Work-Based Learning Coordinator Pilot Program established. Establishes the Work-Based Learning Coordinator Pilot Program for the purpose of expanding equitable access to high-quality work-based learning experiences for public school students. The bill requires the Department of Education to administer the Pilot Program by selecting 12 to 24 school divisions or consortia thereof as participants. Under the bill, each participating school division is required to employ or contract with a work-based learning coordinator to perform certain duties over the three-year pilot period, including executing written agreements with employer partners to provide work-based learning experiences for students, such as paid or unpaid internships, cooperative education, clinical experiences, youth-registered apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, externships, job shadowing, and school-based enterprises. The bill also contains provisions relating to the funding of and the reporting of data pursuant to the Pilot Program. The bill sunsets on July 1, 2029.
Sponsored bills
State pharmacy benefits manager; contractual provisions; report. Requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services' contract with the state pharmacy benefits manager to (i) require that that ingredient-cost reimbursement is based on the national average drug acquisition cost, or if unavailable, the wholesale acquisition cost minus a discount set by the Department, plus a professional dispensing fee, determined by the Department; (ii) require real-time or near real-time transparency in drug costs, rebates collected and paid, dispensing fees paid, administrative fees, and all other charges, fees, costs, and holdbacks, claim denials appeals, and network participation; (iii) prohibit the state pharmacy benefits manager from steering Medicaid recipients to affiliated pharmacies through differential cost-sharing, restrictive network design, or the mandatory use of a mail order pharmacy provider; (iv) require the state pharmacy benefits manager to (a) meet network adequacy standards established by the Department; (b) allow any willing pharmacy to participate in the pharmacy network; (c) verify that all contracted pharmacies are actively accepting Medicaid recipients; (d) submit annual reports containing certain information; (e) disclose to the Department pricing and maximum acquisition cost methodologies; and (f) allow invoice-based or national average drug acquisition cost-based appeals and require an adjustment of rates network-wide when an appeal is upheld; and (v) include enforcement mechanisms and monetary penalties for noncompliance. Additionally, the bill requires Department to annually calculate the savings generated by the use of the state pharmacy benefits manager and to annually increase its dispensing fee by the amount of such savings. The bill requires the Department to annually (1) publish and make available on its website its annual and total savings achieved, the annual and total amount applied to dispensing fees increases, and the updated dispensing fees and (2) report to the General Assembly on the state pharmacy benefits manager's compliance, national average drug acquisition cost compliance, pharmacy reimbursement trends, network adequacy compliance, and dispensing fee sufficiency.
Rappahannock Area Transportation Authority created; funding; recordation tax; sales and use tax; report. Creates the Rappahannock Area Transportation Authority, initially comprising the counties with a population in excess of 150,000 and cities located in Planning District 16. The bill authorizes any locality in Planning District 16 to join the Authority by resolution or ordinance of such governing body. The Authority will administer transportation funding generated through the imposition of (i) an additional regional 0.5 percent sales and use tax, (ii) an additional transportation improvement grantor's fee at a rate of $0.06 per $100 of the consideration for the conveyance, and (iii) a local transportation transient occupancy tax at a rate of one percent of the amount of the charge for the occupancy of any room or space occupied in any county or city in Planning District 16. The bill also increases the annual distribution of recordation tax revenues to cities and counties from $20 million to $55 million and dedicates $15 million of such annual distribution to the Rappahannock Area Transportation Fund, created by the bill.
Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity; work group; one-stop small business permitting program. Directs the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity to convene a work group to determine methods of modernizing the existing one-stop small business permitting program.
Health insurance; coverage for speech therapy as a treatment for stuttering. Requires health insurance carriers whose health care plans include coverage for habilitative services and rehabilitative services, as such terms are defined in the bill, to provide coverage for habilitative speech therapy and rehabilitative speech therapy, as such terms are defined in the bill, as a treatment for stuttering. The bill provides that such coverage is not (i) subject to any maximum annual benefit limit, including any limits on the number of visits an insured may make to a speech-language pathologist; (ii) limited based on the type of disease, injury, disorder, or other medical condition that resulted in the stuttering; or (iii) subject to utilization review or utilization management requirements, including prior authorization or a determination that the habilitative or rehabilitative speech therapy services are medically necessary. The bill applies to health care plans delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed on and after January 1, 2027.
Maddy summaryThis bill (SJ 85) is a ceremonial resolution commending Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III for his service. It formally recognizes his contributions to the judiciary, specifically his tenure as a federal judge. The resolution passed unanimously in both the Senate and House via voice vote in February 2026. As a procedural resolution, it has no policy impact or direct effect on constituents.
Earned income tax credit. Removes the sunset from and makes permanent the increase in Virginia's refundable earned income tax credit from 15 percent to 20 percent of the allowable federal earned income tax credit. Under current law, the Virginia refundable earned income tax credit expires in taxable year 2027, and Virginia's nonrefundable earned income tax credit, which has no expiration date, is equal to 20 percent of the federal credit.
Admission to bail; fixing terms of bail; mental health considerations. Requires the judicial officer, prior to conducting any hearing on the issue of bail, release, or detention, to obtain the person's criminal history and any emergency custody or temporary detention order or involuntary admission issued for such person. The bill also requires the judicial officer to consider any emergency custody or temporary detention order or involuntary admission issued for the person when determining admission to bail. Lastly, the bill requires the judicial officer to take into account the following factors in fixing the terms of bail if such person is admitted to bail: (i) whether the person is likely to obstruct or attempt to obstruct justice, or threaten, injure, or intimidate, or attempt to threaten, injure, or intimidate a family or household member as defined in relevant law; (ii) the history of the accused or juvenile, including medical, mental health, including any emergency custody or temporary detention order or involuntary admission issued pursuant to relevant law, or substance abuse treatment; (iii) any evidence the person provided indicating that such person (a) is currently pregnant, (b) has recently given birth, or (c) is currently nursing a child; and (iv) whether such person will be an unreasonable danger to himself, family or household members as defined in relevant law, or the public.
Department of Workforce Development and Advancement; accreditation of nondegree workforce training programs. Directs the Department of Workforce Development and Advancement to establish an accreditation pathway for nondegree workforce training programs in order to align the skills of the Commonwealth's workforce with the needs of industry in the Commonwealth and to provide a workforce entrance pathway for underserved populations in the Commonwealth. The bill includes minimum standards, admissions requirements, and reporting requirements for such programs. Additionally, the bill includes provisions related to the eligibility of accredited programs for state and federal workforce funding, including the federal Workforce Pell Grant.
Prohibiting employer seeking wage or salary history of prospective employees; wage or salary range transparency; cause of action. Prohibits a prospective employer from (i) seeking the wage or salary history of a prospective employee; (ii) relying on the wage or salary history of a prospective employee in considering the prospective employee for employment; (iii) relying on the wage or salary history of a prospective employee in determining the wages or salary the prospective employee is to be paid upon hire; (iv) refusing to interview, hire, employ, or promote or otherwise retaliating against a prospective or current employee for not providing wage or salary history or requesting a wage or salary range; (v) failing or refusing to disclose in each public and internal posting for each job, promotion, transfer, or other employment opportunity the wage, salary, or wage or salary range; and (vi) failing to set a wage or salary range in good faith. The bill establishes a cause of action for an aggrieved prospective employee or employee and provides that an employer that violates such prohibitions is liable to the aggrieved prospective employee or employee for statutory damages between $1,000 and $10,000 or actual damages, whichever is greater, reasonable attorney fees and costs, and any other legal and equitable relief as may be appropriate.