Health insurance; prescription drug formularies. Requires health insurance carriers to provide coverage for a generic drug or a biosimilar when the carrier provides coverage for the brand drug or product and the generic drug or biosimilar has a lower wholesale acquisition cost than the brand drug or product with more favorable cost-sharing, including actual out-of-pocket costs, relative to the brand drug or product. Additionally, the bill requires carriers to publish an up-to-date, accurate, and complete list of all covered drugs on its formulary, including any tiering structure that it has adopted and any restrictions on the manner in which a drug can be obtained, in a manner that is easily accessible to plan enrollees, prospective enrollees, and the general public.
Study; JLARC; transportation options in rural areas for persons with disabilities. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to study transportation options in rural areas for persons with disabilities and identify ways to expand or enhance such transportation services. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Disability Commission.
High-energy facilities; water and energy usage information reports; statewide clearinghouse established. Requires any owner or operator of a high-energy facility, as defined in the bill, to submit to the Department of Environmental Quality no later than May 1, 2026, and on a quarterly basis thereafter, a report that contains certain information relating to water and energy usage for each such facility. The bill requires the Department, no later than July 1, 2026, to design, implement, and maintain a publicly accessible website to serve as a statewide clearinghouse for information relating to water and energy usage of all high-energy facilities operating in the Commonwealth. The bill provides that, in order to fully cover the costs of designing, implementing, and maintaining the statewide clearinghouse, the Department shall assess an initial fee on each owner or operator of a high-energy facility and may assess an annual fee thereafter for each year that such high-energy facility is in active use. The bill requires any owner or operator of a high-energy facility to notify the Department of any substantial change in operations or technologies that would require an update to the information required by the bill at least 60 days prior to making such change. The bill also requires the Department to convene a work group of stakeholders for the purpose of identifying additional information required to be published to the statewide clearinghouse. Such work group is required to convene at least three times by July 1, 2026, in a manner that is open to the public, and each such meeting is required to include a public comment period of no less than 60 days following such meeting.
Mattress Stewardship Program established; report; civil penalties. Establishes the Mattress Stewardship Program that allows certain industry associations to administer the Program as a mattress recycling organization with approval and certification from the Department of Environmental Quality. The bill requires certain producers, retailers, and renovators of mattresses to register with a certified mattress recycling organization and requires a producer to identify each mattress brand it sells or offers for sale in the Commonwealth on or before June 1, 2027. Prior to the Program going into effect, the bill requires a mattress recycling organization to submit a plan with certain criteria relating to the collection and recycling of mattresses and the implementation of the Program. The bill establishes annual reporting requirements for the mattress recycling organization and establishes a Mattress Stewardship Program Advisory Board to provide advice on the proper implementation and sustainability of the Program. Finally, the bill establishes the powers and duties of the Department as they relate to the bill and civil penalties for violations of the Program by the producers, the retailers, or the mattress recycling organization.
Permitting requirements for resource intensive facilities, Resource Intensive Facility Fee Fund established; report. Directs the Department of Environmental Quality (the Department) to develop a required permitting process for the construction and operation of resource intensive facilities (RIF), as defined in the bill, to protect the Commonwealth's natural resources environment and the public health. The bill requires the Department to consult with certain state agencies and relevant stakeholders to assist in the development of any conditions and standards for such permit and establishes the Resource Intensive Facility Fee Fund sourced by fees collected by the owner or operator of an RIF to help with the cost to the Department of administering the permit. The bill requires the Department to prepare an annual report explaining the permit status of each RIF and make such report publicly available on its website by October 1 of each year. Prior to the effective date of the required permitting process, the bill requires the Department to establish an advisory panel consisting of representatives of the Department of Forestry, the State Corporation Commission, the Department of Energy, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority, and other relevant stakeholders to assist in developing the initial criteria for the permit and to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committees on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and Labor and Commerce and the Senate Committees on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and Commerce and Labor no later than December 1, 2025. The required permitting portion of the bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.
Department of Conservation and Recreation; Virginia Land Conservation Fund; land conservation goals and needs assessment. Establishes as a goal of the Commonwealth the achievement of permanent conservation of 20 percent of the land area of Virginia by 2035 and requires the Department of Conservation and Recreation to monitor progress toward such goal and, every five years beginning in 2030, establish additional goals for 2040, 2045, and 2050. The bill requires the Department of Conservation and Recreation to consult with relevant state agencies in establishing such goals and to submit an annual land conservation goals and needs assessment report including certain enumerated information no later than November 1 of each year to relevant committees of the General Assembly. The bill also removes the requirement (i) that the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation develop a needs assessment for future expenditures from the Virginia Land Conservation Fund and maintain such assessment on an annual basis and (ii) that the Virginia Land Conservation Board of Trustees report with an estimate of the funds needed to achieve certain goals established by the Board.
Department of Housing and Community Development; rental assistance voucher pilot program. Establishes the rental assistance voucher pilot program within the Department of Housing and Community Development for the purpose of providing direct rental assistance to qualifying households, as defined by the bill, in the form of rental assistance vouchers. The bill directs the Department to submit an annual report to the General Assembly on the implementation and impact of the rental assistance voucher program. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2028.
Electric utilities; renewable portfolio standard program; deficiency payments. Removes provisions requiring deficiency payments by certain electric utilities if such utilities are unable to meet the compliance obligation of the renewable portfolio standard (RPS) program requirements or if the cost of renewable energy certificates necessary to comply with RPS program requirements exceeds $45 per megawatt hour.
Proposing an amendment to Section 8 of Article VIII of the Constitution of Virginia, relating to Literary 5 Fund; exemption for certain asset forfeiture.
Electric utilities; controlled environment agriculture facilities; time-of-use. Requires electric utilities, upon the request of a controlled environment agriculture facility, as defined in the bill, to advise such facility of available time-of-use rate structures for such facility based on its expected electricity usage patterns.
Electric utilities; renewable energy portfolio standard program; zero-carbon electricity. Amends the definition of renewable energy for purposes of the Virginia Electric Utility Regulation Act to include energy derived from hydrogen and nuclear power. The bill provides that the existing renewable energy portfolio standard program that establishes goals for the sale of renewable energy shall also include goals for the sale of zero-carbon electricity and adds zero-carbon electricity generating resources and certain other resources approved by the State Corporation Commission to the list of eligible sources for purposes of the renewable portfolio standard program.
Electric utilities; retail competition; aggregation of load. Provides, for retail competition for the purchase and sale of electric energy, that when two or more individual nonresidential retail customers of electric energy within the Commonwealth petition the State Corporation Commission for permission to aggregate or combine their demands to become qualified to purchase electric energy from a retail supplier, such retail customers shall be able to modify existing site accounts outlined in the petition without penalty or risk of revocation of petition approval, provided the petition continues to adhere to program requirements. Additionally, for a pilot program under which two or more nonresidential customers have filed applications seeking to aggregate their load and purchase electric energy from a supplier, such retail customers shall be able to modify existing site accounts outlined in the petition without penalty or risk of removal from the program, provided the petition continues to adhere to program requirements.
