Real property tax; special assessment for land preservation. Allows a locality to provide for the use value assessment and taxation of qualifying leased real estate. Qualifying leased real estate is defined in the bill as real estate devoted to open-space use that is subject to an active lease with a lessor who is using the property for agricultural purposes. The taxpayer seeking to qualify for the different assessment of any such qualifying leased real estate must apply to the commissioner of the revenue and provide any documentation necessary to determine eligibility.
Income tax; eligible conception tax credit. Allows, in taxable years 2025 through 2029, a refundable income tax credit for an individual or married individuals whose family Virginia adjusted gross income does not exceed 400 percent of the poverty guidelines, defined in the bill, in an amount equal to $250 per eligible conception, also defined in the bill, during such taxable year.
Secretary of the Commonwealth; wage garnishment process; work group; report. Directs the Secretary of the Commonwealth to convene a work group of relevant stakeholders to review the current wage garnishment process and assess whether the garnishment of wages, salaries, commissions, or other earnings should be an enforcement mechanism utilized only for the collection of specific types of debts owed by a judgment debtor. The bill directs the work group to report its findings to the Chairmen of the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice by November 1, 2025.
Board of Education; career and technical education courses, pathways, and credentials; biennial review; report. Requires the Board of Education and the Virginia Board of Workforce Development, with the assistance of the Department of Workforce Development and Advancement and the Virginia Office of Education Economics, the Department of Education, the Virginia Community College System, and the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, to conduct, beginning with the fiscal year starting July 1, 2025, and each odd-numbered year thereafter, a biennial review of all career and technical education course, pathway, and credential offerings available to public school students across the Commonwealth for the purpose of ensuring that all such career and technical education course, pathway, and credential offerings are (i) aligned with current and emerging industry and workforce needs, demands, and standards and (ii) designed to effectively prepare students for postsecondary success through gainful employment in a high-demand industry or field, enrollment in postsecondary education, or enlistment in the United States Armed Forces. The bill requires the Board of Education and the Virginia Board of Workforce Development to develop and submit to the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Labor, and the chairs of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by October 1 of each odd-numbered year, beginning with October 1, 2025, a report on each such biennial review.
Department of Medical Assistance Services; state plan for medical assistance services; telemedicine services. Changes the definition of "telemedicine services" as it is used in the state plan for medical assistance services to include two-way, real-time, audio-only communication technology for any telehealth service furnished to a patient in his home.
Certain end-of-course Standards of Learning assessments; elimination and replacement. Requires the Department of Education to eliminate the end-of-course Standards of Learning assessments for Chemistry and World History II. The bill requires the Board of Education to establish and make available to each local school board guidelines for the administration of a local alternative end-of-course assessment in each such course and each local school board to ensure that each student enrolled in either such course completes the relevant local alternative assessment. The bill clarifies that none of the foregoing provisions shall be construed to alter any high school graduation requirement established in relevant law or regulations.
Prostitution; solicitation; penalties. Increases from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony the penalty for a third or subsequent offense of solicitation of prostitution from an adult. The bill also makes it a Class 5 felony to solicit prostitution from any minor. Under current law, any person who solicits prostitution from a minor is guilty of a Class 6 felony if the minor is 16 years of age or older or a Class 5 felony if the minor is younger than 16 years of age. Finally, the bill increases the fines for certain offenses related to sex trafficking from $100 to $1,000 and from $500 to $2,500, respectively.
Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Fund; Tobacco Region Revolving Fund; eligible localities; Planning District 4. Adds Planning District 4 (New River Valley Region) to a group of localities that is eligible to receive funds from the Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Fund and the Virginia Tobacco Region Revolving Fund.
Department of Medical Assistance Services; reimbursement rates for Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities; work group; report. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to convene a work group of relevant stakeholders to assess and make recommendations related to reimbursement rates for the federal Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers With Disabilities. The bill requires the work group to report its recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Health and Human Services and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by November 1, 2025.
A BILL to amend and reenact § 58.1-439.26 of the Code of Virginia and the second enactment of Chapter 2 of the Acts of Assembly of 2024, Special Session I, relating to education improvement scholarships tax credits; sunset repeal.
HB 1843 would replace Columbus Day, observed on the second Monday in October, with Indigenous Peoples' Day as an official state holiday. This change directly affects state employees, public schools, and government offices that observe the holiday, altering the designated day for closures and observances. The bill maintains the same date (the second Monday in October) but changes the holiday's name and historical reference. It does not alter other holiday schedules or create new state obligations beyond the holiday designation.
Public elementary and secondary school students; parents' bill of rights established. Establishes, consistent with § 1-240.1 of the Code of Virginia, several enumerated rights for the parents of each public elementary or secondary school student in the Commonwealth, including the right to review any books, curricula, or instructional materials being taught or made available to their child and the right to be notified of any situation that directly affects their child's safety at school.
