Firearms-related offenses; mandatory minimum sentence; penalty. Increases from five to 10 years for a second or subsequent offense the mandatory minimum sentence for use or display of a firearm during the commission of certain felonies.
Electric utilities; renewable energy portfolio standard program; zero-carbon electricity. Amends the definition of renewable energy for purposes of the Virginia Electric Utility Regulation Act to include energy derived from hydrogen and nuclear power. The bill provides that the existing renewable energy portfolio standard program that establishes goals for the sale of renewable energy shall also include goals for the sale of zero-carbon electricity and adds zero-carbon electricity generating resources and certain other resources approved by the State Corporation Commission to the list of eligible sources for purposes of the renewable portfolio standard program.
Estimated tax; failure by individual, trust, or estate to pay. Increases from $150 to $1,000 the maximum underpayment of estimated tax for which no addition to tax shall be added.
Board of Wildlife Resources; trout-fishing access-site registry; income tax credit. Requires the Board of Wildlife Resources to establish and manage a trout-fishing access-site registry through which eligible landowners may register real property to allow valid fishing-license holders access to such property for the sole purpose of fishing trout. The bill authorizes such registrants to claim a nonrefundable income tax credit in the amount of $2,000 for each full tax year that such person had real property registered as a trout-fishing access site with the Board.
Animal Cruelty Conviction List established. Requires the Superintendent of State Police to establish no later than January 1, 2028, and to maintain an Animal Cruelty Conviction List (List) and to make the List publicly available on the Department of State Police's website. The bill specifies that the List include the names of persons convicted of certain felony animal cruelty offenses on or after July 1, 2025. The bill requires persons convicted of any such offense to pay a fee of $50 per conviction to fund the maintenance of the List. The bill also requires the Department to remove a person's name and information from the List 15 years after its listing if he has no additional felony conviction for any such offense.
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 18.2-386.2 and 19.2-8 of the Code of Virginia, relating to unlawful dissemination of intimate images of another; penalties.
School boards; employment of school resource officers in each public elementary and secondary school. Requires each school board to enter into a collaborative agreement with the local law-enforcement agency to employ at least one school resource officer in each public elementary and secondary school in the local school division and provides that no school board shall be granted any full or partial waiver from such staffing requirements. The bill contains a contingent effective date that states that the foregoing requirement shall become effective beginning with the fiscal year in which funding has been provided pursuant to the general appropriation act to fully fund such requirement.
Reckless exposure of illegal fentanyl to certain persons; penalty; arrest and prosecution when experiencing or reporting overdoses. Provides that any person who unlawfully possesses fentanyl, including its isomers, esters, ethers, salts, and salts of isomers, and recklessly exposes a law-enforcement officer, correctional officer, jail officer, firefighter, search and rescue personnel, or emergency medical services personnel, as those terms are defined in relevant law, to such fentanyl and causes severe bodily injury or an overdose to such officer, firefighter, or personnel is guilty of a Class 4 felony. The bill also provides that no individual incarcerated in a local, regional, or state correctional facility shall be subject to arrest or prosecution for such offense if such individual seeks or obtains emergency medical attention for himself or another individual experiencing an overdose or is experiencing an overdose and another individual seeks or obtains emergency medical attention for him.
Commercial entity offering social media accounts; restricted hours for minors; civil liability. Provides that no commercial entity that offers social media accounts, as defined in the bill, shall knowingly or intentionally allow a minor to access his social media account during the hours of 12:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. unless the minor's parent, guardian, or legal custodian has provided permission for the minor to use such social media account during these hours. The bill provides that any commercial entity that violates these provisions shall be subject to civil liability for damages resulting from the interference with a minor's sleep cycle or mental health by allowing such minor to access to his social media account during the hours of 12:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. and reasonable attorney fees and costs.
Unlawful dissemination of intimate images of another; penalties. Creates a tiered system of penalties for the unlawful dissemination of intimate images of another person, an offense formerly known as the unlawful dissemination or sale of videographic or still images of another person.
