Voter registration; list maintenance; third-party data exchanges; approval by State Board of Elections. Requires the Commissioner of Elections, prior to entering into or terminating a memorandum of understanding or modifying the terms of an existing memorandum of understanding with any third party for the exchange of voter registration data, to submit the proposed memorandum of understanding, the reason for termination, or the proposed modifications, as appropriate, to the State Board of Elections for review and approval. Approval shall require a vote of two-thirds of the State Board. The bill also requires the Commissioner of Elections to apply for, enter into, and maintain membership for the Commonwealth in the Electronic Registration Information Center.
Sponsored bills
Elections; conduct of election; ranked choice voting; locally elected offices; report. Expands the option to use ranked choice voting from only elections for county board of supervisors and city councils to any local governing body. The bill requires the State Board of Elections to provide standards and to approve vote tabulating software for use with existing voting systems in elections conducted by ranked choice voting. The bill provides for copying damaged or defective ballots that cannot be properly counted by electronic voting systems. The bill allows localities to request risk-limiting audits of elections conducted using ranked choice voting and provides that no such election may be included in any random drawing required to satisfy the general requirements for risk-limiting audits. The bill specifies that the State Board is required to produce generalized voter education materials on ranked choice voting and is also permitted to create and modify recount procedures to the extent necessary to accommodate a recount of an election. The bill directs the Department of Elections to review the testing and approval framework for voting equipment in the Commonwealth and submit a report of such review no later than the first day of the 2027 Regular Session of the General Assembly. Finally, the bill repeals the 2031 expiration of the option to use ranked choice voting in elections, making such option permanent. This bill is identical to SB 176.
Health insurance; coverage for contraceptive drugs and devices. Requires health insurance carriers to provide coverage, under any health insurance contract, policy, or plan that includes coverage for prescription drugs on an outpatient basis, for contraceptive drugs and contraceptive devices approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, including those available over-the-counter. The bill prohibits a health insurance carrier from imposing upon any person receiving prescription contraceptive benefits pursuant to the provisions of the bill any copayment, coinsurance payment, or fee, except in certain circumstances. Additionally, the bill requires any health benefit plan that provides coverage for hormonal contraceptives to provide point-of-sale coverage without cost-sharing at in-network pharmacies for hormonal contraceptives available over-the-counter. This bill is identical to SB 361.
Law-enforcement agencies; agreements with federal authority for immigration enforcement; requirements. Prohibits any state or local law-enforcement agency, defined in the bill, from maintaining, renewing, or entering into any federal immigration agreement unless such agreement contains certain provisions. The bill also prohibits any person acting in his capacity as a law-enforcement officer to assist, cooperate with, or use any law-enforcement resources to facilitate any operation that seeks to identify, arrest, or otherwise impose a penalty upon an individual for any violation of federal civil immigration law. The bill provides that such prohibition shall not apply (i) if the authority to enforce such laws is otherwise permitted or required by law; (ii) if the person acting in his capacity as a law-enforcement officer is presented with a valid judicial warrant or judicial subpoena that authorizes such enforcement; or (iii) to the transfer of custody of an adult convicted of certain violent felonies from a state, local, or regional correctional facility upon such correctional facility's receipt of a federal immigration detainer. This bill incorporates HB 1438 and is identical to SB 783.
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; noncompliance as defense to action for possession for nonpayment of rent. Removes the provision requiring that a tenant in possession of a dwelling unit, prior to asserting a defense against an action for rent or possession, pay into court the amount of rent found by the court to be due and unpaid and for such amount to be held by the court pending the issuance of an order. The bill also limits the discretion of the court in actions for possession based upon nonpayment of rent and actions for rent by a landlord when the tenant is in possession of a dwelling unit. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; terms and conditions of rental agreement; notice of rent increase. Requires a landlord who owns more than four rental dwelling units or more than a 10 percent interest in more than four rental dwelling units, whether individually or through a business entity, in the Commonwealth to provide a tenant with written notice of any increase in rent for the subsequent rental agreement term at least 90 days prior to the end of such term and to include in such notice a deadline, which shall be no sooner than 30 days after such notice is delivered, by which the tenant shall advise the landlord of whether the tenant will renew the rental agreement. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage; termination by landlord. Requires a landlord, prior to giving a tenant 21 days' notice of his intention to terminate the rental agreement for a dwelling unit that has been damaged or destroyed by fire or casualty, to (i) make a reasonable effort to meet with the tenant to discuss reasonable alternatives and offer the tenant a substantially similar dwelling unit, if one is available, or (ii) determine that the damage was caused by the tenant's failure to maintain the dwelling unit in accordance with relevant law. Current law allows the landlord to terminate such agreement by giving the tenant 14 days' notice of his intention to terminate on the basis of the landlord's determination that such damage requires the removal of the tenant and that the use of the premises is substantially impaired. The bill requires the landlord, upon receiving a request from the tenant after the tenant has received such notice, to reevaluate the extent of damage and habitability of such dwelling unit unless the landlord has determined that the damage was caused by the tenant's failure to maintain the dwelling unit. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.
Health insurance; essential health benefits benchmark plan. Requires the Bureau of Insurance to select a new essential health benefits benchmark plan for the 2028 plan year, or the soonest plan year thereafter as permitted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, that includes, in addition to the essential health benefits package included in the existing benchmark plan, coverage for (i) doula care services; (ii) the treatment of iatrogenic infertility; (iii) fertility treatment and diagnosis, including a maximum of three cycles per lifetime of assisted reproductive technology; (iv) hearing aids for individuals of all ages; (v) pasteurized donor human breast milk; (vi) the prophylaxis, diagnosis, and treatment of pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections and pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome; and (vii) the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome. Such mandate for coverage does not apply to the individual or small group markets. The bill has a delayed effective date pursuant to approval by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of certain coverage as outlined in the bill. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Health Insurance Reform Commission.
Virginia Human Rights Act; menopause or perimenopause; discrimination prohibited; report. Prohibits discrimination under the Virginia Human Rights Act on the basis of menopause or perimenopause for purposes of nondiscrimination in government programs, public accommodation, employment hiring, and reasonable employer accommodation. The bill also directs the Commissioner of Labor and Industry, in consultation with the Commissioner of Health, to conduct a study on menopause and perimenopause in the workforce, menopause and perimenopause accommodations in employment environments, and the scope of existing menopause-related and perimenopause-related policies and to develop best practices related to menopause and perimenopause accommodations in employment environments. The bill directs the Commissioners to submit such report to the Governor and General Assembly by July 1, 2028, and to post such report on the Department of Labor and Industry's website. This bill is identical to SB 258.
Storage of firearms in a residence where a minor or person prohibited from possessing a firearm is present; penalty. Provides that any person who possesses a firearm in a residence where such person knows that a minor or a person who is prohibited by law from possessing a firearm is present shall store such firearm and the ammunition for such firearm in a locked container, compartment, or cabinet that is inaccessible to such minor or prohibited person. Under the bill, any person who violates this provision is guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor. The bill also requires any dealer, as that term is defined in current law, to post a written notice informing the public of the penalty imposed for failure to comply with the bill's provisions. This bill is identical to SB 348.