Adult protective services; adult abuse, neglect and exploitation central registry. Creates a central registry of substantiated complaints of adult abuse, neglect, and exploitation to be maintained by the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services. The bill establishes (i) investigation requirements for local departments of social services related to reports of adult abuse, neglect, and exploitation; (ii) record retention and disclosure requirements for the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services and local departments of social services; (iii) notice requirements related to findings by local departments and central registry entries; and (iv) an appeals process to contest the findings of a local department related to substantiated reports of adult abuse, neglect, or exploitation. The bill directs the Commissioner for Aging and Rehabilitative Services to adopt regulations to implement the provisions of the bill and exempts the Commissioner's initial adoption of such regulations from the provisions of the Administrative Process Act. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2028.
Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; regulations; providers; sanctions; emergency medical drills. Directs the Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to adopt regulations requiring providers of services for individuals with developmental disabilities to conduct regular emergency medical drills that prepare employees for situations where individuals receiving services require emergency medical treatment and train staff to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The bill also requires the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to impose sanctions on providers for human rights violations if such violations pose a threat to health, safety, or the life of individuals receiving services.
State agency administration of federal funds; eligibility determination exemption for nonprofit organizations. Prohibits a state agency responsible for the administration of federal funds from imposing a requirement on a nonprofit charitable organization providing a federal public benefit to determine, verify, or otherwise require proof of eligibility of any applicant for such benefits.
Requesting the Department of Housing and Community Development convene a Stakeholder Advisory Group to determine whether there should be visual contrast policies for commercial stairways.
Study; Judicial Council of Virginia; boundary of the 15th Judicial Circuit; report. Requests the Judicial Council of Virginia to study the current boundary of the 15th Judicial Circuit and determine if the City of Fredericksburg and Stafford and Spotsylvania Counties should be removed from the current judicial circuit boundary lines and a new judicial circuit composed of those localities established.
Study; Department of Conservation and Recreation; state park in Washington County; report. Requests the Department of Conservation and Recreation to study the feasibility of establishing a state park in Washington County at the Mendota Trail and Abrams Falls located within the Holston River watershed.
Department of Medical Assistance Services; collection of data and information on Medicaid estate recovery; report. Requests the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) to collect data and information on Medicaid estate recovery in the Commonwealth. DMAS is requested to collect data and information on (i) whether the Commonwealth adjusts or recovers for long-term services and supports and related services provided through Medicaid beyond the federally required minimum and, if so, what percentage of the overall amount recovered by the Commonwealth is for such services; (ii) whether additional assets beyond a Medicaid enrollee's probate estate are recovered by the Commonwealth and, if so, what percentage of the overall amount recovered by the Commonwealth is from assets beyond such enrollees' probate estates; (iii) whether homes of modest value are excluded from Medicaid estate recovery and, if so, how DMAS defines "home of modest value"; (iv) the cost-effectiveness threshold followed by DMAS for pursuing Medicaid estate recovery; and (v) the criteria used to evaluate undue hardship waiver applications. DMAS is requested to also collect race and demographic data for each of the most recent five years on (a) the total number of collections, (b) the number of undue hardship waiver applications submitted, and (c) the number of undue hardship waiver applications that were approved or otherwise successful. The bill requires DMAS to submit an executive summary and such data and information to the members of the House Committee on Health and Human Services and the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services no later than the first day of the 2027 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
Study; Virginia State Crime Commission; model policy framework; justice-involved veterans; report. Directs the Virginia State Crime Commission to study and propose recommendations for a model policy framework for the treatment and sentencing of veterans in the criminal justice system.
Study; SCHEV; public institutions of higher education; inclusive postsecondary education programs; report. Requests the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) to study inclusive postsecondary education programs at public institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth that allow students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities the opportunity to enroll in higher education programs alongside peers. The resolution directs SCHEV to submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health no later than December 1, 2026.
JLARC; study and review of Virginia's entitlement programs. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study and review Virginia's entitlement programs, including Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, in order to identify deficiencies and vulnerabilities in such programs that may allow for waste, fraud, and abuse.
Study; Division of Public Utility Regulation; undergrounding of electrical transmission lines; report. Requests the State Corporation Commission's Division of Public Utility Regulation to study the undergrounding of electrical transmission lines. The study requires the Division to submit its report no later than the first day of the 2027 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
Study; joint committee of the House and Senate Committees on Privileges and Elections to study the costs and benefits of 45 days of early voting. Establishes a joint committee of the House and Senate Committees on Privileges and Elections to study the costs and benefits of 45 days of early voting. In conducting its study, the joint committee shall survey several localities within the Commonwealth with different demographics, both urban and rural, to evaluate the fiscal impact on the locality and the ability of the locality to meet the burden imposed by the need to increase staffing and maintain adequate facilities for early voting and to examine trends in voter turnout. The joint committee shall gather data sufficient to allow it to determine if a shorter period of in-person voting could accomplish most of the benefits of early in-person voting while reducing the burden on localities.
