Transfer of certain incarcerated persons to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Requires the Director of the Department of Corrections, sheriff, or other official in charge of the facility in which an alien is incarcerated to, upon receipt of a detainer from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, (i) provide U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with prerelease notification of such alien's release and (ii) upon request of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, transfer custody of the alien to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement upon such alien's release, which shall occur no more than five days prior to the date on which he would otherwise be released from custody. Current law states that the Director, sheriff, or other official in charge of the facility may transfer such incarcerated person upon receipt of a detainer.
Employee Child Care Assistance Pilot Program. Establishes the Employee Child Care Assistance Pilot Program (the Program) to provide matching funds to employers in order to incentivize employers to contribute to the child care costs of their employees. The Program shall be administered by the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation (the Foundation). To participate in the Program, an employer shall agree to make child care contributions to the eligible mixed-delivery provider on behalf of the employee and shall provide any other information deemed necessary by the Foundation. To the extent funds are available, the Foundation shall issue a state match directly to such eligible mixed-delivery provider or to a third-party administrator. Program funds shall be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis; however, the Foundation is encouraged to prioritize awards to proposals involving contributions from small businesses. The bill requires the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation to provide an interim report to the General Assembly by September 1, 2026, and a summative report to the General Assembly by September 1, 2027, on the effectiveness and impact of the Program.
Employment health and safety standards; heat illness prevention. Requires the Safety and Health Codes Board to adopt regulations establishing reasonable standards designed to protect employees from heat illness and establish a list of high-hazard industries, as defined in the bill. The bill authorizes a person aggrieved by a violation of its provisions or the regulations promulgated thereunder to seek to obtain injunctive relief, to recover statutory damages of $1000, or both, in an action commenced within one year of the cause of action. The bill requires the Safety and Health Codes Board, in consultation with the Department of Labor and Industry, to develop a list of high-hazard industries by January 1, 2026, and to develop and adopt regulations requiring employers in high-hazard industries to implement standards for heat illness prevention by May 1, 2026. This bill was incorporated into SB 917.
Health insurance; coverage for cancer follow-up testing; report. Requires health insurers and other carriers to provide coverage for cancer follow-up testing, as defined in the bill, and prohibits the imposition of deductibles, coinsurance, or any other cost-sharing requirements specifically on cancer follow-up testing. The bill directs the Bureau of Insurance to annually report to the General Assembly on (i) the number of individuals benefiting from the removal of copayments for cancer follow-up testing, (ii) the financial impact on health insurance premiums as a result of the provisions of the bill, and (iii) recommendations for further policy adjustments.
Free fishing license program; blue catfish; sunset. Directs the Department of Wildlife Resources to create a program that allows a person to obtain a digital fishing license at no cost through the Department's Go Outdoors Virginia mobile application to catch blue catfish. The bill requires the Department to establish certain eligibility requirements as provided in the bill and to establish guidelines for the administration of the program, including an incentive program to recognize program participants that catch the most blue catfish by weight, length, or number. The program has an expiration date of July 1, 2029, after which the Department is required to examine and report on the effectiveness of the free digital fishing license program in reducing the Commonwealth's population of blue catfish.
Information and communications technology and services; transactions with foreign adversaries. Requires the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency to establish and maintain a list of prohibited information and communications technology and services that (i) are designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by persons owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a foreign adversary and (ii) have been determined to pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the security and safety of the United States. The bill specifies that the list shall include any information and communications technology and services determined by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Federal Communications Commission, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, or any other appropriate federal agency to pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the security and safety of the United States pursuant to the provisions of Executive Order 13873 on Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain and any related regulations or official guidance. The bill prohibits any public body or person conducting business in the Commonwealth from acquiring, importing, transferring, installing, dealing in, or using any information and communications technology and services included on the list established and maintained by the CIO unless (i) (a) such transaction was initiated, is pending, or will be completed after July 1, 2025, or (b) the public body received a waiver from the CIO and (ii) such transaction is not otherwise prohibited by law. The bill also allows the Superintendent of State Police, in consultation with the CIO, to grant an exception to the prohibition on such transactions by public bodies for the purpose of allowing any employee, agent, person, or entity to participate in any law-enforcement-related matters
All-terrain vehicles and off-road motorcycles; penalty. Authorizes the use of all-terrain vehicles on secondary state highways if (i) such operation is approved by action of the governing body of a locality for operation on the secondary state highways within such locality and (ii) such all-terrain vehicles, when operated between dusk and dawn, are equipped with two front and two rear lights that render discernible a person or object at a distance of 200 feet.
Virginia State Crime Commission; Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; persons with mental illness; petty crimes; study; report. Directs the Virginia State Crime Commission, in collaboration with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, to conduct a study on the petty crimes that are most frequently committed by persons with mental illness. The bill requires the Commission to submit a report on its findings to the Chairs of the House Committees for Courts of Justice and on Health and Human Services and the Senate Committees for Courts of Justice and on Education and Health by November 1, 2025.
Prohibition of gender reassignment surgery on individuals younger than 18 years of age. Prohibits gender reassignment surgery, as defined in the bill, for individuals younger than 18 years of age. The bill establishes enforcement procedures for violations of the provisions of the bill.
Transportation infrastructure and projects; noise analysis. Requires the Commonwealth Transportation Board or the Department of Transportation to begin a noise analysis within one year of receipt of a valid petition for a noise analysis. The bill also requires a noise analysis for any retrofit noise abatement project undertaken or considered by the Board or the Department.
Temporary funding of federal park operations. Authorizes the Governor to provide funding and execute necessary agreements to allow the temporary operation of any Virginia property controlled by the National Park Service in the event of a federal government shutdown. Such authority shall be contingent on the U.S. Department of the Interior executing an agreement which authorizes the Commonwealth to operate such property. The bill states that the funds may come from the State Park Conservation Resources Fund, voluntary donations, funds allocated to the Department of Conservation and Recreation, or other sources. However, the bill clarifies that no funds originally allocated from the general fund shall be used to operate a federal park for more than 21 days without the approval of the General Assembly.
School crossing zones; institutions of higher education. Expands the definition of "school crossing zone" to include areas surrounding schools where the presence of students reasonably requires a special warning to motorists and provides that the term "school" includes public institutions of higher education and nonprofit private institutions of higher education. Currently, the definition of "school crossing zone" includes only areas surrounding schools where the presence of children requires such warning. The existing provisions of law allowing photo speed monitoring devices to be installed in school crossing zones will apply to any location that meets such expanded definition.
