Real property tax; assessment of affordable rental housing. Directs the Department of Taxation to develop a uniform income and expense reporting form that may be provided by duly authorized assessors and completed by the owners of affordable rental housing properties prior to assessment of such affordable rental housing properties. The bill provides that the duly authorized real estate assessor charged with determining the fair market value of affordable rental housing shall use the income approach when such housing generates income unless certain information is not provided by the property owner. The bill specifies that the foregoing provisions shall become effective for assessments beginning on or after January 1, 2026. Finally, the bill directs the Department to develop, in consultation with a stakeholder group, the uniform income and expense reporting form no later than September 1, 2025, and directs the Department to provide by November 1, 2025, a letter to the Chairs of the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations and the House Committee on Finance with an update on the development of such form and implementation of training for assessing officials and contracted assessors on the assessment of affordable rental housing.
Virginia Health Benefit Exchange; special enrollment period for pregnancy. Requires the Virginia Health Benefit Exchange to establish by January 1, 2026, a special enrollment period for a pregnant qualified individual to enroll in a qualified health plan at any time after the commencement of the pregnancy.
Public elementary and secondary school teachers; certain training activities; requirements and limitations. Prohibits any public elementary or secondary school teacher from being required to participate in any non-academic training activity, as that term is defined in the bill, more frequently than once within six months of employment with the applicable school board and once every five years thereafter, except in the case of certain training relating to secure mandatory test violations upon determination by the school board or division superintendent that additional training is necessary. The bill also provides that the total frequency and duration of non-academic training activities in which each such teacher is required to participate pursuant to state law or regulation or policy or regulation of the applicable school board shall not exceed 25 hours every five years. This bill is identical to SB 822.
Virginia Freedom of Information Act; FOIA officer training. Provides that any legal counsel for a public body who is also designated as the public body's Freedom of Information Act officer (FOIA officer) shall complete a training session or online course offered or approved by the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council.
Cybersecurity; electric service by investor-owned electric utilities and electric cooperatives; work group; report. Directs the State Corporation Commission to convene a work group to evaluate cybersecurity as it relates to the provision of electric service by investor-owned electric utilities and electric cooperatives and requires the Commission to report on its findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Labor and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor by November 30, 2025.
Student health and safety; responsibility to contact parent of student at imminent risk of suicide; provision of suicide prevention materials required. Requires any person licensed as administrative or instructional personnel by the Board of Education (the Board) and employed by a local school board who in the scope of his employment has reason to believe, as a result of direct communication from a student, that such student is at imminent risk of suicide to, in addition to contacting at least one of such student's parents to provide notice of the student's mental state, provide to the parent materials on suicide prevention that (i) shall include information on the requirements set forth in current law relating to the safe storage of firearms in the presence of minors and (ii) may include guidance on best practices and strategies for limiting a student's access to lethal means, including firearms and medications. The bill requires any such materials on suicide prevention to be selected in accordance with the guidelines developed by the Board pursuant to applicable law and to include materials that have been pre-approved for such use by the Board.
Affordable dwelling unit program; City of Falls Church. Adds the City of Falls Church to the list of localities with authority to provide for an affordable dwelling unit program. This bill is identical to HB 2137.
Health insurance; pharmacy benefits managers; definition of covered entity. Removes hospitals, as defined in existing law, from the exemption to the definition of covered entity for the purposes of existing law relating to pharmacy benefits managers. This bill is identical to SB 1311.
Virginia Public Procurement Act; discrimination prohibited; military family-owned businesses. Prohibits any public body from discriminating against a bidder or offeror in the solicitation or awarding of contracts on the basis of status as a military family, defined in the bill. The bill provides that all public bodies shall establish programs to facilitate the participation of military family-owned businesses, as defined in the bill, in procurement transactions.
Water and sewer connection fees; new residential development. Allows a locality to provide for the full or partial reimbursement of water and sewer connection fees, capital recovery charges, and availability fees remitted by an applicant in connection with any new residential development.
Invasive plant species; retail sales. Requires, for the retail sale of certain invasive plant species for outdoor use, a retail establishment to post in a conspicuous manner on the property located in proximity to each invasive plant signage identifying such plant as invasive, educating consumers regarding invasive plant species, and encouraging consumers to ask about alternatives. The bill requires the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services to designate the format, size, and content of such signage no later than October 1, 2025, and requires the Commissioner to issue a stop sale order and mark or tag a plant in a conspicuous manner when an invasive plant is for sale at a retail establishment without appropriate signage. In such case, the bill requires the Commissioner to give written notice of a finding made to the owner, tenant, or person in charge of such retail establishment and requires the stop sale order issued to remain in effect until the required signage is posted. Certain provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027. This bill is identical to HB 1941.
Higher education; financial assistance; Virginia National Guard State Tuition Assistance Program; eligibility criteria. Makes several changes to the Virginia National Guard State Tuition Assistance Program, including (i) making the provisions relating to the requirements and conditions for eligibility for and award of grants under the Program subject to regulations as prescribed by the Adjutant General, (ii) eliminating the requirement to satisfy financial obligations with the institution of higher education at the beginning of each semester, (iii) simplifying the requirements relating to academic performance and good standing, and (iv) providing that, upon acceptance of an application for a grant, grant funds are to be disbursed to the applicable institution of higher education for credit against the recipient student's account. This bill is identical to SB 1106.
