Petition for modification of a sentence; eligibility; procedures; report. Provides procedures for individuals serving a sentence for certain felony convictions or a combination of such convictions who remain incarcerated in a state or local correctional facility or secure facility and meet certain criteria to petition the circuit court that entered the original judgment or order to (i) suspend the unserved portion of such sentence or run the unserved portion of such sentence concurrently with another sentence, (ii) place such person on probation for such time as the court shall determine, or (iii) otherwise modify the sentence imposed. Depending on the type of conviction, the bill allows the court to grant a hearing on such petition after an individual has served at least 25 years for certain offenses, after 20 years for certain other offenses, and after 15 years for any other felony conviction not specified. The bill directs the Department of Corrections to convene a work group of relevant stakeholders to (a) consider and recommend best practices for implementation of the bill and (b) evaluate and recommend updates to victim notification systems. The work group shall complete its meetings by November 1, 2026, and report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly no later than December 1, 2026.
Virginia National Guard; power of Governor to summon in certain circumstances; mobilization under federal authority; annual report. Provides that the Governor, within 48 hours of ordering the deployment of the Virginia National Guard, shall inform, in writing, the General Assembly of such deployment. The bill also provides that the Governor shall summon the General Assembly if he wishes for such a deployment to continue for longer than two weeks, and the General Assembly may pass a joint resolution by simple majority authorizing the continuation of such deployment. The bill also requires the Adjutant General to submit an annual report to the General Assembly detailing federal and state deployments of the Virginia National Guard and other matters relating to retention, readiness, funding, and resources. The bill clarifies that the Virginia National Guard's role in counterdrug operations is limited to that of support, as opposed to direct law enforcement. The bill also prohibits the Governor from calling forth the Virginia National Guard for the purpose of intimidating, threatening, or coercing, or attempting to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, a person in giving his vote or ballot or to deter or prevent such person from voting. The bill provides several measures to be followed in the event of Virginia National Guard mobilization under federal authority either within or outside the Commonwealth, and such measures are enumerated within the bill.
Comprehensive community colleges; procurement; machinery and equipment for courses and programs; certain limitations prohibited. Prohibits the State Board for Community Colleges and any comprehensive community college from establishing or adhering to any procurement policy, practice, procedure, regulation, or rule that prohibits the procurement of used machinery or equipment when such machinery or equipment is necessary to provide proper student instruction in any relevant course or program.
State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; work group; best practices for student-athlete name, image, and likeness deal transparency; report. Requires the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to convene a work group to evaluate best practices for increasing transparency in name, image, and likeness deals for student-athletes at baccalaureate public institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the work group to submit its findings to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by November 1, 2026.
State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; evaluation; impact of recent federal changes to graduate and professional student loan programs on in-state students; report. Requires the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, with the assistance of an advisory group that it convenes, to evaluate the impact of revised federal borrowing limits, the elimination of federal Grad PLUS loans, and any related federal definitions that alter the classification of graduate and professional programs for student financial aid purposes on in-state students enrolled at public institutions of higher education and private nonprofit institutions eligible to participate in the Tuition Assistance Grant Program and report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than November 1, 2026. The bill contains an emergency clause.
Specialty civil court dockets; business and complex litigation dockets established; criteria for eligible actions. Establishes a specialty docket, known as the business and complex litigation docket, to assist circuit courts with certain civil actions that involve specialized legal issues, complex contexts, intricate transactions, multiple parties, or other complicating factors. The bill provides that for an action to be eligible to be considered for a business and complex litigation docket, the action shall (i) present special complexity, including specialized issues or acute litigation management needs, and (ii) fall into one or more of several enumerated categories of civil actions. The bill also requires that such eligible action has a minimum amount in controversy of $100,000. The bill also enumerates several types of civil actions that are ineligible for such specialty docket but creates an exception for any such action that demonstrates extraordinary circumstances that would require specialized docket management. The bill creates a process by which counsel for any party or the circuit court judge initially assigned to an eligible action may request that the matter be transferred to the specialty docket and directs the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia, in collaboration with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia and the Specialty Docket Advisory Committee studying business and complex litigation dockets, to establish any rules or procedures as necessary for the transfer of such eligible actions.
School boards; excusing students from attendance at school; grounds; verified medical reasons. Requires each school board to excuse from attendance any pupil who, for any continuous period of time not exceeding 30 school days in length, is absent from school for medical reasons as verified in writing by the student's health care provider.
Historical African American cemeteries and graves; qualified organization; Fairfax burial grounds. Expands the definition of a qualified organization that may receive funds for maintenance of a historical African American cemetery to include any authority created pursuant to the Park Authorities Act. The bill also adds the African American Cemetery at Bull Run Park with 101 known graves, the Enslaved Burial Ground at Bull Run Marina with five known graves, and the Enslaved Burial Ground at Ford's Mill with seven known graves in Fairfax County to the list of cemeteries for which qualified organizations may receive funds from the Department of Historic Resources for the care of historical African American cemeteries and graves.
Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program authority; right of entry; performance bond. Removes the requirement for a Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program (VESMP) authority to have a performance bond with surety, cash escrow, letter of credit, any combination thereof, or such other legal arrangement in order to enter any establishment or upon any property, public or private, for the purpose of initiating or maintaining appropriate actions that are required by conditions imposed by the VESMP authority on a land-disturbing activity when an owner, after proper notice, has failed to take acceptable action within the time specified.
Consumer Data Protection Act; prohibitions and duties relating to minors. Prohibits a controller of an online service, product, or feature from entering into certain agreements with a known minor, unless such controller obtains verified consent from the minor's parent as specified in the bill. The bill imposes certain duties on a controller of an online service, product, or feature related to advertising, algorithm use, and reasonable care toward known minors. The bill expands the consumer rights of a parent to minors and adds a provision allowing a parent to obtain a copy of the minor's data. Current law offers certain consumer rights to the parents of children younger than age 13. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.
Board of Education; requirements for graduation with an advanced studies diploma; simultaneous completion of International Baccalaureate diploma and advanced studies diploma; approval of alternatives for certain credit requirements; regulations. Requires the Board of Education to permit any student who 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 (i) pursuant to his individualized education program or Section 504 Plan cannot successfully complete the training or (ii) after grade 10, transfers from a school or other education program that does not require or give credit for such training. Finally, the bill directs the Board of Education to amend its regulations to expressly provide that any student who completes the requirements to be eligible for the award of an IB diploma shall be deemed to have satisfied the course and credit requirements for graduation with an advanced studies diploma without having to complete any additional course or credit verification requirements.
Maximum number of judges in each judicial district. Increases from five to six the maximum number of authorized general district court judges in the Twelfth Judicial District. The bill also increases from six to seven the maximum number of authorized juvenile and domestic relations district court judges in the Twelfth Judicial District. This bill is a recommendation of the Committee on District Courts.
