Regulation of discharging preproduction plastic; requirements. Requires the Department of Environmental Quality to establish a program to ensure zero discharge or release from point and nonpoint source at certain facilities that discharge to (i) a surface water under a Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issued by the Department or (ii) a publicly owned treatment works under an industrial pretreatment program permit or other written authorization issued by a local permit control authority and to require the prompt and environmentally responsible containment and cleanup of discharged or released preproduction plastic. The bill requires the Department to adopt and implement certain requirements in order to reduce and control the discharge or release of preproduction plastic from such facilities. The bill allows the Department to exempt a facility from the requirements of the program if a facility satisfies the criteria for a no exposure certification and complies with inspection requirements administered by the Department. The bill also allows the Department to establish additional requirements regarding the regulation of discharges and releases of preproduction plastic from certain facilities into water or onto land in the Commonwealth.
Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities; program extension. Directs the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to take all steps necessary to implement the federal extension option for the federal Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities to allow children four years of age or younger to receive services through such program.
Centralized local government reporting system; unfunded mandates on localities. Requires the Department of Planning and Budget to establish a centralized electronic reporting system for all locality reporting requirements, including those required by state agencies. The bill also creates the Unfunded Mandate Review Task Force (the Task Force) consisting of four members of the General Assembly and five members appointed by the Governor. The bill states that localities may submit proposals to the Task Force for alternative approaches to implementing any unfunded mandate, defined in the bill, and provides that the Task Force shall: (i) meet quarterly to review proposals from localities regarding alternative approaches to implementing unfunded mandates; (ii) establish criteria for evaluating local proposals, including cost-effectiveness, achievement of mandate objectives, impact on public health and safety, and administrative feasibility; (iii) approve or deny local proposals within 90 days of submission; (iv) monitor implementation of approved alternatives; (v) maintain records of all decisions and the rationale behind such decisions; and (vi) submit annual reports to the General Assembly by November 1 of each year detailing its activities, decisions, and recommendations.The bill further provides that any bill that includes an unfunded mandate approved by the General Assembly shall have an implementation delay beginning at the end of the session in which the mandate was passed and ending at the adjournment of the following session; however, a bill containing an unfunded mandate that includes an emergency declaration shall not be subject to these requirements and shall be implemented immediately or on the date of implementation described in the bill containing the emergency mandate.
Air quality monitoring program for certain communities; Virginia Council on Environmental Justice; report. Requires the Department of Environmental Quality to establish an ongoing air quality monitoring program for fenceline communities, as defined in the bill, disproportionately impacted by toxic metals, coal dust pollution, and other inhalable particulate matter that can cause adverse health effects, including PM2.5 and PM10, in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the Department to report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly and the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice by October 1, 2026, and annually thereafter. The bill requires such report to include data analysis on current pollution levels, health risks associated with the identified pollution levels, and any recommendations for regulatory or legislative actions to address any identified risks, and when thresholds established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for particulate matter are exceeded, such report shall also include recommended actions to mitigate such risks. The bill directs the General Assembly to annually review the findings and recommendations from the report to determine whether any legislation is necessary and requires the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice to provide advice and recommendations to the Governor and his cabinet on such findings and recommendations from the report.
Study; JLARC; creation of Secretariat of Rural Affairs; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to study the need for and feasibility of creating a Secretariat of Rural Affairs in the Commonwealth.
Assisted conception; certain medical treatments; written contract required. Provides that the laws governing abortion shall not be construed to prohibit or limit the access to and use of (i) in vitro fertilization or any other method of assisted conception or (ii) any other medical treatment or intervention used to assist in the conception of a pregnancy or to maintain such a pregnancy. The bill further provides that, beginning the in vitro fertilization process, the genetic parents, if known to each other, shall enter into a written contract stipulating to the disposition of any embryo created for the intended use in such process. The bill specifies that such contract shall include provisions regarding the cryopreservation, disposal, and control of any such embryo in the event of the death or incarceration of one or more of the genetic parents or the divorce of the genetic parents, if applicable.
Virginia's Great Outdoors Act; land preservation distributions and appropriations. Provides that beginning July 1, 2026, (i) after required distributions for transportation and localities under current law, no less than $200 million of the remaining recordation tax revenues shall be distributed for specified land protection and preservation purposes and (ii) no less than $30 million of the proceeds of bonds issued by the Virginia Public Building Authority shall be made available for infrastructure improvements and other capital projects for state parks each year The bill also repeals provisions requiring the Governor to include in the budget bill or in his amendments to the general appropriation act a recommended appropriation from the general fund, up to $20 million, for land preservation as follows: (i) 80 percent of the unissued credits to the Virginia Land Conservation Fund, of which at least 50 percent must be used for acquisitions with public access; (ii) 10 percent to the Virginia Battlefield Preservation Fund; and (iii) 10 percent to the Virginia Farmland Preservation Fund.
Virginia Antiterrorism Act established; civil penalties. Establishes the Virginia Antiterrorism Act. The bill creates a cause of action against an individual or entity that commits, conspires, aides, or abets an act of terrorism, defined in the bill, or provides direct or indirect material support, defined in the bill, for the commission of an act of terrorism if such conduct results in an injury or death to any person. The bill authorizes the Attorney General to (i) issue a civil investigative demand when he has reasonable cause to believe that any person has engaged in, is engaging in, or is about to engage in such commission of an act of terrorism or provision of material support for an act of terrorism and (ii) on behalf of the Commonwealth, enforce and recover civil penalties for conduct that would give rise to such cause of action.
Threats to bomb or damage; false information as to danger; public, private, or religious elementary or secondary school; penalty. Provides that for any person who (i) makes and communicates to another by any means any threat to bomb, burn, destroy, or in any manner damage a public, private, or religious elementary or secondary school, as defined in relevant law, or (ii) communicates to another, by any means, information, knowing the same to be false, as to the existence of any peril of bombing, burning, destruction, or damage to a public, private, or religious elementary or secondary school, the punishment includes a term of confinement of at least six months, 30 days of which is a mandatory minimum. Under current law, a person who is 15 years of age or older is guilty of a Class 5 felony and a person who is under 15 years of age is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor for such violation, but no minimum term or mandatory minimum term of confinement is provided in current law.
Study; JLARC to study Virginia's campaign finance system; independent agency; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to study Virginias's campaign finance system. In its study, JLARC is directed to (i) identify any legal, technical, and staffing shortcomings in the current campaign finance and ethics systems relating to (a) reporting and investigating violations, (b) enforcing legal and regulatory requirements, and (c) implementing directions from state government at the local level and (ii) determine whether current budgetary allocations are sufficient to effectively carry out such aspects of the campaign finance and ethics systems. To that end, JLARC is required to analyze how existing campaign finance and ethics systems can be modernized by creating a new independent agency to increase transparency and accountability using best practices from other jurisdictions across the United States. JLARC is required to produce a report of clear recommendations and best practices for creating such an independent agency for improving the current system.
Research university collaborative; Virginia Institute of Marine Science; reassigning coastal resource management duties. Makes the Commonwealth's research university collaborative the scientific advisor to the Commonwealth on matters of coastal resilience. The bill shifts the duties of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science relating to coastal resource management, including the duty of developing comprehensive coastal resource management guidance for local governments, to the collaborative. The bill requires certain localities to incorporate such guidance developed by the collaborative into the next scheduled review of its comprehensive plan beginning in 2026.
Environmental Justice Task Force; report. Establishes the Environmental Justice Task Force, for the purpose of furthering environmental justice in the Commonwealth, consisting of appointees from the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Department of Emergency Management, Department of Energy, Department of Housing and Community Development, Department of Health, Department of Transportation, State Corporation Commission, and Virginia Economic Development Partnership. The bill requires the Task Force to advise the Governor and state agencies of the Commonwealth and establish certain policies to be used by such state agencies on environmental justice issues, particularly issues related to historically economically disadvantaged communities. The bill directs the Task Force to report its findings and conclusions to the Governor and General Assembly by November 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, regarding its activities.
