Firearm purchase requirements; penalties. Requires any person selling a firearm to obtain verification from the Department of State Police that the prospective purchaser is not prohibited under state or federal law or a criminal history record check from possessing a firearm. The bill requires any person purchasing a firearm from a firearms dealer to present a valid firearm purchaser license issued by the Department of State Police that allows the holder to purchase a firearm. The bill prohibits a firearms dealer from selling, renting, trading, or transferring from his inventory any firearm to any person until he has received such permit. The bill sets forth the procedures to apply for the permit and prohibits the permitting of any person who (i) is younger than 21 years of age; (ii) is prohibited from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm; (iii) within the two years prior to the date of application, has been convicted of any offense against a person that is an act of violence, force, or threat or a firearm-related offense that is punished as a Class 1 misdemeanor; or (iv) within the two years prior to the date of application, has not completed a firearms safety or training course or class offered to the public by a law-enforcement agency, institution of higher education, or private or public institution or organization or by a firearms training school utilizing instructors certified or approved by the Department of Criminal Justice Services and with a required curriculum, detailed in the bill. The bill provides that such firearm purchaser license is valid for five years from the date of issuance. The bill details reasons for revocation of a firearm purchaser license and provides that any person who fails to return a revoked firearm purchaser license to the Superintendent of State Police within five days' notice of revocation is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill also states that any person who makes a materially false statement on the application form for a permit is guilty of perjury. The bill provides that the Department of State Police shall enter the name and description of a person issued a firearm purchaser license into the Virginia Criminal Information Network and specifies that such information will be withheld from public disclosure but shall not be withheld from any law-enforcement agency or officer, or any authorized agent of such agency or officer, acting in the performance of his official duties. Finally, the bill provides that the Department of State Police shall keep and maintain a computerized database containing certain enumerated information, which may be made available to institutions of higher education and other research organizations or institutions in the Commonwealth upon request and sets out exceptions for to whom its provisions should apply.
Civil action for deprivation of rights; liability of persons acting under color of law. Creates a state civil cause of action for violations of rights guaranteed by the constitutions or laws of the United States and the Commonwealth. The bill provides that a person acting under color of law who deprives an individual of such rights and any supervisor of such person who is responsible for directing or overseeing such person's conduct shall be liable to such individual for compensatory damages, punitive damages, equitable relief, and reasonable attorney fees and costs.
Seizure, forfeiture, and destruction of property used in connection with the exploitation and solicitation of children. Provides that all audio and visual equipment, electronic equipment, devices, and other personal property used in connection with the possession, production, distribution, publication, sale, possession with intent to distribute, or making of child pornography, or in connection with the solicitation of a person less than 18 years of age, in violation of current law, shall be subject to lawful seizure by a law-enforcement officer and forfeited to the Commonwealth by order of the court trying the case. The bill also (i) requires the court to order the destruction of all such equipment, devices, and other personal property, (ii) requires certain information to be provided by the law-enforcement agency responsible for the destruction, (iii) prohibits destruction of such items to be used in a criminal prosecution until all rights of appeal have been exhausted, and (iv) requires the law-enforcement agency to provide notice, by first-class mail, to the accused or other interested party, if known, and his attorney at least seven days prior to the destruction of the time and place the destruction will occur.
Board of zoning appeals; appellate jurisdiction upon appeal from the circuit court. Provides that appeals lie directly to the Supreme Court of Virginia from any final decision of a circuit court on appeal from a board of zoning appeals.
General district courts; jurisdictional limits; motor vehicle accidents. Provides that general district courts of the Commonwealth shall have jurisdiction over actions for bodily injury to or death of a person caused by a motor vehicle accident for an amount in controversy not to exceed $50,000, exclusive of interest, costs, and any prior settlement made pursuant to a motor vehicle owner's insurance policy.
Seizure, forfeiture, and destruction of property used in connection with the exploitation and solicitation of children. Requires the court to order the destruction of all audio and visual equipment, electronic equipment, devices, and other personal property used in connection with the possession, production, distribution, publication, sale, possession with intent to distribute, or making of child pornography, or in connection with the solicitation of a person less than 18 years of age, in violation of current law. The bill also (i) requires certain information to be provided by the law-enforcement agency responsible for the destruction, (ii) prohibits destruction of such items to be used in a criminal prosecution until all rights of appeal have been exhausted, and (iii) requires the law-enforcement agency to provide notice, by first-class mail, to the accused or other interested party, if known, and his attorney at least seven days prior to the destruction of the time and place the destruction will occur.
Marijuana field test; testimony as to the results; consuming or possessing marijuana or marijuana products while in a motor vehicle or on public school grounds. Allows a law-enforcement officer to testify as to the results of any marijuana field test approved as accurate and reliable by the Department of Forensic Science regarding whether or not any plant material at issue is marijuana in a trial for a violation of using or consuming marijuana or marijuana products while in a motor vehicle being driven upon a public highway or consuming or possessing marijuana or marijuana products in or on public school grounds, provided the defendant has been given written notice of his right to request a full chemical analysis. Current law allows a law-enforcement officer to testify as to the results of a marijuana field test in a trial for underage possession or consumption of marijuana.
Consumer Data Protection Act; online device pricing; prohibition. Provides that no controller or processor shall, in connection with a consumer transaction, generate, in whole or in part, a price offered to a consumer through the consumer's online device based on (i) the hardware or hardware state of the online device, as those terms are defined in the bill, (ii) the presence or absence of any software on the online device, or (iii) precise geolocation data of the online device when used to set a price based on inferences about the consumer made from such data. The bill provides for exemptions in certain instances.
Twenty-seventh judicial district; boundary of judicial district; number of judges. Divides the twenty-seventh judicial district, currently composed of the Cities of Galax and Radford and the Counties of Montgomery, Giles, Bland, Pulaski, Wythe, Carroll, Floyd, and Grayson, into two separate judicial districts. The bill provides that the City of Radford and the Counties of Montgomery, Giles, and Bland shall constitute the twenty-seventh district and that the City of Galax and the Counties of Pulaski, Wythe, Carroll, Floyd, and Grayson shall constitute district twenty-seven-A. The bill also divides the maximum number of judges authorized to serve the twenty-seventh district general district court and the juvenile and domestic relations district court between the twenty-seventh district and district twenty-seven-A.
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.
Local taxation of real property; effect on rate when assessment results in tax increase; consideration of inflation. Provides that, in determining a locality's total real property tax levies for purposes of determining the rate of levy that the locality shall impose upon such properties in order to produce no more than 101 percent of the previous year's real property tax levies, such real property assessed value shall be reduced by the greater of (i) the change in the United States Average Consumer Price Index for all items, all urban consumers (CPI-U), as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the U.S. Department of Labor, since the fiscal year of the last assessment or (ii) zero.
Real property tax exemption; surviving spouses of members of the armed forces who died in the line of duty. Authorizes localities to provide, for tax years beginning on and after January 1, 2026, up to a total exemption from real property taxes for dwellings owned by surviving spouses of members of the armed forces that are situated on property zoned as single family residential. Under current law, a total exemption is only allowed for such dwellings with assessed values in the most recently ended tax year that are not in excess of the average assessed value for such year of a dwelling situated on property that is zoned as single family residential.
