Public institutions of higher education; tuition and mandatory fees charged to Virginia students. Provides that, notwithstanding any provision of the general appropriation act, law, regulation, or policy to the contrary, (i) for the purpose of state support for Virginia students at public institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth, all fees associated with essential student services, including fees for student health services, student immigration services, and student technology services, shall be considered part of the tuition and mandatory education and general fees charged to such students and (ii) no public institution of higher education shall annually increase the total of all mandatory non-education and general fees charged to Virginia students by more than three percent of the total of such fees charged to Virginia students for the immediately preceding academic year.
Virginia Freedom of Information Act; exclusions of general application to public bodies; personnel contact information. Exempts personnel information such as the home address, personal email address, and home and personal phone numbers of any officer, official, or employee of a public body from the mandatory disclosure provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
Financial services; open-end credit plans; promotional annual percentage rates. Requires any creditor that permits a consumer to apply more than one promotional annual percentage rate to an open-end credit contract or plan to apply any payment made by the consumer to the promotional balance, as defined in the bill, with the earliest expiration date unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing by the parties.
Department of Social Services; Child Protective Services; family assessments; face-to-face interviews with victim children. Directs the Department of Social Services to amend its regulations to require that face-to-face interviews with victim children younger than three years of age conducted as part of a family assessment occur within 24 hours of receiving the report that triggers such family assessment. Under current law, the requirement that such interview be conducted within 24 hours applies to children younger than two years of age.
Alcoholic beverage control; retail licenses; public golf courses. Allows the Board of Directors of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to issue an on-and-off premises wine and beer license to public golf courses that authorizes the licensee to sell wine and beer for on-premises consumption in areas of the golf course approved by the Board. The bill provides that such licenses shall not be subject to any monthly food sales requirement and may be issued to a golf course that offers either nine-hole or 18-hole layout and is open to the general public for play on a fee or permit basis.
Electrical generating facilities; capacity factor; report. Requires the owner of any electrical generating facility in the Commonwealth with a nameplate capacity of at least one megawatt to provide an annual report to the State Corporation Commission that includes for each month of the immediately preceding year (i) the amount of electricity produced by such facility and (ii) the capacity factor, as defined in the bill, for such facility. The bill requires the Commission to compile all information reported pursuant to the bill's provisions and to publish an annual report of such compiled information.
Casino gaming; marketing or advertising to persons younger than 21 years of age prohibited; penalty. Prohibits a casino gaming operator from marketing or advertising to any person younger than 21 years of age. The bill defines to "market or advertise" as meaning the sale of any clothing, equipment, or other product that contains any statement, symbol, depiction, or reference to a casino gaming operator or any of its affiliates. Violations of this prohibition constitute a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Insurance; Fire Programs Fund; purposes; Virginia At Risk Fire Grant Program established. Increases the assessment on certain insurance companies from one percent to 1.5 percent. The bill provides that the portion of the Fire Programs Fund allocated to localities may be used for the additional purposes of (i) constructing, improving, or expanding fire station facilities; (ii) providing mental health resources for fire personnel; or (iii) hiring additional fire personnel and funding recruitment and retention programs. The bill also prohibits such funds from being used, except as provided, for the purposes of investments, operating expenses, debt repayment, taxes, or fees. The bill also establishes the Virginia At Risk Fire Grant Program, to be funded by 0.25 percent of the assessments on insurance companies, for the purposes of providing assistance to localities with fire departments that are determined to be most at risk of being unable to provide fire suppression or rescue activities or maintain compliance with relevant laws and regulations.
Certain public institutions of higher education; enrollment limitations in incoming freshman classes; Virginia Higher Education Scholarship Act Fund and Program established. Requires, beginning with the incoming freshman class in the 2027 academic year, the board of visitors of each baccalaureate public institution of higher education, with the exception of Norfolk State University, Virginia Military Institute, and Virginia State University, to ensure that the annual percentage of undergraduate non-Virginia students in each incoming freshman class does not exceed 45 percent. The bill also establishes the Virginia Higher Education Scholarship Act Fund and Program whereby certain Virginia public high school graduates who graduated at or near the top of their graduating classes are permitted to apply to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia for a scholarship in an amount equal to the cost of tuition, room and board, and mandatory fees to attend a public institution of higher education enumerated in the bill for eight semesters.
School crossing zones; large children's sports complexes; Planning District 8. Expands the definition of "school crossing zone" to include areas surrounding schools where the presence of students, in addition to children, reasonably requires a special warning to motorists. The bill also defines "school" and provides that, in Planning District 8, the term "school" includes large children's sports complexes, defined in the bill. Existing provisions of law allowing photo speed monitoring devices to be installed in school crossing zones will apply to any location that meets the expanded definition.
A BILL to amend and reenact § 24.2-948.5 of the Code of Virginia, relating to campaign finance; reviews of campaign finance reports and records; Department of Elections reporting deadline.
Tax credit; solar energy equipment. Establishes a nonrefundable income tax credit for taxable years 2026 through 2030 for individuals who incur allowable expenses, as defined in the bill, for the purchase and installation of solar energy equipment, also defined in the bill. An individual who properly claims this credit shall be allowed a credit in the amount of 15 percent of the cost of such equipment and allowable expenses, up to $1,000. The aggregate amount of credits allowable under the provisions of the bill shall not exceed $5 million per taxable year.
