Tobacco products tax; cigars. Caps the statutory tax rate imposed on the selling or distributing of cigars by a distributor or remote retail seller at 20 percent of the manufacturer's sales price or 30 cents ($0.30) per cigar, whichever is lower. Under current law, the effective rate is 20 percent of the manufacturer's sales price due to language in the appropriation act, which doubles the statutory rate. The bill also directs the Department of Taxation to update its form TT-8, Virginia Tobacco Products Tax Return (OTP), to begin collecting data on the number of premium cigars sold in the Commonwealth as a distinct category from all other cigars. The bill directs the Department to update such form as soon as practicable and provide a report of the data so collected and estimated fiscal impacts of adopting a cap of 30 cents ($0.30) per cigar or another rate on the tobacco products tax imposed on premium cigars to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Finance and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations no later than December 1, 2025.
Public middle schools; programs of instruction; Middle School Mathematics Innovation Program established. Establishes the Middle School Mathematics Innovation Program, to be administered by the Department of Education (the Department), for the purpose of assisting school divisions, in partnership with a certain provider, to be selected by the Department in accordance with criteria set forth in the bill, in the implementation of personalized, competency-based mathematics education and evidence-based mathematics learning models in mathematics courses offered in grades six through eight in any public middle school designated as a mathematics innovation school. Any public middle school may apply for the mathematics innovation school designation. The bill directs the Department to give preference to public middle schools that (i) demonstrate a need for support based on data from the immediately preceding school year on the Standards of Learning mathematics assessment results for grades six, seven, and eight; (ii) are located in rural areas; or (iii) are located in economically disadvantaged areas.
Department of Corrections; designated employees with same power as sheriff or law-enforcement officer. Allows the Department of Corrections to designate employees to have the same power as a sheriff or a law-enforcement officer for the purpose of enforcing the criminal laws of the Commonwealth. Under current law, the Department can designate such employees with internal investigations authority to have such law-enforcement powers in the investigation of allegations of criminal behavior affecting the operations of the Department. Accordingly, the bill makes technical changes to additional sections that reference such designated employees, including in the definition of a law-enforcement officer used in various places throughout the Code and for the purposes of the Line of Duty Act, assault and battery of a law-enforcement officer, retired law-enforcement officers being able to carry a concealed handgun, and certain retired law-enforcement officers being able to purchase their service handgun or other weapon.
Corporate income tax; Virginia taxable income; definitions. Defines, for purposes of income tax, "entire net income" as the total net income from all sources that a taxpayer is required to report for purposes of the federal income tax. The bill further defines "net operating loss" as the excess of any allowable income tax deductions over the gross income used in computing entire net income.
Estimated tax; failure by individual, trust, or estate to pay. Increases from $150 to $1,000 the maximum underpayment of estimated tax for which no addition to tax shall be added.
Sanctuary policies prohibited. Provides that no locality shall adopt any ordinance, procedure, or policy intended to restrict the enforcement of federal immigration laws. The bill also requires an official in charge of a correctional facility to transfer custody of certain persons to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement upon receipt of a detainer. Under current law, the official may make such transfer.
Transfer of certain incarcerated persons to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Requires the Director of the Department of Corrections, sheriff, or other official in charge of the facility in which an alien is incarcerated to, upon receipt of a detainer from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, (i) provide U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with prerelease notification of such alien's release and (ii) upon request of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, transfer custody of the alien to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement upon such alien's release, which shall occur no more than five days prior to the date on which he would otherwise be released from custody. Current law states that the Director, sheriff, or other official in charge of the facility may transfer such incarcerated person upon receipt of a detainer.
Employee Child Care Assistance Pilot Program. Establishes the Employee Child Care Assistance Pilot Program (the Program) to provide matching funds to employers in order to incentivize employers to contribute to the child care costs of their employees. The Program shall be administered by the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation (the Foundation). To participate in the Program, an employer shall agree to make child care contributions to the eligible mixed-delivery provider on behalf of the employee and shall provide any other information deemed necessary by the Foundation. To the extent funds are available, the Foundation shall issue a state match directly to such eligible mixed-delivery provider or to a third-party administrator. Program funds shall be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis; however, the Foundation is encouraged to prioritize awards to proposals involving contributions from small businesses. The bill requires the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation to provide an interim report to the General Assembly by September 1, 2026, and a summative report to the General Assembly by September 1, 2027, on the effectiveness and impact of the Program.
Employment health and safety standards; heat illness prevention. Requires the Safety and Health Codes Board to adopt regulations establishing reasonable standards designed to protect employees from heat illness and establish a list of high-hazard industries, as defined in the bill. The bill authorizes a person aggrieved by a violation of its provisions or the regulations promulgated thereunder to seek to obtain injunctive relief, to recover statutory damages of $1000, or both, in an action commenced within one year of the cause of action. The bill requires the Safety and Health Codes Board, in consultation with the Department of Labor and Industry, to develop a list of high-hazard industries by January 1, 2026, and to develop and adopt regulations requiring employers in high-hazard industries to implement standards for heat illness prevention by May 1, 2026. This bill was incorporated into SB 917.
Health insurance; coverage for cancer follow-up testing; report. Requires health insurers and other carriers to provide coverage for cancer follow-up testing, as defined in the bill, and prohibits the imposition of deductibles, coinsurance, or any other cost-sharing requirements specifically on cancer follow-up testing. The bill directs the Bureau of Insurance to annually report to the General Assembly on (i) the number of individuals benefiting from the removal of copayments for cancer follow-up testing, (ii) the financial impact on health insurance premiums as a result of the provisions of the bill, and (iii) recommendations for further policy adjustments.
Free fishing license program; blue catfish; sunset. Directs the Department of Wildlife Resources to create a program that allows a person to obtain a digital fishing license at no cost through the Department's Go Outdoors Virginia mobile application to catch blue catfish. The bill requires the Department to establish certain eligibility requirements as provided in the bill and to establish guidelines for the administration of the program, including an incentive program to recognize program participants that catch the most blue catfish by weight, length, or number. The program has an expiration date of July 1, 2029, after which the Department is required to examine and report on the effectiveness of the free digital fishing license program in reducing the Commonwealth's population of blue catfish.
Information and communications technology and services; transactions with foreign adversaries. Requires the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency to establish and maintain a list of prohibited information and communications technology and services that (i) are designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by persons owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a foreign adversary and (ii) have been determined to pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the security and safety of the United States. The bill specifies that the list shall include any information and communications technology and services determined by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Federal Communications Commission, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, or any other appropriate federal agency to pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the security and safety of the United States pursuant to the provisions of Executive Order 13873 on Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain and any related regulations or official guidance. The bill prohibits any public body or person conducting business in the Commonwealth from acquiring, importing, transferring, installing, dealing in, or using any information and communications technology and services included on the list established and maintained by the CIO unless (i) (a) such transaction was initiated, is pending, or will be completed after July 1, 2025, or (b) the public body received a waiver from the CIO and (ii) such transaction is not otherwise prohibited by law. The bill also allows the Superintendent of State Police, in consultation with the CIO, to grant an exception to the prohibition on such transactions by public bodies for the purpose of allowing any employee, agent, person, or entity to participate in any law-enforcement-related matters
