An Act to amend and reenact §§ 3 through 6, as severally amended, of Chapter 480 of the Acts of Assembly of 1942, which provided a charter for the Town of Chatham in Pittsylvania County, and to amend Chapter 480 of the Acts of Assembly of 1942 by adding a section numbered 15.1, relating to town powers and town council.
Temporary detention; certified evaluators; sunset extended. Extends from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 2027, the sunset date on the current provisions of law authorizing hospitals with a psychiatric emergency department located in the City of Hampton to employ certain trained individuals to perform evaluations to determine whether a person meets the criteria for temporary detention for behavioral health treatment. The current law also requires participating hospitals with psychiatric emergency departments in the City of Hampton to submit monthly and annual reports on temporary detentions and crisis evaluations. This bill is identical to SB 735.
Driver communication improvement program for drivers diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder; education for law-enforcement officers and emergency medical services providers; educational materials for driver training schools. Requires law-enforcement officers and emergency medical service providers, as a condition of such providers' certification and recertification, to undergo education on the driver communication improvement program for drivers diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The bill directs the Department of Motor Vehicles to display information about the driver communication improvement program on its website and distribute educational materials to all driver training schools licensed by the Department of Motor Vehicles. As introduced, this bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Disability Commission.
Public institutions of higher education; financial aid review and consolidation; Virginia Guaranteed Assistance Program and Fund; Virginia Commonwealth Award established; work group; report. Amends several provisions relating to higher education financial aid programs for the purpose of establishing the Virginia Commonwealth Award in the Code of Virginia and consolidating the Virginia Guaranteed Assistance Program and Fund with the Virginia Commonwealth Award. Currently, the Virginia Commonwealth Award is established and administered only in the Virginia Administrative Code. In consolidating and establishing such financial aid programs as the Virginia Commonwealth Award, the bill codifies several definitions and provisions relating to award eligibility and renewal for undergraduate students and graduate students. The bill also repeals a provision of law establishing the Virginia Guaranteed Assistance Fund. The bill directs the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to promulgate emergency regulations for the administration of financial aid in accordance with the provisions of the bill by April 1, 2027. The bill also directs the Secretary of Education to (i) establish a work group to conduct a comprehensive review of higher education financial aid systems and processes in the Commonwealth and make recommendations on strategies for maximizing the efficacy and impact of state financial aid appropriations on accessibility and affordability of and student outcomes in higher education in the Commonwealth and (ii) submit to the chairs of the applicable committees of the General Assembly by July 1, 2027, a report on the work group's findings and recommendations. Finally, the bill provides for the gradual phase-out of the award of grants under the Virginia Guaranteed Assistance Program by (a) prohibiting any first-time students from being offered a grant under the Virginia Guaranteed Assistance Program beginning with first-time students enrolled in the fall semester of 2027 and (b) permitting any public institution of higher education to provide for the annual renewal of grant awards under such program for no more than three subsequent award years, or up to a total of four award years, to any student who receives a grant during the 2026–2027 school year and continues to meet the requirements for grant renewal set forth in applicable law. This bill is identical to SB 167.
Driver education programs; voluntary initiatives for drivers with autism spectrum disorder. Requires driver education programs to include information about voluntary initiatives for drivers with autism spectrum disorder, including the driver communication improvement program, the driver's license indicator option, and the registration indicator option. The bill also directs the Board of Education to prepare, publish, and distribute instructional materials about these voluntary initiatives.
Voluntary contributions during electronic Department of Motor Vehicles transactions. Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to provide a method by which an individual conducting certain electronic Department transactions may make a voluntary contribution to the Virginia Highway Safety Improvement Program. Under current law, the Department is only required to provide a method by which voluntary contributions may be made to the Virginia Donor Registry and Public Awareness Fund.
Elections; deadline for receipt of absentee ballots and certain other information; 5:00 p.m. on the third day after the election. Moves the deadline for receipt of an absentee ballot, information required to cure an absentee ballot, or proof of identification to accompany a provisional ballot provided for lack of identification from noon to 5:00 p.m. on the third day after the election. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027. This bill is identical to HB 82.
Board of Education; high school graduation; simultaneous completion of International Baccalaureate diploma and advanced studies diploma. Requires the Board of Education to permit any student who (i) during or after grade 10, transferred into a public high school in the Commonwealth and (ii) is simultaneously pursuing an advanced studies diploma and an International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma to complete certain courses or sequences of courses required for an IB diploma, as approved by the Board, including substitutes for the Virginia and U.S. history and government courses and for the economics and personal finance credit requirement. The bill also directs the Board to grant a waiver from the training in emergency first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and the use of automated external defibrillators required for graduation to any student who (a) pursuant to his individualized education program or Section 504 Plan cannot successfully complete the training or (b) after grade 10, transfers from a school or other education program that does not require or give credit for such training. This bill is identical to HB 595.
Clerk fees; secure remote access to nonconfidential court records by certain attorneys. Provides that no clerk shall charge a fee to an attorney for secure remote access to nonconfidential court records when such attorney is certified by the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission in the jurisdiction served by such clerk, provided that such attorney is currently appointed to represent a defendant in such jurisdiction and agrees to continue accepting appointments in such jurisdiction. The bill also provides that if, after receiving secure remote access for nonconfidential court records, such attorney (i) is found to have abused such privilege of such secure remote access; (ii) is removed from the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission's court-appointed attorney list; or (iii) ceases to accept appointments for representation from the granting court, the clerk may terminate the agreement granting such secure remote access. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission. This bill is identical to HB 520.
Developmental disability waivers; financial eligibility standards; sunset repeal. Repeals the July 1, 2026, sunset on provisions directing the Department of Medical Assistance Services to disregard Social Security Disability Insurance income above the maximum monthly Supplemental Security Income when determining financial eligibility for developmental disability waivers.
Noise abatement monitoring systems; local authority; civil penalties. Authorizes counties and cities in Planning Districts 8, 9, and 15 to place and operate noise abatement monitoring systems, defined in the bill, on any highway located in the locality for the purpose of recording and enforcing exhaust system violations, also defined in the bill. The bill provides that the operator of a vehicle is liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $100, but the violation shall not be reported on the driver's operating record or to the driver's insurance agency. The bill provides that a locality may exempt from enforcement by noise abatement monitoring systems vehicles used for agricultural, horticultural, or forestry purposes as demonstrated by vehicle license plates. Under the bill, the civil penalty will be paid to the locality in which the violation occurred to be used for the cost of administering the noise abatement monitoring system program and for transportation safety initiatives. The bill contains the same data privacy and storage requirements as are in current law for photo speed monitoring devices. The bill requires any locality that places and operates such a noise abatement monitoring system to report on its public website by January 15 of each year on the number of traffic violations prosecuted, the number of successful prosecutions, and the total amount of monetary civil penalties collected. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2028. This bill incorporates HB 1349.
Purchase of handguns or other weapons of certain officers; Department of State Police. Provides that the Department of State Police may allow the immediate survivor of any law-enforcement officer formerly employed by the Department who had at least 10 years of service with the Department and who died while receiving long-term disability payments to purchase his service handgun, with the approval of the Superintendent of State Police, at a price of $1. This bill is identical to HB 1300.
