Del. Patrick Hope

Legal notices and publications; online-only news publications; requirements. Provides that, where any ordinance, resolution, notice, or advertisement is required by law to be published in a newspaper, such ordinance, resolution, notice, or advertisement instead may be published in an online-only news publication subject to certain requirements specified in the bill. The bill sets out a process by which an online-only news publication shall petition the circuit court of the appropriate jurisdiction to publish such ordinances, resolutions, notices, or advertisements and authorizes the court to grant such online-only news publication the authority to publish such ordinances, resolutions, notices, or advertisements for a period of one year. The bill also describes the process by which an online-only news publication may continue renewing such authority to publish in each successive year. This bill is identical to SB 157.

Discharge of individuals from state hospitalsor training centers. Provides that after an individual's treatment team determines that the individual is ready for discharge, the Commissionerof Behavioral Health and Developmental Services has the authorityto discharge the individual, with an appropriate plan, after 15 daysover the objection of the community services board or guardian. Thebill requires the Department to promulgate regulations providingfor an expedited discharge process for persons in state hospitalsor training centers that are identified as needing intellectual ordevelopmental disability services and to develop and implement astatewide training program for state hospital employees and communityservices board liaisons designed to improve discharge planning outcomes.

Hate crimes and discrimination; ethnic animosity; penalties. Provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to safeguard all individuals within the Commonwealth from unlawful discrimination in employment and in places of public accommodation because of such individual's ethnic origin and prohibits such discrimination. The bill also adds victims who are intentionally selected because of their ethnic origin to the categories of victims whose intentional selection for a hate crime involving assault, assault and battery, or trespass for the purpose of damaging another's property results in a higher criminal penalty for the offense. The bill also provides that no provider or user of an interactive computer service on the Internet shall be liable for any action voluntarily taken by it in good faith to restrict access to material that the provider or user considers to be intended to incite hatred on the basis of ethnic origin. This bill is identical to SB 7.

Summons for unlawful detainer; hearing date; amendments to amount due; subsequent filings. Specifies a process by which a plaintiff, plaintiff's attorney, or agent in an unlawful detainer action may amend the amount due to him in an unlawful detainer action. The bill further provides that if such an amendment is permitted the plaintiff shall not subsequently file additional warrants in debt against the defendant for additional amounts if those amounts could have been included in such amended amount. The bill provides that if the plaintiff requests all amounts due and owing as of the date of the hearing or if the court grants an amendment of the amounts requested, the plaintiff shall not subsequently file additional unlawful detainers or warrants in debt against the defendant for such additional amounts if those amounts could have been included in the amended amount.

Department of Forestry; Forestland and Urban Tree Canopy Conservation Plan required. Requires the Department of Forestry, in coordination with a Technical Advisory Committee composed of stakeholders, to develop a Forestland and Urban Tree Canopy Conservation Plan no later than November 1, 2026, and update such plan at least once every five years thereafter. The bill requires the Department to post and maintain on its website the most recent version of the Plan and to submit the Plan to the Governor and Chairmen of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources no later than November 30, 2026, and following any update to such plan. This bill is identical to SB 461.

Family or household member; definition; penalty. Adds to the definition of family or household member, for the purposes of definitions relating to juvenile and domestic relations district courts and multiple criminal and procedural statutes, an individual who is a legal custodian of a juvenile.

Department of Medical Assistance Services; annual review of medication and treatment for sickle cell disease; report. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to conduct an annual review of all medications and forms of treatment for sickle cell disease, and services for enrollees with a diagnosis of sickle cell disease, that are eligible for coverage under the state plan for medical assistance services. The bill requires the Department to report its findings and recommendations by November 15 each year to the Chairmen of the House Committee of Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committee on Education and Health and to the Joint Commission on Health Care.

Adult wellness screening; sickle cell disease or sickle cell trait. Provides that every adult resident of the Commonwealth may be offered screening tests for sickle cell disease or the sickle cell trait and requires that the health care professional in charge of an adult's annual health examination provide education and appropriate counseling regarding the results of any such test that is performed.

Virginia Commission for the Arts; membership. Reduces the membership of the Virginia Commission for the Arts from 13 to nine members and requires at least one member to be appointed from each of the eight superintendent's regions. Current law requires at least one but no more than two members to be appointed from each congressional district in the Commonwealth. This bill is identical to SB 530.

Public school teachers; daily lunch breaks; data collection; report. Requires the Department of Education to annually collect and present in the Virginia School Survey of Climate and Working Conditions school-level and division-level data on the share of teachers that are provided each working day a lunch break of at least 30 minutes in length and unencumbered by any teaching or supervisory duties.