Corrections Private Management Act; name change; private management prohibited. Removes the authority of the Director of the Department of Corrections, pursuant to the Corrections Private Management Act (the Act), or a regional jail authority to enter into contracts with contractors for the operation of prison facilities or regional jails, including management, custody of inmates, and provision of security, unless approved by the General Assembly. The bill does not affect the Director's authority pursuant to the Act, renamed by the bill as the Corrections Private Services Act, or a regional jail authority's ability to enter into private contracts for other correctional services, including those related to food service, medical care, transportation, sanitation, information systems, education and training programs, recreational or religious activities, financing, construction, or maintenance. The bill also removes provisions stating that (i) a site proposed by a contractor for the construction of a prison facility shall not be subject to certain approval procedures and (ii) no construction and operation of a private correctional facility shall be entered into nor shall any funds be expended for the contract unless the local governing body consents to the siting and construction of such facility within the bounds of the locality.
Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; regulation of ear-piercers and ear-piercing salons and schools. Provides for the licensure of ear-piercing salons, ear-piercing schools, and ear-piercers by the Board for Barbers and Cosmetology. The bill distinguishes ear-piercing salons from body-piercing salons by definition and requires the Board to adopt regulations establishing the requirements for licensure of ear-piercing salons, ear-piercing schools, and ear-piercers. Additionally, the bill requires the Board to develop specific training and apprenticeship programs for ear-piercers and permits localities to regulate the sanitary conditions of ear-piercing salons. This bill is identical to HB 2680.
School-issued devices; protection of student personal information. Establishes certain enumerated requirements for the protection of student personal information on school-issued devices, as defined in the bill, by certain public schools and school boards and by school technology providers, as defined in the bill, that are substantially similar to the requirements established in current law for the protection of student personal information on school services by school service providers.
Charter; Town of Shenandoah. Establishes a new charter for the Town of Shenandoah in Page County and repeals the current charter, which was created in 1926. The proposed charter sets out the organization of the town's government and contains powers typically granted to towns. This bill is identical to SB 1150.
Health insurance; coverage requirements for prostate cancer screenings. Updates existing mandated coverage requirements for prostate cancer screenings to reflect updated tests and guidelines from the American Cancer Society while also removing certain references to American Cancer Society Guidelines. Updated coverage requirements apply to health care coverage companies, the health care coverage plan for state employees, and the state plan for medical assistance services. The bill's provisions apply only to contracts, policies, or plans delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in the Commonwealth on or after January 1, 2026. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Health Insurance Reform Commission. This bill is identical to HB 2097.
Assault and battery; sports official; penalty. Makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for a person to commit a battery against another knowing or having reason to know that such individual is a sports official, defined in the bill, for an entity sponsoring an interscholastic or intercollegiate sports event or any person performing services as a sports official for a public entity or a private, nonprofit organization that sponsors an amateur sports event who (i) is engaged in the performance of his duties or (ii) is on the premises of such event prior to engaging in his duties or upon conclusion of his duties. The bill provides that such person, upon conviction, may be prohibited from attending any such sports event operated by the entity or organization that employed such sports official for a period of not less than six months as a term and condition of such sentence.
Compensation for livestock and poultry killed by dogs. Increases the fair market value compensation amounts for livestock and poultry killed or injured by dogs from $750 to $1,000 per animal and from $10 to $25 per fowl.
Department of Education; Superintendent's memo; confidentiality of certain information relating to students who receive home instruction. Requires, no later than the start of the 2025–2026 school year, the Superintendent of Public Instruction to include in a Superintendent's memo an explanation of each division superintendent's obligations set forth in relevant law relating to the confidentiality of certain information relating to students who receive home instruction.
Campaign finance; appeal of penalties. Provides for an appeal process for any person or committee assessed a civil penalty under the Campaign Finance Disclosure Act of 2006. Upon petition, the State Board of Elections may provide relief to the petitioner for good cause shown. Such relief may include forgiveness of all or a portion of an assessed civil penalty, the retroactive extension of a deadline, or other appropriate remedy. For each appeal that it hears, the State Board shall publish a written opinion, which shall include the facts put before the State Board, the State Board's decision, and the State Board's rationale for reaching such decision.
Transportation; Commonwealth Transportation Special Structures Program Revenue Bond Act of 2025. Authorizes the Commonwealth Transportation Board to issue revenue bonds to be known and designated as "Commonwealth of Virginia Special Structures Program Revenue Bonds." The bill provides that the aggregate principal amount of such bonds shall not exceed $1 billion and shall not exceed $200 million in any single fiscal year. The bonds shall be payable solely (i) first from revenues received from the Special Structure Fund; (ii) second and to the extent required, from revenues legally available from the Transportation Trust Fund; and (iii) then to the extent required, from any other legally available funds.
Retail sales and use tax; exemption for prescription medicine and drugs purchased by veterinarians; sunset. Extends to July 1, 2028, the exemption from sales and use tax available for the purchase by veterinarians of prescription medicines and drugs that are administered or dispensed to patients within a veterinarian-client-patient relationship that is currently set to expire on July 1, 2025. This bill is identical to SB 1369.
Certain advanced or accelerated mathematics opportunities; policies and criteria for enrollment; data reporting. Requires each school board to develop and adopt a policy that sets forth the criteria for students in grades five through eight to be eligible to enroll in advanced or accelerated mathematics and requires each such policy to provide for (i) the automatic enrollment of certain students in advanced or accelerated mathematics based on Standards of Learning assessment scores, subject to course offerings and availability and the opportunity for parental opt-out; (ii) multiple additional pathways to student enrollment in advanced or accelerated mathematics; and (iii) an annual parental notification relating to mathematics coursework. The bill also requires each school board to report and the Department of Education to post on its website certain data relating to advanced or accelerated mathematics participation and performance.
