Environment

Motor vehicle glass repair and replacement; emissions inspection; penalties. Establishes various notice requirements for motor vehicle glass repair shops, defined in the bill, and provides that a violation of such requirements is a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. The bill permits a motor vehicle to qualify for an emissions inspection waiver if such vehicle has failed an inspection and the vehicle's onboard diagnostic system is in a not-ready condition to be tested when presented for reinspection. This bill is identical to HB 312.

Comprehensive plan; environmental justice strategy. Requires cities with populations greater than 20,000 and counties with populations greater than 100,000 to consider, beginning July 1, 2026, at the next and all subsequent reviews of the comprehensive plan, adopting an environmental justice strategy. The bill provides that the locality's strategy shall be to identify environmental justice and fenceline communities within the jurisdiction of the local planning commission and identify objectives and policies to reduce health risks, to promote civic engagement, to prioritize improvements and programs that address the needs of environmental justice and fenceline communities, as those terms are defined in the bill, and to establish baseline environmental and health conditions to characterize any disproportionate public health conditions in the identified fenceline communities. This bill is identical to HB 256.

Air Pollution Control Board regulations; small renewable energy projects; anaerobic digestion technology; report. Provides that for the purposes of a permit by rule for a small renewable energy project under existing law, a small renewable energy project includes an electrical generation facility in a locality in Planning District 8 with a rated capacity not exceeding 100 megawatts that generates electricity from biomass, energy from waste, or municipal solid waste and its dedicated associated interconnection facilities, provided that such facility is capable of processing the majority of its organic waste, including food waste and municipal sludge, with anaerobic digestion technology by January 1, 2030. The bill directs the Department of Environmental Quality, in coordination with relevant stakeholders, to (i) assess all practicable technologies available to waste-to-energy facilities to reduce carbon dioxide and methane emissions, (ii) assess technologies to create biomethane, and (iii) recommend any legislative changes necessary to create market conditions to ensure the viability of such program. The bill also directs the Department to report its findings to the Air Pollution Control Board by December 1, 2026.

Office of Working Lands Preservation; powers and duties; Forest Sustainability Fund. Adds management of the Forest Sustainability Fund to the powers and duties of the Office of Working Lands Preservation within the Department of Forestry. This bill is identical to HB 543.

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 HB 3.

Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund; loan and grant program; deferment of interest accrual and repayment obligations. Provides that for funds disbursed to localities, federally recognized tribes, and Virginia recognized tribes primarily for the purpose of implementing flood prevention and protection projects and studies in areas that are subject to recurrent flooding, interest on loans shall not accrue and repayment obligations shall not come into effect for loans or grants until completion of the project or study for which such funds are disbursed. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee on Recurrent Flooding.

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 HB 1065.

Condemnation of conservation or open-space easement; compensation. Provides that if a person takes by condemnation any land subject to a conservation easement or open-space easement, such person shall compensate the Commonwealth and the locality in which such land is located for certain tax credits and values enumerated in the bill. The bill specifies that any such compensation paid to the Commonwealth shall be in addition to compensation required by other provisions of law.

Remediated Mine Gas Grant Program established; report. Directs the Department of Energy to establish the Remediated Mine Gas Grant Program to assist projects in the Commonwealth with capture and sequestration of remediated mine gas. The bill requires (i) the Department to award grants for the Program to taxpayers on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to appropriation by the General Assembly, and (ii) grant recipients to submit a report to the Department by October 1 of any year in which funds are made available for the Program. The bill also directs the Department to submit a report summarizing the information received from grant recipients to relevant committees of the General Assembly by January 1 after any year in which funds are made available for the Program.

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 HB 710.