Bills & Legislation

Virginia Clean Energy & Community Flood Preparedness Act; repeal; electric utility customer credit.

Virginia Clean Energy and Community Flood Preparedness Act; repeal; electric utility customer credit. Directs the Department of Environmental Quality to suspend the Commonwealth's participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The bill requires the Commonwealth to remit all revenue collected pursuant to a market-based trading program consistent with RGGI to each electric utility that has a rate adjustment clause approved or pending approval for recovery of the costs of emissions allowances or that has otherwise increased customer bills to recover such costs. The bill directs each such utility to subsequently distribute such funds as a credit to its customers in the Commonwealth.

Bill DeStephRepublican

Sales and use tax; food for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products, emergency.

Sales and use tax; food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products; emergency. Eliminates the remaining one percent local sales and use tax that is imposed on food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products on and after October 27, 2026. Under current law, no other sales and use tax is applied to such products. The bill requires an equivalent amount of revenue to be distributed to cities and counties on a monthly basis in compensation for the lost tax revenue. The bill contains an emergency clause.

Bill DeStephRepublican

State fuel taxes; suspension until July 1, 2027, emergency.

Suspension of statewide fuel taxes; emergency. Temporarily suspends the statewide motor fuel tax and the tax on alternative fuel from October 27, 2026, through July 1, 2027. The bill contains an emergency clause.

Bill DeStephRepublican

State fuel taxes; suspension until January 31, 2027, emergency.

Suspension of statewide fuel taxes; emergency. Temporarily suspends the statewide motor fuel tax and the tax on alternative fuel from October 27, 2026, through January 31, 2027. The bill contains an emergency clause.

Ryan T. McDougleRepublican

RGGI., grocery and gas tax; encouraging the Governor to take measures to alleviate financial strain.

Encouraging the Governor to take measures to alleviate financial strain on citizens of the Commonwealth. Encourages the Governor to take measures to alleviate financial strain on citizens of the Commonwealth by eliminating the grocery tax, suspending the gas tax until July 1, 2027, and withdrawing the Commonwealth from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

Bill DeStephRepublican

Licensed clinical psychologists; prescriptive authority, report.

Licensed clinical psychologists; prescriptive authority; report. Authorizes licensed clinical psychologists who meet specified requirements and obtain a license from the Board of Psychology to prescribe certain medications pursuant to a collaborative practice agreement with a qualified prescribing provider. The bill establishes education, training, and practice requirements and limits prescribing for certain patient populations. The bill requires the Board to adopt implementing regulations by July 1, 2028, and directs the Joint Commission on Health Care to evaluate the implementation of such prescriptive authority and report its findings.

Barbara A. FavolaDemocrat

Pregnant & postpartum inmates; reporting requirements of state, regional, & local correctional fac.

Reporting requirements of state, regional, and local correctional facilities; pregnant and postpartum inmates. Requires additional data on pregnant and postpartum prisoners to be collected and reported, including (i) the method of pregnancy identification for each pregnant prisoner; (ii) the gestational age at the time of pregnancy identification for each pregnant prisoner; (iii) each pregnant prisoner's access to prenatal care and the total number of prenatal care encounters for each pregnant prisoner; (iv) any pregnancy-related complaints and the nature of such complaints; (v) the amount of time elapsed between any pregnancy-related complaint and any clinical evaluation in response to such complaint; (vi) the treatment provided or recommended in response to any pregnancy-related complaint; (vii) any instance in which no clinical action was taken in response to any pregnancy-related complaint; (viii) labor and delivery conditions; (ix) pregnancy outcome and any associated complications; and (x) postpartum care and follow-up during custody for each applicable prisoner. The bill also provides that any such data collected shall not be used for criminal investigations, prosecution, immigration enforcement, or disciplinary action related to pregnancy outcomes. Further, the bill exempts such data from disclosure under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.

Mamie E. LockeDemocrat

Hampton University; recognition and restoration of status as a land-grant university, report.

Educational and cultural institutions; recognition and restoration of status of Hampton University as a land-grant university; requirements; task force established; report. Recognizes and restores the status of Hampton University as an 1862 and 1890 land-grant university of the Commonwealth, in accordance with the provisions of applicable federal law, and enumerates the funding and programs Hampton University shall be eligible for as a land-grant university. The bill also provides for the establishment, upon federal recognition of Hampton University as an institution eligible to receive federal funding and participate in federal and state programs established under applicable law relating to land-grant universities, of an evaluation task force by the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations and the House Committee on for the purpose of evaluating the feasibility of recognizing Hampton University as a land-grant university of the Commonwealth in accordance with the provisions of the bill.

Mamie E. LockeDemocrat

Human trafficking and ongoing domestic violence; issuance of writs of vacatur for victims, sealing.

Issuance of vacatur for victims of human trafficking or ongoing domestic violence; sealing. Expands the current process for the issuance of writs of vacatur for victims of human trafficking to include victims of ongoing domestic violence, defined in the bill, and any charge or arrest related to a qualifying offense as defined in current law. The bill also permits sealing of such writ and the record of the proceedings.

Mamie E. LockeDemocrat

Newport News & Hampton, Cities of; pilot prog. for compensation of private court-appointed counsel.

Pilot program for the compensation of private court-appointed counsel in the Cities of Newport News and Hampton; hourly rate; felony fee caps; report; sunset. Creates a two-year pilot program for the compensation of private court-appointed counsel in the Cities of Newport News and Hampton. The bill provides guidelines for the pilot program and requires the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia to report on the pilot program on or before December 1, 2028. The bill provides that the pilot program sunsets on June 30, 2029.

Mamie E. LockeDemocrat

Income tax, state; establishes a new bracket on income above $1 million.

Individual income tax; rates and distribution. Establishes a new individual income tax bracket on income above $1 million at a rate of 10 percent beginning in taxable year 2027. Under current law, all income in excess of $17,000 is taxed at the rate of 5.75 percent. The bill provides that 40 percent of revenues generated by the new tax bracket will be dedicated to providing additional basic aid funding for public schools, 35 percent to the Child Care Subsidy Program, and 25 percent to the Virginia Housing Trust Fund. This bill also contains technical amendments.

Mamie E. LockeDemocrat

Seeking the expulsion of Senator L. Louise Lucas.

Seeking the expulsion of Senator L. Louise Lucas. Seeks the expulsion of Senator L. Louise Lucas in accordance with Article IV, Section 7 of the Constitution of Virginia and the Rules of the Senate and the process prescribed therein. Such process includes referral of the matter to the Committee on Privileges and Elections, hearings conducted by the Committee, and a report of the Committee's determination including recommendations for disciplinary action. The resolution calls for the Committee on Privileges and Elections to, among other things, consider whether violations of the General Assembly Conflicts of Interests Act occurred.

Bryce E. ReevesRepublican

Suspension of statewide fuel taxes; emergency.

Suspension of statewide fuel taxes; emergency. Temporarily suspends the statewide motor fuel tax and the tax on alternative fuel from October 27, 2026, through January 31, 2027. The bill contains an emergency clause.

Ryan T. McDougleRepublican

Data centers; state permitting, local approval, moratorium, sunset.

Data centers; state permitting; local approval; moratorium; sunset. Prohibits a locality from granting final approval on or after July 1, 2027, of any application for a rezoning, special exception, special use permit, site plan, or plan of development for the siting of a data center. The bill also prohibits any agency of the Commonwealth from (i) issuing any permit, certificate, registration, license, or other form of approval in connection with the development or siting of a data center or (ii) authorizing the construction of any facilities designed to provide electric distribution service, interconnection, on-site electric generation, or related services for a data center on or after July 1, 2027. The bill sunsets on July 1, 2030.

Russet PerryDemocrat

High school student athletes; eligibility, enrollment.

High school student athletes; eligibility; enrollment. Requires any nonprofit corporation founded in Virginia in 1913 that currently organizes and governs interscholastic activities among the public high schools to develop, implement, and enforce rules requiring that a student who is a member of a high school athletic team be deemed to satisfy any residency requirements established by such corporation in order to be eligible for participation on such team if the student is duly enrolled in the high school at which he is a member of such team.

Michael J. JonesDemocrat

Local governing bodies; member nondisclosure agreements prohibited.

Members of local governing bodies; nondisclosure agreements prohibited. Prohibits members of local governing bodies from signing or executing a nondisclosure agreement that prohibits them from discussing matters of public concern related to the performance of their official duties. The bill provides that any such agreement is against public policy, void, and unenforceable. The bill exempts any such member from the prohibition if such nondisclosure agreement is necessary to prevent disclosure of (i) factual circumstances relating to the member's performance of official duties that reasonably implicate privacy interests held by the member, if the member elects to restrict such disclosure; (ii) matters required by law to be kept confidential; or (iii) information related to active civil or criminal investigations. Finally, the bill exempts from its provisions any contracts, covenants, or agreements entered into or renewed prior to July 1, 2027.

Michael J. JonesDemocrat

Corrections, Director of the Department of; placement of inmates, Red Onion State Prison.

Director of the Department of Corrections; placement of inmates; Red Onion State Prison. Directs the Director of the Department of Corrections to continue accepting and reviewing applications for the confinement of inmates from a state that is a party to the Interstate Corrections Compact entered into pursuant to relevant law but prohibits any placement of any such inmate at the Red Onion State Prison until such time as the General Assembly reauthorizes such placement by an act of assembly. The bill also requires the Director to allow for any inmate who is (i) a citizen of the Commonwealth and (ii) incarcerated in any state that is a party to the Interstate Corrections Compact to be placed in a Department facility.

Michael J. JonesDemocrat

Data centers; public hearing and notice requirements.

Data centers; public hearing and notice requirements. Provides additional requirements for local land use decisions regarding zoning changes for data center development. The bill requires, in addition to existing requirements for public advertisements, that the published advertisement providing notice for a public hearing regarding any proposed amendment to a zoning ordinance or application for a special exception for a change in use to permit the by-right development of a data center contain (i) the applicant or developer's name; (ii) the anticipated owner or end user of the development, if known; (iii) the street address, tax map parcel numbers of the parcel or parcels, or a description of the boundaries of the area subject to the changes and a link to a map of the subject area; (iv) the approximate acreage subject to the action; and (v) the expected utility infrastructure to be constructed in connection with the development, including electric, sewer, stormwater, and fuel lines, if known. The bill also requires the local governing body, before approving and adopting any zoning ordinance or amendment, and the board of zoning appeals, before authorizing a special exception or variance, to hold at least two public hearings whenever the subject of a land use decision is a data center development. Under current law, the local governing body and the board of zoning appeals are only required to hold one public hearing.

Michael J. JonesDemocrat

Surveillance pricing practices; consumer transactions, civil penalties.

Surveillance pricing practices; civil penalties. Prohibits an entity or a service provider, as those terms are defined in the bill, from using certain surveillance pricing practices, defined in the bill, in connection with a consumer transaction. The bill provides that the Office of the Attorney General shall enforce the provisions of the bill.

Russet PerryDemocrat

Localities; liability insurance, certain waiver of sovereign immunity.

Localities; liability insurance; certain waiver of sovereign immunity. Provides that a locality or political subdivision may provide liability insurance, including self-insurance, to cover damages or other expenses in certain civil actions arising out of an act or omission of certain officers, employees, board or commission members, or volunteers while such person is acting within the scope of his official duties. The bill provides that the provision of such liability insurance or self-insurance shall constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity in an amount not to exceed the combined total of any self-insurance coverage, insurance coverage under a group self-insurance pool, or any coverage pursuant to a policy purchased from an insurance company, including any excess or reserve coverage. The bill also provides that the insurer or self-insured shall not have a duty to defend or indemnify any covered person in cases where the act or omission took place outside the scope of such covered person's employment or official duties, where such act or omission was done maliciously or occurred as a result of gross negligence or willful misconduct, or is otherwise excluded by the terms of the policy.

Scott A. SurovellDemocrat

Consumer Data Protection Act; prohibitions and duties relating to minors.

Consumer Data Protection Act; prohibitions and duties relating to minors. Prohibits a controller of an online service, product, or feature from entering into certain agreements with a known minor, unless such controller obtains verified consent from the minor's parent as specified in the bill. The bill imposes certain duties on a controller of an online service, product, or feature related to advertising, algorithm use, and reasonable care toward known minors. The bill expands the consumer rights of a parent to minors and adds a provision allowing a parent to obtain a copy of the minor's data. Current law offers certain consumer rights to the parents of children younger than age 13. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.

Christopher T. HeadRepublican

Virginia's Great Outdoors Act; established, creates data center land conservation tax.

Virginia's Great Outdoors Act established; land preservation distributions and appropriations. Creates a data center land preservation tax on and after January 1, 2027, in an amount equal to $3 per square foot of each data center facility footprint, as defined in the bill, and directs no less than $250 million of revenues from the tax to be distributed for various land protection and preservation purposes, including into the Virginia Tribal Commitment Fund, as created in the bill. The bill also repeals provisions requiring the Governor to include in the budget bill or in his amendments to the general appropriation act a recommended appropriation from the general fund, up to $20 million, for land preservation as follows: (i) 80 percent of the unissued credits to the Virginia Land Conservation Fund, of which at least 50 percent must be used for acquisitions with public access; (ii) 10 percent to the Virginia Battlefield Preservation Fund; and (iii) 10 percent to the Virginia Farmland and Forestland Preservation Fund.

Russet PerryDemocrat

Challenges of qualified voters; duty of local electoral board to certify, civil penalty.

Kannan SrinivasanDemocrat

Consumer Data Protection Act; prohibitions and duties relating to minors.

Consumer Data Protection Act; prohibitions and duties relating to minors. Prohibits a controller of an online service, product, or feature from entering into certain agreements with a known minor, unless such controller obtains verified consent from the minor's parent as specified in the bill. The bill imposes certain duties on a controller of an online service, product, or feature related to advertising, algorithm use, and reasonable care toward known minors. The bill expands the consumer rights of a parent to minors and adds a provision allowing a parent to obtain a copy of the minor's data. Current law offers certain consumer rights to the parents of children younger than age 13. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.

Christopher T. HeadRepublican

Challenges of qualified voters; duty of local electoral board to certify, civil penalty.

Elections; challenges of qualified voters; duty of local electoral board to certify; civil penalty. Provides that the certification of the results of an election is a clear ministerial duty of the local electoral boards and that a member of the local electoral board who neglects or refuses to perform such duty in accordance with law shall be subject to removal proceedings by the State Board of Elections and assessed a civil penalty not exceeding $1,000. The bill also authorizes the State Board of Elections to intervene and carry out the duties related to election certification in the event a local electoral board fails or refuses to do so. Additionally, the bill prohibits challenges to a voter's qualification to vote from any person who is not an officer of election.

Kannan SrinivasanDemocrat

Virginia's Great Outdoors Act; established, creates data center land conservation tax.

Virginia's Great Outdoors Act established; land preservation distributions and appropriations. Creates a data center land preservation tax on and after January 1, 2027, in an amount equal to $3 per square foot of each data center facility footprint, as defined in the bill, and directs no less than $250 million of revenues from the tax to be distributed for various land protection and preservation purposes, including into the Virginia Tribal Commitment Fund, as created in the bill. The bill also repeals provisions requiring the Governor to include in the budget bill or in his amendments to the general appropriation act a recommended appropriation from the general fund, up to $20 million, for land preservation as follows: (i) 80 percent of the unissued credits to the Virginia Land Conservation Fund, of which at least 50 percent must be used for acquisitions with public access; (ii) 10 percent to the Virginia Battlefield Preservation Fund; and (iii) 10 percent to the Virginia Farmland and Forestland Preservation Fund.

Russet PerryDemocrat

Localities; liability insurance, certain waiver of sovereign immunity.

Localities; liability insurance; certain waiver of sovereign immunity. Provides that a locality or political subdivision may provide liability insurance, including self-insurance, to cover damages or other expenses in certain civil actions arising out of an act or omission of certain officers, employees, board or commission members, or volunteers while such person is acting within the scope of his official duties. The bill provides that the provision of such liability insurance or self-insurance shall constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity in an amount not to exceed the combined total of any self-insurance coverage, insurance coverage under a group self-insurance pool, or any coverage pursuant to a policy purchased from an insurance company, including any excess or reserve coverage. The bill also provides that the insurer or self-insured shall not have a duty to defend or indemnify any covered person in cases where the act or omission took place outside the scope of such covered person's employment or official duties, where such act or omission was done maliciously or occurred as a result of gross negligence or willful misconduct, or is otherwise excluded by the terms of the policy.

Scott A. SurovellDemocrat

Zoning appeals, board of; appellate jurisdiction upon appeal from the circuit court.

Joshua E. ThomasDemocrat

Zoning; high-energy users, local authority.

JJ SinghDemocrat

Industrial development authorities; housing allowed in certain localities.

Eric PhillipsRepublican

Nondegree workforce training programs; accreditation.

Jessica L. AndersonDemocrat

Transportation network companies; establishes minimum compensation rates, civil penalty.

Kathy K.L. TranDemocrat

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

Christopher T. HeadRepublican

Elections; districts, precincts, and polling places, pilot program for super precincts.

Debra D. GardnerDemocrat

Police chiefs; creates independent protections and procedures.

Mike A. CherryRepublican

Landowners; vested rights.

Vested rights. Alters the criteria for determining when a landowner's rights shall be deemed vested in a land use. Under current law, such vesting occurs when the landowner (i) obtains or is the beneficiary of a significant affirmative governmental act that remains in effect allowing development of a specific project, (ii) relies in good faith on the significant affirmative governmental act, and (iii) incurs extensive obligations or substantial expenses in diligent pursuit of the specific project in reliance on the significant affirmative governmental act. The bill provides that vesting in a land use includes the development of a specific project as contemplated by and consistent with a significant affirmative governmental act and any related approvals, conditions, plans, or application materials accepted or approved by the locality, including the right to make minor modifications to such approvals that substantially conform and do not materially alter the character of the development contemplated by the significant affirmative governmental act. The bill further provides that a zoning administrator shall issue a written determination as to whether a proposed change is material or nonmaterial and that if a zoning administrator determines that a proposed change is material, an applicant may appeal the decision pursuant to general law. Finally, the bill narrows the circumstances by which a locality may treat a use as a valid nonconforming use by providing that if a landowner's rights are vested in a land use, that use shall not be rendered nonconforming by subsequent ordinance changes, except where the General Assembly explicitly authorizes retroactive application of new standards to protect public health and safety.

David A. ReidDemocrat

Zoning appeals, board of; appellate jurisdiction upon appeal from the circuit court.

Joshua E. ThomasDemocrat

Qualifying vehicles, certain; Dept. of Tax. to study options for abolishing personal property tax.

Study; Department of Taxation; options for abolishing the personal property taxation of certain qualifying vehicles; report. Requests the Department of Taxation to study options for abolishing the personal property taxation of certain qualifying vehicles and to evaluate alternative local revenue sources in order to account for the shortfall in local tax revenues that will result from the abolition of such tax.

David W. MarsdenDemocrat

Kratom; Virginia State Crime Commission to conduct an analysis of enforcement & regulation, report.

Virginia State Crime Commission; kratom regulation and enforcement; report.

Luther Cifers, IIIRepublican

Real property tax bills; disclosure, resource protection area.

Real property tax bills; disclosure; resource protection area.

Scott A. SurovellDemocrat

Open containers; prohibition on consumption and possession in the passenger area of motor vehicles.

Open containers; prohibition on consumption and possession in the passenger area of motor vehicles.

Danica A. RoemDemocrat

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

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

Todd E. PillionRepublican

Property Owners' Association Act; operation and management of assoc., condemnation of common area.

Property Owners' Association Act; operation and management of association; condemnation of common area; procedure. Requires consideration of the physical characteristics of a property owners' association's common area land when determining such land's highest and best use for purposes of valuing the property for award or payment for such land in a condemnation proceeding after the common area land is taken or damaged under the power of eminent domain.

Tara A. DurantRepublican

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 the purchase of a principal residence by a first-time homebuyer, as such terms are defined in the bill, in an amount equal to $5,000. The bill requires that any credits be repaid if the principal residence is sold or no longer serves as the first-time homebuyer's principal residence within three years from the purchase date of such property.

Todd E. PillionRepublican

Officers and employees of the Fort Monroe Authority; eligibility for transitional severance benefit.

Workforce Transition Act of 1995; eligibility for transitional severance benefit; officers and employees of the Fort Monroe Authority. Provides that employees of the Fort Monroe Authority are eligible for transitional severance benefits conferred by the Workforce Transition Act of 1995 if (i) reemployment with the Commonwealth is not possible because there is no available position for which the employee is qualified or the position offered to the employee requires relocation or a reduction in salary and (ii) involuntary separation was due to causes other than job performance or misconduct.

Mamie E. LockeDemocrat

Utility Facilities Act; definition of public utility.

Utility Facilities Act; definition of public utility. Provides that for the purposes of the Utility Facilities Act, the term "public utility" does not include any company that owns or operates one or more facilities for the generation, distribution, or storage of electric energy exclusively for consumption by one or more customers located on the site of such facilities or on adjoining property, provided that such facilities are connected on the customer's side of the electric meter and electricity is delivered without the use of a public utility's distribution or transmission system. The bill also provides that after such a facility operates within the certificated service territory of an electric utility for a duration of five years, such company is required to submit to such public utility a written offer for the sale of such facility.

Bill DeStephRepublican

Unemployment benefits; maximum duration.

Unemployment benefits; maximum duration. Provides that, beginning July 1, 2026, for claims effective on or after July 1, 2026, an eligible individual's weekly unemployment compensation benefit amount shall be paid for a maximum duration of 26 weeks.

Adam P. EbbinDemocrat

Local correctional facilities; reimbursements for housing convicted state felons.

Local correctional facilities; reimbursements for housing convicted state felons. Provides that, notwithstanding the quarterly installment payments the Compensation Board is required to provide for reimbursements to localities, the Compensation Board shall ensure that it provides reimbursement to localities for the entirety of the costs incurred by such locality arising from housing convicted state felons in any local or regional correctional facility.

Tammy Brankley MulchiRepublican

Commonwealth Flood Prevention Match Assistance Fund and Program; established, report.

Commonwealth Flood Prevention Match Assistance Fund and Program; established. Establishes the Commonwealth Flood Prevention Match Assistance Fund and Program for the purpose of supporting local governments with grants to finance the cost share required of a local government for storm and flood risk management projects, as such terms are defined in the bill. The bill also requires an annual audit and an annual report to the Governor and the Chairs of the House Committees on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and Appropriations and the Senate Committees on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and Finance and Appropriations.

Mamie E. LockeDemocrat