Rep. Will Davis

Workers' compensation; presumption of compensability for lymphoma or myeloma. Expands the workers' compensation presumption of compensability for certain cancers causing the death or disability of certain employees who have completed five years of service in their position to include lymphoma and myeloma. The presumption for these cancers does not apply for any individual diagnosed with such a condition before July 1, 2025.

Arrest of probationer without a warrant; repeal. Repeals the provision allowing any probation officer appointed pursuant to relevant law to arrest a probationer without a warrant, or to deputize any other officer with power to arrest to do so, by a written statement setting forth that the probationer has, in the judgment of the probation officer, violated one or more of the terms or conditions upon which the probationer was released on probation.

Statewide Fire Prevention Code; State Fire Marshal; consumer fireworks; penalties. Authorizes the use of consumer fireworks in the Commonwealth and distinguishes by definition consumer fireworks from display fireworks and permissible fireworks. The bill provides that the storage and transportation of consumer fireworks are to be considered the same hazard class as the storage and transportation of 1.4G explosives under the Statewide Fire Prevention Code (SFPC) and Uniform Statewide Building Code. The bill requires any locality authorizing the sale of consumer fireworks to require annual permits for any business offering consumer fireworks for retail sale and provides that the State Fire Marshal or other issuing authority may charge a fee for the retail sale of fireworks on a permanent basis or on a temporary basis in localities that do not employ a local fire marshal. The bill excludes from the provisions of the SFPC, unless prohibited by a local ordinance, (i) the sale of consumer or permissible fireworks; (ii) any person using, igniting, or exploding consumer or permissible fireworks on private property with the consent of the owner of such property; or (iii) such consumer or permissible fireworks when they are being transported from a locality where they were legally obtained to a locality where they are legally permitted. Current law only excludes the sale of permissible fireworks or the use of such fireworks on private property. The bill also directs 13 percent of the sales and use tax revenue generated by the local sales and use tax on the sale of consumer or permissible fireworks to be allocated to a special fund and specifies that, of such 13 percent, 10 percent will be used for providing funding for first responders, as defined in the bill, and three percent will be allocated to the local fire marshal or, for localities that do not appoint a fire marshal, to the State Fire Marshal to be used solely on behalf of the locality that transferred such funds. The bill contains technical amendments and has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2026.

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.

Elections; absentee voting; drop-off locations for return of absentee ballots; 24-hour video surveillance requirement. Requires 24-hour video surveillance of all absentee ballot drop-off locations.

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.

Discovery; electronic means; report. Requires all attorneys for the Commonwealth to provide discovery materials for all courts to counsel of record for the accused by electronic means unless such materials are prohibited from being distributed by law or impossible to provide by electronic means. The bill directs the Supreme Court of Virginia to promulgate rules to implement this provision by July 1, 2027. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2028. The bill also requires the Executive Secretary of the Compensation Board, or a designee, to convene a work group to determine the costs associated with any changes in operations and technology infrastructure necessary to implement the provisions of the bill. The bill requires the Executive Secretary of the Compensation Board to provide an interim report to the General Assembly by November 30, 2025, and a final report to the General Assembly by August 1, 2026.

Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System; retirement age. Changes the age through which a retired law-enforcement officer covered under the Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System is entitled to receive an additional retirement allowance from the law-enforcement officer's sixty-fifth birthday to retirement age as defined by the Social Security Act. This change aligns the additional allowance with that currently provided under the State Police Officers' Retirement System.

Possession of marijuana, marijuana products, retail tobacco products, and hemp products intended for smoking by a person younger than 21 years of age prohibited; penalty. Provides that no person younger than 21 years of age shall consume or possess, or attempt to consume or possess, any marijuana, marijuana products, retail tobacco products, or hemp products intended for smoking, as such terms are defined in relevant law, and a violation of such prohibition is a Class 1 misdemeanor, with certain exceptions. The bill also allows any such person charged with his first offense of underaged possession of retail tobacco products or hemp products intended for smoking to have the proceedings deferred, to be placed on probation by the court, and to have the charges dismissed by the court without an adjudication of guilty upon such person's successful completion of probation.

Maddy summaryHB 2311 requires local governments (counties, cities, towns) to display the POW/MIA flag on public buildings on designated days each year. The bill mandates this display as a formal observance on specific dates, though it does not specify which days. Currently pending in committee, the bill has not yet been enacted into law. This is a procedural requirement affecting local government operations, not a substantive policy change.