Del. Marty Martinez

Voter registration; restoration of political rights upon release from incarceration; certain adjudications. Provides that any person who loses his political rights as a result of a felony conviction shall be invested with those rights upon his release from incarceration and shall be entitled to register to vote. The bill directs the Department of Corrections and the State Board of Local and Regional Jails to transmit to the Department of Elections certain information for incarcerated persons with a pending date of release and requires the Department of Elections to process the information and make the necessary changes to the voter registration system to permit such persons to register to vote by the date of the person's scheduled date of release. On the date of an incarcerated person's release, the appropriate authority is required by the bill to provide a voter registration application, information on returning the form by mail or completing it by electronic means, and an official release document to serve as a safety net for voter registration. The bill also amends the language regarding adjudications of mental incompetency for purposes of being qualified to vote; a person adjudicated to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting shall not be entitled to vote until that capacity has been reestablished. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027, contingent upon the approval of the constitutional amendments at the November 3, 2026, general election. This bill is identical to SB 162.

Streaming advertisement volume control; civil penalty. Requires a video streaming service, social media video service, or third-party advertising manager, as defined in the bill, that serves consumers residing in the Commonwealth to exercise reasonable care to normalize the audio of short-form content, as defined in the bill, so that such audio is not transmitted at a louder volume than the long-form content, also defined in the bill, it accompanies, consistent with the regulations adopted by the Federal Communications Commission pursuant to the federal Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act for television broadcast stations, cable operators, and other multichannel video programming distributors. The bill provides that the Office of the Attorney General shall enforce the provisions of the bill. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.

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.

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.

Possession of portable electronic device in district or circuit court. Requires the chief judge of each general district court, juvenile and domestic relations district court, and circuit court to set a policy regarding the use and possession of portable electronic devices by visitors to the court. The bill authorizes such chief judge to condition the use and possession of portable electronic devices upon certain limitations. The bill also requires that any such policy be conspicuously posted at the entrance of the courthouse and available on the Virginia Judicial System's website, the district or circuit court's individual website, or a local government website that also has information about such district or circuit court.

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.

Firearm transfers to another person from a prohibited person. Provides that a person who is prohibited from possessing a firearm because the person is subject to a protective order or has been convicted of an assault and battery of a family or household member may transfer a firearm owned by the prohibited person to any person who is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing such firearm, provided that the person who is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing such firearm is 21 years of age or older and does not reside with the person who is subject to the protective order. Under current law, there is no requirement that a transferee cannot be younger than 21 years of age and cannot reside with the prohibited person. The bill also provides that the prohibited person who transfers, sells, or surrenders a firearm pursuant to the provisions of the bill shall inform the clerk of the court of the name, address, and signature of the transferee, federally licensed firearms dealer, or law-enforcement agency in possession of the firearm and shall provide a copy of the form to the transferee. The bill also provides that a person who is prohibited from possessing a firearm because the person is subject to a protective order or has been convicted of an assault and battery of a family or household member shall be advised that a law-enforcement officer may obtain a search warrant to search for any firearms from the person if the law-enforcement officer has probable cause. This bill is identical to SB 38.

Manufacture, importation, sale, transfer, or possession of plastic firearms and unfinished frames or receivers and unserialized firearms prohibited; penalties. Creates a Class 5 felony for any person who knowingly manufactures or assembles, imports, purchases, sells, transfers, or possesses any firearm that, after removal of all parts other than a major component, as defined in the bill, is not detectable as a firearm when subjected to inspection by the types of detection devices, including X-ray machines, commonly used at airports, government buildings, schools, correctional facilities, and other locations for security screening. The bill updates language regarding the types of detection devices that are used at such locations for detecting plastic firearms. Under current law, it is unlawful to manufacture, import, sell, transfer, or possess any plastic firearm and a violation is punishable as a Class 5 felony. The bill also creates a Class 1 misdemeanor, which is punishable as a Class 4 felony for a second or subsequent offense, for any person to knowingly possess a firearm or any completed or unfinished frame or receiver that is not imprinted with a valid serial number or to knowingly import, purchase, sell, offer for sale, or transfer ownership of any completed or unfinished frame or receiver, unless the completed or unfinished frame or receiver (i) is deemed to be a firearm pursuant to federal law and (ii) is imprinted with a valid serial number. The bill also creates a Class 1 misdemeanor, which is punishable as a Class 4 felony for a second or subsequent offense, for any person to manufacture or assemble, cause to be manufactured or assembled, import, purchase, sell, offer for sale, or transfer ownership of any firearm that is not imprinted with a valid serial number. The provisions of the bill prohibiting unfinished frames or receivers and unserialized firearms have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027; however, the provisions of the bill prohibiting the knowing possession of a firearm or any completed or unfinished frame or receiver that is not imprinted with a valid serial number have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027. This bill is identical to SB 323.