Public safety communications; evaluation of need for infrastructure updates & hardware replacements.

Added requirement for the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to work in conjunction with the Secretary of Finance on the evaluation.

Added requirement to consult with the Statewide Interoperability Executive Committee instead of the previous list of local government and association representatives.

Added requirement to evaluate current availability of state funding sources, including grant and loan programs for public safety infrastructure updates.

Changed the reporting requirement to include possible funding options in the findings and recommendations.

Removed the requirement for the Secretary of Finance to participate in the evaluation, leaving only the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security responsible.

Added specific consultation requirements with local governments, law enforcement agencies, fire/rescue/EMS services, and specific associations including the Virginia Association of Counties, Virginia Municipal League, Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, Virginia State Firefighters Association, and Virginia Association of Emergency Medical Services Practitioners.

Removed the requirement to review current availability of state funding sources, including grant and loan programs where infrastructure updates are allowable uses.

Removed the creation of the Virginia Public Safety Communications Infrastructure Fund and eliminated the mechanism for awarding competitive grants to local governments for public safety communications projects.

Removed all definitions related to the new fund, including definitions for 'Authority', 'Department', 'Fund', 'Local government', and 'Project'.

Changed the primary requirement from establishing a grant program to requiring the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security and Secretary of Finance to evaluate infrastructure needs, consult with the Statewide Interoperability Executive Committee, and report findings with recommendations to legislative committee chairmen by December 1, 2025.

Removed eligibility criteria for local government grants, including priority considerations for law enforcement, fire, rescue, emergency medical services, interoperability, fiscal stress areas, and regional collaboration.

Added a specific deadline of December 1, 2025, for the state secretaries to complete their evaluation and submit recommendations to legislative committee chairmen.