Department of Housing and Community Development; Income-Qualified Energy Efficiency and Weatherization Task Force established; report. Directs the Department of Housing and Community Development to establish, in collaboration with the Department of Energy, and with assistance from the Department of Social Services, the Income-Qualified Energy Efficiency and Weatherization Task Force to determine barriers to access and enrollment in the current energy efficiency programs for income-qualified energy customers and to evaluate and develop a plan to address any necessary improvements regarding coordination among state and federal government agencies for utility services and resources to more effectively deliver energy-efficient housing, weatherization resources, and energy efficiency upgrades for income-qualified individuals and households in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the Task Force to meet at least six times between July 1, 2026, and September 30, 2027, and to submit a report of its findings and recommendations no later than September 30, 2027. The bill specifies that such report shall include policy recommendations and a plan to ensure that weatherization-ready repairs and whole-home energy efficiency retrofits are provided to all eligible income-qualified individuals and households in the Commonwealth residing in multifamily buildings, single-family dwellings, and manufactured homes by December 31, 2034. This bill is identical to SB 5.
Electric utilities; surplus interconnection service sites. Directs Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy Virginia to undertake a comprehensive assessment of available interconnection capacity at each such utility's existing and planned intermittent electric generation facilities located in the Commonwealth. The bill directs such utilities to establish pilot programs for energy storage resources and solar generation facilities that utilize surplus interconnection service, as defined in the bill, including a request for proposals. The bill requires such utilities to submit the results of such requests for proposals as part of their 2027 plans and petitions for approval for the development of new solar and onshore wind generation capacity, which plans are required under existing law. This bill is identical to SB 508.
Board of Education; instructional materials on climate change and environmental literacy; model policies and procedures for selection. Requires the Board of Education to make available to each local school board instructional materials on climate change and environmental literacy that are based on and include peer-reviewed scientific sources. The bill requires the Board of Education to develop, adopt, and make available to each local school board model policies and procedures, based on peer-reviewed scientific sources, pertaining to the selection of instructional materials on climate change and environmental literacy, including a requirement for any such selected material to accurately portray changes in weather and climate patterns over time, the impacts of human activity on changes in weather and climate patterns, and the effects of climate change on people and resources.
Department of Environmental Quality; Chesapeake Bay Watershed Nutrient Credit Exchange Program; certain industrial stormwater permits; nutrient credits. Provides that for the purposes of the industrial stormwater general permit nutrient reduction compliance for calendar years 2025 and 2026, the term “nutrient credit” shall include nutrient credits generated by point sources in accordance with the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Nutrient Credit Exchange Program, subject to certain conditions. The bill requires the Department of Environmental Quality to (i) prioritize timely and appropriate enforcement actions in the case of any industrial stormwater permittee that fails to comply for calendar years 2025 and 2026 by achieving sufficient onsite nutrient reductions or acquiring sufficient point or nonpoint source nutrient credits and (ii) convene a work group to evaluate and recommend conditions and requirements to most effectively address industrial stormwater general permit nutrient reduction compliance in future calendar years and submit a report summarizing such evaluation and recommendations to the Chairs of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources no later than November 1, 2026.
Local competitive bidding for compost and other products containing organic soil amendments; waste disposal infrastructure; civil penalty. Allows the governing body of a locality to give preference to compost or other products containing organic soil amendments produced within such locality in the case of a tie bid when determining the award of any contract for compost or other products containing soil amendments to be purchased for use by such locality. The bill also provides that any locality may by ordinance require that certain generators, as defined in the bill, of large quantities of organic waste separate the organic waste from other solid waste and ensure that the organic waste is diverted from final disposal in a refuse disposal system by any of a variety of specified waste diversion activities. The ordinance may also establish civil penalties for violations of the ordinance, but a locality shall first issue a warning to a generator that violates the ordinance. Finally, the bill expresses that it is the intent of the General Assembly that new public school buildings and facilities and improvements and renovations to existing public school buildings and facilities include waste disposal infrastructure, as defined in the bill, that includes a place for the disposal of trash, recyclables, and food scraps and a sink for liquid waste. This bill is identical to SB 226.
Permit requirements for data centers; emission limits for certain engine-generator sets. Prohibits the Department of Environmental Quality from issuing an air permit for any application submitted for a data center on or after July 1, 2026, unless the emission limit for each engine-generator, defined in the bill, established by such permit is equal to or less than the emissions achieved by a Tier 4 equivalent engine-generator.
Virginia Land Conservation Foundation. Allows the Virginia Land Conservation Board of Trustees to waive the requirement for a holder of a conservation easement to have such easement jointly held with a public body whenever such holder acquires any interest in land other than a fee simple interest from a grant or transfer from the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation, provided that such holder is accredited by the national Land Trust Accreditation Commission or meets a similar set of standards and practices adopted by the Board of Trustees and the easement contains a third party right of enforcement, as defined in relevant law, in favor of the Department of Conservation and Recreation or another public body.
Conservation and replacement of trees during development process; work group; report. Expands certain existing local government authority to plant or replace trees during the development process by expanding such authority statewide. The bill allows localities to establish higher tree canopy replacement percentages based on density per acre. The bill also alters the current process for granting exceptions to a local ordinance by modifying a provision that requires the granting of an exception when the strict application of the ordinance would result in unnecessary or unreasonable hardship to the developer, and replacing it with a requirement that the locality concur with such a determination. The bill permits localities to monitor and assess the condition and coverage of tree canopies at development sites during a period of up to 20 years after the trees are planted. The bill also allows any town within Planning District 8 belonging to an eight-hour nonattainment area for air quality standards to require, by ordinance, that a subdivision or development provide for the preservation or replacement of trees on the development site such that the minimum tree canopy or cover 10 years after development is projected to meet specified coverage criteria. Under current law, the criteria apply to tree canopy coverage 20 years after development. Finally, the bill directs the Institute for Coastal Adaptation and Resilience to convene a work group to conduct a comprehensive review of the tree canopy laws and regulations and report the work group's findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the House Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns and Senate Committee on Local Government by November 1, 2026. This bill is identical to HB 549.
Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services; invasive plant species installation; written notification to property owners; civil penalty. Provides that the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services may assess a civil penalty in an amount of not more than $250 for a first violation, $500 for a second violation, and $1,000 for each subsequent violation to any tradesperson involved with proposing or installing plants who fails to provide written notification to property owners when such plants are on the Department of Conservation and Recreation's list of invasive plant species. Current law provides that any such tradesperson who fails to provide such written notice is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. This bill is identical to SB 383.
Department of Wildlife Resources; fishing tackle recycling and disposal; educational webpage. Directs the Department of Wildlife Resources to (i) develop, publish, and maintain a dedicated webpage on its website to educate the recreational fishing community and the general public about the importance of responsible recycling and disposal of fishing tackle, as defined in the bill, and (ii) periodically update such webpage to ensure that educational materials are current, relevant, and effective in promoting responsible fishing practices. The bill directs the Department to update the webpage at least every three years in consultation with relevant state agencies and stakeholders.
