Procurement; cancellation of bids. Provides that a public body may include a statement in an Invitation to Bid, a Request for Proposal, or any other solicitation of an intention to cancel any such invitation, request, or solicitation if, in the estimation of the public body, all responsive bids exceed by at least 50 percent the current price for such goods or services as offered to the private sector.
Sex offenses prohibiting proximity to children; state parks; penalty. Provides that every adult who is convicted of an offense prohibiting proximity to children, when the offense occurred on or after July 1, 2025, shall as part of his sentence be forever prohibited from going, for the purpose of having any contact whatsoever with children who are not in his custody, within 100 feet of the premises of any area of a state park that he knows or has reason to know is a playground, athletic field or facility, or gymnasium. A violation is a Class 6 felony.
Health education and family life education; certain videos and animations relating to human development inside the uterus. Requires health education instruction to include an oral, written, or digital lesson, lecture, or presentation about human biology relating to pregnancy and human development inside the uterus, including (i) a high-definition ultrasound video, at least three minutes in duration, showing the development of the brain, heart, sex organs, and other vital organs in early fetal development and (ii) a high-quality, computer-generated rendering or animation showing the process of fertilization and every stage of human development inside the uterus, noting significant markers in cell growth and organ development for each significant marker of pregnancy until birth. The bill requires any family life education curriculum or similar curriculum offered by a local school division that includes any oral, written, or digital lesson, lecture, or presentation about sexual activity and pregnancy in the context of student health or healthy relationships to also include such a video and rendering or animation.
Trespass with an unmanned aircraft system; penalties. Increases the penalty for knowingly and intentionally causing an unmanned aircraft system to (i) take off or land in violation of current Federal Aviation Administration Special Security Instructions or UAS Sensitive Airspace Restrictions, including the airspace over any state or local correctional facility or a juvenile correctional center or (ii) (a) drop any item within the boundaries of or (b) obtain any videographic or still image of any identifiable inmate or resident at any state or local correctional facility or juvenile correctional center from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony. The bill creates a Class 4 felony for any person who knowingly and intentionally causes an unmanned aircraft system to enter the property of any public services or utilities or critical infrastructure, as defined in relevant law. The bill states that any person who does such action and subsequently obtains and shares any videographic or still image of such public services, utilities, or critical infrastructure with the intent to commit espionage is guilty of a Class 3 felony. The bill clarifies that such offenses shall not apply to any person who causes an unmanned aircraft system to enter any prohibited property if such person is an employee of the property and is conducting official business.
Short-term rental properties; human trafficking awareness training. Mandates every accommodations intermediary to require its accommodations providers to complete certain training on recognizing and reporting instances of suspected human trafficking. Current law limits this requirement to every hotel proprietor and its employees and excludes short-term rentals. The bill prohibits an accommodations intermediary from listing a short-term rental property prior to receipt of an up-to-date written certification signed by the accommodations provider of such property that such accommodations provider has complied with the relevant training requirements.
Real property tax; special assessment for land preservation. Allows a locality to provide for the use value assessment and taxation of qualifying leased real estate. Qualifying leased real estate is defined in the bill as real estate devoted to open-space use that is subject to an active lease with a lessor who is using the property for agricultural purposes. The taxpayer seeking to qualify for the different assessment of any such qualifying leased real estate must apply to the commissioner of the revenue and provide any documentation necessary to determine eligibility.
Income tax; eligible conception tax credit. Allows, in taxable years 2025 through 2029, a refundable income tax credit for an individual or married individuals whose family Virginia adjusted gross income does not exceed 400 percent of the poverty guidelines, defined in the bill, in an amount equal to $250 per eligible conception, also defined in the bill, during such taxable year.
Secretary of the Commonwealth; wage garnishment process; work group; report. Directs the Secretary of the Commonwealth to convene a work group of relevant stakeholders to review the current wage garnishment process and assess whether the garnishment of wages, salaries, commissions, or other earnings should be an enforcement mechanism utilized only for the collection of specific types of debts owed by a judgment debtor. The bill directs the work group to report its findings to the Chairmen of the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice by November 1, 2025.
Board of Education; career and technical education courses, pathways, and credentials; biennial review; report. Requires the Board of Education and the Virginia Board of Workforce Development, with the assistance of the Department of Workforce Development and Advancement and the Virginia Office of Education Economics, the Department of Education, the Virginia Community College System, and the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, to conduct, beginning with the fiscal year starting July 1, 2025, and each odd-numbered year thereafter, a biennial review of all career and technical education course, pathway, and credential offerings available to public school students across the Commonwealth for the purpose of ensuring that all such career and technical education course, pathway, and credential offerings are (i) aligned with current and emerging industry and workforce needs, demands, and standards and (ii) designed to effectively prepare students for postsecondary success through gainful employment in a high-demand industry or field, enrollment in postsecondary education, or enlistment in the United States Armed Forces. The bill requires the Board of Education and the Virginia Board of Workforce Development to develop and submit to the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Labor, and the chairs of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by October 1 of each odd-numbered year, beginning with October 1, 2025, a report on each such biennial review.
Department of Medical Assistance Services; state plan for medical assistance services; telemedicine services. Changes the definition of "telemedicine services" as it is used in the state plan for medical assistance services to include two-way, real-time, audio-only communication technology for any telehealth service furnished to a patient in his home.
Certain end-of-course Standards of Learning assessments; elimination and replacement. Requires the Department of Education to eliminate the end-of-course Standards of Learning assessments for Chemistry and World History II. The bill requires the Board of Education to establish and make available to each local school board guidelines for the administration of a local alternative end-of-course assessment in each such course and each local school board to ensure that each student enrolled in either such course completes the relevant local alternative assessment. The bill clarifies that none of the foregoing provisions shall be construed to alter any high school graduation requirement established in relevant law or regulations.
Prostitution; solicitation; penalties. Increases from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony the penalty for a third or subsequent offense of solicitation of prostitution from an adult. The bill also makes it a Class 5 felony to solicit prostitution from any minor. Under current law, any person who solicits prostitution from a minor is guilty of a Class 6 felony if the minor is 16 years of age or older or a Class 5 felony if the minor is younger than 16 years of age. Finally, the bill increases the fines for certain offenses related to sex trafficking from $100 to $1,000 and from $500 to $2,500, respectively.
