Del. Will Morefield

Maddy summaryThis bill (SJ 84) is a ceremonial resolution commending the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police and its Foundation for their service. It does not create new laws, alter policies, or affect any individuals or organizations through concrete measures. The resolution formally recognizes the group's contributions, as is typical for such non-binding acknowledgments. It passed both the Senate and House via voice vote in February 2026.

Electric utilities; suspension of certain requirements. Provides that the renewable energy portfolio standard requirements and any associated construction, procurement, or retirement mandates are suspended for the applicable compliance year if the State Corporation Commission determines that compliance has resulted in, or will result in, any of the following: (i) an increase in the average residential customer’s total monthly electric bill of more than five percent in any calendar year that is attributable to compliance with the renewable energy portfolio standard or associated zero-carbon generation or energy storage requirements; (ii) an increase in any rate adjustment clause, rider, or non-bypassable charge associated with compliance with this section that exceeds $50 per month for the average residential customer; (iii) a determination that compliance poses a material risk to electric system reliability or resource adequacy in the Commonwealth; or (iv) a determination that the cost of renewable energy certificates necessary for compliance exceeds the applicable alternative compliance payment or deficiency payment for two consecutive compliance years.

Public institutions of higher education; financial assistance; Medical Education Loan-for-Service Fund and Program established; report. Establishes the Medical Education Loan-for-Service Fund and Program (the Program) for the purpose of providing loans to any person enrolled in or admitted to an eligible institution, as defined in the bill, that shall be forgiven in whole or in part upon satisfactory completion of a service agreement entered into by a recipient to engage in clinical practice in a designated service area, as defined in the bill, for the requisite period and in accordance with the requirements set forth by the bill. The bill directs the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (the Council) and the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority (the Authority) to administer the Program and to enter into a memorandum of understanding establishing policies and procedures for the administration of the Program. The bill also (i) establishes requirements for the administration of the Program, including (a) requirements for eligibility to apply to and receive a loan under the Program and the prioritization of Program applications and (b) terms and conditions governing the receipt, forgiveness, and repayment of loans under the Program; (ii) directs the Council and the Authority to promulgate regulations for the administration of the Program relating to monitoring and enforcing compliance of recipients with Program requirements and terms and conditions; (iii) authorizes the Council to take certain actions relating to the enforcement of Program requirements and the collection of loans in certain circumstances; and (iv) directs the program administrator to annually collect data on the activities of the Program for the preceding fiscal year and submit to the Governor and the Chairs of the House Committees on Education, Health and Human Services, and Appropriations and the Senate Committees on Education and Health and Finance and Appropriations a report on such data by October 1 of each year. Finally, the bill directs the Council to promulgate such regulations as are necessary for (a) the program administrator to begin collecting applications for the Program by January 1, 2027, and (b) the disbursement of loans under the Program no later than July 1, 2027.

Public schools; mathematics and reading in kindergarten through grade eight; certain initiatives. Establishes several requirements relating to mathematics and reading proficiency in kindergarten through grade eight, including (i) requiring the Department of Education to establish and administer the math teacher and specialist corps to provide grants on a competitive basis to school divisions in which the mathematics proficiency of students in kindergarten through grade eight indicates a high need for intervention and improvement in order for such school divisions to offer annual stipends to effective educators with endorsements in mathematics or as mathematics specialists and deploy such individuals to the schools with the highest need; (ii) requiring each student in kindergarten through grade three to participate in a mathematics screener approved by the Department and requiring any student whose results on such screener indicate the need for further assessment to participate in a diagnostic mathematics assessment approved by the Department and to receive a mathematics improvement plan if the results on such assessment indicate the need for accelerated interventions to progress toward proficient performance in mathematics; and (iii) prohibiting any student in grade three who receives reading intervention services and whose performance on the statewide literacy screener or the grade-level reading Standards of Learning assessment at the end of the school year demonstrates substantial deficiencies from being promoted to grade four except in certain enumerated cases.

Electric utilities; retirement of certain electric generating units. Provides that, for the required retirement by December 31, 2045, of electric generating units that emit carbon as a by-product of combusting fuel to generate electricity, exceptions to such requirement include natural gas electric generating units with carbon capture capability and emissions-positive electric generating units. Under the bill, "emissions-positive generating unit" means an electric generating unit that produces a net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by either preventing, capturing, or collecting such emissions from fuel combustion.

Income tax; real property tax relief credit. Provides a refundable income tax credit in taxable years 2026 through 2030 to eligible taxpayers, defined in the bill, who incur real property taxes in an amount equal to or greater than four percent of their federal adjusted gross income for up to $500 for single individuals and $1000 for married persons filing jointly.

Department of Housing and Community Development; Virginia Rural Housing Infrastructure Fund and Program. Establishes the Virginia Rural Housing Infrastructure Fund and Program, to be administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development, for the purpose of financing infrastructure projects in rural communities associated with increased housing development within such communities. The bill directs the Department to develop criteria and guidelines for awarding grants under the Program.

Virginia Private College Preservation and Maintenance Fund and Program established. Establishes the Virginia Private College Preservation and Maintenance Fund and Program, to be administered by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia in collaboration with the Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia and the Department of Historic Resources, for the purpose of awarding grants on a competitive basis to any nonprofit private institution of higher education whose primary purpose is to provide collegiate, graduate, or professional education and not to provide religious training or theological education to assist with the funding of renovation, restoration, repair, preservation, and deferred maintenance projects, with certain enumerated conditions such as providing sufficient evidence of matching funds for the project in an amount equal to the amount of the grant to be awarded and providing certain documentation and project monitoring for projects involving certified historic structures, as defined in the bill.

Motor vehicles; insurance; highway use fee; tangible personal property tax relief for certain vehicles. Removes the highway use fee for fuel-efficient vehicles, and maintains the same highway use fee for electric vehicles and alternative fuel vehicles. The bill removes the prohibition on motor vehicle insurers establishing a repair facility network. Under current law, insurers are prohibited from requiring an insured or claimant to utilize designated replacement or repair facilities or services as a prerequisite to settling or paying any claim arising under a policy or policies of insurance. The bill also directs each county, city, or town that receives annual reimbursements from the Commonwealth for providing tangible personal property tax relief on qualifying vehicles to, beginning in tax year 2027, ensure that after first reimbursing certain tax attributable to qualifying vehicles leased by active duty members of the United States military, as is currently required by law, (i) no qualifying vehicle owned by an individual with an annual household income in excess of $200,000 receives any reimbursement for such vehicle and (ii) the remainder of the reimbursement provided to such locality is distributed based on a sliding scale for household incomes of residents of such locality, adopted by an ordinance of the governing body of such locality, as described in the bill.

State correctional facilities; required education or vocational training; earned sentence credits classification levels. Requires a prisoner in a state correctional facility, as a part of his reentry plan developed and implemented by the Department of Corrections, to complete a high school equivalency test or vocational, technical, or other certification prior to such prisoner's release. The bill also provides that the annual review of a prisoner's classification level for earned sentence credits shall include such prisoner's quantifiable or measurable progress, as available, in any programs, job assignments, and educational curricula in which he is participating, such as test scores achieved or completion of a high school equivalency test or other trade or vocational certification.