Charitable gaming; Texas Hold'em poker tournaments. Increases from 18 years of age to 21 years of age the minimum age an individual must be to participate in Texas Hold'em poker tournaments. The bill provides that no qualified organization may conduct Texas Hold'em poker tournaments (i) at a location outside of the county, city, or town in which its principal office, as registered with the State Corporation Commission, is located or in an adjoining county, city, or town or (ii) at an establishment that has been granted a retail alcoholic beverage control license unless such license is held by the qualified organization. The bill also allows unlimited rebuys during the first two hours of tournament play or until the first break, whichever occurs first, and permits one add-on at the end of the rebuy period before play resumes at the end of the first break.
Casino gaming; consideration of service permit application. Provides that the Virginia Lottery (the Department) may only consider the criminal record information of an applicant for a service permit for the eight years immediately preceding the date of the application. The bill also directs the Department to issue or deny any service permit within 30 business days of receipt; requires service permits to be renewed by the Virginia Lottery Board every 10 years; requires service permit application forms to include additional space for an applicant to include a written narrative detailing important facts regarding his application; and makes the service permit application fee refundable.
Electric utilities; disconnection reports; State Corporation Commission database; annual summary. Requires each investor-owned utility and electric cooperative operating in the Commonwealth to provide a monthly report on residential account disconnections to the State Corporation Commission. The monthly report is required to include specific information outlined in the bill, including the number of residential accounts involuntarily disconnected due to nonpayment, the amount of time in which such accounts were reconnected to service, the amounts of arrearages attributable to such disconnected accounts and other residential accounts, and information related to how many of the disconnected accounts participate in a payment assistance program or have a serious medical condition certification form on file with the electric utility. The bill requires the Commission to publish the information from such monthly reports in a comprehensive and easily accessible online database. The bill also requires the Commission to submit an annual executive summary to the Governor and the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation on trends in electric utility disconnections based on the reports submitted by electric utilities, the first of which is due by September 1, 2027. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation. This bill is identical to SB 516.
Electric utilities; shared solar programs; Phase I Utility. Amends certain provisions related to the shared solar program established by the State Corporation Commission for Appalachian Power Company. The bill permits excess bill credits to be distributed to shared solar subscribers more than once annually. The bill also requires the utility in administering its shared solar program to require net crediting functionality for customer utility bills, as described in the bill. The bill also directs Appalachian Power to (i) release an additional 50 megawatts as part two of the shared solar program on July 1, 2026; (ii) release a further additional 50 megawatts as part three of the shared solar program by January 1, 2028; and (iii) petition the Commission to initiate a shared solar expansion proceeding to determine the capacity for part four of the shared solar program by May 1, 2029. See final enactments for bill effective date. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation. This bill is identical to SB 255.
An Act to amend and reenact §§ 55.1-2500 and 55.1-2529 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 55.1-2514.1, relating to Virginia Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act; digital assets.
Juvenile and domestic relations district courts; jurisdiction; definitions; petition by noncitizen aged 18 to 21 years for legal custody. Allows an unmarried noncitizen between the ages of 18 and 21 who has been abused, neglected, or abandoned to petition a juvenile and domestic relations district court to be placed in the physical custody of a proposed legal custodian. The bill also includes such unmarried noncitizen in the definitions of "child," "juvenile," and "minor," as such terms are related to juvenile and domestic relations district courts.
Department of Workforce Development and Advancement; workforce development programs; apprenticeship program. Recognizes the Department of Workforce Development and Advancement as the federally and state designated agency responsible for workforce development in the Commonwealth. The bill additionally makes technical changes to reflect the previous transfer of administration of apprenticeship programs from the Department of Labor and Industry to the Department of Workforce Development and Advancement. The bill also amends the seventh enactments of Chapters 624 and 625 of the Acts of Assembly of 2023 to exempt the Department of Workforce Development and Advancement's initial adoption and any additional regulations from the provisions of the Administrative Process Act provided that, prior to the final adoption of such regulations, the Department publishes in the Virginia Register of Regulations and posts on the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall an action that provides (i) a 30-day comment period; (ii) a summary of the proposed regulations, the text of the proposed regulations, and the name, address, email address, and telephone number of the agency contact person responsible for receiving public comments; and (iii) the statutory authority to promulgate the regulations.
Public schools; right to free public elementary and secondary education; discrimination based on immigration status prohibited; civil cause of action. Prohibits any child in the Commonwealth from being denied a free public education through secondary school on the basis of the actual or perceived immigration or citizenship status of the child or the child's parents, in accordance with the Constitution of Virginia and consistent with the requirements of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The bill also, among other things, prohibits any school board, public elementary or secondary school, school resource officer employed by a local law-enforcement agency in any public elementary or secondary school, or any individual who is an employee, contractor, or agent of a school board from engaging in certain enumerated actions and practices that involve or result in the denial of a free public education, or denial of the benefits or exclusion from participation in any program or activity thereof, of a child on the basis of the actual or perceived immigration or citizenship status of the child or the child's parents. The bill establishes a civil cause of action for violations of the foregoing prohibitions. The bill requires the Department of Education, in collaboration with the Office of the Attorney General, to develop and make available to each school board by August 1, 2026, guidance and resources on developing policies and procedures to implement the requirements set forth in the bill and requires each school board to develop and implement by December 31, 2026, such policies and procedures and to require each public elementary and secondary school principal and administrator in the school division to complete training on compliance with the provisions of the bill as soon as is practicable but not later than the beginning of the 2027–2028 school year, consistent with the guidance and resources developed and made available by the Department of Education. This bill incorporates HB 912 and is identical to SB 491.
Electric utilities; shared solar programs; Phase II Utility. Amends certain provisions related to the shared solar program established by the State Corporation Commission for Dominion Energy Virginia. Under the bill, Dominion Energy Virginia is authorized to release an additional 525 megawatts of capacity as part two of such program upon the earlier of (i) a determination that at least 90 percent of the aggregate program capacity has been subscribed and project construction is substantially complete or (ii) July 1, 2026. The bill directs Dominion Energy Virginia to petition the Commission to initiate a proceeding to determine the capacity for part three of such program on or before part two of such program is substantially complete for 268 megawatts of capacity. The bill directs the Commission to evaluate the costs and benefits of the shared solar program under such proceeding and to consider the results of such proceeding in determining any future allocations of shared solar capacity and changes in program design. The bill directs the Commission to update its regulations on shared solar programs to comply with the provisions of the bill by December 31, 2026, and to require each participating utility to file any tariffs, agreements, or forms necessary for implementation of such programs by March 1, 2027. This bill is identical to SB 254.
Department of Social Services; requests for records or information concerning applicants for and recipients of public assistance; public notice required. Requires the Commissioner of Social Services to make a public notice available on the Department of Social Services' website within 10 days of receiving a request for a record or information concerning 25 or more applicants for or recipients of public assistance or child support for a purpose not directly connected to the administration of such programs. If a local department of social services receives a request for information that meets the requirements of the bill, such local department of social services is required to notify the Commissioner of such request. The bill establishes the form of such public notice and requires such notice to be made available (i) regardless of whether such information has been previously been shared; (ii) regardless of the identity of the requestor, unless such request is permitted under existing law; and (iii) even when a request is made in compliance with state and federal law and regulation.
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; rental payment methods; prohibited fees. Requires a landlord subject to the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act to accept payment of periodic rent and any security deposit by check and money order. The bill additionally prohibits such a landlord from requiring a tenant to pay any fee to submit periodic rent payments or other amounts due in excess of the actual out-of-pocket expenses charged to the landlord by a third party to process a payment. Finally, the bill prohibits a landlord from requiring a tenant to pay any fee for the maintenance or repair of any dwelling unit unless the repair is necessitated by the tenant's violation of the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. This bill is identical to SB 313.
Civil litigation; suspension bonds and irrevocable letters of credit upon appeal. Increases the cap currently in place for suspension bonds and irrevocable letters of credit for appellants during the pendency of an appeal of a civil action from $25 million to $50 million. The bill also requires, beginning April 1, 2031, and at each five-year interval ending on April 1 thereafter, this monetary cap to be adjusted to reflect the change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor.
