Del. Virgil Thornton

Virginia Cooperative Extension Service; cats and dogs; list of toxic houseplants. Requires the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service to create a list of common houseplants that are toxic to cats and dogs no later than November 1, 2026, and to update such list at least every four years thereafter. The bill requires the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to make such list publicly available on its website.

Firefighters Cancer Screening Grant Program and Fund established. Creates the Firefighters Cancer Screening Grant Program and Fund to award grants to localities for costs incurred in providing certain cancer detection tests to firefighters. The bill provides that in any year that the amount of funds in the Firefighters Cancer Screening Fund reduces to zero and the Fund does not receive a separate appropriation, the Grant Program and Fund shall expire.

Abolition of fees; legal representation of indigent defendant; jury trial costs; report. Eliminates the fees for the cost of court-appointed counsel or public defender representation for persons who are determined to be indigent. The bill also eliminates fees for persons who utilize a jury trial. The bill contains a reenactment clause for such elimination of fees.The bill also directs the Indigent Defense Commission, in consultation with the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court or his designee, to convene a work group with all relevant stakeholders, including the Attorney General or his designee, the Secretary of Health and Human Resources or his designee; representatives from the Compensation Board, the Virginia Crime Commission, the Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, the Virginia Court Clerk's Association, the Virginia Association of Commonwealth's Attorneys, staff from the House Appropriations and the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees, and the Virginia Probation and Parole Association; and a minimum of two criminal justice reform organizations working on fees and other financial assessments imposed in criminal prosecutions in Virginia; on several topics, including current collection practices, use of funds received as a result of such collections, and the burden of a fee assessment on indigent individuals. The bill requires the work group to submit an executive summary and report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly by November 1, 2026, and a final report by November 1, 2027.

Court Date Reminder Program established. Establishes a Court Date Reminder Program, to be developed or procured by the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia, for the purpose of reminding criminal defendants to appear at each of their scheduled court appearances. The bill directs the Program to send a text message notification to any defendant with a criminal case in general district court or circuit court for whom the court has a telephone number prior to any scheduled hearing that requires his appearance and allows a defendant to opt out of participating in the Program. The Program has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.The bill also directs the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court to convene a Court Date Reminder Program work group to advise on the implementation and expansion of the Program and submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Supreme Court of Virginia and the Chairs of the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice by December 1, 2026.

Voter registration; regular periodic review of registration records. Requires the Department of Elections to complete, not later than 90 days prior to the date of a primary or general election, any program the purpose of which is to systematically remove the names of ineligible voters from the voter registration system based on evidence of ineligibility, including evidence of lack of eligible residence or evidence of noncitizenship. This restriction is not to be construed to preclude (i) the removal of names from the voter registration system at the request of the registrant or as provided by existing law by reason of criminal conviction or mental incapacity or the death of the registrant if the triggering conviction, incapacity order, or death occurred within 120 days of the election or (ii) the correction of details, such as name and address, in a voter's registration record that does not result in the removal of a voter from the voter registration system. Under current law, such restriction only applies to federal primaries and federal general elections. The bill also provides a process for confirming a voter's citizenship status prior to cancellation based on a report of non-citizen status and extends (a) the period of time registrars have to cancel registrations from 30 days to 60 days after notification of the need to cancel by the Department of Elections and (b) the period of time a registered voter has to respond to a notice of cancellation related to citizenship status from 14 days to 28 days.

Domestic and Sexual Assault Conviction Database. Requires the Superintendent of State Police to establish a Domestic and Sexual Assault Conviction Database that will include information about persons who were convicted of certain offenses against a family or household member, as defined in relevant law, or an intimate partner, defined in the bill. The bill specifies that the Database will be available to the public on the Department of State Police's website. The bill provides that any person whose information is on the Database may petition for removal of such information from the Database if certain requirements are met and that the State Police shall include such petition information on the Database website. Under the bill, the Superintendent of State Police is required to complete the Database by July 1, 2027.

Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact; criminal background check. Establishes the procedure by which the Board of Dentistry shall fulfill the criminal background check requirement of the Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact. The bill requires applicants for compact-eligible licensure to provide fingerprints and personal identifying information for a criminal background check, directs the Central Criminal Records Exchange to disseminate criminal history information obtained to the Board, and establishes the process by which an applicant may obtain their criminal history record in the event that such applicant disputes the criminal history information on which a denial of licensure is based.

Department of Military Affairs; biennial training; Virginia National Guard; report. Requires the Department of Military Affairs (the Department) to conduct a biennial training among all officers of the Virginia National Guard, the curriculum for which shall be established by the Adjutant General in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs, the Attorney General, and the Governor. Such training shall (a) remind officers of their oath to upholding the Constitution; (b) inform officers on the process for identifying and responding to suspected unlawful order; and (c) remind officers of their obligation to remain nonpartisan in the execution of their duties. The bill requires the Department to conduct the training among all officers of the Virginia National Guard by November 1, 2026. The bill directs the Adjutant General to require officers holding command and company and flight commanders to inform their Guard members on the processes for addressing any suspected unlawful order. The bill additionally directs the Adjutant General to establish a standard operating procedure by which officers can report the issuance of an unlawful order to the Office of the Attorney General, the Inspector General of the Virginia National Guard, and the United States Department of War and Military Services Offices of Inspector General.

Removal hearings; foster care; termination of parental rights; status as an Indian child; reasonable efforts; definition; services to families. Adds a definition of reasonable efforts for the purposes of hearings relating to the foster care of and petitions for the termination of parental rights over those children who are not determined to be a member of a Virginia-recognized or federally recognized tribe. The bill further requires that, at a preliminary removal hearing, or as soon as possible thereafter, and prior to any adjudicatory hearing, the court shall make a finding as to whether diligent efforts have been made to determine whether the child is an Indian child as defined in the Indian Child Welfare Act or a member of, or eligible for membership in, a tribe recognized by the Commonwealth. Under the bill, any such children would receive the protections of the Indian Child Welfare Act, including the federal standard of active efforts. The bill further directs the Department of Social Services to promulgate new regulations defining types of abuse and neglect, specifying that in situations where neglect is the result of family poverty and there are no outside resources available to the family, the parent or caretaker shall not be determined to have neglected the child, but the local department of social services shall provide appropriate and timely services to the family.

Palliative Care Information and Education Program; Palliative Care and Quality of Life Advisory Council established. Directs the Board of Health to include in its regulations a requirement that every hospital, nursing home, and certified nursing facility licensed by the Board (i) establish a system for identifying patients or residents who may benefit from palliative care and (ii) provide information about and facilitate access to appropriate palliative care services for patients or residents experiencing illness, injuries, or conditions that substantially affect quality of life for more than a short period of time. The bill also directs the Department of Health to establish a palliative care consumer and professional information and education program to maximize the effectiveness of palliative care initiatives in the Commonwealth by (a) ensuring that comprehensive and accurate information and education about palliative care is available to the public, health care providers, and health care facilities and (b) implementing such other initiatives related to education about palliative care and the delivery of palliative care services as may be necessary to educate health care professionals and the public about palliative care. The bill further establishes the Palliative Care and Quality of Life Advisory Council to advise the Department on matters related to the establishment, operation, maintenance, and outcomes evaluations of such initiatives. The bill directs the Palliative Care and Quality of Life Advisory Council to study the possibility of establishing a Medicaid benefit for palliative care and the need for a licensure scheme for palliative care providers. The bill further directs the Board of Health to develop a statewide advanced care planning campaign to increase public awareness of available palliative care options.