Voter registration by political party affiliation; partially closed primary elections. Adds party affiliation, beginning January 1, 2027, to the information that an applicant is asked to provide when registering to vote. The applicant may indicate that he is an independent. The bill specifies that voters registered prior to January 1, 2027, will be designated as independent unless they provide a political party affiliation to the general registrar. Voters may change their political party affiliation or independent status by written notice at any time before the registration records are closed prior to an election. The bill also provides that voters who are on the permanent absentee voter list will receive primary ballots for the political party with which they are registered as affiliated. Finally, the bill requires the state party chairman of each political party to file written notice with the State Board of Elections by January 31 of each year stating the rules adopted by the duly constituted authorities of the state political party for participation in the party's primaries to be held from April 1 of that year through March 31 of the following year.
Marine Resources Commission; Chesapeake Bay; menhaden reduction fishing in the Chesapeake Bay prohibited. Directs the Marine Resources Commission to prohibit all fishing for the purse seine menhaden reduction sector in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries until a determination has been made that research specific to the Chesapeake Bay has demonstrated that the menhaden reduction fishery does not negatively impact other fisheries or menhaden-dependent species. Such determination shall be made by the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources and certified in writing to the Virginia Code Commission.
Marine Resources Commission; Chesapeake Bay; menhaden reduction fishery; quota periods; observers. Directs the Marine Resources Commission to develop and maintain a quota period management system for the menhaden reduction fishery Bay Cap, as defined in the bill, that is designed to ensure that the removal of menhaden from the Chesapeake Bay is more evenly distributed throughout the harvest season and to mitigate the negative impacts of concentrated, high volume menhaden removals from the Bay. The bill directs the Commission to establish either a monthly-based system or a trimester-based system and provides that no unused or underutilized portion of a quota period may be carried or rolled over into the following quota period. Finally, the bill requires the Commission to ensure that (i) 10 percent of all trips for the menhaden reduction fishery carry at least one trained observer to document the composition and weight of the actual catch and (ii) such observers report such documentation to the Commission.
Manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing, or possessing with intent kratom; Virginia Consumer Protection Act; penalties. Provides that any person who knowingly manufactures, sells, gives, distributes, or possesses with the intent to manufacture, sell, give, or distribute kratom, when intended for human consumption, is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill defines kratom as any part of the leaf of the plant Mitragyna speciosa or any extract thereof. The bill also amends the existing provisions related to kratom in the Virginia Consumer Protection Act to prohibit selling or offering for sale (i) any kratom product to a person younger than 21 years of age or (ii) any kratom product intended for human consumption. Under current law, the Act prohibits selling or offering for sale (a) any kratom product to a person younger than 21 years of age or (b) any kratom product that does not include a label listing all ingredients and specific guidance about such product.
Elections; political campaign advertisements; synthetic media; penalty. Prohibits electioneering communications containing synthetic media, as those terms are defined in the bill, from being published or broadcast without containing the following conspicuously displayed statement: "This message contains synthetic media that has been altered from its original source or artificially generated and may present conduct or speech that did not occur." The bill creates a civil penalty not to exceed $25,000 for a violation of such prohibition and a Class 1 misdemeanor for a willful violation. The bill permits any registered voter who receives an electioneering communication in violation of this requirement to institute an action for preventative relief to prohibit the publication or dissemination of such electioneering communication, including an application for a permanent or temporary injunction.
Virginia Retirement System; Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System; emergency dispatchers. Extends membership in the Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System (VaLORS) to emergency dispatchers who are employed by the Department of State Police, Capitol Police, and agencies whose law-enforcement officers are eligible for membership in VaLORS. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027, and provides that such membership applies only to service earned on or after July 1, 2027.
K-12 schools and institutions of higher education; student participation in women's sports; civil cause of action. Requires each interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic team or sport sponsored by a public school, or any other school that is a member of the Virginia High School League, or by a public institution of higher education to be expressly designated as one of the following based on the biological sex of the students who participate on the team or in the sport: (i) for males, men, or boys; (ii) for females, women, or girls; or (iii) for coed or mixed if participation on such team or sport is open to both males and females. The bill requires that the biological sex of any student seeking to participate on such an expressly designated team be affirmed by a signed physician's statement. The bill prohibits any such team or sport that is expressly designated for females from being open to students whose biological sex is male. The bill prohibits any government entity, licensing or accrediting organization, or athletic association or organization from entertaining a complaint, opening an investigation, or taking any other adverse action against any such school or institution of higher education for adhering to the provisions of the bill and creates a cause of action for any school or institution of higher education that suffers harm as a result of a violation of the bill. Finally, the bill creates a civil cause of action for any student who suffers harm as a result of a knowing violation of a provision of the bill by a school or institution or as a result of the student's reporting a violation of a provision of the bill by a school, institution, athletic association, or organization.
Department of Transportation; guardrail modernization; report. Requires the Department of Transportation (the Department) to identify, prioritize, and conduct the replacement of guardrail systems and end treatments that do not meet current Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) safety standards. The bill requires the Department to (i) identify and use any state or federal funds available to the Department for such purposes and, as necessary, apply for other grant funds; (ii) create and maintain a public inventory of non-compliant guardrail systems and end treatments; (iii) create a five-year upgrade schedule for the replacement of non-compliant guardrail systems and end treatments; and (iv) submit an annual report to the Chairs of the House and Senate Committees on Transportation.
Jurisdiction of district courts; assault and battery of a family or household member; petition for transfer. Allows an adult family or household member, as defined in relevant law, who is the victim of assault and battery from another adult family or household member to petition the juvenile and domestic relations district court to transfer the case from such court to the general district court for proceedings to continue in open court, unless the alleged offender is a child. Under current law, jurisdiction for all offenses in which one family or household member is charged with an offense in which another family or household member is the victim lies exclusively with the juvenile and domestic relations district court.
Admission of evidence; evidentiary hearing; excluded persons. Exempts no more than two persons whose presence, in the judgment of the court, would be supportive of the complaining witness and would not impair the conduct of a fair hearing or pose a substantial risk of influencing or affecting the content of the testimony from being excluded from evidentiary hearings for certain prosecutions. The bill provides that if such support persons are exempted, the judge shall admonish such support persons to not prompt, communicate with, or influence the complaining witness in any way. Lastly, the bill provides that a court may exercise its discretion to remove a support person from the courtroom if it believes such support person is prompting, communicating with, or influencing the complaining witness.
Department of Law; Technology Governance and Coordination Program; report. Directs the Office of the Attorney General to establish a Technology Governance and Coordination Program to support the Commonwealth's response to emergent technologies, including artificial intelligence, algorithmic systems, biometric systems, and automated decision-making tools. The bill requires the Office of the Attorney General to submit an annual report to the Joint Commission on Technology and Science by December 1, 2026.
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 38.2-517, 46.2-770, 46.2-771, 46.2-772, and 58.1-3524 of the Code of Virginia, relating to motor vehicles; insurance, highway use fee, and tangible personal property tax relief; application to certain vehicles.
