Bills & Legislation

Eastern Daylight Time; Commonwealth shall observe year-round upon enactment by Congress, etc.

Time zone of the Commonwealth. Provides that the Commonwealth shall observe Eastern Daylight Time (Eastern Standard Time, advanced one hour) year-round upon the enactment by Congress of a law allowing states to observe Eastern Daylight Time year-round.

Joseph P. McNamaraRepublican

Domestic and Sexual Assault Conviction Database; established.

Domestic and Sexual Assault Conviction Database. Requires the Superintendent of State Police to establish a Domestic and Sexual Assault Conviction Database that would include information on persons who were convicted of certain offenses against a family or household member, defined in the bill. The Database will be available to the public on the Department of State Police website. Persons whose information is on the Database may petition for removal of their information from the Database if certain requirements are met, and the State Police shall include such petition information on the Database website. Under the bill, the Superintendent of State Police is required to complete the Database by July 1, 2026.

Ian T. LovejoyRepublican

Child support orders; date of conception.

Child support orders; date of conception. Provides that any child support order is retroactive to the date of the conception of the child. Under current law, such support order is retroactive to the date of the filing of an action for the establishment of such support order. The bill specifies that its provisions will only apply to child support orders entered for children conceived on or after July 1, 2025.

Ian T. LovejoyRepublican

Data centers; sitings near parks, schools, and residential areas.

Siting of data centers; parks, schools, and residential areas. Requires that any local government land use application required for the siting of a data center, as defined in the bill, be approved only for areas that are one-quarter mile or more from federal, state, or local parks, schools, and property zoned or used for residential use.

Ian T. LovejoyRepublican

Commonwealth Mass Transit Fund; allocations, Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission.

Commonwealth Mass Transit Fund; Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission. Creates a new allocation from the Commonwealth Mass Transit Fund for the Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission, adjusts the amounts of certain other allocations from such Fund, and removes the light rail system operated by the Transportation District Commission of Hampton Roads from eligibility for funds from such other allocations from such Fund. The bill requires the Commonwealth Transportation Board to withhold 20 percent of the funds from such new allocation unless the Transportation District Commission of Hampton Roads submits to it certain information annually. The bill directs the Department of Rail and Public Transportation, for fiscal year 2027, to reserve and utilize certain funds in amounts necessary to provide certain supplemental operating assistance to certain transit providers that would experience a reduction in allocable funds due to the reallocations in this bill. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.

Alex Q. AskewDemocrat

Patient-initiated consultation; state plan for medical assistance.

Department of Medical Assistance Services; state plan for medical assistance; patient-initiated consultation; provider-to-provider consultation. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to modify state plan provisions covering provider-to-provider consultations to also include patient-generated consultations. The bill specifies that consultations provided through telemedicine services, including audio-only telemedicine services where applicable, shall be included in such provision.

Amy J. LauferDemocrat

Mattress Stewardship Program; established, report, civil penalties.

Mattress Stewardship Program established; report; civil penalties. Establishes the Mattress Stewardship Program that allows certain industry associations to administer the Program as a mattress recycling organization with approval and certification from the Department of Environmental Quality. The bill requires certain producers, retailers, and renovators of mattresses to register with a certified mattress recycling organization and requires a producer to identify each mattress brand it sells or offers for sale in the Commonwealth on or before June 1, 2027. Prior to the Program going into effect, the bill requires a mattress recycling organization to submit a plan with certain criteria relating to the collection and recycling of mattresses and the implementation of the Program. The bill establishes annual reporting requirements for the mattress recycling organization and establishes a Mattress Stewardship Program Advisory Board to provide advice on the proper implementation and sustainability of the Program. Finally, the bill establishes the powers and duties of the Department as they relate to the bill and civil penalties for violations of the Program by the producers, the retailers, or the mattress recycling organization.

Amy J. LauferDemocrat

Commercial use of public places; civil penalty.

Commercial use of public places; civil penalty. Allows cities and towns by ordinance to establish a uniform schedule of civil penalties for commercial use of a street, avenue, park, bridge, or any other public place or public property or any public easement of a city or town, in a manner not permitted to the general public, without having first legally obtained the consent of the city or town. The bill provides that the schedule of civil penalties shall be uniform for each type of specified violation, and the penalty for any one violation, unless elsewhere authorized, shall not exceed (i) $500 for the initial violation, (ii) $1,000 for the second violation, or (iii) $1,500 for the third or subsequent violation.

Anne Ferrell TataRepublican

Income tax, state; deduction for tips and overtime compensation.

Income tax deduction; tips and overtime compensation. Provides, for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2026, an income tax deduction for the amount of tips received during the taxable year that are included on statements furnished to the employer for federal tax purposes. The bill also establishes, for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2026, an income tax deduction for any overtime compensation, defined in the bill, received by an employee who is not exempt from overtime compensation rules pursuant to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

Anne Ferrell TataRepublican

Income tax, state; creates nonfamily adoption tax credit.

Income tax; nonfamily adoption tax credit. Creates the nonfamily adoption tax credit as a $4,000 nonrefundable tax credit for taxable years 2025 through 2029 for an individual or married persons who, during the taxable year, finalize a legal nonfamily adoption as defined in the bill. The bill limits the aggregate amount of credits allowable to $5 million per taxable year with credits allocated by the Department of Taxation on a first-come, first-served basis.

Anne Ferrell TataRepublican

School breakfasts; availability at no cost to students.

School breakfasts; availability at no cost to students. Requires each school board to require each public elementary and secondary school in the local school division to participate in the federal National School Lunch Program and the federal School Breakfast Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and to make breakfast available to any student who requests such a meal at no cost to the student, unless the student's parent has provided written permission to the school board to withhold such a meal from the student. The bill requires the Department of Education to reimburse each public elementary and secondary school for each school breakfast served to a student, with a maximum of one breakfast per student per school day and provides the formula for determining the state reimbursement rate for such meals. Finally, the bill repeals a provision of law relating to the federal School Breakfast Program that is rendered obsolete by the provisions of the bill.

Elizabeth B. Bennett-ParkerDemocrat

Students; statewide mobile application for reporting of suspicious activity.

Department of Education; statewide mobile application for student reporting of suspicious activity. Requires the Department of Education, with such funds as may be appropriated for such purpose pursuant to the general appropriation act or provided from any other source, and alone or in partnership with another state agency or a nonprofit organization, or a combination thereof, to develop or procure a multiplatform compatible mobile application that is made available at no cost to each public elementary and secondary school student and that permits each such student to report suspicious activity, including by attaching screenshots, other photographs, and videos, to the appropriate school and local law-enforcement officials for analysis and potential response. The bill requires the Department to assist each school board to coordinate student awareness of and access to such mobile application but provides that no school board shall bear any cost or additional administrative burden relating to such mobile application.

Geary HigginsRepublican

Living Shoreline Grant Fund; established.

Living Shoreline Grant Fund established. Establishes the Living Shoreline Grant Fund to be administered by the Marine Resources Commission for the purpose of awarding grants to a local government or a federally recognized tribe in the Commonwealth to match federal or other matching funds. The bill requires such grants be used for the construction, renovation, or improvement of living shorelines greater than 1.5 miles in any shore angle direction. The bill requires the Commission to give priority to projects that (i) are located on public lands, (ii) demonstrate the ability for the living shoreline to migrate upland over time through documented control of upland properties, or (iii) are identified as priorities in the Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan.

Phil M. HernandezDemocrat

Legal notices; advertisement on website.

Advertisement of legal notices; website. Allows a locality to advertise legal notices on its website rather than in a newspaper having a general circulation in the locality.

Holly M. SeiboldDemocrat

Regional Older Adults Facility Team; central/eastern Va. to establish.

Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; community services boards; Regional Older Adults Facility Team; central and eastern Virginia. Directs community services boards located in Central and Eastern Virginia to establish a Regional Older Adults Facility Team to provide services to older adults with mental illness and dementia in each region modeled after the Regional Older Adults Facility Team program conducted by the Northern Virginia Regional Projects Office.

Destiny LeVere BollingDemocrat

Department of Medical Assistance Services; remote monitoring services for pregnant and postpartum patients; reimbursement.

Department of Medical Assistance Services; remote monitoring services for pregnant and postpartum patients; reimbursement. Expands provision for payment of medical assistance for remote patient monitoring services provided via telemedicine to include all pregnant and postpartum persons. Under current law, only high-risk pregnancies are covered.

Destiny LeVere BollingDemocrat

Traffic control device and traffic light signal violation monitoring systems; issuance of summons.

Traffic control device and traffic light signal violation monitoring systems; issuance of summons. Increases from 10 business days to 30 business days the deadline for a locality to execute a summons for a traffic control device or traffic light signal violation enforced by a violation monitoring system.

Jeion A. WardDemocrat

Higher educational institutions, public and private; confidential resource advisors.

Institutions of higher education; confidential resource advisors. Requires each public institution of higher education and each private institution of higher education to designate at least one confidential resource advisor to serve as a confidential resource for students and employees to discuss alleged acts of sexual misconduct and receive information on resources available to such students or employees. The bill creates a statutory privilege between the confidential resource advisor and a student or employee who shares information with such confidential resource advisor.

Marty MartinezDemocrat

Waste tire disposal by producers and haulers; fee, requirements, report.

Waste tire disposal by producers and haulers; fee; requirements. Requires a hauler, as defined in the bill, to (i) register and submit a quarterly report with the Department of Environmental Quality, (ii) provide financial assurance in the form of a bond, and (iii) transfer all waste tires and speculatively accumulated waste tires to a transfer station, material recovery facility, landfill with a solid waste permit as required by law, waste tire end user, or waste tire processing facility. The bill requires a waste tire processing facility, as defined in the bill, to also submit a quarterly report to the Department and carry financial assurance in the form of a bond. The bill expands the purpose of the Waste Tire Trust Fund to include paying the costs of implementing the waste tire disposal requirements of haulers, paying the costs of removing waste tires during a locality-led amnesty day, and funding research, studies, and demonstration projects that stimulate the growth of existing and emerging markets for waste tires. Finally, the bill increases the tire recycling fee from $0.50 to $2 beginning July 1, 2026, and directs the Waste Management Board to adopt regulations to implement the provisions of the bill. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.

Amy J. LauferDemocrat

Agricultural Education Excellence, Virginia Commission for; established, report, sunset.

Virginia Commission for Agricultural Education Excellence established; report. Establishes the 30-member Virginia Commission for Agricultural Education Excellence as an advisory commission in the executive branch of state government, to be administratively housed within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and administered, staffed, and supported jointly by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Department of Education, the purpose of which is to assist in developing a statewide plan for agricultural education and to coordinate with such Departments on the implementation of related agricultural education programming. The Commission has an expiration date of July 1, 2028.

Hillary Pugh KentRepublican

Virginia Institute of Marine Science; study of the cumulative impacts of surface water intakes on aquatic fauna and water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and its major Virginia tributaries; report.

Virginia Institute of Marine Science; study of the cumulative impacts of surface water intakes on aquatic fauna and water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and its major Virginia tributaries; report. Directs the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) to study the cumulative impacts of surface water intakes on aquatic fauna and water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and its major Virginia tributaries. The bill requires VIMS to submit a report of its findings and any recommendations to the Governor, the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources, the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality, and the Chairs of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources, the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations, the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources, and the House Committee on Appropriations no later than October 1, 2028.

Hillary Pugh KentRepublican

Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority; Virginia Nursing Workforce Center established; reporting and monitoring of health care workforce programs; residency slots; work group; report.

Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority; Virginia Nursing Workforce Center established; reporting and monitoring of health care workforce programs; residency slots; work group; report. Establishes the Virginia Nursing Workforce Center under the auspices of the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority (the Authority) for the purpose of working toward ensuring a quality nursing workforce for all Virginians. The bill also changes the name of the Virginia Health Care Career and Technical Training and Education Fund to the Virginia Health Workforce Innovation Fund and directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to amend its regulations to increase supplemental payments for qualifying residency slots from $100,000 to $160,000. The bill directs the Authority to convene work groups for the purpose of developing a long-term vision for the health workforce and to develop a plan to increase capacity for reporting and monitoring of health care workforce programs.

Rodney T. WillettDemocrat

Legal holidays; replaces Columbus Day, the second Monday in October, with Indigenous Peoples' Day.

Legal holidays; Indigenous Peoples' Day. Replaces Columbus Day, the second Monday in October, with Indigenous Peoples' Day as a state holiday.

Paul E. KrizekDemocrat

Vacant building registration; increases fee, civil penalty.

Vacant building registration; civil penalty. Increases from $100 to $500 the maximum annual registration fee a locality may charge the owners of certain vacant buildings to defray the cost of processing such registration. The civil penalty for failure to register such vacant building is increased from $200 to $750, and the maximum civil penalty for failure to register in certain conservation and rehabilitation districts or in other areas designated as blighted is increased from $400 to $1,000.

Shelly A. SimondsDemocrat

Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System; extends membership to conservation officers.

Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System; conservation officers. Extends membership in the Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System (VaLORS) to conservation officers of the Department of Conservation and Recreation. The bill provides that such membership would apply only to service earned on or after July 1, 2025.

Robert D. Orrock, Sr.Republican

Lynching Sites Memorialization, Virginia Commission on; established, report, sunset.

Virginia Commission on Lynching Sites Memorialization established; report. Establishes the Virginia Commission on Lynching Sites Memorialization as an advisory commission in the executive branch of state government. The purpose of the 15-member Commission is to acknowledge the history of racial violence in Virginia through the placement of historical markers at the sites of lynchings. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2028.

David A. ReidDemocrat

School Safety Firearm Detection Software Pilot Program; established.

Public School Security Equipment Grant Act of 2013; eligible security equipment; School Safety Firearm Detection Software Pilot Program established. Establishes the School Safety Firearm Detection Software Pilot Program (the Pilot Program), to be administered as a part of the Public School Security Equipment Grant Act of 2013, for the purpose of enhancing security and firearm violence prevention measures in public schools in the Commonwealth by awarding grants to eligible school divisions for the purchase, installation or integration, maintenance, and operation of firearm detection software into security cameras in two Title 1 schools in each congressional district in the Commonwealth. The bill defines "firearm detection software" as any technology software or system provided by a vendor that (i) is headquartered in the Commonwealth, has at least 10 years of experience in providing school safety technology to educational institutions, and is a small business consisting of fewer than 100 employees and (ii) uses artificial intelligence to analyze video streams from surveillance cameras in real time for the detection of firearms and, upon detecting a firearm, immediately notifies local law enforcement, school security personnel, the school administration, and other appropriate public safety authorities. The bill amends provisions of the Public School Security Equipment Grant Act of 2013 as necessary for the integration of the Pilot Program, including by (a) expanding the definition of "security equipment" to include firearm detection software; (b) exempting from the match requirement, in addition to the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind as set forth in current law, any school division receiving a grant pursuant to the Pilot Program; (c) requiring the Department to give priority to eligible school divisions applying on behalf of Title 1 schools for grants under the Pilot Program such that grants are first awarded to school divisions and in an amount sufficient to support the purchase, installation or integration, maintenance, and operation of firearm detection software in two Title 1 schools in each congressional district; and (d) modifying and expanding application requirements, reporting requirements, and requirements relating to the development of certain guidelines, policies, and procedures to include the Pilot Program. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2028.

David A. ReidDemocrat

Consumer Data Protection Act; social media, parental consent.

Consumer Data Protection Act; social media; parental consent. Requires any social media platform, defined in the bill, that is subject to the provisions of the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act to obtain verifiable parental consent prior to permitting any minor to create an account with such social media platform and, with such account, use such social media platform. The bill requires such social media platform to give the parent or legal guardian of such minor the option to consent to the collection and use of the minor's personal data without consenting to the disclosure of such minor's personal data to third parties.

Scott A. WyattRepublican

Commercial entity offering social media accounts; restricted hours for minors, civil liability.

Commercial entity offering social media accounts; restricted hours for minors; civil liability. Provides that no commercial entity that offers social media accounts, as defined in the bill, shall knowingly or intentionally allow a minor to access his social media account during the hours of 12:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. unless the minor's parent, guardian, or legal custodian has provided permission for the minor to use such social media account during these hours. The bill provides that any commercial entity that violates these provisions shall be subject to civil liability for damages resulting from the interference with a minor's sleep cycle or mental health by allowing such minor to access to his social media account during the hours of 12:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. and reasonable attorney fees and costs.

Ellen H. McLaughlinRepublican

Animal Cruelty Conviction List; established.

Animal Cruelty Conviction List established. Requires the Superintendent of State Police to establish no later than January 1, 2028, and to maintain an Animal Cruelty Conviction List (List) and to make the List publicly available on the Department of State Police's website. The bill specifies that the List include the names of persons convicted of certain felony animal cruelty offenses on or after July 1, 2025. The bill requires persons convicted of any such offense to pay a fee of $50 per conviction to fund the maintenance of the List. The bill also requires the Department to remove a person's name and information from the List 15 years after its listing if he has no additional felony conviction for any such offense.

Ellen H. McLaughlinRepublican

Wildlife Resources, Board of; trout-fishing access-site registry, income tax credit.

Board of Wildlife Resources; trout-fishing access-site registry; income tax credit. Requires the Board of Wildlife Resources to establish and manage a trout-fishing access-site registry through which eligible landowners may register real property to allow valid fishing-license holders access to such property for the sole purpose of fishing trout. The bill authorizes such registrants to claim a nonrefundable income tax credit in the amount of $2,000 for each full tax year that such person had real property registered as a trout-fishing access site with the Board.

Ellen H. McLaughlinRepublican

Virginia Retirement System; enhanced retirement benefits for animal control officers.

Virginia retirement system; enhanced retirement benefits; animal control officers. Adds full-time animal control officers to the list of local employees eligible to receive enhanced retirement benefits for hazardous duty service for service earned in such positions on or after July 1, 2026. Under current law, localities may provide such benefits to first responders, including firefighters and emergency medical technicians, and certain other hazardous duty positions. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.

Ellen H. McLaughlinRepublican

K-12 schools and higher educational institutions; student participation in women's sports, etc.

K-12 schools and institutions of higher education; student participation in women's sports; civil cause of action. Requires each interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic team or sport sponsored by a public school, or any other school that is a member of the Virginia High School League, or by a public institution of higher education to be expressly designated as one of the following based on the biological sex of the students who participate on the team or in the sport: (i) males, men, or boys; (ii) females, women, or girls; or (iii) coed or mixed if participation on such team or sport is open to both males and females. The bill requires that the biological sex of any student seeking to participate on such an expressly designated team be affirmed by a signed physician's statement. The bill prohibits any such team or sport that is expressly designated for females from being open to students whose biological sex is male. The bill prohibits any government entity, licensing or accrediting organization, or athletic association or organization from entertaining a complaint, opening an investigation, or taking any other adverse action against any such school or institution of higher education based on a violation of the provisions of the bill and creates a cause of action for any school or institution of higher education that suffers harm as a result of a violation of the bill. Finally, the bill creates a civil cause of action for any student who suffers harm as a result of a knowing violation of a provision of the bill by a school or institution or as a result of the student's reporting a violation of a provision of the bill by a school, institution, athletic association, or organization.

Delores OatesRepublican

Early Childhood Care and Education, Commission on; kindergarten readiness funding proposal, report.

Commission on Early Childhood Care and Education; kindergarten readiness funding proposal; report. Requires the Commission on Early Childhood Care and Education to develop a proposal to increase funding for kindergarten readiness programs with a focus on programs that are already under contract with local school divisions. The bill requires the Commission, in developing such proposal, to consider how such programs can receive Virginia Preschool Initiative grants. The bill requires the Commission to report its proposal and any associated findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Education, the Senate Committee on Education and Health, and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations no later than October 1, 2025.

Laura Jane CohenDemocrat

Kindergarten Readiness Fund; established, report.

Virginia Preschool Initiative; Kindergarten Readiness Fund established. Establishes the Kindergarten Readiness Fund and provides that all balances of state general funds intended for the provision of services to families through the Virginia Preschool Initiative that are unspent at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the Kindergarten Readiness Fund and thereafter used in the discretion of the Department of Education solely for the purpose of providing grants on a competitive basis to school divisions to utilize for other currently operated early childhood education programs.

Laura Jane CohenDemocrat

School crossing zones; increases maximum boundaries of a zone from limits of school property.

School crossing zones. Increases the maximum boundaries of a school crossing zone from 750 feet to 1,500 feet from the limits of school property.

Laura Jane CohenDemocrat

Zoning ordinances; residential district classifications may include affordable housing.

Zoning ordinances; residential district classifications; affordable housing. Authorizes a locality, within the residential district classifications of its zoning ordinance, to include districts specifically designated for affordable housing.

Robert D. Orrock, Sr.Republican

Procurement; cancellation of bids.

Procurement; cancellation of bids. Provides that a public body may include a statement in an Invitation to Bid, a Request for Proposal, or any other solicitation of an intention to cancel any such invitation, request, or solicitation if, in the estimation of the public body, all responsive bids exceed by at least 50 percent the current price for such goods or services as offered to the private sector.

Robert D. Orrock, Sr.Republican

Child day centers operated by religious institutions; exemption from licensure, conditions.

Child day centers operated by religious institutions; exemption from licensure; conditions. Changes from mandatory to permissive the filing of certain statements and documentary evidence and the establishment and implementation of certain procedures by child day centers operated by religious institutions that are exempt from licensure but permits the Superintendent of Public Instruction to perform on-site inspections of any such center to investigate complaints and at the conclusion of such investigation to require any such center to provide such statements and documentary evidence or establish and implement such procedures.

Robert D. Orrock, Sr.Republican

Child day centers, certain; exemption from licensure by Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Certain child day centers operated by religious institutions; exemption from licensure by Superintendent of Public Instruction. Exempts fully from the statutory requirement to be licensed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction any child day center that (i) exclusively serves children over the age of two, (ii) is operated or conducted under the auspices of a religious institution, and (iii) (a) has tax exempt status as a nonprofit religious institution in accordance with § 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended, or (b) owns and exclusively occupies real property that is exempt from local taxation. Under current law, such child day centers are exempt from licensure but are still subject to several enumerated requirements. The bill, however, preserves the requirement for such child day centers to conduct background checks for employees and volunteers and prohibits the employment or service at such child day centers of any such individual who has been convicted of any barrier crime as defined in relevant law or who is the subject of a founded complaint of child abuse or neglect.

Robert D. Orrock, Sr.Republican

Expired vehicle registration; establishes a tiered fine system.

Expired vehicle registration; fines. Establishes a tiered fine system for expired vehicle registrations. The bill establishes a fine of $25 if the registration has been expired for less than one year on the date the citation is issued and a fine of no less than $25 but no more than $250 if such registration has been expired for at least one year on the date the citation is issued. The bill provides that an expired registration does not constitute a traffic infraction if the registration sticker was valid within the last 60 days.

Robert D. Orrock, Sr.Republican

Virtual Virginia; availability to every public middle school in the Commonwealth.

Virtual Virginia; availability to every public middle school in the Commonwealth. Requires Virtual Virginia to be made available to every public middle school in the Commonwealth. Under current law, Virtual Virginia is only required to be made available to every public high school in the Commonwealth.

Geary HigginsRepublican

Environmental Justice Task Force; established, report.

Environmental Justice Task Force; report. Establishes the Environmental Justice Task Force, for the purpose of furthering environmental justice in the Commonwealth, consisting of appointees from the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Department of Emergency Management, Department of Energy, Department of Housing and Community Development, Department of Health, Department of Transportation, State Corporation Commission, and Virginia Economic Development Partnership. The bill requires the Task Force to advise the Governor and state agencies of the Commonwealth and establish certain policies to be used by such state agencies on environmental justice issues, particularly issues related to historically economically disadvantaged communities. The bill directs the Task Force to report its findings and conclusions to the Governor and General Assembly by November 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, regarding its activities.

Bonita G. AnthonyDemocrat

Gift certificates; amends definition, international transactions, fraud reports.

Gift certificates; international transactions; fraud reports. Amends the definition of "gift certificate" and prohibits merchants from selling a gift certificate as part of an international transaction without first implementing a 24-hour hold on the activation of such gift certificate. The bill also requires local law enforcement to communicate reports of gift certificate fraud to the Internet Crime Complaint Center of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Eric R. ZehrRepublican

Disclosures in land use proceedings; statewide application.

Disclosures in land use proceedings; statewide application. Alters certain land use disclosure requirements applicable to officials in any county with the urban county executive form of government (Fairfax County) by replacing "relationship of employee-employer, agent-principal, or attorney-client" with the broader phrase of "business or financial relationship." The bill makes the same change to existing provisions that currently apply only to Loudoun County and applies the change statewide.

Ian T. LovejoyRepublican

Virginia Retirement System; return to work for law-enforcement officers, effective date.

Virginia Retirement System; return to work for law-enforcement officers. Allows a retired law-enforcement officer to return to work full time as a law-enforcement officer and continue to receive his pension under the Virginia Retirement System. Such person shall be required to have a break in service of at least six calendar months before reemployment. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2026.

Ian T. LovejoyRepublican

Sales and use tax on services and digital personal property.

Sales and use tax on services and digital personal property. 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 to school divisions as follows: (i) 60 percent shall be distributed to localities on the basis of school-age population and (ii) 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 (a) automatically certified for free school meals because of participation in social services programs, (b) participants in a program of special education, or (c) 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, 2025. 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

Income tax; imposition of tax and standard deduction.

Income tax; imposition of tax and standard deduction. Adds, beginning in taxable year 2026, a new top income tax bracket such that a seven percent tax shall be imposed on Virginia taxable income in excess of $600,000. Current law imposes a top tax bracket of five and three-quarters percent on income in excess of $17,000. Additionally, the bill increases the standard deduction to $12,000 for single individuals and $24,000 for married individuals beginning in taxable year 2025 and indexes such deduction amount for inflation annually beginning in taxable year 2026.

Vivian E. WattsDemocrat