Parole; exception to limitation on the application of parole statutes. Provides that a person is eligible to be considered for parole if such person (i) was sentenced by a jury after the date of the Supreme Court of Virginia decision in Fishback v. Commonwealth, 260 Va. 104 (2000), in which the Supreme Court held that a jury should be instructed on the fact that parole has been abolished, for a felony committed on or after the abolition of parole going into effect on January 1, 1995; (ii) can prove by the preponderance of the evidence that the jury in his case was not instructed on the fact that parole has been abolished; and (iii) remained incarcerated for the offense on July 1, 2025, and the offense was not one of the following: (a) a Class 1 felony; (b) if the victim was a minor, rape, forcible sodomy, object sexual penetration, or aggravated sexual battery or an attempt to commit any such act; or (c) carnal knowledge. The bill also requires the Parole Board to establish procedures for consideration of parole of persons entitled to it and also provides that any person who is eligible for parole as of July 1, 2025, shall be scheduled for a parole interview no later than July 1, 2026, allowing for extension of time for reasonable cause.
Release of developer performance guarantees. Clarifies that existing provisions related to the periodic partial and final release of developer performance guarantees also applies to performance guarantees for erosion and sediment control measures, stormwater management facilities, and fill and borrow areas.
Autism Advisory Council; name change; membership; staffing; powers and duties. Provides for the Autism Advisory Council to be reconstituted as a permanent, independently staffed agency in the legislative branch of state government. Currently, the Autism Advisory Council is set to expire on July 1, 2027. The bill repeals that expiration date and renames the agency as the Autism Commission. The bill also modifies the membership of the Commission to more closely align with the membership makeup of other independently staffed legislative agencies and directs the Commission to appoint and employ an executive director and other staff to assist in carrying out the duties of the Commission.
Sage's Law; minor students experiencing gender incongruence; parental notification of certain requests and parental permission for certain plans required; parental care. Requires each public elementary or secondary school principal or his designee to (i) as soon as practicable, inform at least one parent of a minor student enrolled in such school if such minor requests that any such employee participate while at school in the social affirmation of such minor student's gender incongruence or the transition of such minor student to a sex or gender different from the minor's biological sex, as such terms are defined in the bill, and (ii) request and receive permission from at least one parent of a minor student enrolled at such school prior to the implementation at such school of any plan concerning any gender incongruence experienced by such minor, including any counseling of such minor at school. Any such plan shall include provision for parental participation to the extent requested by the parent. The bill also clarifies, in the definition of the term "abused or neglected child," that in no event shall referring to and raising the child in a manner consistent with the child's biological sex, including related mental health or medical decisions, be considered abuse or neglect.
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 2.2-3705.7, 8.01-654, 17.1-310, 17.1-406, 18.2-8, 18.2-10, 18.2-18, 18.2-19, 18.2-22, 18.2-25, 18.2-26, 18.2-30, 18.2-31, 18.2-32, 18.2-61, 18.2-67.1, 18.2-67.2, 18.2-251.01, 19.2-11.01, 19.2-71, 19.2-76.1, 19.2-100, 19.2-102, 19.2-152.2, 19.2-157, 19.2-159, 19.2-163, 19.2-163.01, 19.2-163.4:1, 19.2-169.3, 19.2-175, 19.2-217.1, 19.2-247, 19.2-270.4:1, 19.2-295.3, 19.2-299, 19.2-299.1, 19.2-311, 19.2-319, 19.2-321.2, 19.2-327.1, 19.2-327.3, 19.2-327.11, 19.2-389.1, 19.2-389.3, as it is currently effective, 19.2-400, 53.1-204, 53.1-229, and 54.1-3307 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding sections numbered 8.01-654.3 and 17.1-313.1, by adding in Article 3 of Chapter 1 of Title 18.2 a section numbered 18.2-17.1, by adding in Chapter 10 of Title 19.2 an article numbered 4.2, consisting of sections numbered 19.2-163.9 and 19.2-163.10, by adding in Chapter 15 of Title 19.2 an article numbered 4.1:1, consisting of sections numbered 19.2-264.5:1 through 19.2-264.5:11, by adding a section numbered 53.1-230.1, and by adding in Title 53.1 a chapter numbered 13.1, consisting of sections numbered 53.1-236.1 through 53.1-236.6, relating to capital murder; death penalty; certain offenses of criminal sexual assault against a minor punishable by death.
Emergency Response Exposure Grant Fund and Program. Creates the Emergency Response Exposure Grant Fund and Program to award grants to localities to support certain emergency responders who were exposed to a qualifying emergency, defined in the bill. The bill requires funding to be used for annual cancer screenings and health care expenses incurred by eligible emergency responders, defined in the bill, in the event such emergency responders are diagnosed with cancer from toxic material exposure. The bill permits funding to be used for out-of-pocket medical expenses not otherwise covered by insurance, workers' compensation, or other available funding. The Department of Fire Programs shall administer the Fund and Program.
Income tax deductions; in vitro fertilization. Allows an income tax deduction for taxable years 2025 through 2029 for an individual or married couple filing jointly for expenses incurred for in vitro fertilization, as defined in the bill.
Sexual abuse of certain children; penalty. Increases from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony the penalty for sexual abuse of a child who is 13 or 14 years of age.
Felony homicide; certain drug offenses; penalty. Provides that a person is guilty of felony homicide, which constitutes second degree murder and is punishable by confinement of not less than five nor more than 40 years, if the underlying felonious act that resulted in the killing of another involved the manufacture, sale, gift, or distribution of a Schedule I or II controlled substance to another and (i) such other person's death results from his use of the controlled substance and (ii) the controlled substance is the proximate cause of his death. The bill provides that venue for a prosecution of this crime shall lie in the locality where the underlying felony occurred, where the use of the controlled substance occurred, or where death occurred. The bill also provides that if a person gave or distributed a Schedule I or II controlled substance only as an accommodation to another individual who is not an inmate in a community correctional facility, local correctional facility, or state correctional facility, or in the custody of an employee thereof, and not with intent to profit thereby from any consideration received or expected nor to induce the recipient of the controlled substance to use or become addicted to or dependent upon such controlled substance, he is guilty of a Class 5 felony.
Commonwealth Savers Plan; Access Fund established; report. Establishes the Access Fund as a portion of the Fund of the Commonwealth Savers Plan (the Plan), to be managed by the governing board of the Plan (the board) as a part of the Fund but to be accounted for separately from the Fund, into which certain Fund moneys shall be allocated for the purpose of supporting the Plan's goal of enhancing the accessibility, attainability, and affordability of higher education for all citizens of the Commonwealth. The bill directs the board to (i) establish or identify and fund certain programs and partnerships to further the goal of enhancing the accessibility, attainability, and affordability of higher education for all citizens of the Commonwealth, including programs and partnerships that provide scholarships, grants, or mentoring and coaching services to certain identified populations of students; (ii) use certain distributions from the Access Fund, in accordance with the investment objectives and total return spending policy described in the bill and the standard of care set forth in applicable law, to support such programs and partnerships; (iii) appoint an Access Advisory Committee for the purpose of assisting the board by making recommendations relating to any such programs and partnerships for which distributions from the Access Fund could be used; and (iv) submit to relevant committees of the General Assembly and the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission by December 1 of each year a report on the Plan's activities relating to the Access Fund for the preceding year. Finally, the bill directs the Audit and Actuarial Committee to, in addition to its other duties set forth in applicable law, assess and make recommendations to the board regarding the availability of Fund moneys for allocation to the Access Fund.
Assault and battery; serious bodily injury; penalty. Creates a Class 6 felony for any person who commits an assault and battery that results in serious bodily injury, as defined in relevant law, and adds such new offense to the list of violent felony offenses for the purposes of the discretionary sentencing guidelines. The bill contains technical amendments.
Exchange of items on roadways; ability of localities to prohibit. Authorizes localities to prohibit by ordinance the exchange or attempted exchange of any item between a pedestrian and the occupant of a motor vehicle located on a roadway in such locality, subject to certain exceptions. The bill provides that a violation of any such ordinance may be made punishable by a fine of not more than $50.
