Abolition of fees; legal representation of indigent defendant; jury trial costs; report. Eliminates the fees for the cost of court-appointed counsel or public defender representation for persons who are determined to be indigent. The bill also eliminates fees for persons who utilize a jury trial. The bill contains a reenactment clause for such elimination of fees.The bill also directs the Indigent Defense Commission, in consultation with the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court or his designee, to convene a work group with all relevant stakeholders, including the Attorney General or his designee, the Secretary of Health and Human Resources or his designee; representatives from the Compensation Board, the Virginia Crime Commission, the Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, the Virginia Court Clerk's Association, the Virginia Association of Commonwealth's Attorneys, staff from the House Appropriations and the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees, and the Virginia Probation and Parole Association; and a minimum of two criminal justice reform organizations working on fees and other financial assessments imposed in criminal prosecutions in Virginia; on several topics, including current collection practices, use of funds received as a result of such collections, and the burden of a fee assessment on indigent individuals. The bill requires the work group to submit an executive summary and report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly by November 1, 2026, and a final report by November 1, 2027.
A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 2 of a chapter numbered 14.4, consisting of sections numbered 10.1-1465.1 through 10.1-1465.15, relating to establishing the Virginia Recycling Development Center and the Virginia Recycling Infrastructure Fund; supporting statewide recycling infrastructure; incentivizing voluntary stewardship programs; authorizing public-private partnerships; and addressing priority materials including waste tires, mattresses, and bulky waste.
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.
State Corporation Commission; Phase I Utility; 2026 biennial rate review; report. Directs the State Corporation Commission to consider certain requirements in the 2026 review of the rates, terms, and conditions for the provision of generation and distribution services by Appalachian Power. The bill directs the Commission to review the decision by Appalachian Power to satisfy its capacity obligations with the regional transmission entity through a fixed resource requirement alternative. The bill also directs the Commission to conduct a review of Appalachian Power's efforts to improve system efficiency, resilience, and reliability to address rising costs of responding to severe weather events. The bill requires the Commission to submit a report summarizing its review and providing recommendations by September 1, 2027, or to include such report as part of an existing annual report.
Health care providers; required estimate for nonemergency health care services. Requires health care providers to provide a good faith estimate of the payment amount for which the patient will be responsible for such nonemergency health care service, including any fees or other charges for an item or service the patient may reasonably be expected to receive in connection with the nonemergency health care service. The bill requires the good faith estimate to include (i) description of the scheduled nonemergency health care service, (ii) the provider's standard charge for the service and any related item or service, (iii) the provider's standard charges and any contracted rates known at the time the estimate is prepared, and (iv) a statement that the estimate is not binding and the actual amount billed may differ depending on changes in the scope of services or the health carrier's processing of the claim.
Elections; absentee voting in person; uniform availability. Requires absentee voting in person to be available between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday during early voting, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the first and second Saturday immediately preceding all elections, and between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the second Sunday immediately preceding all elections. Under current law, local electoral boards have some discretion to decide certain hours and days when absentee voting in person is available.
Virginia Cooperative Extension Service; cats and dogs; list of toxic houseplants. Requires the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service to create a list of common houseplants that are toxic to cats and dogs no later than November 1, 2026, and to update such list at least every four years thereafter. The bill requires the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to make such list publicly available on its website.
Individual income tax subtractions; overtime. Establishes an individual income tax subtraction for income attributable to overtime in an amount equal to (i) 25 percent of the federal overtime deduction for taxable year 2026 and (ii) 50 percent of the federal overtime deduction for taxable year 2027 and thereafter.
Mutual aid agreements; public safety radio equipment. Requires localities that have entered into certain public safety mutual aid agreements to provide access to the information necessary to program the public safety radio equipment owned or used by such locality, such as radio frequencies and security and encryption keys.
State Board for Community Colleges; powers; Laurel Ridge Community College; acquisition and improvement of certain property; authorization. Authorizes the State Board of Community Colleges to acquire, by purchase, certain real property and improvements located adjacent to the Laurel Ridge Community College Campus and to execute and deliver such deeds, agreements, plats, and other instruments as necessary to carry out such acquisition in accordance with the provisions of the bill.
State-owned bottomlands; Marine Resources Commission; conveyance of certain easements to City of Norfolk; Coastal Storm Risk Management Program. Allows the Marine Resources Commission to convey to the City of Norfolk, in locations acceptable to the Commission, permanent easement interests, temporary construction easements, and fee simple interests in subaqueous land that are necessary for the City’s Phase I drawings, defined in the bill, pursuant to quitclaims. The bill also allows the Commission to quitclaim to the City any interest that the Commonwealth may have in and to the property known as Newton Canal, a/k/a Mahone's Canal, a/k/a Brambleton Canal, which property is located within the boundaries of City of Norfolk GPIN 1437339770.
Traffic regulation; bicycles, electric personal assistive mobility devices, electric power-assisted bicycles, and motorized skateboards or scooters. Authorizes any person operating a bicycle, electric personal assistive mobility device, electric power-assisted bicycle, or motorized skateboard or scooter to yield instead of stop at an intersection controlled by a stop sign if certain conditions are met. The bill also authorizes such a person to proceed through the intersection on a steady red light if the pedestrian control signal corresponding to the person's direction of travel and to the parallel crosswalk indicates "Walk" and if certain other conditions are met. The bill requires any such persons riding two abreast on roadways with only one travel lane in the direction of such persons and a posted speed limit of 35 miles per hour or more to not impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic. Under current law, such persons riding two abreast are required to not impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic and are required to move into a single-file formation when being overtaken from the rear by a faster moving vehicle, regardless of the type of road and posted speed limit.
