Funeral directors; requirement to report certain statistics removed. Removes the requirement that funeral directors report monthly to the State Registrar a list showing all caskets furnished, bodies prepared for disposition and transportation, and funerals performed where no casket was furnished by the funeral director for the preceding month.
Lithium-ion Battery Separator Manufacturing Grant Fund. Establishes the Lithium-ion Battery Separator Manufacturing Grant Fund to, subject to appropriation, fund 20 annual grant award installments, in an aggregate amount not to exceed $60.597 million, to a qualified company that engages in the manufacture of lithium-ion battery separators and that executes a memorandum of understanding with the Commonwealth and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority, and that on and after July 1, 2024, but before July 1, 2045, is expected to (i) make a capital investment, defined in the bill, of at least $1.3506 billion and (ii) create and maintain at least 2,015 new full-time jobs in Pittsylvania County. This bill is identical to SB 1207.
Bond requirements for local treasurers. Increases the maximum amount of the surety bond that may be required for local treasurers based on the population of the county or city.
Fire insurance; assignment of claims prohibited. Prohibits a fire insurance policy or a fire insurance policy in combination with other coverages from assigning or otherwise transferring, in whole or in part, to any other person the duties, rights, or benefits of the insured under the policy arising from a claim or covered loss without written consent of the insurer. Any such contract provision is void and unenforceable under the bill. This bill is identical to HB 1628.
License taxes; local gas road improvement and Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority tax; sunset. Extends from January 1, 2026, to January 1, 2028, the expiration date for provisions permitting any county or city to impose a license tax at a rate not to exceed one percent on every person engaged in the business of severing gases from the earth for the purposes of funding improvements to public roads or as otherwise provided for the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority.
Department of Medical Assistance Services; state plan for medical assistance services; rapid whole genome sequencing; emergency. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to add a provision to the state plan for medical assistance services allowing payment of medical assistance for rapid whole genome sequencing, as defined in the bill, for children three years of age or younger who are receiving inpatient hospital services in an intensive care unit. The bill contains an emergency clause. This bill is identical to SB 1461.
Virginia state militia; officers of certain educational institutions; Randolph-Macon Academy. Adds Randolph-Macon Academy to the list of educational institutions of which officers shall be commissioned officers of the Virginia state militia.
Petitions for relief of care and custody of a child; investigation by local department of social services; Office of the Children's Ombudsman work group; report. Requires a local department of social services, as a part of its investigation after the referral of a request for a petition for relief of the care and custody of a child, to (i) refer the parent to the local family assessment and planning team and (ii) create a written report. The bill directs the Department of Social Services, in coordination with the Virginia League of Social Services Executives, to create a template for and provide guidance on what should be included in such written report. The bill also directs the Office of the Children's Ombudsman to convene a work group composed of relevant stakeholders to (a) determine the factors a court should consider when determining whether there is good cause shown for a petitioner's desire to be relieved of the care and custody of a child and (b) explore the potential benefits and considerations of raising the standard of evidence for granting temporary relief of custody from the current standard of preponderance of the evidence to clear and convincing evidence. The bill directs the work group to submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice and the Virginia Commission on Youth by November 1, 2025. Certain provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2026. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Virginia Commission on Youth. This bill is identical to SB 1372.
Department of Motor Vehicles; proof of financial responsibility in the future. Clarifies when a vehicle owner is required to furnish proof of financial responsibility or proof of financial responsibility in the future. The bill specifies the forms required when providing proof of financial responsibility in the future. This bill is identical to HB 2205.
Appointment of counsel for accused; felonies punishable by a mandatory minimum term of confinement for life. Provides that in any case in which an indigent defendant is charged with any felony punishable by a mandatory minimum term of confinement for life, the court shall appoint to represent the defendant two competent, qualified, and experienced attorneys, one of whom shall be from the public defender office if the defendant is charged in a jurisdiction in which a public defender office is established. The bill preserves the requirement under current law for the court to appoint two such attorneys in cases in which an indigent defendant is charged with a Class 1 felony.
Mail theft; penalty. Creates the offense of mail theft, punishable as a Class 6 felony, for any person who (i) knowingly, willfully, and with the intent to deprive, injure, damage, or defraud another (a) takes, destroys, hides, or embezzles mail or (b) obtains any mail by fraud or deception; (ii) buys, receives, conceals, or possesses (a) mail and knows or reasonably should know that the mail was unlawfully taken or obtained; (b) any key he knows or reasonably should know is suited to any lock adopted by the United States Postal Service that provides access to any mail receptacle located in a cluster mailbox unit or other mailbox panel used for the purpose of centralized mail in any neighborhood, including any condominium or apartment complex; or (c) a counterfeit device or key designed to provide access to any lock described in clause (b); or (iii) knowingly, willfully, and with the intent to steal any mail inside damages, opens, removes, injures, vandalizes, or destroys any mail receptacle. This bill is identical to SB 939.
Certificate of public need; exception; critical access hospitals; swing beds; sunset. Allows critical access hospitals to utilize an average of up to 10 swing beds per day, calculated over the hospital's fiscal year, without obtaining a certificate of public need. Under current law, critical access hospitals may only use up to 10 percent of beds as swing beds. The bill directs the State Commissioner of Health to collect data annually from critical access hospitals that use fiscal year averaging for swing beds and make such data publicly available. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2028. This bill is identical to SB 1177.
