Superintendent of Public Instruction; employment of certified school library specialists. Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to employ in the Department of Education at least one certified school library specialist who shall have several duties enumerated in the bill, including (i) providing leadership and technical assistance with the implementation and use of information literacy skills to school divisions, Department staff, and other stakeholders to support student achievement; (ii) directing the implementation of state and national school library standards and consulting with and providing technical assistance to local school divisions relating to such standards; (iii) collaborating on various grants and other initiatives that promote student literacy through school library programs throughout the Commonwealth; (iv) supporting student learning through instructional programs in which students are required to demonstrate information literacy, digital literacy and fluency, and effective use of technology and instructional programs that incorporate science, technology, engineering, and math learning; and (v) providing the Department, the Board of Education, the General Assembly, and school boards with support relating to student learning through the use of school library standards and library resources.
All-terrain vehicles; operation on highways in certain localities. Authorizes the operation of all-terrain vehicles in Giles County and Pulaski County on highways designated by such counties, provided that certain conditions are met. The bill provides certain requirements for the operation of all-terrain vehicles on such designated highways.
All-terrain vehicles and off-road motorcycles; operation in the Southwest Regional Recreation Authority. Expands the authorized operation of all-terrain vehicles to include (i) operation on highways in all localities embraced by the Southwest Regional Recreation Authority, in addition to Buchanan County and Tazewell County, which are already authorized under current law, provided that certain conditions are met, and (ii) operation on public highways or other public property by employees of the Southwest Regional Recreation Authority conducting official business. The bill also authorizes any locality embraced by the Southwest Regional Recreation Authority to provide for the lawful seizure, impounding, and disposition of an unlawfully operated all-terrain vehicle or off-road motorcycle operated on a highway or sidewalk within the boundaries of such locality.
State Board for Community Colleges and Virginia Community College System; funding model; report. Directs the State Board for Community Colleges (the State Board) and the Virginia Community College System to develop a community college funding model for the Commonwealth, and an implementation plan for such model, that balances base adequacy support and performance with outcomes-based funding. The bill requires the State Board to provide an interim report to the Chairs of the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Education by November 1, 2026, and a final report to the Chairs of the Senate Committee on Education and Health, the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations, the House Committee on Education, and the House Committee on Appropriations by November 1, 2027.
Virginia Public Procurement Act; additional public works contract requirements. Provides that public bodies shall require the contractor and its subcontractors for any capital outlay project, as defined in the bill, to complete certain safety training programs, maintain records of compliance with applicable laws, and participate in approved apprenticeship training programs. The bill provides exemptions from such requirements for reasons related to lack of availability of apprentices and high costs. The provisions of the bill do not apply to transportation-related construction projects. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.
Special license plates in recognition of those lost or injured in military service; fees. Eliminates the annual registration fee and annual fee for one special license plate for any veteran who has been certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as having a service-connected disability. Existing law authorizes the waiver of such fees for one special license plate for any disabled veteran who has either lost, or lost the use of, a leg, arm, or hand, is blind, or is permanently and totally disabled as certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or his unremarried surviving spouse. The bill also exempts special license plates for immediate family members of persons who have died in military service to their country from the annual fee assessed for special license plates.
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; Virginia Family Grocery Basket; civil penalty. Directs the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (the Department) to establish and maintain on its website a standardized list of no more than 25 essential grocery items known as the Virginia Family Grocery Basket that includes common household staple food items including milk, bread, eggs, and various types of proteins, grains, and produce. The bill requires a large grocery retail chain, as defined in the bill, to submit to the Department average retail prices for such Basket items on a monthly basis for each locality in which the large grocery retail chain operates and to publish such information on its website beginning on April 1, 2027. The bill directs the Department to issue a written notice of noncompliance for violations of the bill and to provide a 30 day period to rectify such violations, after which the Department may assess a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 for each day of violation following such 30 day period.
Retail sales and use tax; penalty and interest for certain dealers. Provides that any dealer that (i) is an operator of an event venue that neither provides nor offers overnight stays, (ii) fails to make any sales and use tax return and pay the full amount of such tax for those transactions that include both items that are taxable and nontaxable, and (iii) has demonstrated no willful intent to defraud the Commonwealth shall only be liable for penalty and interest amounts calculated upon the amount of such unpaid tax rather than the amount of the lump sum of the subject transactions.
Food establishment inspection exemptions; private homes and farms. Exempts from required food establishment operation inspections any private home or farm where the resident or farmer processes, prepares, or otherwise produces food if such food is (i) sold in person in the Commonwealth to an individual for his own consumption and not for resale or consignment; (ii) sold at the private home or farm; (iii) not offered for sale to be used in or offered for consumption in retail food establishments; and (iv) affixed with a label placed on the principal display panel or, for a product packaging not large enough to bear such a label, offered for sale with a sign displaying the name, physical address, and telephone number of the person preparing the food, the date the food was processed, and the statement "NOT FOR RESALE — PROCESSED AND PREPARED WITHOUT STATE INSPECTION."
School boards; courses of instruction; high school courses or dual enrollment programs for certification as a certified nurse aide, emergency medical technician, or firefighter; establishment permitted; requirements. Permits any school board to provide to high school students, either on school premises or through a dual enrollment program or other partnership with a comprehensive community college, courses of instruction that prepare students for and lead to (i) certification as a certified nurse aide, provided that such course is approved by and meets the requirements of the Board of Nursing and is taught by a qualified individual, consistent with the requirements of the Board of Nursing; (ii) certification as an emergency medical technician, provided that such course is consistent with the requirements established by the Office of Emergency Medical Services and taught by an emergency medical technician instructor who meets the requirements set forth in the bill; or (iii) firefighting level 1 certification, as defined by the bill, provided that such course is consistent with the National Fire Protection Association 1001, level one, firefighter standards as administered by the Department of Fire Programs and taught by an individual qualified to provided such instruction. The bill also requires any school board that provides any such course of instruction on school premises to high school students to ensure that any individual employed, contracted, or permitted to volunteer to provide instruction in such course meets the requirements set forth in applicable law relating to data on convictions for certain crimes and child abuse and neglect, fingerprinting, and criminal history records checks.
Pari-mutuel wagering; historical horse racing; percentage retained for distribution. Provides that with respect to all authorized historical horse racing terminals, of the amount that a horse racing licensee retains from wagering on historical horse racing pools and in addition to the current distribution required under law, 0.025 percent each shall be distributed to the Shenandoah County Agricultural Foundation and the Great Meadow Foundation to support the promotion, education, maintenance, and safety of horse racing at such facilities. The bill also increases the distribution percentage provided from the amount that a horse racing licensee retains from wagering on historical horse racing pools to the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund from 0.01 percent to 0.025 percent.
Income tax subtraction; broadband grant fund awards. Establishes an individual and corporate income tax subtraction for any amount of public grant awards received in the taxable year for the exclusive purpose of planning, constructing, expanding, or improving upon broadband infrastructure and services in the Commonwealth beginning in taxable year 2026.
