Rep. Rip Sullivan

Department of Human Resource Management; State Government Internship Coordinator. Requires the Department of Human Resource Management to establish and employ a State Government Internship Coordinator to attract high quality interns to the service of the Commonwealth with the goal of developing such interns in a manner that supports their ability to compete for positions in agencies of the Commonwealth upon conclusion of their internships and completion of their educational programs. The bill also requires the Department to establish and administer a system to provide professional development opportunities for state agency interns, intern supervisors, and human resources staff. This bill is identical to SB 286.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies; noncompliance with rental agreement; payment plan. 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, before terminating a rental agreement due to nonpayment of rent if the exact amount of rent owed is less than or equal to one month's rent plus any late charges contracted for in the rental agreement and as provided by law, to serve upon such tenant a written notice informing the tenant of the exact amount due and owed and offer the tenant a payment plan under which the tenant must pay the exact amount due and owed in equal monthly installments over a period of the lesser of six months or the time remaining under the rental agreement. The bill prohibits the landlord from charging any additional late fees during the payment plan period in connection with the unpaid rental amount for which the tenant entered into the payment plan so long as the tenant makes timely payments in accordance with the terms of the payment plan. The bill also outlines the remedies a landlord has if a tenant fails to pay the exact amount due and owed or enter into a payment plan within five days of receiving notice or if a tenant enters into a payment plan and after such plan becomes effective fails to pay rent when due or fails to make a payment under the terms of the agreed-upon payment plan. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.

Employment; paid sick leave; civil penalties; civil actions. Requires one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked for all employees of private employers and state and local governments, with certain exceptions. The bill requires that employees who are employed and compensated on a fee-for-service basis accrue paid sick leave in accordance with regulations adopted by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry. The bill provides that employees transferred to a separate division or location remain entitled to previously accrued paid sick leave and that employees retain their accrued paid sick leave under any successor employer. The bill allows employers to provide a more generous paid sick leave policy than prescribed by its provisions and specifies that employees, in addition to using paid sick leave for their physical or mental illness or to care for a family member, may use paid sick leave to seek or obtain certain services or to relocate or secure an existing home due to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking. The bill requires the Commissioner to promulgate regulations for the implementation and enforcement of the bill's provisions by July 1, 2027.The bill authorizes the Commissioner, in the case of a knowing violation, to subject an employer to a civil penalty not to exceed $150 for the first violation, $300 for the second violation, and $500 for each successive violation. The Commissioner or Attorney General may commence administrative proceedings or bring a civil action to enforce the bill's provisions. Additionally, the bill authorizes an aggrieved employee to bring a civil action against the employer in which he may recover double the amount of any unpaid sick leave and the amount of any actual damages suffered as the result of the employer's violation. Certain provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027. This bill is identical to SB 199.

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.

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.

Electric utilities; small portable solar generation devices; local regulation; installation by tenants; consumer protection. Prevents a locality from prohibiting the use of a small portable solar generation device, as defined in the bill, on a residential structure, provided that certain requirements are met. The bill includes provisions related to the installation of small portable solar generation devices by tenants and prevents landlords from prohibiting such installation in certain circumstances. Under the bill, small portable solar generation devices are excluded from the provisions of net metering programs applicable to eligible agricultural customer-generators, eligible customer-generators, or small agricultural generating facilities. The bill also permits any electric utility customer to own and operate a small portable solar generation device, provided that certain requirements are met. The bill prohibits an investor-owned utility, municipal utility, or electric cooperative from imposing interconnection requirements, charging any fee related to the device, or requiring that the customer obtain the utility's approval before installing or using the device. Under the bill, no electric utility, municipal utility, electric cooperative shall be liable for damage or injury caused by a small portable solar generation device. The bill directs the State Corporation Commission to develop and publish a notification form for a customer of an electric utility or cooperative to install a small portable solar generation device and directs the Secretary of Commerce and Trade to convene a work group to evaluate and develop recommendations regarding the safety standards and requirements applicable to small portable solar generation devices. Certain provisions of the bill become effective on January 1, 2027. This bill incorporates HB 289 and HB 928 and is identical to SB 250.

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.

Board of Education; instructional materials on climate change and environmental literacy; model policies and procedures for selection. Requires the Board of Education to make available to each local school board instructional materials on climate change and environmental literacy that are based on and include peer-reviewed scientific sources. The bill requires the Board of Education to develop, adopt, and make available to each local school board model policies and procedures, based on peer-reviewed scientific sources, pertaining to the selection of instructional materials on climate change and environmental literacy, including a requirement for any such selected material to accurately portray changes in weather and climate patterns over time, the impacts of human activity on changes in weather and climate patterns, and the effects of climate change on people and resources.

Maddy summaryThis bill formally commends Brad Hughes, a specific individual, for unspecified contributions or achievements. It does not create new laws, allocate funds, or change existing policies, as it is a purely ceremonial resolution. The measure was passed by both the House and Senate through voice votes and serves as an official recognition rather than a legislative action with enforceable provisions.