Digital Right to Repair Act; access to diagnostics, tools, service documentation, and firmware; penalties. Requires an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of digital electronic equipment to make available to owners of such equipment and to independent repair providers, on fair and reasonable terms, documentation, parts, and tools for purposes of diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of such equipment. The bill requires, for digital electronic equipment that contains an electronic security lock or other security-related function, OEMs to make available to the owners of such equipment and to independent repair providers, on fair and reasonable terms, any special documentation, parts, and tools needed to disable such lock or function and to reset it when disabled. A violation of the bill's provisions is a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.
Pass-through limitation tax credit; report; penalty. Establishes, for taxable years 2026 through 2030, a tax credit for owners of qualified rental property, as defined by the bill, in an amount equal to a percentage of any qualifying tax increase in real property tax on such qualified rental property. The bill requires a taxpayer to certify that there are limitations on rent increases for any qualified rental property to be eligible for the credit. Under the bill, the Department of Taxation is required to develop guidelines for the administration of the credit, including an application process for the credit. The bill requires the Department to audit no less than five percent of the qualified rental properties for which a credit is claimed in a taxable year. If, in the process of such audit, the Department determines that the owner of a qualified rental property that claimed a credit falsely certified compliance with any of the credit eligibility requirements, the credit is subject to recapture. The bill provides that any owner of a qualified rental property that knowingly makes a false statement in an application for the credit is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor. The bill instructs the Department to report on the utilization of the credit by November 1 of each year to the House Committee on Appropriations, House Committee on Finance, and Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations.
Health insurance credits for general registrars and employees of general registrars. Increases the amount of monthly health insurance credits received by retired general registrars and employees of general registrars with a minimum of 15 years of creditable service from $1.50 to $1.75 per month per year of creditable service not to exceed $52.50 per month beginning July 1, 2026.
Virginia Natural Resources Commitment Fund; Department of Conservation and Recreation; extending application deadline. Directs the Department of Conservation and Recreation to extend the deadline by 30 days for a person to submit an application to the Virginia Natural Resources Commitment Fund.
Department of Medical Assistance Services; Medicaid benefit for nutrition services programs; sunset. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services (the Department) to, conditional on the receipt of all necessary approvals and the securing of federal financial participation, implement a provision for payment of medical assistance for nutrition services programs which may include case management, nutrition counseling and instruction, home-delivered meals and pantry stocking, nutrition prescriptions, and grocery provisions. The bill directs the Department to prioritize the purchase and distribution of locally grown food wherever feasible. The implementation of nutrition services programs pursuant to the bill is conditional on the Department obtaining all necessary approvals and federal financial participation. The bill sunsets on July 1, 2027, if such approval and federal financial participation is not obtained.
Fatherhood Initiative; fatherhood needs assessment; Fatherhood Initiative Grants Program and Fund established. Requires the Virginia Department of Social Services to develop and implement the Fatherhood Initiative for the purpose of focusing on the recognition of fathers as essential partners in child and family well-being, addressing a critical gap in family support services, and promoting positive father involvement linked to improved maternal, child, and family outcomes. Under the bill, each local board of social services shall undertake a needs assessment to ensure that the local department of social services is addressing the unique needs of the fathers of children served by the local department. The bill also establishes the Fatherhood Initiative Grants Program and Fund, which awards grants to community-based organizations to address the needs of fathers.
Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program; small farms. Provides that no less than 30 percent of the funds distributed to the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program used for matching grants for agricultural best management practices shall be granted to small farms, as defined in the bill.
Geoengineering prohibited; civil penalties. Prohibits any person from engaging in geoengineering, defined in the bill as the intentional injection, release, or dispersion, by any means, of chemicals, chemical compounds, substances, or apparatus into the atmosphere with the express purpose of affecting temperature, weather, or the intensity of sunlight, in the Commonwealth. The bill provides that any person who violates such prohibition shall be subject to civil penalties authorized by relevant law.
Office of the Public Utility Ombudsman; established. Requires the State Corporation Commission to establish the Office of the Public Utility Ombudsman to protect the interests of residential customers of public utilities. The Office of the Public Utility Ombudsman shall serve (i) residential customers of public utilities that are jurisdictional or of limited jurisdiction and (ii) residential customers who cannot be assisted by other Commission staff due to a potential conflict of interest. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.
Public high schools; personnel; career coach required. Requires each school board to employ at least one career coach in each public high school in the local school division whose duties shall include assisting students with securing internships, externships, and credentialing opportunities as required by the Profile of a Virginia Graduate, providing students with information on apprenticeship programs, and connecting students to career opportunities. The bill provides that each such individual shall work under the direction of school counselors to assist with direct counseling, as such term is defined in relevant law, relating to college and career readiness. The bill also provides that each such individual shall be employed in addition to and not as a replacement for the required school counselor positions, specialized student support positions, or support services positions.
Department of Medical Assistance Services; sickle cell disease; feasibility of Medicaid benefit and Medicaid Health Homes; report. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to determine the feasibility of participating in an optional Medicaid benefit for sickle cell disease and establishing Medicaid Health Homes to coordinate care and provide treatment for individuals with sickle cell disease. The bill requires the Department to report its findings in its annual review of sickle cell disease treatment and submit such review to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Health and Human Services and the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the Joint Commission on Health Care by November 15, 2026.
Work-Based Learning Coordinator Pilot Program established. Establishes the Work-Based Learning Coordinator Pilot Program for the purpose of expanding equitable access to high-quality work-based learning experiences for public school students. The bill requires the Department of Education to administer the Pilot Program by selecting 12 to 24 school divisions or consortia thereof as participants. Under the bill, each participating school division is required to employ or contract with a work-based learning coordinator to perform certain duties over the three-year pilot period, including executing written agreements with employer partners to provide work-based learning experiences for students, such as paid or unpaid internships, cooperative education, clinical experiences, youth-registered apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, externships, job shadowing, and school-based enterprises. The bill also contains provisions relating to the funding of and the reporting of data pursuant to the Pilot Program. The bill sunsets on July 1, 2029.
