Commonwealth Savers Plan; Access Fund established; report. Establishes the Access Fund as a portion of the Fund of the Commonwealth Savers Plan (the Plan), to be managed by the governing board of the Plan (the board) as a part of the Fund but to be accounted for separately from the Fund, into which certain Fund moneys shall be allocated for the purpose of supporting the Plan's goal of enhancing the accessibility, attainability, and affordability of higher education for all citizens of the Commonwealth. The bill directs the board to (i) establish or identify and fund certain programs and partnerships to further the goal of enhancing the accessibility, attainability, and affordability of higher education for all citizens of the Commonwealth, including programs and partnerships that provide scholarships, grants, or mentoring and coaching services to certain identified demographics of students; (ii) use certain distributions from the Access Fund, in accordance with the investment objectives and total return spending policy described in the bill and the standard of care set forth in applicable law, to support such programs and partnerships; (iii) appoint an Access Advisory Committee for the purpose of assisting the board by making recommendations relating to any such programs and partnerships for which distributions from the Access Fund could be used; and (iv) submit to relevant committees of the General Assembly and the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission by December 1 of each year a report on the Plan's activities relating to the Access Fund for the preceding year. Finally, the bill directs the Audit and Actuarial Committee to, in addition to its other duties set forth in applicable law, assess and make recommendations to the board regarding the availability of Fund moneys for allocation to the Access Fund.
Illegal drugs; venue for certain distribution offenses. Provides that a prosecution for an offense related to distribution of a Schedule I or II drug, where an overdose death occurred from such distribution, may be had in any county or city in which (i) any act in furtherance of the crime was committed or (ii) the deceased person was located.
Emergency Response Exposure Grant Fund and Program. Creates the Emergency Response Exposure Grant Fund and Program to award grants to localities to support certain emergency responders who were exposed to a qualifying emergency, defined in the bill. The bill requires funding to be used for annual cancer screenings and health care expenses incurred by eligible emergency responders, defined in the bill, in the event such emergency responders are diagnosed with cancer from toxic material exposure. The bill permits funding to be used for out-of-pocket medical expenses not otherwise covered by insurance, workers' compensation, or other available funding. The Department of Fire Programs shall administer the Fund and Program.
Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy; autopsy protocol; information; training. Requires the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to take certain actions upon the finding that an individual died from Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP), defined in the bill. The bill directs the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to publish information on SUDEP and a SUDEP death investigation form on its website. Additionally, the bill requires the Chief Medical Examiner and local medical examiners to complete training in the investigation of SUDEP on a triennial basis. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2026.
School breakfasts; availability at no cost to students. Requires each school board to require each public elementary and secondary school in the local school division to participate in the federal National School Lunch Program and the federal School Breakfast Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and to make breakfast available to any student who requests such a meal at no cost to the student, unless the student's parent has provided written permission to the school board to withhold such a meal from the student. The bill requires the Department of Education to reimburse each public elementary and secondary school for each school breakfast served to a student, with a maximum of one breakfast per student per school day and provides the formula for determining the state reimbursement rate for such meals. Finally, the bill repeals a provision of law relating to the federal School Breakfast Program that is rendered obsolete by the provisions of the bill.
Sealing of criminal records. Makes several technical amendments to court procedures relating to the sealing of criminal records. This bill is a recommendation of the Judicial Council of Virginia and the Committee on District Courts.
Earned income tax credit. Allows eligible low-income taxpayers to claim a refundable income tax credit equal to 20 percent of the federal earned income tax credit claimed that year by the taxpayer for the same taxable year. The bill also states that individuals who would have been entitled to the federal equivalent of this credit but for the fact that the individual, the individual's spouse, or one or more of the individual's children does not have a valid social security number are eligible to claim this credit. Under current law, taxpayers may choose to claim either a nonrefundable tax credit equal to 20 percent of the federal earned income tax credit claimed that year or a refundable tax credit equal to 15 percent of the federal earned income tax credit claimed that year.
Virginia Community College System; Solar Workforce Development Incentive Grant Program; established. Requires the Chancellor of the Virginia Community College System to establish and implement the Solar Workforce Development Incentive Grant Program. Under the program, any comprehensive community college that enters into a power purchase agreement, either alone or in partnership with any local school division in the region that it serves, and that provides workforce development opportunities such as internships, apprenticeships, or project-based learning tied to such renewable energy projects on their campuses are eligible to apply for (i) a grant in an amount of $100,000 per megawatt purchased and (ii) an additional grant in an amount of up to $100,000 for projects that implement solar and battery microgrid systems in furtherance of developing community resiliency hubs in coordination with the Department of Energy's Renewables Advancing Community Energy Resilience (RACER) program.
Sales and use tax; dealer discount. Provides that the dealer discount deduction for state retail sales and use tax that the dealer accounts for in submitting his return and paying the amount due, beginning July 1, 2025, will be six percent of the first three percent of the tax imposed. Under current law, the dealer discount is allowed as a deduction from the first three percent of the state retail sales and use tax that the dealer accounts for in submitting his return and paying the amount due in the following percentages: four percent, if the monthly taxable sales of the dealer are $0 to $62,500; three percent, if the monthly taxable sales of the dealer are $62,501 to $208,000; and two percent if the monthly taxable sales of the dealer are $208,001 and above.
Department of Medical Assistance Services; Medicaid waivers; consumer-directed services; employer of record. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) to modify the program rules for consumer-directed services available through certain Medicaid waivers to allow an individual receiving services to serve as the employer of record (EOR) for his own service delivery and designate another individual to perform all or a portion of the duties of the EOR on the individual's behalf when the individual receiving services is unable to perform such duties or direct his own care. The bill specifies that when an individual (i) has not yet reached the age of majority, (ii) is ineligible to use his existing employer identification number (EIN) to facilitate the taxation of benefits, or (iii) is otherwise determined to be ineligible by DMAS by administrative rule, the EIN shall be assigned to the individual receiving services and shall not be transferred to another individual. Under the bill, DMAS has the authority to limit such amendments to specify that an individual receiving services may make such designation no more than twice per calendar year.
Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund; Virginia Natural Resources Commitment Fund. Directs the Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation to establish a reserve fund within the Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund (the Fund) to be used when annual general fund revenue collections do not exceed the official revenue estimates contained in the general appropriation act and requires 15 percent of any amounts appropriated to the Fund due to annual general fund revenue collections in excess of the official estimates contained in the general appropriation act to be withheld from appropriation and held in the reserve fund unless otherwise specified. The bill also changes the formula for allocating moneys in the Virginia Natural Resources Commitment Fund and provides that, in any fiscal year, any funds distributed to the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program for the purpose of matching grants for agricultural best management practices on lands in the Commonwealth that cannot be obligated or are not used due to a cancelled contract by a grant recipient during such fiscal year, regardless of whether such lands are within or outside of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, may be reappropriated by the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board to any soil and water conservation district with pending documented requests.
Taxable income; subtractions; military benefits. Removes the current cap of $40,000 of military benefits that may be subtracted from Virginia taxable income for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2026, such that the total amount of military benefits may be subtracted from such income.
