Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity; work group; one-stop small business permitting program. Directs the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity to convene a work group to determine methods of modernizing the existing one-stop small business permitting program.
Potomac River Ferry Restoration of Service Working Group; report. Requires the Commissioner of Highways to convene the Potomac River Ferry Restoration of Service Working Group (the Working Group) to identify and implement a solution to resume ferry service for any ferry service that ceased operations on or after December 1, 2020, between Point of Rocks and the American Legion Bridge along the Potomac River. The bill authorizes the Office of the Attorney General, Secretary of Transportation, and Commissioner of Highways to enter into any agreement proposed by the Working Group, provided that each such official determines that the agreement is necessary, prudent, and in the public interest, and the agreement places no additional financial burden on the Commonwealth. The bill requires the Working Group to submit a report on its findings and recommendations by December 1, 2026.
Aggravated murder; admission to bail; rebuttable presumption against bail; magistrates. Creates a rebuttable presumption against bail for certain criminal offenses enumerated in the bill. The bill requires the court to consider certain factors when determining whether the presumption against bail has been rebutted and whether there are appropriate conditions of release. The bill also expands the information a judicial officer can consider for determining bail, including any involuntary admission or commitment order within the previous three years, and provides that any person arrested for a felony who (i) has never been convicted of a violent offense, as defined in § 19.2-297.1, but his current arrest is for a violent felony, or (ii) has been convicted within the previous 10 years of three or more offenses, provided that each such offense is a Class 1 misdemeanor or felony and that the defendant has been at liberty between such convictions, may be released only upon a secure bond. The bill requires the judicial officer to file written findings if he grants bail in certain instances. Additionally, the bill requires the chief magistrate to file a written order with the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court if a magistrate is suspended that states the reasons for such suspension, including a failure to issue such written findings. Lastly, the bill also provides that the willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of any person while such person is on or within a vehicle operated by a public transportation service, as defined in relevant law, is guilty of aggravated murder.
Protection of native migratory fish; work group report. Directs the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources to convene a work group of relevant stakeholders to address the decline in Virginia's native migratory fish in the James River and Chesapeake Bay. The bill requires the work group to (i) evaluate the cumulative ecological impacts of surface water withdrawals excluded from the Virginia Water Protection Permit requirements on aquatic organisms and freshwater systems; (ii) review and identify how state agencies address particular needs of fish that are listed as threatened or endangered under the federal endangered species list or the Virginia Species of Greatest Conservation Need; and (iii) develop recommendations for (a) updating the regulations regarding surface water intakes excluded from permitting requirements to meet protective standards, (b) reviewing a statewide inventory of unpermitted intake structures, and (c) assessing the feasibility of installing measures to reduce aquatic organism mortality. The bill requires the Secretary to submit a report of the findings and recommendations of the work group to the Chairs of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources by October 1, 2027.
Firearm purchase requirements; penalties. Requires any person selling a firearm to obtain verification from the Department of State Police that the prospective purchaser is not prohibited under state or federal law or a criminal history record check from possessing a firearm. The bill requires any person purchasing a firearm from a firearms dealer to present a valid firearm purchaser license issued by the Department of State Police that allows the holder to purchase a firearm. The bill prohibits a firearms dealer from selling, renting, trading, or transferring from his inventory any firearm to any person until he has received such permit. The bill sets forth the procedures to apply for the permit and prohibits the permitting of any person who (i) is younger than 21 years of age; (ii) is prohibited from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm; (iii) within the two years prior to the date of application, has been convicted of any offense against a person that is an act of violence, force, or threat or a firearm-related offense that is punished as a Class 1 misdemeanor; or (iv) within the two years prior to the date of application, has not completed a firearms safety or training course or class offered to the public by a law-enforcement agency, institution of higher education, or private or public institution or organization or by a firearms training school utilizing instructors certified or approved by the Department of Criminal Justice Services and with a required curriculum, detailed in the bill. The bill provides that such firearm purchaser license is valid for five years from the date of issuance. The bill details reasons for revocation of a firearm purchaser license and provides that any person who fails to return a revoked firearm purchaser license to the Superintendent of State Police within five days' notice of revocation is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill also states that any person who makes a materially false statement on the application form for a permit is guilty of perjury. The bill provides that the Department of State Police shall enter the name and description of a person issued a firearm purchaser license into the Virginia Criminal Information Network and specifies that such information will be withheld from public disclosure but shall not be withheld from any law-enforcement agency or officer, or any authorized agent of such agency or officer, acting in the performance of his official duties. Finally, the bill provides that the Department of State Police shall keep and maintain a computerized database containing certain enumerated information, which may be made available to institutions of higher education and other research organizations or institutions in the Commonwealth upon request and sets out exceptions for to whom its provisions should apply.
Boards of Medicine and Nursing; advanced practice registered nurses; feasibility of temporary or provisional licensure; report. Directs the Boards of Medicine and Nursing to assess the feasibility of implementing a temporary or provisional licensure pathway for advanced practice registered nurses.
Local correctional facilities; reimbursements for housing convicted state felons. Provides that, notwithstanding the quarterly installment payments the Compensation Board is required to provide for reimbursements to localities, the Compensation Board shall ensure that it provides reimbursement to localities for the entirety of the costs incurred by such locality arising from housing convicted state felons in any local or regional correctional facility.
Department of Education; public school teacher licensure requirements; comprehensive review of alternative licensure pathways; stakeholder work group; report. Directs the Department of Education (the Department) to convene a stakeholder work group to conduct a comprehensive review of the alternative licensure pathways, as that term is defined in the bill, available to public school teachers in the Commonwealth and make recommendations on improving the quality, efficacy, and outcomes of such alternative licensure pathways. The bill directs the Department to submit to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health (i) by January 1, 2027, an interim report on the findings and preliminary recommendations of the work group and (ii) by November 1, 2027, a final report on the findings and recommendations of the work group.
Secretary of Health and Human Resources; State Health Commissioner; website; services and programs available to pregnant women. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Resources (the Secretary) and the State Health Commissioner, by July 1, 2027, to establish, maintain, and annually update a website that provides information about public and private agencies, services, and programs available to pregnant women. The bill specifies that the website shall include a portal that allows users to receive specifically tailored pregnancy information and provides for the submission of feedback on how user-friendly and helpful the portal was in providing such specifically tailored information. The bill requires the Secretary to submit a report to the General Assembly, no later than 180 days after the website and portal are established, on (i) the traffic on the website and portal; (ii) user feedback submitted regarding the website and portal; (iii) any identified gaps in services for pregnant and postpartum women, including any missing resources helpful to include in future updates; and (iv) recommendations on how to improve the user experience based upon user feedback.
Virginia Disability Commission; independent staff. Provides for the employment of an executive director and any other persons deemed necessary by the Virginia Disability Commission. Currently, the Virginia Disability Commission is provided with administrative staff support by the Office of the Clerk of the House of Delegates or the Senate, depending on the house in which the chair serves, and legal and policy staff support by the Division of Legislative Services.
Virginia Interagency Council on Homelessness established; use of state funds for housing and homelessness services; report. Establishes the Virginia Interagency Council on Homelessness with the purpose of establishing a coordinated, statewide framework to prevent and end homelessness by aligning state and local efforts around evidence-based strategies. The bill directs the Council to (i) implement a state plan to end homelessness; (ii) align state policies, programs, and funding to effectuate the purpose of the Council; (iii) identify and recommend removal of statutory, regulatory, and administrative barriers to housing stability; and (iv) coordinate state, federal, and private funding to maximize impact and improve outcomes. The bill requires the Council to submit by October 1 of each year a report on its activities and recommendations to the Governor, General Assembly, and Department of Housing and Community Development. The bill additionally prohibits the use of state funds to establish, operate, or support any congregate living arrangement, shelter or similar facility, or program that functions in a punitive or coercive manner, as such term is defined in the bill, with respect to individuals experiencing homelessness.
Study; JLARC to update its 2016 study of the impact of regulations on Virginia's manufacturing sector; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to update its 2016 study of the impact of regulations on Virginia's manufacturing sector. This bill is a recommendation of the Manufacturing Development Commission.
