Bills & Legislation

Atlantic Menhaden Research Fund; established, report.

Virginia Institute of Marine Science; Atlantic Menhaden Research Fund established; report. Establishes the Atlantic Menhaden Research Fund to be used by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), in collaboration with Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) and relevant stakeholders, to produce research relating to Atlantic menhaden necessary to inform a scientifically defensible and ecologically meaningful harvest limit for Atlantic menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay and an annual report summarizing such research. VIMS is directed to annually report its progress, findings, recommendations, and a proposal for expenditures and disbursements from the Fund for the following year to the Chairs of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources, the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources, the Ecological Reference Point Work Group of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and the Menhaden Management Advisory Committee of VMRC no later than October 1 of each year.

David W. MarsdenDemocrat

Court Date Reminder Program; established.

Court Date Reminder Program established. Establishes a Court Date Reminder Program, to be developed or procured by the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia, for the purpose of reminding criminal defendants to appear at each of their scheduled court appearances and to provide any related information. The bill directs the Program to send a text message notification to any defendant with a criminal case or traffic infraction in general district court or circuit court, allows a defendant to opt out of participating in the Program, and allows the Program administrator or his designee to use other communication methods to contact a defendant when such defendant is unable to receive text messages, including telephone, email, or other internet-based technology.

David W. MarsdenDemocrat

Emergency services and disaster preparedness programs; inclusion of federally recognized tribes.

Department of Emergency Management; emergency services and disaster preparedness programs; inclusion of federally recognized tribes. Requires the Department of Emergency Management to administer certain emergency services in coordination with federally recognized tribes that the Department has entered into a contract or memorandum of understanding with for assistance regarding such emergency services. This bill is a recommendation of the Commission on Updating Virginia Law to Reflect Federal Recognition of Virginia Tribes.

David W. MarsdenDemocrat

Phase II Utility; rates, terms, and conditions of services, certain customers.

Phase II Utility; rates, terms, and conditions of services; certain customers. Requires Dominion Energy Virginia to establish rates, terms, and conditions for the provision of generation and distribution services for its customers within the GS-5 rate class, as established by final order of the State Corporation Commission, that require each such customer to pay a minimum generation charge equal to 100 percent of such customers' contracted electric demand.

Danica A. RoemDemocrat

Licensed suppliers of electric energy; aggregate demands, total retail load limit.

Electric utilities; licensed suppliers of electric energy; aggregate demands; total retail load limit. Amends provisions that permit two or more individual nonresidential retail customers of electric energy to petition the State Corporation Commission (the Commission) to aggregate their electric demands for the purpose of purchasing electric energy from a licensed supplier. Under the bill, the five megawatt participation threshold is based on noncoincident peak demand in calendar year 2024 and any year thereafter. Under the bill, such customers are not required to petition the Commission for approval to aggregate their demands, but are required to notify the Commission and incumbent electric utility in writing that they have met the requirements for doing so. The bill makes it voluntary rather than mandatory for the Commission to impose certain periodic monitoring and reporting obligations for such customers to demonstrate continued compliance with the aggregate demand limitations.

Schuyler T. VanValkenburgDemocrat

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.

Schuyler T. VanValkenburgDemocrat

Data centers; rainwater harvesting systems.

Data centers; rainwater harvesting systems. Requires any new construction or substantial expansion, as defined in the bill, of a data center, as defined in the bill, to (i) include a rainwater harvesting system sufficient to capture rainwater runoff from at least 30 percent of the total roof surface area of such data center and (ii) use such harvested rainwater for non-potable water needs, as defined in the bill, including irrigation or the dissipation of heat from any component of such data center. The bill also requires any such system to be designed, installed, and periodically inspected by a person certified by the American Society of Sanitary Engineering and authorizes the State Board of Health to promulgate regulations in collaboration with the Department of Environmental Quality as necessary to effectuate the provisions of the bill.

R. Creigh DeedsDemocrat

Mutual aid agreements; public safety radio equipment.

Mutual aid agreements; public safety radio equipment. Requires localities that have entered into certain public safety mutual aid agreements to provide access to the information necessary to program the public safety radio equipment owned or used by such locality, such as radio frequencies and security and encryption keys.

Richard H. StuartRepublican

Elections; absentee voting in person, uniform availability.

Elections; absentee voting in person; uniform availability. Requires absentee voting in person to be available between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday during early voting, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the first and second Saturday immediately preceding all elections, and between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the second Sunday immediately preceding all elections. Under current law, local electoral boards have some discretion to decide certain hours and days when absentee voting in person is available.

David R. SuetterleinRepublican

Emergency custody orders; transportation to treatment center, etc.

Emergency custody orders; transportation to treatment center or to residence of the person subject to emergency custody order. Provides that transportation provided pursuant to an emergency custody order shall include, upon completion of emergency medical evaluation or treatment, transportation to an approved treatment center or to the residence of the person subject to the emergency custody order.

David R. SuetterleinRepublican

Virginia Public-Private Safety Communications Infrastructure Fund; established.

Virginia Public-Private Safety Communications Infrastructure Fund established. Establishes the Virginia Public-Private Safety Communications Infrastructure Fund, to be managed by the Department of Criminal Justice Services, for the purpose of making loans and awarding grants to local governments for the purpose of assisting with improvement projects relating to public safety radio and communications infrastructure.

Mark D. ObenshainRepublican

Search warrants; unattended deaths.

Search warrants; unattended deaths. Authorizes the issuance of a search warrant to search any place for (i) a dead human body where, at the time of death, the decedent was not being attended to by a physician or (ii) evidence of the cause or manner of death of such a body.

Tammy Brankley MulchiRepublican

Disabled Veterans Family Passport; established, free entry into state parks and discounted services.

Department of Conservation and Recreation; Disabled Veteran's Family Passport; free entry into state parks and discounted services. Directs the Department of Conservation and Recreation to establish a Disabled Veteran's Family Passport that entitles the bearer to enter state parks in the Commonwealth without the payment of a parking or admission fee. The bill provides that the Passport will be issued upon request to any immediate family member, as defined in the bill, of a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States who provides certain documentation to the Department. The bill authorizes the Department to require passport holders to re-certify such documentation no more than once every five years.

Glen H. Sturtevant, Jr.Republican

Auctioneers; definition.

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; auctioneers; definition. Specifies that sales meeting the definition of "auction" include sales made both in person and online. The bill contains a technical amendment.

Bryce E. ReevesRepublican

Illegal gambling; online sweepstakes games, civil penalty.

Illegal gambling; online sweepstakes games; civil penalty. Includes the (i) operating, conducting, or promoting of any online sweepstakes games and (ii) supporting or assisting in the operating, conducting, or promoting of any online sweepstakes game in the definition of "illegal gambling." The bill defines an "online sweepstakes game" as any game, contest, or promotion in which a prize is awarded based on chance that (a) is available on the internet and accessible on a mobile phone, computer, or similar device; (b) utilizes a dual currency system of payment allowing the player to exchange the currency for any prize, award, cash, or cash equivalent; and (c) simulates casino-style gaming, including slot machines, video poker, table games, lottery games, and sports betting. Persons who operate, conduct, or promote online sweepstakes games or take any action to support or assist in the operation, conduct, or promotion of online sweepstakes games shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 and not more than $100,000 per violation. The bill contains technical amendments.

Bryce E. ReevesRepublican

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

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

Mark J. PeakeRepublican

Virginia National Guard State Tuition Assistance Program; grants.

Virginia National Guard State Tuition Assistance Program; grants. Requires at least $50,000 of discretionary annual spending of Virginia National Guard State Tuition Assistance Program grant funds to be used for recruitment. Under current law, discretionary spending on recruitment from grant funds is capped at $50,000 per fiscal year.

Bryce E. ReevesRepublican

Charitable gaming; common interest communities, bingo.

Charitable gaming; common interest communities; bingo. Allows common interest communities that qualify for deductions pursuant to § 277 of the Internal Revenue Code and that are solely available to residents age 55 or older to become qualified organizations, subject to certain registration requirements, for the purposes of conducting bingo in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Tara A. DurantRepublican

Economic development incentives; wage requirements.

Economic development incentives; wage requirements. Requires companies to pay an average wage for the jobs eligible for assistance under the component programs of the Virginia Jobs Investment Program that is no less than the prevailing average wage, defined in the bill, or, in the case of an economically distressed locality, defined in the bill, no less than 85 percent of the prevailing average wage. Under current law, to be eligible for the component programs, companies must pay a minimum entry-level wage rate per hour of at least 1.2 times the federal minimum wage or the Virginia minimum wage, whichever is higher, and in areas that have an unemployment rate of 1.5 times the statewide average unemployment rate, the wage rate minimum may be waived.The bill also authorizes the payment of Virginia Investment Performance Grants if the average wage paid by the eligible manufacturer or research and development service, excluding fringe benefits, is no less than 85 percent of the prevailing average wage in localities with either (i) an annual unemployment rate for the most recent calendar year for which such data is available that is greater than the final statewide average unemployment rate for that calendar year or (ii) a poverty rate for the most recent calendar year for which such data is available that exceeds the statewide average poverty rate for that year. Under current law, such authorization is limited to those localities meeting both the unemployment rate and poverty rate thresholds.

R. Creigh DeedsDemocrat

Alcoholic beverage control; advertising materials, purchase and display of barrels.

Alcoholic beverage control; advertising materials; purchase and display of barrels. Allows a retail licensee to elect to receive the physical barrel or lid in addition to purchasing the bottled contents of a distilled spirits barrel from a manufacturer through a barrel purchase agreement supplied to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority. The bill provides that such physical barrel or lid shall not be considered a gift and may be displayed on the retail licensee's premises.

Todd E. PillionRepublican

Consumer Data Protection Act; online device pricing, prohibition.

Consumer Data Protection Act; online device pricing; prohibition. Provides that no controller or processor shall, in connection with a consumer transaction, generate, in whole or in part, a price offered to a consumer through the consumer's online device based on (i) the hardware or hardware state of the online device, as those terms are defined in the bill, (ii) the presence or absence of any software on the online device, or (iii) precise geolocation data of the online device when used to set a price based on inferences about the consumer made from such data. The bill provides for exemptions in certain instances.

Stella G. PekarskyDemocrat

Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program authority; right of entry, performance bond.

Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program authority; right of entry; performance bond. Removes the requirement for a Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program (VESMP) authority to have a performance bond with surety, cash escrow, letter of credit, any combination thereof, or such other legal arrangement in order to enter any establishment or upon any property, public or private, for the purpose of initiating or maintaining appropriate actions that are required by conditions imposed by the VESMP authority on a land-disturbing activity when an owner, after proper notice, has failed to take acceptable action within the time specified.

Tara A. DurantRepublican

Executive Secretary, Office of; annual trauma-informed education for certain court personnel.

Office of the Executive Secretary; annual trauma-informed education for certain court personnel. Requires the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia to provide annual continuing legal education on trauma-informed practices in proceedings involving sexual abuse or abuse of a family or household member to magistrates, clerks, judges of juvenile and domestic relations district courts, general district courts, and circuit courts, and other court employees.

Tammy Brankley MulchiRepublican

Assault and battery; definition of "Islamophobia," penalty.

Assault and battery; definition of "Islamophobia"; penalty. Defines "Islamophobia" as it relates to the crime of assault and battery as malicious prejudice or hatred directed toward Islam or Muslims. This definition applies regardless of whether the victim is actually a practitioner of Islam, provided that the perpetrator targeted such victim based on a perceived adherence to such faith. The bill also clarifies that religious conviction includes Islam. The bill directs the Department of State Police, in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, to include the bill's definition of "Islamophobia" in its hate crime reporting central repository.

Saddam Azlan SalimDemocrat

First-time home buyer savings plan; townhouses, principal limits.

First-time home buyer savings plan; townhouses; principal limits. Includes townhouses in the definition of single-family residence for purposes of the First-Time Home Buyer Savings Plan Act. The bill also increases (i) the aggregate amount of principal that can be contributed to a first-time home buyer savings account from $50,000 to $100,000 and (ii) the limit on the amount of principal and interest or other income on the principal that may be retained in such an account from $150,000 to $200,000.

Kannan SrinivasanDemocrat

Callous disregard for human life and probable consequences; penalties.

Callous disregard for human life and probable consequences; penalties. Makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person who commits a criminal act and whose conduct was so gross, wanton, or culpable as to indicate a callous disregard for human life and for the probable consequences of his conduct. The bill enhances the penalty to a Class 6 felony where such person knew or should have known that the consequences of such conduct would pose a greater risk to first responders.

Kannan SrinivasanDemocrat

Transportation; changes various provisions of existing funds, etc.

Transportation funding. Changes various provisions of existing transportation funds, including the Commonwealth Mass Transit Fund and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Capital Fund, and creates new funds for the Northern Virginia Transportation District and the localities embraced by the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission for regional transit purposes. The bill imposes a regional sales and use tax for certain localities, a tax on transportation network companies, a tax on retail deliveries, and a tax on regional commercial parking. The bill also imposes a regional highway use fee on all vehicles in the Commonwealth that are subject to the existing highway use fee.

Adam P. EbbinDemocrat

Motor vehicle registration; authority of school division to request numbers.

Authority of school division to request motor vehicle registration numbers. Provides that any school division may request the vehicle registration number of a vehicle owned or operated by any person using the services or facilities of the school division.

Richard H. StuartRepublican

State pharmacy benefits manager; contractual provisions, report.

State pharmacy benefits manager; contractual provisions; report. Requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services' contract with the state pharmacy benefits manager to (i) require that that ingredient-cost reimbursement is based on the national average drug acquisition cost, or if unavailable, the wholesale acquisition cost minus a discount set by the Department, plus a professional dispensing fee, determined by the Department; (ii) require real-time or near real-time transparency in drug costs, rebates collected and paid, dispensing fees paid, administrative fees, and all other charges, fees, costs, and holdbacks, claim denials appeals, and network participation; (iii) prohibit the state pharmacy benefits manager from steering Medicaid recipients to affiliated pharmacies through differential cost-sharing, restrictive network design, or the mandatory use of a mail order pharmacy provider; (iv) require the state pharmacy benefits manager to (a) meet network adequacy standards established by the Department; (b) allow any willing pharmacy to participate in the pharmacy network; (c) verify that all contracted pharmacies are actively accepting Medicaid recipients; (d) submit annual reports containing certain information; (e) disclose to the Department pricing and maximum acquisition cost methodologies; and (f) allow invoice-based or national average drug acquisition cost-based appeals and require an adjustment of rates network-wide when an appeal is upheld; and (v) include enforcement mechanisms and monetary penalties for noncompliance. Additionally, the bill requires Department to annually calculate the savings generated by the use of the state pharmacy benefits manager and to annually increase its dispensing fee by the amount of such savings. The bill requires the Department to annually (1) publish and make available on its website its annual and total savings achieved, the annual and total amount applied to dispensing fees increases, and the updated dispensing fees and (2) report to the General Assembly on the state pharmacy benefits manager's compliance, national average drug acquisition cost compliance, pharmacy reimbursement trends, network adequacy compliance, and dispensing fee sufficiency.

Aaron R. RouseDemocrat

Emergency Response Exposure Grant Fund and Program; created.

Emergency Response Exposure Grant Fund and Program. Creates the Emergency Response Exposure Grant Fund and Program, to be administered by the Department of Fire Programs, to award grants to localities to support certain emergency responders who were exposed to a qualifying emergency, defined in the bill. The bill requires funding to be used for annual cancer screenings and health care expenses incurred by eligible emergency responders, defined in the bill, in the event such emergency responders are diagnosed with cancer from toxic material exposure. The bill permits funding to be used for out-of-pocket medical expenses not otherwise covered by insurance, workers' compensation, or other available funding.

Aaron R. RouseDemocrat

Income tax, state; first-time homebuyer tax credit.

Individual income tax; first-time homebuyer tax credit. Creates a one-time, nonrefundable individual income tax credit in taxable years 2026 through 2030 for expenses incurred by a first-time homebuyer for the purchase of direct ownership in residential real property in an amount equal to five percent of the purchase price value of such property detailed on the purchase agreement up to $10,000. The bill requires that any credits be repaid in the event that the residential real property for which first-time homebuyer expenses were incurred and such credit was claimed is sold within three years from the purchase date of such property.

Aaron R. RouseDemocrat

Emergency medical services; distribution of certain funds to localities.

Special fund for emergency medical services; distribution of certain funds to localities. Expands the use of funds by localities from the special emergency medical services fund. The bill allows funds to be used for (i) training of emergency medical services personnel; (ii) the purchase of equipment and supplies; (iii) maintenance of equipment, facilities, and certain vehicles; and (iv) operating expenses deemed necessary by the locality to ensure the provision of emergency medical expenses in such locality. Under current law, funds may only be used for training of personnel and purchase of equipment and supplies.

Aaron R. RouseDemocrat

State-owned bottomlands; localities, property interest.

State-owned bottomlands; localities; property interest. Provides that any city or county that is party to an executed project partnership agreement with the Department of the Army for a flood or storm risk management program, damage reduction project, or similar program specifically authorized by the United States Congress shall be deemed to hold a legal property interest in the use of state-owned waters, bottoms, or subsurface soils sufficient to qualify for any easements necessary for the construction or completion of the project or program.

Angelia Williams GravesDemocrat

Elections; filling vacancies in county and city governing bodies.

Elections; filling vacancies in county and city governing bodies. Removes the ability to fill a vacancy in a county or city governing body by an interim appointment and requires that a special election be held to fill any such vacancy. The bill requires the local governing body to petition the court for a writ of special election within one day of the occurrence of the vacancy and for the court to promptly issue the writ for a special election no more than 45 days from the date the writ is issued, with extensions for special election dates that would conflict with primary and general elections.

David R. SuetterleinRepublican

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 five years of age or younger to receive services through such program.

David R. SuetterleinRepublican

Property and casualty insurance; regulation and licensing of all-lines adjusters.

Property and casualty insurance; regulation and licensing of all-lines adjusters. Provides for State Corporation Commission licensing and regulation of all-lines adjusters investigating, negotiating, or settling property, casualty, or workers' compensation claims for insurers or for self-insurers. The bill prohibits a person from acting as an all-lines adjuster without first obtaining a license from the Commission and requires all-lines adjusters to comply with standards of conduct and continuing education requirements. The bill also allows the Commission to suspend or revoke licenses under certain conditions. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.

Bill DeStephRepublican

Income tax, state; subtraction for incentive stock options.

Income tax subtraction; incentive stock options. Establishes an income tax subtraction for any income received as gains from exercising incentive stock options, as defined by the bill, that were previously taxed in another state.

Bill DeStephRepublican

National Board Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fund; eligibility.

National Teacher Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fund; eligibility; incentive grant awards. Renames the National Teacher Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fund as the National Board Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fund, expands eligibility for incentive grant awards from such Fund pursuant to such Program from solely teachers who have obtained national certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards to (i) all public school staff who are candidates for initial national certification or maintenance of national certification to cover certain costs of obtaining or maintaining such certification and (ii) all public school staff who have successfully obtained or maintained such certification. The bill also declares as eligible for an annual incentive grant award in the amount of $7,500 all public school staff who have obtained or maintained such certification and an additional $2,500 in any year during the life of certificate in which the public school staff member is employed in a Title 1 school. Current law declares as eligible for an annual incentive grant award of $5,000 in the first year and $2,500 in each subsequent year all teachers who have obtained or maintained such certification.

Jennifer B. BoyskoDemocrat

Juvenile offenders; expands eligibility for parole.

Parole; eligibility; youthful offenders. Expands the eligibility requirements for juvenile parole to include (i) any person sentenced to a term of life imprisonment for a single felony offense or multiple felony offenses committed while that person was 20 years of age or younger and who has served at least 20 years of such sentence and (ii) any person who has active sentences that total more than 20 years for a single felony offense or multiple felony offenses committed while that person was 20 years of age or younger and who has served at least 20 years of such sentence. Under current law, only a person who was a juvenile when he committed any such offense is eligible for juvenile parole.

Michael J. JonesDemocrat

Community Colleges and Virginia Community College System, State Board for; funding model, report.

State Board for Community Colleges and Virginia Community College System; funding model; report. Directs the State Board for Community Colleges (the State Board) and the Virginia Community College System to develop a community college funding model for the Commonwealth, and an implementation plan for such model, that balances base adequacy support and performance with outcomes-based funding. The bill requires the State Board to provide an interim report to the Chairs of the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Education by November 1, 2026, and a final report to the Chairs of the Senate Committee on Education and Health, the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations, the House Committee on Education, and the House Committee on Appropriations by November 1, 2027.

Christopher T. HeadRepublican

Income tax, state; newborn and stillborn tax credit.

Newborn and stillborn tax credit. Establishes a refundable income tax credit for taxable years 2026 through 2030 for married individuals in an amount equal to $2,000 per eligible birth so long as such eligible birth is not also the birth of a child by a surrogate. The bill also allows individuals and married individuals filing jointly to claim a refundable income tax credit in an amount equal to $2,000 per stillborn birth so long as such stillborn birth is not also the birth of a child by a surrogate. The bill specifies that only one tax credit may be claimed for each eligible birth or stillborn birth.

Christopher T. HeadRepublican

App Store Accountability Act; civil penalties, civil action.

App Store Accountability Act; civil penalties; civil action. Requires an app store provider, defined in the bill, to verify the age category of an account holder, obtain verifiable parental consent for a minor account holder, and share such age category and consent information with the developer of an app, defined in the bill. The bill requires a developer to verify the age category of an account holder with a developer's app and notify app store providers of any significant change to a developer's app. The bill also requires a developer to provide a parental consent disclosure for each of its apps to each app store provider that makes the developer's app available on its app store, and such provider shall provide such disclosure on its app store. The bill allows the Attorney General and any minor or parent of a minor who suffers harm by reason of a violation of this bill to initiate an action. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.

Christopher T. HeadRepublican

Home care organizations; licensure.

Home care organizations; licensure. Provides that no license to establish or operate a home care organization shall be issued or renewed until such time as all existing home care organizations have been inspected. The bill also prohibits a home care organization from maintaining its office in a private residence or virtual office.

Christopher T. HeadRepublican

Adult protective services; creates adult abuse, neglect, and exploitation central registry.

Adult protective services; adult abuse, neglect and exploitation central registry. Creates a central registry of substantiated complaints of adult abuse, neglect, and exploitation to be maintained by the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services. The bill establishes (i) investigation requirements for local departments of social services related to reports of adult abuse, neglect, and exploitation; (ii) record retention and disclosure requirements for the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services and local departments of social services; (iii) notice requirements related to findings by local departments and central registry entries; and (iv) an appeals process to contest the findings of a local department related to substantiated reports of adult abuse, neglect, or exploitation. The bill directs the Commissioner for Aging and Rehabilitative Services to adopt regulations to implement the provisions of the bill and exempts the Commissioner's initial adoption of such regulations from the provisions of the Administrative Process Act. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2028.

Christopher T. HeadRepublican

Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Program; established, development of modules, report.

Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Program established; pilot programs; development of modules; report. Establishes the Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Program, to be administered by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (the Department) in coordination with the Department of Education and the Department of Health, for the purpose of providing and expanding the accessibility of early childhood mental health consultation services, as that term is defined in the bill. The bill requires, pursuant to the Program, early childhood mental health consultation services shall be provided to families of children three through five years of age who exhibit developmental delays and behavioral health concerns and to early childhood care and education programs as enumerated in the bill. The bill requires the Department, in administering the Program, to (i) develop, or contract with community services boards to develop, and make available to early childhood care and education programs and providers developmental readiness modules, in accordance with the requirements of the bill; (ii) designate three pilot regions for initial implementation of the Program, with implementation beginning no later than January 1, 2027; and (iii) submit to the Governor and the General Assembly by November 1 of each year a report on the implementation and outcomes of the Program for each pilot region selected for initial implementation. The provisions of the bill relating to initial implementation of the Program in the pilot regions shall expire on July 1, 2029.

William M. Stanley, Jr.Republican

Virginia Public Procurement Act; certification for service disabled veteran-owned businesses, etc.

Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity; Virginia Public Procurement Act; certification for service disabled veteran-owned businesses and veteran-owned businesses; participation requirements; penalty. Provides that the Director of the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity may adopt regulations to implement certification programs for service disabled veteran-owned businesses and veteran-owned businesses in the Commonwealth and adds such businesses to the definition of "SWaM" and relevant provisions. The bill requires each public body to annually award at least one percent of its contract dollars to service disabled veteran-owned and veteran-owned businesses under the Virginia Public Procurement Act and requires each public body that has annual procurement expenditures exceeding $10 million to designate a Veteran Business Procurement Liaison. The bill requires the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity, in consultation with the Department of Veterans Services, to develop a plan to implement the provisions of the bill and make such plan available to the public on the electronic procurement system known as eVA by December 1, 2026. The bill requires the Department of General Services to update eVA to reflect the procurement opportunities available to service disabled veteran-owned and veteran-owned businesses. The bill directs the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill.

William M. Stanley, Jr.Republican

Elementary and secondary schools or higher educational institutions; bullying and cyberbullying.

Autumn's Law; elementary and secondary schools; institutions of higher education; aggravated bullying and cyberbullying unlawful; policies and procedures; penalty. Makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor to commit an act of aggravated bullying or aggravated cyberbullying, as defined in the bill, against any student enrolled in any elementary or secondary school or institution of higher education. The bill requires the administrator of each elementary or secondary school and each institution of higher education, or his designee, to, upon receiving satisfactory proof of an incident of aggravated bullying by a student enrolled in such school or institution, address such incidents, discipline the student guilty thereof, and report such incidents to local law-enforcement. The bill also requires (i) reports to be made to the division superintendent and the principal or his designee on all incidents involving an act of aggravated bullying or aggravated cyberbullying occurring on a school bus, on school property, or at a school-sponsored activity; (ii) each principal to immediately report to the local law-enforcement agency any incident involving an an act of aggravated bullying or aggravated cyberbullying occurring on a school bus, on school property, or at a school-sponsored activity; and (iii) the Board of Education to include in its guidelines and model policies for codes of student conduct developed pursuant to applicable law standards for school board policies on aggravated bullying. Finally, the bill requires each school board to include in its code of student conduct policies and procedures prohibiting aggravated bullying and aggravated cyberbullying, including (a) a citation to the provision of the bill that makes committing an act of aggravated bullying a Class 1 misdemeanor; (b) detailed procedures for reporting any incident of aggravated bullying or aggravated bullying in accordance with the bill; (c) clear, escalating, and appropriate disciplinary procedures for addressing incidents of aggravated bullying; and (d) information and resources relating to any civil rights of action or remedies available to victims of an act of aggravated bullying or cyberbullying.

William M. Stanley, Jr.Republican

Companion Animal Surgical Sterilization Program and Fund; established and created, report.

Companion Animal Surgical Sterilization Program and Fund. Directs the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to establish the Companion Animal Surgical Sterilization Program and Fund to reimburse participating veterinarians for the surgical sterilizations they perform on eligible cats or dogs beginning July 1, 2027. The bill provides that a surcharge of $50 per ton of pet food distributed in the Commonwealth be deposited in the Fund and that such pet food be exempted from the existing litter tax. An animal will be eligible for sterilization under the Program beginning July 1, 2027, if it is a feral or free-roaming cat, is owned by a low-income individual, or is in the possession of a releasing agency such as an animal shelter.

William M. Stanley, Jr.Republican