Department of Education; individualized education programs; social skills development. Directs the Department of Education to develop and make available to each school board (i) guidelines for including in individualized education programs strategies and supports to address and prevent bullying, harassment, and teasing, and (ii) model instructional programs or materials for students on awareness, understanding, and acceptance of neurodivergence.
Workers' compensation; presumption of compensability for certain cancers. Expands the workers' compensation presumption of compensability for certain cancers causing the death or disability of certain employees who have completed five years of service in their position to include lung cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma for any individual diagnosed with such a condition on or after July 1, 2027.
Virginia Conservation Easement Act; definitions; federally recognized tribes. Provides that a federally recognized tribe, as defined in the bill, can be a conservation easement holder and that such a tribe is not bound by the same restrictions on the location of a principal office or the duration of existence that are placed on other types of easement holders. This bill is a recommendation of the Commission on Updating Virginia Law to Reflect Federal Recognition of Virginia Tribes.
School board chairmen and vice-chairmen; additional annual salary; amount. Permits any school board to pay (i) the chairman of the school board an additional annual salary not exceeding 30 percent of the base annual salary or $3,500, whichever is greater, and (ii) the vice-chairman of the school board an additional annual salary not exceeding 15 percent of the base annual salary or $1,750, whichever is greater. Current law caps school board chairmen's additional annual salary at $2,000 and is silent on additional annual salary amounts for school board vice-chairmen.
Department of Medical Assistance Services; Medicaid estate recoveries. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services (the Department) to limit the operation of its estate recovery program to the recovery of only federally required costs. The bill directs the Department to make information on estate recovery available on its website in multiple languages. The bill directs the Department to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill.
Marine Products Board; blue catfish; Chesapeake Wild Harvest certification. Directs the Marine Products Board to establish and maintain a voluntary Chesapeake Wild Harvest certification and labeling program for any blue catfish that is taken or caught in the Chesapeake Bay or its tributaries and is processed in the Commonwealth. The bill prohibits any person from labeling any product as Chesapeake Wild Harvest unless such product conforms to the provisions of the bill.
Department of Wildlife Resources; permits; use of dogs in hunting game animals, fur-bearing animals, and nuisance species; civil penalties. Directs the Department of Wildlife Resources to establish a permit for persons and a permit for organizations that hunt game animals, fur-bearing animals, or nuisance species with the aid of dogs and makes it unlawful for any person to (i) release a dog to hunt, pursue, or chase any game animal, fur-bearing animal, or nuisance species on any tract of real property or (ii) engage in hunting for any game animal, fur-bearing animal, or nuisance species with the aid of any dog unless such person has been issued a permit to hunt with dogs by the Department. The bill exempts from permitting requirements any person or organization (a) engaged in mounted fox hunting or hunting waterfowl, migratory birds, or upland game birds; (b) using a tracking dog to retrieve a wounded or dead bear, turkey, or deer; (c) whose dog remains in the immediate visual presence and control of such person or organization; or (d) on public lands where hunting is allowed. Finally the bill subjects any person who violates the provisions of the bill to a civil penalty of no more than $50 for a first violation and no less than $100 but no more than $250 for a second or subsequent violation within three years.
Powers and duties of the Marine Products Board; full-time equivalent position established; marketing and production of blue catfish. Directs the Marine Products Board to establish a full-time equivalent position to identify grants and other funding opportunities for the marketing and production of blue catfish in the Commonwealth and disburse moneys from such grants and funds.
Department of Medical Assistance Services; enhanced oversight of services facilitators. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to enhance oversight of Medicaid services facilitation for consumer directed services, including incorporation of such services into the statewide Fiscal Employer Agent contract and development of a contract monitoring and oversight plan.
Department of Environmental Quality; standby generators study; report. Directs the Department of Environmental Quality to conduct a one-year study of all standby generators used by a commercial facility with an air permit in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the study to (i) identify commercial facilities with an air permit that use standby generators, (ii) identify the type of pollutants emitted from such standby generators, and (iii) analyze and describe the amount of pollutants from such standby generators. The Department is required to report its findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources by July 1, 2027.
Virginia Fungi Task Force established; report. Requires the Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation to establish the Virginia Fungi Task Force to assess, categorize, and protect the Commonwealth's natural fungi species and explore the economic potential of fungi. The bill directs the Task Force to develop recommendations to (i) conduct a gap analysis and needs assessment on the Commonwealth's natural fungi species; (ii) identify economic development opportunities for fungi; (iii) build a Virginia database of native and invasive fungi species; (iv) conduct statewide fungal monitoring and research; (v) support forest health, agriculture, and water quality in the Commonwealth; (vi) provide guidance on toxic mushrooms and public safety; and (vii) build public education and identification resources on fungi in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the Task Force to report its initial findings and recommendations to the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources and the Chairs of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources by December 1, 2027, and update such report at least every five years.
Commonwealth Savers Plan; Virginia College Opportunity Endowment and Fund established; report. Establishes (i) the Endowment Scholarship Program for the purpose of providing scholarships to students at eligible institutions, as defined in the bill; (ii) the Virginia College Opportunity Endowment as an agency of the Commonwealth for the purpose of establishing and administering the Endowment Scholarship Program; and (iii) as subfunds of the Commonwealth Savers Plan fund, (a) the DB529 Fund for the purpose of holding in trust the assets of prepaid tuition contracts to meet contractual obligations and (b) the Virginia College Opportunity Fund (the Opportunity Fund), into which certain funds from the DB529 Fund shall be deposited for the purpose of funding, by income generated from investments of such deposits, the Endowment Scholarship Program and other applicable programs, as set forth in the bill. The bill requires the Commonwealth Savers Plan (the Plan) to (a) after the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2026, deposit $500 million into the Opportunity Fund from the DB529 Fund; (b) each fiscal year thereafter, in accordance with the timeline set forth in the bill, submit to the General Assembly a report on the funded status, as defined by applicable law, of the DB529 Fund and the recommendations of the Plan on the prudence of directing deposits, and the amounts of any such deposits, of additional actuarial surpluses of the Plan from the DB529 Fund into the Opportunity Fund; and (c) each subsequent year, deposit additional actuarial surpluses into the Opportunity Fund in accordance with the provisions of the bill. The bill also requires the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to, no less than biennially, complete an independent evaluation and risk assessment of the Plan's risk assessment model, assumptions, and other measures employed by the Plan relating to the DB529 Fund and Opportunity Fund. Finally, the bill contains provisions (1) relating to voluntary contributions to the Opportunity Fund for the purpose of receiving tax fund contributions and income tax deductions, and (2) exempting from mandatory disclosure requirements certain information contained in a public record relating to the Commonwealth Savers Plan or the Virginia College Opportunity Endowment and Fund.
