Pensions; enhanced retirement benefits for juvenile detention specialists. Permits political subdivisions participating in the Virginia Retirement System to provide retirement benefits comparable to the benefits provided to state police officers to juvenile detention specialists. The bill applies only to service earned as a juvenile detention specialist on or after July 1, 2026, but allows an employer, as that term is defined in relevant law, to provide such enhanced retirement benefits for service earned as a full-time juvenile detention specialist before July 1, 2026, in addition to service earned on or after that date. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.
Funding for deputy sheriffs. Provides that the minimum number of deputies funded by the Compensation Board shall be one deputy per 1,500 persons or one deputy for every 25 square miles, whichever is greater. Under current law, the funding is fixed at one deputy per 1,500 persons only. The provisions of the bill apply to counties and cities without a police force.
Income tax; organ donation leave tax credit. Establishes a nonrefundable income tax credit for taxable years 2025 through 2029 for a taxpayer that is a private employer, as defined by the bill, for certain costs incurred during a period of organ donation leave received by an organ donor employee.
Child day-care facility investment and child day-care expense reimbursement tax credits. Allows a taxpayer to claim a nonrefundable income tax credit for 25 percent of amounts incurred for eligible child day-care expenses of the taxpayer's employees that are either paid directly by the taxpayer or reimbursed by such taxpayer to the taxpayer's employees during the taxable year. The bill also increases from $25,000 to $50,000 the amount for which a taxpayer may claim a credit for establishing a child day-care facility for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2026. Finally, approval of applications for the credits shall be limited to those that are assumed to result in no more than $200,000 of credits in any fiscal year. Under current law, such limit is $100,000.
Dangers and victims of communism; recognition; Standards of Learning and programs of instruction. Requires the Governor to annually issue a proclamation setting the seventh day of November as Victims of Communism Day and requiring such day to be suitably observed in each public elementary and secondary school in the Commonwealth as a day honoring the approximately 100 million individuals who have fallen victim to communist regimes around the world and to be suitably observed by a public exercise in the Capitol and elsewhere as the Governor may designate in such proclamation. The bill also requires the Board of Education to include in the history and social science Standards of Learning in grades six through 12 and each school board to emphasize in its Standards-aligned program of instruction in grades six through 12 the study of the dangers of communism.
Virginia income tax subtractions; disability income. Allows an individual who claims an income tax subtraction for disability income to also claim an income tax deduction for taxpayers age 65 and older.
Real property tax; permanent and total disability; definition. Amends the definition of "permanently and totally disabled" for the purposes of real property tax exemptions to include those individuals who are blind or have uncorrectable vision loss that interferes with daily activities.
Procurement; cancellation of bids. Provides that a public body may include a statement in an Invitation to Bid, a Request for Proposal, or any other solicitation of an intention to cancel any such invitation, request, or solicitation if, in the estimation of the public body, all responsive bids exceed by at least 50 percent the current price for such goods or services as offered to the private sector.
Sex offenses prohibiting proximity to children; state parks; penalty. Provides that every adult who is convicted of an offense prohibiting proximity to children, when the offense occurred on or after July 1, 2025, shall as part of his sentence be forever prohibited from going, for the purpose of having any contact whatsoever with children who are not in his custody, within 100 feet of the premises of any area of a state park that he knows or has reason to know is a playground, athletic field or facility, or gymnasium. A violation is a Class 6 felony.
Health education and family life education; certain videos and animations relating to human development inside the uterus. Requires health education instruction to include an oral, written, or digital lesson, lecture, or presentation about human biology relating to pregnancy and human development inside the uterus, including (i) a high-definition ultrasound video, at least three minutes in duration, showing the development of the brain, heart, sex organs, and other vital organs in early fetal development and (ii) a high-quality, computer-generated rendering or animation showing the process of fertilization and every stage of human development inside the uterus, noting significant markers in cell growth and organ development for each significant marker of pregnancy until birth. The bill requires any family life education curriculum or similar curriculum offered by a local school division that includes any oral, written, or digital lesson, lecture, or presentation about sexual activity and pregnancy in the context of student health or healthy relationships to also include such a video and rendering or animation.
Trespass with an unmanned aircraft system; penalties. Increases the penalty for knowingly and intentionally causing an unmanned aircraft system to (i) take off or land in violation of current Federal Aviation Administration Special Security Instructions or UAS Sensitive Airspace Restrictions, including the airspace over any state or local correctional facility or a juvenile correctional center or (ii) (a) drop any item within the boundaries of or (b) obtain any videographic or still image of any identifiable inmate or resident at any state or local correctional facility or juvenile correctional center from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony. The bill creates a Class 4 felony for any person who knowingly and intentionally causes an unmanned aircraft system to enter the property of any public services or utilities or critical infrastructure, as defined in relevant law. The bill states that any person who does such action and subsequently obtains and shares any videographic or still image of such public services, utilities, or critical infrastructure with the intent to commit espionage is guilty of a Class 3 felony. The bill clarifies that such offenses shall not apply to any person who causes an unmanned aircraft system to enter any prohibited property if such person is an employee of the property and is conducting official business.
Short-term rental properties; human trafficking awareness training. Mandates every accommodations intermediary to require its accommodations providers to complete certain training on recognizing and reporting instances of suspected human trafficking. Current law limits this requirement to every hotel proprietor and its employees and excludes short-term rentals. The bill prohibits an accommodations intermediary from listing a short-term rental property prior to receipt of an up-to-date written certification signed by the accommodations provider of such property that such accommodations provider has complied with the relevant training requirements.
