Driver's licenses; requirements for initial licensure; persons age 18 to 21. Expands from 60 days to 90 days the length of time an applicant for a first-time noncommercial driver's license who is at least 18 years old and not more than 21 years old is required to hold a learner's permit and requires such an applicant to complete a course of driver instruction prior to being issued a driver's license. The bill provides that learner's permits other than motorcycle learner's permits, accompanied by other documentation verifying that the driver is at least 18 years old and less than 21 years old and has successfully completed an approved driver's education course, constitute a temporary driver's license for the purpose of driving unaccompanied by a licensed driver 18 years old or older, provided that certain other requirements are met. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027. This bill is identical to HB 1224.
Absentee voting in person; available the second and third Sunday before all elections. Requires absentee voting in person to be made available for a minimum of five hours between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the second and third Sunday immediately preceding all elections.
Residential property owners; insurance policies; roofing services by contractors; prohibited practices and consumer protection. Prohibits insurers from refusing coverage or canceling, refusing to renew, or increasing the premiums of a policy written to insure an owner-occupied dwelling solely based on the age or condition of the asphalt shingle roof, except in certain circumstances. The bill also contains provisions related to consumer protection in the context of contractors providing roofing services for residential property owners. The bill prohibits certain advertisements and conduct by contractors in such context. The bill includes contract terms that must be included by contractors in such context, and permits a residential property owner to cancel a contract for roofing services in the case of a declaration of a state of emergency by the Governor applicable to the geographic area where the property is located. Provisions of the bill related to prohibited conduct and requirements for contractors providing roofing services are subject to the enforcement provisions of the Consumer Protection Act. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027, and is identical to HB 677.
Local regulation of solar facilities; special exceptions. Provides that a ground-mounted solar energy generation facility to be located on property zoned agricultural, commercial, industrial, or institutional shall be considered pursuant to various criteria to be included in a local ordinance, such as specifications for setbacks, fencing, solar panel height, visual impacts, grading, and a decommissioning plan for solar energy equipment and facilities, unless otherwise permitted by right. The bill requires localities to furnish the State Corporation Commission with a record of special exception decisions reached pursuant to these provisions that includes (i) the reason for any adverse decision, (ii) any finding of nonconformity with the local comprehensive plan, and (iii) the date of the last revision to the comprehensive plan. The bill further requires the State Corporation Commission to compile and maintain on the Commission's public website a searchable database of all solar special exception decisions and the reasons for any adverse decisions made over a period of not less than five years. Finally, the bill states that its provisions shall apply to any ground-mounted solar facility with a generating capacity of one megawatt or more for which an application for local approval is filed on or after July 1, 2026, and any such project shall not be governed by any local ordinances inconsistent with the bill; however, any application for a solar energy facility that has been received and accepted by the relevant authority prior to July 1, 2026, shall be subject to any applicable local ordinances in place at the time the initial application was filed. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation. This bill is identical to HB 711.
Deferred disposition in a criminal case; persons with autism, intellectual disabilities, or developmental disabilities; expungement. Adds developmental disabilities to the autism and intellectual disability deferred disposition statute. The bill also provides that when a court defers and dismisses a charge pursuant to the autism, intellectual disability, or developmental disability deferred disposition statute, such charge may be considered as otherwise dismissed for purposes of expungement of police and court records. The bill also (i) clarifies that the defendant may request a hearing to determine the appropriateness of a deferred disposition at any time before or after any plea and (ii) provides that no statement made by the defendant at such a hearing is admissible in any criminal proceeding, except that any such statement made under oath may be admissible in a criminal proceeding for perjury or for purposes of impeachment in a criminal matter. This bill is identical to HB 247.
Power Transformer Manufacturing Grant Fund. Establishes the Power Transformer Manufacturing Grant Fund to provide grant installment awards between July 1, 2026, and July 1, 2035, in an amount not to exceed $4.6 million per fiscal year and in an aggregate amount not to exceed $29.4 million, to a qualified company that (i) engages in the manufacture of power transformers, (ii) executes a memorandum of understanding with the Commonwealth, and (iii) is expected to make a capital investment of at least $457,157,000 and create and maintain at least 825 new full-time jobs. This bill is identical to HB 799.
Department of Health; reduction of opioid overdose and opioid overdose deaths; report. Directs the Department of Health to develop a strategic plan for opioid overdose response to reduce rates of drug overdose and drug overdose deaths in the Commonwealth and to provide a report on the status of such strategic plan and its implementation to the Governor, the Chairs of the House Committees on Appropriations and Health and Human Services and the Senate Committees on Education and Health and Finance and Appropriations, and the Joint Commission on Health Care by November 1, 2026, and annually thereafter. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Health Care. This bill is identical to HB 794.
Continuing care providers; quarterly meeting requirements. Amends the quarterly meeting requirements for continuing care facilities to provide that at least two of such meetings per year shall be open to all residents and that certain individuals shall participate in at least two of such meetings per year. The bill also requires, if requested by the resident council or a majority of the independent living residents of a continuing care facility, the provider to include as a participant in the meetings of its board of directors or other governing body a resident representative elected by a majority of such residents, who shall participate in a non-voting, advisory capacity. This bill is identical to HB 476.
Department of Education; College and Career Ready Virginia Program; administration; advisory committee and work group composition. Removes the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond from the membership of the advisory committee and the work group that the Department of Education and the Community College System are required to establish for administration of the College and Career Ready Program pursuant to applicable law. This bill is identical to HB 1039.
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Manufacturing Grant Fund. Establishes the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Manufacturing Grant Fund to provide grant installment awards between July 1, 2026, and July 1, 2045, in an amount not to exceed $15 million per fiscal year and in an aggregate amount not to exceed $130 million, to a qualified company that (i) engages in the manufacture of pharmaceutical substances, (ii) executes a memorandum of understanding with the Commonwealth, and (iii) is expected to make a capital investment of at least $2,148,793,019 and create and maintain at least 468 new full-time jobs. This bill is identical to HB 800.
Consumer protection; automatic renewal or continuous service offers; disclosure and cancellation. Amends certain definitions related to automatic renewal or continuous service offers, including the definition of "clear and conspicuous" as it relates to seller disclosures and requirements to provide a simple cancellation mechanism. The bill replaces the term "supplier" in current provisions with "seller" and provides a definition for such term. The bill requires sellers to provide a cancellation mechanism that is at least as easy to use as the mechanism used to initiate the automatic renewal or continuous service offer, and includes additional requirements for providing such cancellation mechanism. Under the bill, certain businesses are no longer exempt from disclosure and cancellation requirements for automatic renewal or continuous service offers, and a violation of the provision constitutes a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. This bill is identical to HB 1022.
Parking, stopping, and standing enforcement; bus obstruction monitoring systems. Allows localities to authorize the use of bus obstruction monitoring systems by a public transit agency operating within the locality for the purpose of enforcing local ordinances related to parking, stopping, or standing in bus stop zones or in lanes reserved for transit buses during posted times. This bill is identical to HB 564.
