Bills & Legislation

Department of Medical Assistance Services; state plan for medical assistance services; telemedicine services.

Department of Medical Assistance Services; state plan for medical assistance services; telemedicine services. Changes the definition of "telemedicine services" as it is used in the state plan for medical assistance services to include two-way, real-time, audio-only communication technology for any telehealth service furnished to a patient in his home.

Nadarius E. ClarkDemocrat

Kindness Day; designating as April 6, 2025, and each succeeding year thereafter.

Kindness Day. Designates April 6, in 2025 and in each succeeding year, as Kindness Day in Virginia.

W. Chad GreenRepublican

Higher educational institutions, public; JLARC to study cost efficiency.

Study; JLARC; cost efficiency of public institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to study the cost efficiency of public institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth and to identify opportunities to reduce the cost of public higher education in the Commonwealth. In conducting this study, JLARC is directed to examine the full range of costs for in-state tuition and room and board at each public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth, to compare and consider the amount of funding appropriated by the state to each public institution of higher education since 2012, and to provide a comprehensive update on the status of the implementation of its recommendations pursuant to House Joint Resolution 108 (2012). The resolution requires JLARC to complete its meetings for the first year by November 30, 2025, and for the second year by November 30, 2026, and requires the chairman to submit to the Division of Legislative Automated Systems an executive summary of its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the next Regular Session of the General Assembly for each year.

JJ SinghDemocrat

Rural Affairs, Secretariat of; JLARC to study need for and feasibility of creating position.

Study; JLARC; creation of Secretariat of Rural Affairs; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to study the need for and feasibility of creating a Secretariat of Rural Affairs in the Commonwealth.

Israel D. O'QuinnRepublican

Washington County; DCR to study feasibility of establishing a state park in Holston River watershed.

Study; Department of Conservation and Recreation; state park in Washington County; report. Requests the Department of Conservation and Recreation to study the feasibility of establishing a state park in Washington County at the Mendota Trail and Abrams Falls located within the Holston River watershed.

Israel D. O'QuinnRepublican

Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day; designating as April 24, 2025, & each succeeding year thereafter.

Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. Designates April 24, in 2025 and in each succeeding year, as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day in Virginia.

Chris ObenshainRepublican

Hybrid and electric trucks; Department of Transportation to study options for taxation.

Study; Department of Transportation; taxation of hybrid and electric trucks; report. Requests the Department of Transportation to study options for taxation of hybrid and electric trucks to account for the shortfall in gas and diesel tax revenues that will result from the use of such vehicles.

Terry L. AustinRepublican

Affordable housing; study on tax policies enacted by the Commonwealth & political subdivisions.

Study; tax policies enacted by the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions concerning affordable housing; report. Directs the Virginia Housing Commission to study the tax policies enacted by the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions concerning affordable housing and submit its report by the first day of the 2026 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

Robert D. Orrock, Sr.Republican

High school graduation; requires passing score on select questions from U.S. Naturalization, etc.

High school graduation requirements; passing score on select questions from U.S. Naturalization Test. Requires the Board of Education, in establishing high school graduation requirements, to require, except in the case of a high school student whose individualized education program indicates otherwise, each high school student to take and correctly answer at least 70 percent of the questions on a test composed of at least 25 but not more than 50 of the questions on the civics portion of the U.S. Naturalization Test in order to graduate high school with a standard or advanced studies diploma, provided that such student may take such test at any time during grades nine through 12 and as many times during such period as necessary to achieve the minimum 70 percent passing score.

R. Lee WareRepublican

Taxation; rate of interest.

Taxation; rate of interest. Provides that (i) the rate of interest on omitted taxes and assessments is equal to the Underpayment Rate established by the Internal Revenue Code and (ii) the rate of interest on refunds is equal to the Overpayment Rate for noncorporate taxpayers established by the Internal Revenue Code. Current law provides that (a) the rate of interest on omitted taxes and assessments is equal to the Underpayment Rate plus two percent and (b) the rate of interest on refunds is equal to the Overpayment Rate for noncorporate taxpayers plus two percent.

Joseph P. McNamaraRepublican

Disaster Assistance Fund; established.

Disaster Assistance Fund; established. Establishes the Disaster Assistance Fund for the purpose of addressing life, safety, and housing costs related to a disaster that are not covered by any form of federal assistance, private donations, or insurance. Expenditures and disbursements from the Fund require authorization by the General Assembly. In addition to all other appropriations to the Fund, the bill also directs proceeds generated from the Commonwealth's participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative auction that occurred in December 2023 and deposited into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Fund with the Department of Environmental Quality and all interest accrued to such fund.

Israel D. O'QuinnRepublican

Discretionary sentencing guideline midpoints; violent felony offenses.

Discretionary sentencing guideline midpoints; violent felony offenses. Adds to and removes certain felony offenses from the list of violent felony offenses for discretionary sentencing guideline midpoints. Offenders with prior convictions for violent felony offenses receive "enhancements" on the guidelines that increase the recommended sentences for those offenders. The bill contains technical amendments.

Mike A. CherryRepublican

Line of Duty Act & Va. Law Officers' Retirement Sys.; enhanced benefits for certain fire personnel.

Line of Duty Act; Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System; enhanced benefits for certain fire personnel. Adds the State Fire Marshal and personnel of the Virginia Department of Fire Programs who, as a regular component of their official duties, are exposed to hazards or threats to their life and health to the lists of those eligible for benefits under the Line of Duty Act and for membership in the Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System.

Israel D. O'QuinnRepublican

Stalking; penalty.

Stalking; penalty. Clarifies that the term "electronically transmitted communication" as used in the offense of stalking includes the use or monitoring of location services through an application or a device to remotely determine or track the position and movement of another person, regardless if such person has previously given consent for the accused to use or monitor such location services. The bill contains technical amendments.

Delores OatesRepublican

Electronic tracking device; unauthorized use, penalties.

Unauthorized use of electronic tracking device; penalties. Creates a Class 6 felony for any person who installs or places an electronic tracking device through intentionally deceptive means and without consent, or causes an electronic tracking device to be installed or placed through intentionally deceptive means and without consent, and uses such device to track the location of any person protected by a protective order issued pursuant to relevant law. The bill also states that any person who consents to the installation or placement of an electronic tracking device may withdraw such consent at any time, and such withdrawal shall allow prosecution.

Delores OatesRepublican

Consumer Counsel, Division of; expands duties, artificial intelligence fraud and abuse.

Division of Consumer Counsel; duties; artificial intelligence fraud and abuse. Expands the duties of the Division of Consumer Counsel to include establishing and administering programs to address artificial intelligence fraud and abuse. The bill provides that such programs would include establishing a statewide fraud and abuse alert system to be administered by the Division.

Jackie H. GlassDemocrat

Tangible personal property tax; classification for rate purposes, etc.

Tangible personal property tax; classification for rate purposes; boats and watercraft powered by green technology; registration and titling. Authorizes localities to classify for tangible personal property tax rate purposes boats or watercraft weighing less than five tons and any accompanying trailers, not used solely for business purposes and powered exclusively by green technology, defined in the bill. Localities would have the option to assign a rate of tax or rate of assessment to this class different from the rate applicable to the general class of tangible personal property. The bill also exempts such boats or watercraft and any accompanying trailers powered exclusively by green technology from titling and registration requirements, including fees, required under current law.

Timothy P. GriffinRepublican

Right to farm; minimum area requirements, animal husbandry practices.

Right to farm; minimum area requirements; animal husbandry practices. Changes the standards under the Right to Farm Act allowing a locality to adopt minimum area requirements for land on which any agriculture activity occurs by restricting a locality from adopting minimum area requirements for agricultural operations involving an animal inconsistent with and more restrictive than standard animal husbandry practices.

Phillip A. ScottRepublican

Vehicle emissions testing equipment; tax credit for certain vehicles and refueling property.

Tax credit for vehicle emissions testing equipment; certain vehicles and refueling property. Allows a tax credit equal to 10 percent of the purchase price of a vehicle with an internal combustion engine that is principally garaged in Virginia to a corporation, individual, or public service corporation. Current law allows such a credit only for certain clean-fuel vehicles. The provisions of the bill shall apply to taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2025.

Timothy P. GriffinRepublican

Abuse, etc., of child younger than 15 by person in custodial/supervisory relationship; penalty.

Abuse, etc., of child younger than the age of 15 by person in custodial or supervisory relationship; penalty. Creates a Class 6 felony for any person 18 years of age or older who maintains a custodial or supervisory relationship over a child younger than the age of 15 and who knowingly and intentionally on three or more occasions within a 30-day period (i) commits assault or assault and battery in violation of relevant law against such child, (ii) causes such child to be an abused or neglected child as such term is defined in relevant law, or (iii) engages in any conduct that he should know or reasonably know places such child in reasonable fear of death or bodily injury. The bill also provides that a prosecution for such offense may be commenced regardless of whether such violations have been reported to a law-enforcement officer or the alleged offender has been charged with or convicted of such alleged violations.

Timothy P. GriffinRepublican

School boards; panic alarm systems in each school required.

School boards; panic alarm systems in each school required. Requires each school board to equip each public elementary and secondary school building in the local school division with a panic alarm system that includes at least one panic alarm device in each classroom or other room in the building in which students will be present and that adheres to nationally recognized industry standards. The bill defines "panic alarm system" as a silent security system by which the user manually activates a device that sends a non-audible signal to the local 9-1-1 public safety answering point that indicates a school security emergency that requires immediate response and assistance from such public safety answering point, including a non-fire evacuation, lockdown, medical emergency, or active shooter situation. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.

Geary HigginsRepublican

Public elementary and secondary school libraries; model policies for review of print, etc.

Public elementary and secondary school libraries; model policies for review of print and audiovisual materials; sexually explicit visual content prohibited. Requires the Department of Education to develop and make available to each school board model policies prohibiting any school library in any public elementary or secondary school from obtaining or possessing any print or audiovisual materials that contain sexually explicit visual content, as that term is defined in the bill. The bill requires such model policies to (i) require the review of any print or audiovisual material that is (a) made available to any such school for placement in any school library or (b) accessible to students in any school library for the purpose of determining whether such material contains sexually explicit visual content; (ii) provide for the removal or exclusion from any school library of any print or audiovisual material that, upon review, is determined to contain sexually explicit visual content; and (iii) establish guidelines for implementing such policies in accordance with the provisions of the bill to ensure compliance with the First Amendment to the Constitution of United States and Article 1, Section 12 of the Constitution of Virginia. The bill requires each school board to adopt policies that are consistent with but may be more comprehensive than the model policies adopted by the Department of Education pursuant to the bill. Finally, the bill amends the exception in current law to the prohibition of certain sales and loans to juveniles for the purchase, distribution, exhibition, or loan of certain materials to schools to clarify that the exception does not apply in the case of public school libraries as provided in the provisions of the bill.

Phillip A. ScottRepublican

Income tax, state; removes sunset on elevated standard deduction amounts, etc.

Virginia taxable income; standard deduction; sunset. Removes the sunset on elevated standard deduction amounts for single individuals and married persons that is scheduled to expire for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2026.

Joseph P. McNamaraRepublican

Developer performance guarantees; clarifies existing provisions related to periodic partial release.

Release of developer performance guarantees. Clarifies that existing provisions related to the periodic partial and final release of developer performance guarantees also applies to performance guarantees for erosion and sediment control measures, stormwater management facilities, and fill and borrow areas.

David OwenRepublican

Limitation of prosecutions; false entries or destruction of records by officers.

Limitation of prosecutions; false entries or destruction of records by officers. Extends the statute of limitations for prosecution of the offense of false entries or destruction of records by officers to within (i) five years of the commission of the offense or (ii) two years after the existence of the illegal act and the identity of the offender are discovered by the Commonwealth, whichever is later. The current statute of limitations is one year from the date of the offense.

Mark L. Earley, Jr.Republican

Child day-care facility investment and child day-care expense reimbursement; income tax credits.

Child day-care facility investment and child day-care expense reimbursement tax credits. Allows a taxpayer to claim a nonrefundable income tax credit for 25 percent of amounts incurred for eligible child day-care expenses of the taxpayer's employees that are either paid directly by the taxpayer or reimbursed by such taxpayer to the taxpayer's employees during the taxable year. The bill also increases from $25,000 to $50,000 the amount for which a taxpayer may claim a credit for establishing a child day-care facility for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2026. Finally, approval of applications for the credits shall be limited to those that are assumed to result in no more than $200,000 of credits in any fiscal year. Under current law, such limit is $100,000.

Chris ObenshainRepublican

Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities; program extension.

Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities; program extension. Directs the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to take all steps necessary to implement the federal extension option for the federal Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities to allow children four years of age or younger to receive services through such program.

Chris ObenshainRepublican

Certain school divisions; cost-savings agreements; requirements.

Certain school divisions; cost-savings agreements; requirements. Removes the limitation on any school board that enters into certain cost-savings agreements with a school board that governs a contiguous school division for the consolidation or sharing of educational, administrative, or support services and thus qualifies for adjustment of state share of basic aid computed annually on the basis of the composite index of local ability-to-pay of such contiguous school division that caps such adjusted basic aid payment at an amount equal to the basic aid payment appropriated to such locality by the 2007 Session of the General Assembly. The bill also permits, notwithstanding the requirement set forth in relevant law that a school division have 65 percent or more of its local taxes coming from real estate taxes in order for the school board that governs such school division to be eligible to enter into such cost-savings agreements with a contiguous school division, the Bath County School Board to enter into such cost-savings agreements with the Augusta County School Board, provided that all other conditions and limitations set forth in relevant law apply to any such agreement.

Chris S. RunionRepublican

Placing swastika on certain property with intent to intimidate; penalty.

Placing swastika on certain property with intent to intimidate; penalty. Makes it a Class 6 felony for any person or persons, with the intent of intimidating another person or group of persons, to place or cause to be placed a swastika on (i) the private property of another without permission or (ii) a highway or other public place in a manner having a direct tendency to place another person in reasonable fear or apprehension of death or bodily injury.

Chris ObenshainRepublican

Virginia Access to Justice Act; establishes public defender office in each judicial circuit.

Virginia Access to Justice Act. Establishes a public defender office in each judicial circuit. Currently, public defender offices have been established in certain localities. The bill also establishes an appellate defender office to represent indigent persons in appeals of their convictions to the Court of Appeals of Virginia or Supreme Court of Virginia. The bill raises the limitation of fees that court-appointed counsel can receive for representation on various offenses in district and circuit courts. Further, the bill requires the attorney for the Commonwealth and assistant attorney for the Commonwealth to prosecute Class 1, 2, and 3 misdemeanors, or any other violation, the conviction of which carries a penalty of confinement in jail, or a fine of $500 or more, or both such confinement and fine. Current law allows discretion for prosecuting such misdemeanors and violations. Lastly, the bill expands the definition of "victim" as it relates to compensating victims of crime to include persons awarded restitution pursuant to relevant law.

Katrina CallsenDemocrat

Blue catfish; digital free fishing license program, sunset.

Free fishing license program; blue catfish; sunset. Directs the Department of Wildlife Resources to create a program that allows a person to obtain a digital fishing license at no cost through the Department's Go Outdoors Virginia mobile application to catch blue catfish. The bill requires the Department to establish certain eligibility requirements as provided in the bill and to establish guidelines for the administration of the program, including an incentive program to recognize program participants that catch the most blue catfish by weight, length, or number. The program has an expiration date of July 1, 2029, after which the Department is required to examine and report on the effectiveness of the free digital fishing license program in reducing the Commonwealth's population of blue catfish.

Shelly A. SimondsDemocrat

Commercial fishing pier; public fishing pier owned by a political subdivision, exclusion.

Commercial fishing pier; public fishing pier owned by a political subdivision; exclusion. Excludes a political subdivision that operates a public fishing pier over or upon the subaqueous beds of the Commonwealth from commercial fishing pier licensing fees and permitting requirements.

M. Keith HodgesRepublican

Marijuana, etc.; possession, smoking by person younger than 21 years of age prohibited.

Possession of marijuana, marijuana products, retail tobacco products, and hemp products intended for smoking by a person younger than 21 years of age prohibited; penalty. Provides that no person younger than 21 years of age shall consume or possess, or attempt to consume or possess, any marijuana, marijuana products, retail tobacco products, or hemp products intended for smoking, as such terms are defined in relevant law, and a violation of such prohibition is a Class 1 misdemeanor, with certain exceptions. The bill also allows any such person charged with his first offense of underaged possession of retail tobacco products or hemp products intended for smoking to have the proceedings deferred, to be placed on probation by the court, and to have the charges dismissed by the court without an adjudication of guilty upon such person's successful completion of probation.

Will DavisRepublican

Protective orders; dissolution of existing order.

Protective orders; dissolution of existing order. Provides that, upon the issuance of a new protective order involving a petitioner and respondent, the court shall dissolve any existing order issued by such court involving the same petitioner and respondent.

Will DavisRepublican

Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System; changes retirement age.

Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System; retirement age. Changes the age through which a retired law-enforcement officer covered under the Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System is entitled to receive an additional retirement allowance from the law-enforcement officer's sixty-fifth birthday to retirement age as defined by the Social Security Act. This change aligns the additional allowance with that currently provided under the State Police Officers' Retirement System.

Will DavisRepublican

Discovery; allows accused to copy or photograph any materials or evidence, etc.

Discovery. Allows the accused to request the Commonwealth to copy or photograph any discovery materials or evidence he is permitted to inspect and review, including relevant police reports, witness statements, and the name and contact information of any potential witness, and requires the Commonwealth to provide such copies or photographs, electronically or otherwise, to him or his counsel. The bill also requires all attorneys for the Commonwealth to provide (i) discovery material for all courts to counsel of record for the accused, if requested, by electronic means, defined in the bill, unless such material is prohibited from being distributed by law or impossible to provide by electronic means and (ii) to counsel of record for the accused, if requested, in any district court a copy of any police report by electronic means at least 10 days prior to the date the case is set for trial.Lastly, the bill requires the attorney for the Commonwealth to provide a copy of a person's criminal history record information, including criminal history record information maintained in the National Crime Information Center and the Interstate Identification Index System that is in his possession, pursuant to the rules of court for obtaining discovery or for review by the court. Current law provides that nothing shall preclude the dissemination of a person's criminal history record information pursuant to such rules of court but does not require the attorney for the Commonwealth to provide the copy nor identify specific types of information. This bill was incorporated into HB 1627.

Will DavisRepublican

Crimes against nature; taking indecent liberties with children, penalties.

Crimes against nature; taking indecent liberties with children; penalties. Adds "nephew or niece" and "uncle or aunt" to the offense of crimes against nature and adds "uncle or aunt" as the perpetrator and "nephew or niece" as the victim to the offense of taking indecent liberties with children.

Mark L. Earley, Jr.Republican

Computer trespass; Class 6 felony when committed against elementary and secondary schools, etc.

Computer trespass; elementary and secondary schools; school board; penalty. Makes it a Class 6 felony for the offense of computer trespass when such offense is committed against any public, private, or religious elementary or secondary school or any school board.

Mark L. Earley, Jr.Republican

School boards; employment of school resource officers in each public elementary & secondary school.

School boards; employment of school resource officers in each public elementary and secondary school. Requires each school board to enter into a collaborative agreement with the local law-enforcement agency to employ at least one school resource officer in each public elementary and secondary school in the local school division and provides that no school board shall be granted any full or partial waiver from such staffing requirements. The bill contains a contingent effective date that states that the foregoing requirement shall become effective beginning with the fiscal year in which funding has been provided pursuant to the general appropriation act to fully fund such requirement.

Mark L. Earley, Jr.Republican

Zoning; recovery residences.

Zoning; recovery residences. Provides that zoning ordinances for all purposes shall consider a certified recovery residence in which no more than eight individuals with substance use disorder reside, either with or without one or more resident or nonresident staff persons, as residential occupancy by a single family and that no conditions more restrictive than those imposed on residences occupied by persons related by blood, marriage, or adoption shall be imposed on such certified recovery residence. The bill provides that no clinical treatment shall take place in such recovery residence and that the recovery residence shall submit the individual name and contact information for the person responsible for the residence to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.

Carrie E. CoynerRepublican

Hopewell, City of; amending charter, duties of treasurer.

Charter; City of Hopewell. Amends the charter for the City of Hopewell to allow the city to reassign certain duties from the city's elected treasurer to the city manager's office. The bill provides that the city manager will designate the finance department to be the custodian of all moneys and the treasurer will continue to be responsible for collecting state and federal disbursements to the city and for maintaining local collections.

Carrie E. CoynerRepublican

Deer, elk, or bear; Director of DWR or his designee has exclusive authority to provide kill permits.

Kill permits for deer, elk, or bear; local authority. Clarifies that the Director of the Department of Wildlife Resources or his designee has the exclusive authority to provide written authorization to kill deer, elk, or bear and prohibits a locality from amending, abridging, or limiting such authorization.

Chris ObenshainRepublican

Air quality monitoring program for certain communities; DEQ to establish, report.

Air quality monitoring program for certain communities; Virginia Council on Environmental Justice; report. Requires the Department of Environmental Quality to establish an ongoing air quality monitoring program for fenceline communities, as defined in the bill, disproportionately impacted by toxic metals, coal dust pollution, and other inhalable particulate matter that can cause adverse health effects, including PM2.5 and PM10, in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the Department to report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly and the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice by October 1, 2026, and annually thereafter. The bill requires such report to include data analysis on current pollution levels, health risks associated with the identified pollution levels, and any recommendations for regulatory or legislative actions to address any identified risks, and when thresholds established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for particulate matter are exceeded, such report shall also include recommended actions to mitigate such risks. The bill directs the General Assembly to annually review the findings and recommendations from the report to determine whether any legislation is necessary and requires the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice to provide advice and recommendations to the Governor and his cabinet on such findings and recommendations from the report.

Bonita G. AnthonyDemocrat

Artificial Intelligence Training Data Transparency Act; transparency and disclosure requirements.

Consumer Data Protection Act; Artificial Intelligence Training Data Transparency Act. Allows consumers to authorize a third party, acting on the consumer's behalf, to opt out of the processing of the consumer's personal data. Such authorization may be made using technology that indicates the consumer's intent to opt out, including a browser setting, browser extension, global device setting, or other user-selected universal opt-out mechanism. Where a controller has actual knowledge or willfully disregards that a consumer is an adolescent, defined in the bill as at least 13 years of age but younger than 16 years of age, no controller shall process any personal data collected or collect precise geolocation data from such adolescent without obtaining consent from such adolescent. The bill provides that the Attorney General has discretion regarding whether to provide an opportunity to cure a violation to a controller or processor beginning January 1, 2026. The bill also revises the definitions of "sale of personal data," "sensitive data," and "biometric data." The bill requires a developer of a generative artificial intelligence system or service, defined in the bill, to disclose on the developer's website information about the generative artificial intelligence data set used to train such system or service. A developer shall keep detailed records of the generative artificial intelligence data set used to train a generative artificial intelligence system or service and provide clearly designated and publicly available mechanisms for submissions of Training Data Verification Requests, defined in the bill, and Training Data Deletion Requests, defined in the bill. The bill also prohibits nondisclosure or confidentiality agreements from concealing noncompliance with the bill. The bill allows the Attorney General to offer developers an opportunity to cure noncompliance that is noticed by the Attorney General and provides that a person or entity claiming to be injured due to a violation of such provisions shall be entitled to initiate an action for monetary damages or equitable relief. The provisions of the bill regarding such developers have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.

Michelle Lopes MaldonadoDemocrat

Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund; point source pollution grant agreements.

Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund; Director of Department of Environmental Quality; point source pollution grant agreements. Clarifies that the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality is only required to enter into water quality improvement grant agreements with all facilities designated as significant dischargers or eligible nonsignificant dischargers that apply for such grants if sufficient and unobligated funds are available in the Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund at the time the Director enters into such grant agreements.

Chris S. RunionRepublican

Tri-Cities Improvement Commission; established.

Casino gaming; Tri-Cities Improvement Commission established. Establishes the Tri-Cities Improvement Commission, consisting of members from the Cities of Petersburg, Colonial Heights, and Hopewell and Dinwiddie and Prince George Counties, to receive disbursements of gaming tax revenues and to prioritize and fund certain improvements in those jurisdictions.

Mike A. CherryRepublican

Virginia Opportunity Scholarship Grant Program; established.

Public schools; Virginia Opportunity Scholarship Grant Program established. Establishes the Virginia Opportunity Scholarship Grant Program, to be administered and managed by the Department of the Treasury pursuant to guidelines developed by the Board of Education in collaboration with the Department of the Treasury, for the purpose of ensuring that all children in the Commonwealth have access to quality educational opportunities by annually awarding a grant in the amount of $5,000 per eligible student, as that term is outlined in the bill, for up to 10,000 eligible students each year. The bill requires the grant funds awarded pursuant to the Program to be used to support qualified educational expenses of attending an accredited private school in the Commonwealth, as enumerated by the bill. The bill also (i) directs the Board of Education, in collaboration with the Department of the Treasury, to develop guidelines for the implementation and administration of the Program; (ii) requires the Board of Education to develop and make available to each school board and each school board to make available to parents at the start of each school year informational materials relating to the Program; and (iii) requires the Department of Education to annually collect data on and include as a part of the Board of Education's Annual Report on the Condition and Needs of Public Schools in Virginia the total student participation in the Program.

Mike A. CherryRepublican

Parole; exception to limitation on the application of parole statutes.

Parole; exception to limitation on the application of parole statutes. Provides that a person is eligible to be considered for parole if such person (i) was sentenced by a jury after the date of the Supreme Court of Virginia decision in Fishback v. Commonwealth, 260 Va. 104 (2000), in which the Supreme Court held that a jury should be instructed on the fact that parole has been abolished, for a felony committed on or after the abolition of parole going into effect on January 1, 1995; (ii) can prove by the preponderance of the evidence that the jury in his case was not instructed on the fact that parole has been abolished; and (iii) remained incarcerated for the offense on July 1, 2025, and the offense was not one of the following: (a) a Class 1 felony; (b) if the victim was a minor, rape, forcible sodomy, object sexual penetration, or aggravated sexual battery or an attempt to commit any such act; or (c) carnal knowledge. The bill also requires the Parole Board to establish procedures for consideration of parole of persons entitled to it and also provides that any person who is eligible for parole as of July 1, 2025, shall be scheduled for a parole interview no later than July 1, 2026, allowing for extension of time for reasonable cause.

Delores L. McQuinnDemocrat