Virginia Public Procurement Act; cooperative procurement; re-roofing. Excludes re-roofing that does not involve modification to the structure from the prohibition on using cooperative procurement to purchase construction.
Alcoholic beverage control; advertising materials; purchase and display of barrels. Allows a retail licensee to elect to receive the physical barrel or lid in addition to purchasing the bottled contents of a distilled spirits barrel from a manufacturer through a barrel purchase agreement supplied to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority. The bill provides that such physical barrel or lid shall not be considered a gift and may be displayed on the retail licensee's premises.
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 40.1-27.2, 2.2-2903, and 15.2-1509 of the Code of Virginia, relating to military-spouse employment and economic opportunities.
Study; Virginia Department of Transportation; alternatives to use of Sodium Chloride to treat and pretreat roadways for winter weather; report. Directs the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to conduct a study on safe and environmentally sensitive alternatives to using Sodium Chloride, or rock salt, to treat and pretreat roadways for winter weather. Such study shall measure the impact of current treatment and pretreatment substances on infrastructure and the environment and their corrosive effects on personal property and compare such impacts with those of potential alternatives, including nonchemical substances and new technologies. VDOT is directed to submit a report to the chairs of the House and Senate Committees on Transportation by November 15, 2026, on its findings and include in such report an accounting of the annual spending by the state and local governments since 2020 on treating and pretreating activities and the amounts budgeted for 2026-2028.
Director of the Department of General Services; electric vehicles and charging stations; state targets. Directs the Director of the Department of General Services (the Director) to set a goal for the electrification of the Commonwealth's centralized fleet that is aligned with the Commonwealth Clean Energy Policy, with interim targets set for 2028, 2030, and 2032. The bill also requires the Director to set targets for the number and type of electric vehicle charging stations installed at state facilities by those same years that are achievable under the current Department of General Services appropriations and for the same years if additional funds were made available. The Director is required to report his findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly by October 1, 2026.
Corporate welfare tax. Imposes on large employers, as defined in the bill, a corporate welfare tax equal to 100 percent of the qualified employee benefits received by any employees of such large employer residing in the Commonwealth. The bill directs the Department of Taxation to obtain identifying data for individuals receiving qualified federal benefits, as defined by the bill, from the Department of Social Services pursuant to an interagency agreement and to compare such data to employment rosters received quarterly from large employers to determine the amount of qualified federal benefits received by employees of such large employers. The bill also prohibits an employer, in connection with the selection or referral of applicants or candidates for employment, to make inquiries or otherwise seek information relating to whether such applicant receives qualified federal benefits.
Marine Products Board; blue catfish; Chesapeake Wild Harvest certification. Directs the Marine Products Board to establish and maintain a voluntary Chesapeake Wild Harvest certification and labeling program for any blue catfish that is taken or caught in the Chesapeake Bay or its tributaries and is processed in the Commonwealth. The bill prohibits any person from labeling any product as Chesapeake Wild Harvest unless such product conforms to the provisions of the bill.
Virginia Freedom of Information Act; officers, employees, or members of a public body; alleged willful and knowing violations; mitigating factors to be considered. Specifies that civil penalties may only be imposed on officers, employees, or members of a public body in actions brought against them in their individual capacity for certain violations of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The bill further requires a court, when determining whether an officer, an employee, or a member of a public body has committed certain violations of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act willfully and knowingly, to consider certain mitigating factors, including good faith reliance on (i) opinions of the Attorney General; (ii) court cases substantially supporting such officer's, employee's, or member's actions; (iii) advisory opinions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council; and (iv) advice of counsel for the public body, as evidence that such officer, employee, or member did not willfully and knowingly commit such violation. Current law provides any officer, employee, or member of a public body the right to introduce at any proceeding regarding such willful and knowing violation a copy of a relevant advisory opinion issued by the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council. This bill is a recommendation of the Boyd-Graves Conference.
Phase II Utility; rates, terms, and conditions of services; certain customers. Requires Dominion Energy Virginia to establish rates, terms, and conditions for the provision of generation and distribution services for its customers within the GS-5 rate class, as established by final order of the State Corporation Commission, that require each such customer to pay a minimum generation charge equal to 100 percent of such customers' contracted electric demand.
Virginia Retirement System; service retirement allowance; return to work. Allows a retired law-enforcement officer to continue to receive his service retirement allowance during a subsequent period of employment by a local law-enforcement agency in a civilian role that does not require law-enforcement certification as a fingerprint examiner, forensics specialist, property and evidence technician, background investigator, or firearms instructor, so long as he has a break in service of at least six calendar months between retirement and reemployment, did not retire under an early retirement program, did not retire under the Workforce Transition Act of 1995, and retired in good standing from his sworn law-enforcement officer position.
Unemployment benefits; maximum duration. Provides that, beginning July 1, 2026, for claims effective on or after July 1, 2026, an eligible individual's weekly unemployment compensation benefit amount shall be paid for a maximum duration of 26 weeks.
Court appearance of a person not free on bail. Makes various changes to provisions regarding bail hearings in jurisdictions having a public defender office, including (i) the appointment of counsel for the accused and (ii) a requirement that counsel for the accused, when practicable, be provided with adequate time to confer with the accused prior to any bail hearing. The bill also allows a jurisdiction that does not have a public defender office establish to implement such provisions. The bill provides that, effective in due course, the chief judge in each circuit shall create a plan to be completed by November 1, 2026, that establishes the means by which the jurisdiction will meet such provisions. The remaining provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.
