Commission on Early Childhood Care and Education; kindergarten readiness funding proposal; report. Requires the Commission on Early Childhood Care and Education to develop a proposal to increase funding for kindergarten readiness programs with a focus on programs that are already under contract with local school divisions. The bill requires the Commission, in developing such proposal, to consider how such programs can receive Virginia Preschool Initiative grants. The bill requires the Commission to report its proposal and any associated findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Education, the Senate Committee on Education and Health, and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations no later than October 1, 2025.
Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security and Secretary of Health and Human Resources; combat the sale of illicit cannabis products; work group; report. Directs the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security and the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to convene a work group to analyze the current efforts in the Commonwealth to combat the sale of illicit cannabis products and develop recommendations to enhance such enforcement efforts with a focus on protecting consumers and children from harmful, untested, and unregulated products. The bill requires the work group to complete its work and submit a report regarding its findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the House Committees on Appropriations, on General Laws, and for Courts of Justice and the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriations, on General Laws and Technology, on Rehabilitation and Social Services, and for Courts of Justice by October 1, 2025.
Subdivision ordinance; plan review by designated agent. Removes planning commission and governing body approval authority for the administrative review process for plats and plans and assigns such authority solely to a designated agent, defined in the bill. The bill also expedites the review process by shortening the timeframe for forwarding plats and plans to state agencies for review.
Public schools; student enrollment; recruitment prohibited. Prohibits any school board, school board member, or school board employee from recruiting or otherwise incentivizing a student who resides outside of the local school division to enroll in a public school in such local school division.
Commonwealth Mass Transit Fund; Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission. Creates a new allocation from the Commonwealth Mass Transit Fund for the Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission, adjusts the amounts of certain other allocations from such Fund, and removes the light rail system operated by the Transportation District Commission of Hampton Roads from eligibility for funds from such other allocations from such Fund. The bill requires the Commonwealth Transportation Board to withhold 20 percent of the funds from such new allocation unless the Transportation District Commission of Hampton Roads submits to it certain information annually. The bill directs the Department of Rail and Public Transportation, for fiscal year 2027, to reserve and utilize certain funds in amounts necessary to provide certain supplemental operating assistance to certain transit providers that would experience a reduction in allocable funds due to the reallocations in this bill. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.
Department of Juvenile Justice; inquiry and report of immigration status; juvenile or adult adjudicated delinquent or convicted of violent juvenile felony. Requires the Director of the Department of Juvenile Justice or other person in charge of a secure facility where a juvenile or adult has been committed upon an adjudication of delinquency or a finding of guilt for a violent juvenile felony to ascertain whether such juvenile or adult is in the United States illegally and, if such juvenile or adult is found to be in the United States illegally, to communicate such information to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Under current law, such immigration inquiries are required of jail officers or correctional officers in charge of state, local, or regional correctional facilities.
Personal injury action against health care provider; certain defenses prohibited. Prohibits a defendant health care provider from asserting a defense of medical malpractice in a civil action for personal injury arising out of such health care provider's act of criminal sexual assault.
Parole; exception to limitation on the application of parole statutes. Provides that a person is eligible to be considered for parole if such person (i) was sentenced by a jury after the date of the Supreme Court of Virginia decision in Fishback v. Commonwealth, 260 Va. 104 (2000), in which the Supreme Court held that a jury should be instructed on the fact that parole has been abolished, for a felony committed on or after the abolition of parole going into effect on January 1, 1995; (ii) can prove by the preponderance of the evidence that the jury in his case was not instructed on the fact that parole has been abolished; and (iii) remained incarcerated for the offense on July 1, 2025, and the offense was not one of the following: (a) a Class 1 felony; (b) if the victim was a minor, rape, forcible sodomy, object sexual penetration, or aggravated sexual battery or an attempt to commit any such act; or (c) carnal knowledge. The bill also requires the Parole Board to establish procedures for consideration of parole of persons entitled to it and also provides that any person who is eligible for parole as of July 1, 2025, shall be scheduled for a parole interview no later than July 1, 2026, allowing for extension of time for reasonable cause.
Release of developer performance guarantees. Clarifies that existing provisions related to the periodic partial and final release of developer performance guarantees also applies to performance guarantees for erosion and sediment control measures, stormwater management facilities, and fill and borrow areas.
Autism Advisory Council; name change; membership; staffing; powers and duties. Provides for the Autism Advisory Council to be reconstituted as a permanent, independently staffed agency in the legislative branch of state government. Currently, the Autism Advisory Council is set to expire on July 1, 2027. The bill repeals that expiration date and renames the agency as the Autism Commission. The bill also modifies the membership of the Commission to more closely align with the membership makeup of other independently staffed legislative agencies and directs the Commission to appoint and employ an executive director and other staff to assist in carrying out the duties of the Commission.
Sage's Law; minor students experiencing gender incongruence; parental notification of certain requests and parental permission for certain plans required; parental care. Requires each public elementary or secondary school principal or his designee to (i) as soon as practicable, inform at least one parent of a minor student enrolled in such school if such minor requests that any such employee participate while at school in the social affirmation of such minor student's gender incongruence or the transition of such minor student to a sex or gender different from the minor's biological sex, as such terms are defined in the bill, and (ii) request and receive permission from at least one parent of a minor student enrolled at such school prior to the implementation at such school of any plan concerning any gender incongruence experienced by such minor, including any counseling of such minor at school. Any such plan shall include provision for parental participation to the extent requested by the parent. The bill also clarifies, in the definition of the term "abused or neglected child," that in no event shall referring to and raising the child in a manner consistent with the child's biological sex, including related mental health or medical decisions, be considered abuse or neglect.
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 2.2-3705.7, 8.01-654, 17.1-310, 17.1-406, 18.2-8, 18.2-10, 18.2-18, 18.2-19, 18.2-22, 18.2-25, 18.2-26, 18.2-30, 18.2-31, 18.2-32, 18.2-61, 18.2-67.1, 18.2-67.2, 18.2-251.01, 19.2-11.01, 19.2-71, 19.2-76.1, 19.2-100, 19.2-102, 19.2-152.2, 19.2-157, 19.2-159, 19.2-163, 19.2-163.01, 19.2-163.4:1, 19.2-169.3, 19.2-175, 19.2-217.1, 19.2-247, 19.2-270.4:1, 19.2-295.3, 19.2-299, 19.2-299.1, 19.2-311, 19.2-319, 19.2-321.2, 19.2-327.1, 19.2-327.3, 19.2-327.11, 19.2-389.1, 19.2-389.3, as it is currently effective, 19.2-400, 53.1-204, 53.1-229, and 54.1-3307 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding sections numbered 8.01-654.3 and 17.1-313.1, by adding in Article 3 of Chapter 1 of Title 18.2 a section numbered 18.2-17.1, by adding in Chapter 10 of Title 19.2 an article numbered 4.2, consisting of sections numbered 19.2-163.9 and 19.2-163.10, by adding in Chapter 15 of Title 19.2 an article numbered 4.1:1, consisting of sections numbered 19.2-264.5:1 through 19.2-264.5:11, by adding a section numbered 53.1-230.1, and by adding in Title 53.1 a chapter numbered 13.1, consisting of sections numbered 53.1-236.1 through 53.1-236.6, relating to capital murder; death penalty; certain offenses of criminal sexual assault against a minor punishable by death.
