknowledged power of attorney that is invalid when such power of attorney contains a forged signature of a principal.

Marcus B. SimonDemocrat

Recovery residences; regulations.

Recovery residences; regulations. Establishes certain requirements for recovery residences and directs the State Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (the Board) to promulgate regulations to establish minimum certification standards for recovery residences. The bill also requires that the regulations promulgated by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (the Department) related to the certification of recovery residences include provisions that no recovery residence, or operator, employee, or agent of a recovery residence, may require a resident to participate in medical or psychological services, including clinical substance use treatment, that such recovery residence receives financial benefit from, either directly or indirectly, as a condition of entering or continuing residence at such recovery residence. The bill requires the Department to monitor credentialing agencies providing credentials to recovery residences to ensure criteria related to certification comply with regulations and specifies that no such credentialing agency shall provide credentials to a recovery residence that is owned or operated by an individual who is employed by or in a position of authority at such credentialing agency, or an immediate family member of any such individual. The bill also requires that referrals to recovery residences made by the Department, any agency of the Commonwealth, or by a court may only be made to recovery residences that are certified. This bill is identical to SB 270.

Marcus B. SimonDemocrat

General Assembly; recodification of Title 30, effective clause for certain enactments.

Revision of Title 30. Creates proposed Title 30.1 (General Assembly) as a revision of existing Title 30 (General Assembly). Proposed Title 30.1 consists of 16 chapters divided into three subtitles: Subtitle I (The General Assembly and Members Thereof), Subtitle II (The Legislative Branch of Government), and Subtitle III (Legislative Commissions, Councils, Committees, and Other Legislative Entities). The bill organizes the laws in a more logical manner, removes obsolete and duplicative provisions, and improves the structure and clarity of statutes. The provisions of the bill do not become effective unless reenacted by the 2027 Session of the General Assembly. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Virginia Code Commission.

Marcus B. SimonDemocrat

Penalties for failure to appear; definition, contempt.

Penalties for failure to appear; contempt. Provides that a court shall consider certain mitigating factors to determine whether the failure of any person to appear before any court or judicial officer as required was willful. Under current law, no mitigating factors are specified for a court or judicial officer to consider in determining whether a person willfully failed to appear. This bill is identical to SB 283.

Marcus B. SimonDemocrat

Virginia Clean Energy and Battery Storage Promotion Program; established, report.

Virginia Clean Energy and Battery Storage Promotion Program established; report. Directs the Director of the Department of Energy to establish the Virginia Clean Energy and Battery Storage Promotion Program. The purpose of the Program is to (i) promote the adoption, deployment, and understanding of solar energy and battery storage technologies; (ii) support market development, public information, and workforce development initiatives; and (iii) conduct research and technical studies on cost reduction, deployment barriers, and grid integration. The bill establishes the Virginia Clean Energy and Battery Storage Promotion Board as a policy board in the executive branch of state government to coordinate with the Director to establish a program for the promotion, research, and market development of clean energy and battery storage. Additionally, the bill establishes the Virginia Clean Energy and Battery Storage Promotion Fund to fund the administration and implementation of the Program. The bill requires the developer of a solar energy project or an energy storage system to pay a one-time fee of $0.02 per watt of generation or storage capacity to the Fund. The fee is assessed by the Department of Energy.

Alfonso H. LopezDemocrat

PFAS monitoring; DEQ to require for industrial wastewater source, publicly owned treatment works.

Department of Environmental Quality; industrial wastewater; publicly owned treatment works; PFAS monitoring. Directs every publicly owned treatment works (POTW) to require certain new or industrial users of such POTW to perform and report to such POTW no later than 30 days after receipt from a laboratory the results as received of quarterly discharge monitoring for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) for an initial characterization period of one year, provided, however, that such POTW may discontinue remaining quarterly monitoring by an industrial user with proper monitoring results that are below the method detection level for the first two quarters. If an industrial user detects PFAS in any amount above the detection method limit in its initial year of quarterly monitoring, the bill requires such industrial user to continue to perform and report to the POTW no later than 30 days after receipt from the laboratory the results as received of quarterly discharge monitoring for PFAS. The bill requires a POTW that receives PFAS monitoring results to report such results to the Department of Environmental Quality on a quarterly basis. Finally, the bill directs any POTW to notify an owner or operator of an industrial user subject to the monitoring requirements of the bill of the requirement to submit the initial quarterly monitoring results for PFAS within 30 days of the effective date of the bill. This bill is identical to SB 138.

Nadarius E. ClarkDemocrat

Suffolk, City of; amending charter, clarifying membership of city council.

Charter; City of Suffolk. Corrects an error in the existing charter of the City of Suffolk to clarify that the city council shall consist of eight members to reflect the addition of the directly elected mayor to the city council. The bill also removes obsolete language to clarify the appointment process and responsibilities of the city clerk. Finally, the bill updates language to reflect the city manager's direct responsibility for the department directors, consistent with the City of Suffolk's established management and reporting structure. This bill is identical to SB 303.

Nadarius E. ClarkDemocrat

Custody and visitation of a child; possession or consumption of authorized substances.

Custody and visitation; possession or consumption of authorized substances. Provides that no person shall be denied custody or visitation of a child, based only on the fact that the child's parent or other person responsible for his care, or the person petitioning for custody or visitation of the child, possessed or consumed legally authorized substances. The bill directs the Board of Social Services to amend its regulations, guidance documents, and other instructional materials to ensure that such regulations, documents, and materials comply with, and that investigations and family assessments are conducted by local departments of social services in accordance with, the provisions of the bill.

Nadarius E. ClarkDemocrat

Workplace violence; policy required for certain employers, civil penalty, delayed effective date.

Workplace violence policy required for certain employers; civil penalty. Requires any employer of 100 or more employees to develop, implement, and maintain a workplace violence policy no later than January 1, 2027. The bill includes requirements for such a policy, such as procedures and methods for employee reporting of incidents and post-incident investigations. Employers subject to the bill are required to maintain documentation of workplace violence incidents for not less than five years. An employer that violates the provisions of the bill shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 per violation. The bill prohibits retaliation from an employer on the basis of reporting a workplace violence incident and provides that any employee who makes a report of workplace violence shall be immune from civil liability. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.

Nadarius E. ClarkDemocrat