Bills & Legislation

Virginia Public Procurement Act; purchase programs for local farm or food products.

Virginia Public Procurement Act; purchase programs for local farm or food products. Directs all state agencies to implement a purchase program for local farm or food products, defined in the bill, in order to reach a goal by 2035 of 20 percent of all the food and food products purchased by state agencies being local farm or food products. The bill also provides that for any public body partially or wholly funded by the Commonwealth, in which the total contract cost for food or food products is in excess of $25,000 per year, such public body shall implement a purchase program for local farm or food products in order to reach a goal by 2035 of 10 percent of all the food and food products purchased by such public bodies being local farm or food products. In order to meet such goals, state agencies and public bodies are authorized to give a preference to an otherwise qualified bidder who will fulfill the contract through the use of local farm or food products over the lowest responsible bidder so long as the cost included in the bid for the local farm or food products is not more than 10 percent greater than the cost included in the other bids.

Rae CousinsDemocrat

Public elementary school students; increases physical activity.

Public elementary school students; physical activity. Increases from 20 minutes to 30 minutes daily, and from an average of 100 minutes to 150 minutes per week, the minimum amount of time provided to public elementary school students for programs of physical activity. The bill provides that no student shall be prohibited from participating in a program of physical activity as a form of disciplinary action, with the exception that a student may be prohibited if it is determined that such program constitutes a health or safety risk to the student.

Hillary Pugh KentRepublican

Gas-powered leaf blowers; local prohibition or regulation, civil penalty.

Local prohibition or regulation of gas-powered leaf blowers; civil penalty. Provides that any locality with a population density of at least 2,500 persons per square mile may by ordinance prohibit or regulate the use of gas-powered leaf blowers. The bill provides that any such ordinance shall become enforceable not less than 12 months after the date it is enacted by the local governing body. The bill also provides that the ordinance may include provisions for a civil penalty and that the funds from such civil penalties may be used by the locality to assist with the purchase of nonprohibited leaf blowers by residents and local businesses.

Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan, Jr.Democrat

Health care; decision-making, definitions, medical aid in dying, penalties.

Health care; decision-making; end of life; penalties. Allows an adult diagnosed with a terminal disease to request and an attending health care provider to prescribe a self-administered controlled substance for the purpose of ending the patient's life. The bill requires that a patient's request for a self-administered controlled substance to end his life be given orally on two occasions and in writing, signed by the patient and one witness, and that the patient be given an express opportunity to rescind his request at any time. The bill makes it a Class 2 felony (i) to willfully and deliberately alter, forge, conceal, or destroy a patient's request, or rescission of request, for a self-administered controlled substance to end his life with the intent and effect of causing the patient's death; (ii) to coerce, intimidate, or exert undue influence on a patient to request a self-administered controlled substance for the purpose of ending his life or to destroy the patient's rescission of such request with the intent and effect of causing the patient's death; or (iii) to coerce, intimidate, or exert undue influence on a patient to forgo a self-administered controlled substance for the purpose of ending the patient's life. The bill also grants immunity from civil or criminal liability and professional disciplinary action to any person who complies with the provisions of the bill and allows health care providers to refuse to participate in the provision of a self-administered controlled substance to a patient for the purpose of ending the patient's life.

Patrick A. HopeDemocrat

Electric vehicles & charging stations; electrification of Commonwealth's centralized fleet, report.

Director of the Department of General Services; electric vehicles and charging stations; state targets. Directs the Director of the Department of General Services (the Director) to set a goal for the electrification of the Commonwealth's centralized fleet that is aligned with the Commonwealth Clean Energy Policy, with interim targets set for 2028, 2030, and 2032. The bill also requires the Director to set targets for the number and type of electric vehicle charging stations installed at state facilities by those same years that are achievable under the current Department of General Services appropriations and for the same years if additional funds were made available. The Director is required to report his findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly by October 1, 2026.

Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan, Jr.Democrat

Sales & use tax on taxable services & digital personal property; taxes levied in certain districts.

Sales and use tax on taxable services and digital personal property; taxes levied in certain transportation districts; funding for transportation. Decreases the retail sales and use tax from 4.3 percent to four percent and expands such tax to taxable services, defined in the bill, and digital personal property, also defined in the bill, beginning on January 1, 2027. Additionally, the bill imposes (i) an additional retail sales and use tax in any county or city that is a member of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission at the rate of 0.385 percent; any county or city that is embraced by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority but that is not a member of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission at the rate of 0.615 percent; and any county or city that is a member of the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission at the rate of 0.2 percent; (ii) a retail delivery fee in the amount of 20 cents upon each retail delivery, defined in the bill, made in any county or city located within the Northern Virginia Transportation District or the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission; and (iii) a regional highway use fee on all vehicles in the Commonwealth that are subject to the existing highway use fee.

Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan, Jr.Democrat

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

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

Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan, Jr.Democrat

Local Environmental Impact Fund; created.

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

Alfonso H. LopezDemocrat

Compounding pharmacies; use of bulk drug substances, recordkeeping.

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

Rodney T. WillettDemocrat

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

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

Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan, Jr.Democrat

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

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

Alfonso H. LopezDemocrat

County manager plan of government; affordable dwelling unit ordinance.

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

Alfonso H. LopezDemocrat

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

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

Alfonso H. LopezDemocrat

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

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

Alfonso H. LopezDemocrat

Income tax, state; affordable rental housing tax credit.

Income tax credit; affordable rental housing tax credit. Establishes a nonrefundable tax credit for taxable years 2026 through 2030 for eligible landlords equal to $750 per affordable dwelling unit, as certified by the Department of Housing and Community Development. The bill limits the (i) total amount of such credits available to an eligible landlord to $15,000 per taxable year and (ii) aggregate amount of such credits claimed to $5 million per taxable year.

Lily V. FranklinDemocrat

Covenants not to compete; exceptions, civil penalty.

Covenants not to compete; exceptions; civil penalty. Prohibits an employer from entering into, enforcing, or threatening to enforce a covenant not to compete with employees who perform key duties of the employer's enterprise or customarily and regularly solicit customers or make sales or contracts for the employer. Under the bill, certain employees are permitted to enter agreements to refrain from soliciting business from the employer for a stated period of time following termination. The penalty provisions in current law for covenants not to compete for low-wage employees shall apply to a violation of the provisions of the bill. The provisions of the bill apply to contracts entered into, amended, or renewed on or after July 1, 2026.

Alfonso H. LopezDemocrat

ATVs and off-road motorcycles; operation in the Southwest Regional Recreation Authority.

All-terrain vehicles and off-road motorcycles; operation in the Southwest Regional Recreation Authority. Expands the authorized operation of all-terrain vehicles to include (i) operation on highways in all localities embraced by the Southwest Regional Recreation Authority, in addition to Buchanan County and Tazewell County, which are already authorized under current law, provided that certain conditions are met, and (ii) operation on public highways or other public property by employees of the Southwest Regional Recreation Authority conducting official business. The bill also authorizes any locality embraced by the Southwest Regional Recreation Authority to provide for the lawful seizure, impounding, and disposition of an unlawfully operated all-terrain vehicle or off-road motorcycle operated on a highway or sidewalk within the boundaries of such locality.

James W. MorefieldRepublican

Uniform Statewide Building Code; homeowners who live off grid.

Board of Housing and Community Development; Uniform Statewide Building Code; homeowners who live off grid. Directs the Board of Housing and Community Development to amend the Uniform Statewide Building Code to exempt any homeowner who lives off the electrical grid from complying with provisions of the Building Code regarding electrical systems, so long as his home is otherwise habitable pursuant to Building Code regulations.

H. Otto Wachsmann, Jr.Republican

Electric Vehicle Rural Infrastructure Program and Fund; established and created.

Electric Vehicle Rural Infrastructure Program and Fund created. Creates the Electric Vehicle Rural Infrastructure Program and Fund to assist private developers with non-utility costs associated with the installation of electric vehicle charging stations (i) in certain localities; (ii) on eligible public land, as defined in the bill; or (iii) within one mile of the boundary of eligible public land. The bill provides that a private developer may apply for a grant in an amount equal to 70 percent of the private developer's non-utility costs for the installation of such public electric vehicle charging stations. The awarding of a grant under the Program is conditional upon an agreement with the applicant that any cost of a project not funded by a grant awarded by the Program be funded by non-federal funds. The bill directs the Department of Energy to establish guidelines for the administration of the Program, including guidelines related to the application for and award of grants. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2031.

Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan, Jr.Democrat

Private elementary or secondary school; use of public funds for tuition, standards.

Use of public funds for private elementary or secondary school tuition; standards. Establishes several requirements and conditions relating to the use of certain public funds enumerated in the bill to fund student tuition at private elementary and secondary schools in the Commonwealth, including (i) requiring all students enrolled at schools who receive such funds to take Standards of Learning assessments; (ii) requiring all such schools to receive accountability ratings from the Board of Education; and (iii) prohibiting such schools from discriminating in admissions, enrollment, discipline, retention, or access to educational programs and services on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, special education status, language proficiency, or socioeconomic status.

Dan I. HelmerDemocrat

Public elementary and secondary student textbooks; print as primary curriculum basis.

Public elementary and secondary student textbooks; print as primary curriculum basis. Requires, unless otherwise indicated in a student's individualized education program, print textbooks and other high-quality instructional materials to serve as the primary curriculum basis for a grade-level subject or course but permits digital textbooks and other high-quality instructional materials to serve as the secondary curriculum basis for a grade-level subject or course.

Lindsey DoughertyDemocrat

Small claims court; jurisdictional limit.

Small claims court; jurisdictional limit. Allows a plaintiff to file a small claims civil warrant when the amount claimed does not exceed $25,000, exclusive of interest, up to two times in the Commonwealth in a calendar year. Under current law, the small claims court has jurisdiction when the amount claimed does not exceed $5,000, exclusive of interest.

Lindsey DoughertyDemocrat

Industrial/commercial use facilities; local authority on requiring water consumption in zoning ordinance.

Local authority on requiring water consumption in zoning ordinance; industrial and commercial facilities. Authorizes a locality to include in its zoning ordinance provisions for (i) requiring proposed industrial and commercial facilities to submit water consumption estimates and (ii) considering water consumption from public resources when making rezoning and special use permit decisions related to such facilities.

David A. ReidDemocrat

Income tax, state; removes sunset from and makes permanent increase in refundable earned tax credit.

Earned income tax credit. Removes the sunset from and makes permanent the increase in Virginia's refundable earned income tax credit from 15 percent to 20 percent of the allowable federal earned income tax credit. Under current law, the Virginia refundable earned income tax credit expires in taxable year 2027, and Virginia's nonrefundable earned income tax credit, which has no expiration date, is equal to 20 percent of the federal credit.

Marcia S. "Cia" PriceDemocrat

Uniform Statewide Building Code; amendments, energy efficiency and conservation.

Uniform Statewide Building Code; amendments; energy efficiency and conservation. Requires the Board of Housing and Community Development to adopt amendments to the Uniform Statewide Building Code within 18 months of publication of a new version of the International Code Council's International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) to incorporate the latest IECC standards related to energy efficiency and conservation. The bill requires the Board to adopt Building Code standards that are at least as stringent as those contained in the new version of the IECC.

Elizabeth B. Bennett-ParkerDemocrat

Marine Resources Commission; fisheries climate adaptation plan, report.

Marine Resources Commission; fisheries climate adaptation plan; report. Directs the Marine Resources Commission, in collaboration with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, to develop and maintain a fisheries climate adaptation plan that utilizes the best available science to consider climate-driven impacts to Virginia fisheries and aquaculture and identify adaptive management strategies and research needs necessary to safeguard the economic and environmental health of Virginia fisheries. The Commission is directed to convene a technical advisory committee of relevant stakeholders to aid in the development of such plan, to update the plan at least once every three years, and to submit a report detailing the plan to relevant executive agency personnel and committees of the General Assembly by December 1, 2026, for the initial plan and December 1 in any year in which the plan is updated.

Alex Q. AskewDemocrat

Workers' compensation; disability of law-enforcement officer, spousal wage replacement, report.

Workers' compensation; disability of law-enforcement officer; spousal wage replacement; report. Requires the employer of a law-enforcement officer who sustains a line of duty injury, as defined in the bill, to pay or cause to be paid to the spouse of such law-enforcement officer 66 percent of such spouse's average weekly wage during the previous three years, up to 80 percent of the average weekly wage of the Commonwealth, provided that certain requirements are met. The bill directs the Workers' Compensation Commission to establish an application review process for claims for spousal wage replacement pursuant to the bill's provisions by January 1, 2027. Certain provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.

David A. ReidDemocrat

Pawpaw (Asimina triloba); designating as official state fruit.

Official emblems and designations; state fruit; pawpaw. Designates the pawpaw fruit (Asimina triloba) as the official state fruit.

Elizabeth R. GuzmanDemocrat

Approval of land use applications; residential development.

Approval of land use applications; residential development. Requires every locality to take final action to approve, approve with conditions, or deny any land use application for the rezoning or development of property that includes residential development within 12 months from the date of submission of such application to the locality.

Nicole ColeDemocrat

Public utilities; reopening rate case in certain instances.

Public utilities; reopening rate case in certain instances. Provides that if an application is filed with the State Corporation Commission for approval of the acquisition or disposition of control involving a public utility and such application is filed within 24 months after the entry of a final order in a rate increase proceeding, the Commission may, on its own initiative or upon petition of any interested person, reopen such rate increase proceeding.

Nicole ColeDemocrat

Eminent domain; condemnation of public waterworks systems, determination of lost profits.

Eminent domain; condemnation of public waterworks systems; determination of lost profits. Requires the body determining just compensation in a condemnation proceeding initiated by a locality for the taking of a waterworks system to consider in its determination of lost profits the difference between the rates, fees, and charges for water service provided by (i) the condemning locality or authority and (ii) the owner on the date of valuation. The bill requires, upon the petition of any party or upon the request of the court, that such determination of lost profits be commensurately reduced to the extent that the body determining just compensation and the court find to be just and reasonable.

Nicole ColeDemocrat

High school graduation requirements; alternative pathway to standard diploma established, report.

High school graduation requirements; alternative pathway to standard diploma established; report. Requires the Board of Education to (i) establish pursuant to regulation an alternative pathway to the standard diploma for any student with a disability whose individualized education program indicates that the student demonstrates the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve the standard diploma but requires significant instructional, course sequencing, or assessment accommodations or modifications in order to do so and (ii) take all steps necessary to ensure that such pathway and the Applied Studies diploma are, to the maximum extent practicable, treated as a standard diploma for the purpose of eligibility for enrollment at an institution of higher education in the Commonwealth, eligibility for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and federal financial aid programs, consideration for military service enlistment opportunities, and consideration for state employment opportunities that require a standard diploma. The bill requires the Department of Education to report annually to the Governor and the General Assembly on the implementation of such alternative pathway to the standard diploma, including the number of students utilizing such alternative pathway and the postsecondary outcomes of such students.

Destiny LeVere BollingDemocrat

Local government or board of zoning appeals land use decisions; third-party standing requirements.

Contesting local governing body or board of zoning appeals land use decisions; third-party standing requirements. Creates standing for any person who does not have an ownership interest in the property that is the direct subject of a local governing body or board of zoning appeals action if such person has alleged with particularity and proven by clear and convincing evidence that he (i) has an immediate, pecuniary, and substantial interest in the litigation, and not a remote or indirect interest; (ii) owns or occupies real property within or in close proximity to the property that is the subject of the land use determination; and (iii) has suffered (a) a particularized harm to a personal or property right, legal or equitable, or (b) an imposition of a burden or obligation different from that suffered by the general public. The bill clarifies that such standing requirements do not apply to any person who has an ownership interest in the property that is the direct subject of the decision of the local governing body or the board of zoning appeals.

Marcus B. SimonDemocrat

Virginia Freedom of Information Act; definitions, meetings, quorum and electronic communication.

Virginia Freedom of Information Act; definitions; meetings; quorum and electronic communication. Amends the definition of "meeting" for purposes of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act such that any assemblage of a quorum of the constituent membership of a public body constitutes a meeting. Under current law, as many as three members or a quorum, if less than three, of the constituent membership of a public body constitutes a meeting. The bill additionally authorizes members of a public body participating through electronic communication in a meeting in which other members are participating in person to count toward the quorum as if the individual were physically present, should such member's physical absence be due to an approved cause of absence.

Laura Jane CohenDemocrat

Housing and Community Development, Department of; powers and duties of director.

Department of Housing and Community Development; powers and duties of director; accessory dwelling unit construction guide. Requires the director of the Department of Housing and Community Development to develop an accessory dwelling unit construction guide that provides (i) an overview of the accessory dwelling unit construction process; (ii) a review of ordinances, permits, fees, programs, and incentives related to accessory dwelling unit development by locality; and (iii) a catalog of model accessory dwelling unit designs suitable for various local restraints. Such guide shall be updated at least every five years.

Laura Jane CohenDemocrat

Children's Cabinet; established, report.

Children's Cabinet established; report. Establishes the Children's Cabinet to advise the Governor on matters pertaining to children in the Commonwealth and ways to improve their health, safety, and well-being.

Irene ShinDemocrat

Absentee voting; ballots received, marked, and cast electronically through the Internet.

Elections; absentee voting; accessibility; ballots received, marked, and cast electronically through the internet. Requires the Department of Elections to make available to all localities a tool to allow a voter with a visual impairment or print disability or a covered voter to receive, mark, and return his absentee ballot electronically through the internet. The bill makes the tool available through the internet in lieu of other currently available assistive technologies.

Patrick A. HopeDemocrat

Electric utilities; cost recovery, costs substantially related to serving data center customers.

Electric utilities; cost recovery; costs substantially related to serving data center customers. Prohibits the recovery of costs incurred by an electric utility that (i) are substantially related to the provision of electric service to data center customers and (ii) would not have been incurred but for the demand of such data center customers from being included in any rates or charges approved by the State Corporation Commission under current law, unless such rates and charges are designed to recover, or substantially recover, such costs solely from data center customers. Under the bill, "data center customers" are data centers with a peak demand of 100 megawatts or greater.

John Chilton McAuliffDemocrat

Income tax, state; tax credit for certain small businesses.

Income tax; tax credit for certain small businesses. Establishes a one-time, nonrefundable tax credit for taxable years 2026 through 2030 for eligible small businesses, as defined in the bill, equal to $2,500. The bill limits the total aggregate amount of small business credits claimed to $5 million per taxable year.

John Chilton McAuliffDemocrat

Zoning; agricultural operations, rental of accessory dwellings.

Zoning; agricultural operations; rental of accessory dwellings. Provides that no locality shall prohibit the rental for 30 days or more of existing accessory residential dwellings located on property with an agricultural operation. The bill does not apply to areas within a town.

John Chilton McAuliffDemocrat

Nondegree workforce training programs; accreditation.

Department of Workforce Development and Advancement; accreditation of nondegree workforce training programs. Directs the Department of Workforce Development and Advancement to establish an accreditation pathway for nondegree workforce training programs in order to align the skills of the Commonwealth's workforce with the needs of industry in the Commonwealth and to provide a workforce entrance pathway for underserved populations in the Commonwealth. The bill includes minimum standards, admissions requirements, and reporting requirements for such programs. Additionally, the bill includes provisions related to the eligibility of accredited programs for state and federal workforce funding, including the federal Workforce Pell Grant.

Jessica L. AndersonDemocrat

Personal property taxation; establishes classification for major energy consumer equipment upgrades.

Personal property taxation; classifications; major energy consumer equipment upgrades. Establishes a special classification for generating equipment purchased on and after July 1, 2026, for the purpose of upgrading the backup or standby power systems of a major energy consumer (i) from equipment that does not meet Tier 2 emission standards to selective catalytic reduction generators that meet or exceed Tier 4 emission standards or (ii) to meet New Source Performance Standards as enforced by the Department of Environmental Quality, as applicable. The bill provides that such equipment may be taxed at a lower rate than is applied to other tangible personal property.

David A. ReidDemocrat

Student literacy programs and plans; certain adjustments.

Student literacy programs and plans; certain adjustments. Prohibits any Department of Education-approved student literacy screener that is administered to identify deficiencies that warrant reading intervention services for students in grades kindergarten through eight from commencing earlier than the tenth full instructional day of the academic year, and requires the testing window established by the Department to extend no fewer than 15 full instructional days to ensure adequate instructional readiness and equitable access. The bill requires (i) the Department's template for student reading plans to (a) auto-populate all available student data from the results on the literacy screener provided by the Department; (b) minimize duplicative manual data entry; (c) authorize the use of standardized instructional profiles for students presenting substantially similar literacy needs, where appropriate; and (d) permit the batch creation of plans when it is appropriate to the instructional context; (ii) the Department to annually compile, in a de-identified format, themes and trends reported through division-level educator feedback mechanisms related to the implementation of the literacy screeners provided by the Department and the development of reading plans; and (iii) prior to the statewide implementation of any substantial modification to the literacy screeners provided by the Department or associated data systems, the Department to conduct an implementation feasibility analysis that assesses system readiness, teacher workload impact, and anticipated training needs. The bill also establishes several new requirements for divisionwide literacy plans.

Bonita G. AnthonyDemocrat

All-terrain vehicles (ATVs); operation on highways in certain localities.

All-terrain vehicles; operation on highways in certain localities. Authorizes the operation of all-terrain vehicles in Giles County and Pulaski County on highways designated by such counties, provided that certain conditions are met. The bill provides certain requirements for the operation of all-terrain vehicles on such designated highways.

Jason S. BallardRepublican

Specialty civil court dockets; business and complex litigation dockets established.

Specialty civil court dockets; business and complex litigation dockets established; criteria for eligible actions. Establishes a specialty docket, known as the business and complex litigation docket, to assist circuit courts with certain civil actions that involve specialized legal issues, complex contexts, intricate transactions, multiple parties, or other complicating factors. The bill provides that for an action to be eligible to be considered for a business and complex litigation docket, the action shall (i) present special complexity, including specialized issues or acute litigation management needs, and (ii) fall into one or more of several enumerated categories of civil actions. The bill also requires that such eligible action has a minimum amount in controversy of $100,000. The bill also enumerates several types of civil actions that are ineligible for such specialty docket but creates an exception for any such action that demonstrates extraordinary circumstances that would require specialized docket management. The bill creates a process by which counsel for any party or the circuit court judge initially assigned to an eligible action may request that the matter be transferred to the specialty docket and directs the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia, in collaboration with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia and the Specialty Docket Advisory Committee studying business and complex litigation dockets, to establish any rules or procedures as necessary for the transfer of such eligible actions.

Rodney T. WillettDemocrat

Aggregate air pollution; Department of Environmental Quality to study, data center generators.

Department of Environmental Quality; study of aggregate air pollution; data center generators; report. Directs the Department of Environmental Quality to conduct a three-year study to research and model a variety of scenarios regarding aggregate air pollution in areas with a large volume of data centers and provide recommendations for future handling of minor air permits for data center generators and the need for increased air quality monitoring in the Commonwealth. The Department is directed to report its findings and any recommendations to the Chairs of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources by October 1, 2029.

Amy J. LauferDemocrat

Income tax, corporate; sourcing of sales, other than sales of tangible personal property.

Corporate income tax; sourcing of sales, other than sales of tangible personal property. Implements market-based corporate income tax sourcing for attributing sales, other than sales of tangible personal property, to Virginia, beginning with taxable year 2027.

Joseph P. McNamaraRepublican