Del. Karen Keys-Gamarra

Bicycle riders; traffic control device exceptions; liability. Authorizes a bicycle rider to proceed through an intersection controlled by a stop sign, "Yield Right-of-Way" sign, or red light if such rider (i) is at least 16 years of age or is accompanied by a person who is at least 16 years of age who is also riding a bicycle and who precedes him through such intersection with no more than 10 feet of distance separating the bicycles and (ii) yields the right-of-way to the driver of any vehicle lawfully within such intersection or approaching or entering such intersection from another direction. The bill provides that proceeding through such an intersection without yielding as required by the bill constitutes negligence per se if such action is the proximate cause of a collision or vehicular accident.

Department of Health; Department of Social Services; publicly accessible nursing home information portal; publicly accessible assisted living facility information portal; reporting of incidents involving emergency medical services. Directs the Department of Health to establish a nursing home information portal and the Department of Social Services to establish an assisted living facility information portal to consolidate publicly available information on nursing homes and assisted living facilities, respectively. The bill requires operators of nursing homes and assisted living facilities to submit a quarterly report to the Department of Health or the Department of Social Services, respectively, with information on incidents involving emergency medical services.

Office of the Public Utility Ombudsman; established. Requires the State Corporation Commission to establish the Office of the Public Utility Ombudsman to protect the interests of residential customers of public utilities. The Office of the Public Utility Ombudsman shall serve (i) residential customers of public utilities that are jurisdictional or of limited jurisdiction and (ii) residential customers who cannot be assisted by other Commission staff due to a potential conflict of interest. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.

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.

Law-enforcement officers; restrictions on wearing of facial coverings; exceptions; civil liability; penalty. Prohibits certain state and federal law-enforcement officers from wearing facial coverings, defined in the bill, while engaged in the performance of their official duties. The bill sets out several exceptions to such prohibition, including protective facial coverings to protect against disease, infection, and exposure to toxic substances and facial coverings worn by any law-enforcement officer assigned to a special weapons and tactics team while engaged in the performance of his official duties with such team. The bill subjects the law-enforcement officer to disciplinary action, including dismissal, demotion, suspension, transfer, or decertification, and creates a Class 1 misdemeanor for any law-enforcement officer who wears a facial covering in violation of the provisions of the bill unless the law-enforcement agency that employs such law-enforcement officer has adopted and established a written policy for and restrictions on the use of facial coverings. The bill also directs the Department of Criminal Justice Services to develop a model policy for and restrictions on the use of facial coverings by law-enforcement officers. Finally, the bill creates a civil cause of action for any person injured as a result of tortious conduct by a law-enforcement officer who knowingly and intentionally wears a facial covering in violation of the provisions of the bill. The bill provides that sovereign immunity shall not be a defense to civil liability for such tortious conduct.

Maddy summarySJ 90 is a ceremonial resolution commending Penney S. Azcarate for her service, with no policy or legal impact. It does not create new laws, alter regulations, or affect any individuals or groups. The bill serves solely as a symbolic gesture of recognition, passing unanimously in both chambers as a formal honor.

Elections; districts, precincts, and polling places; super precincts; pilot program. Authorizes the State Board of Elections to conduct a pilot program under which one or more counties or cities with a population of more than 350,000 and less than 400,000 in the most recent United States census whose proposal for participation in such pilot program is unanimously approved by the State Board would be permitted to use super precincts in elections. The bill requires the governing body of a county or city applying to participate in the pilot program to submit a plan for participation that includes (i) the number of super precincts to be established in the county or city and the boundaries of each such super precinct, (ii) the number of vote centers to be established in each super precinct and the location of each such vote center, (iii) the elections during which such super precincts and vote centers are to be used, and (iv) a description of the process for operating such vote centers on election day, including how voters will be checked in, how ballots will be provided, how votes will be counted, and any additional voting systems that will be used to ensure the integrity of the election. The bill defines "super precinct" as the territory established by a county or city and approved by the State Board pursuant to the pilot program, to be served by one or more vote centers, and "vote center" as the structure that contains a place provided for a super precinct at which the qualified voters who are residents of the super precinct may vote in an election. The bill contains minimum criteria for any proposal for participation in the pilot program. The bill requires the State Board report on the implementation and effectiveness of the pilot program by December 1 of any year in which one or more localities participate in the pilot program. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2030.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; prohibited provisions in rental agreements; landlord's maintenance responsibilities. Prohibits a rental agreement from containing any provision stating that the tenant agrees to pay (i) any fee for the maintenance of the premises, including the maintenance or provision of heating and cooling systems, pest control, trash disposal, common area utilities, and mail or package delivery; (ii) a fee for internet, cable, or any other utilities or services that amount to more than the cost paid by the landlord; or (iii) for the maintenance or security of the common areas. The bill also repeals the provision allowing the landlord and tenant to agree in writing that the tenant may perform certain duties typically assigned to the landlord and also specified repairs, maintenance tasks, alterations, and remodeling, but only if the transaction is entered into in good faith and not for the purpose of evading the obligations of the landlord and if the agreement does not diminish or affect the obligation of the landlord to other tenants in the premises.

Virginia's Great Outdoors Act established; data center land conservation tax; land preservation distributions and appropriations. Creates a data center land preservation tax on and after January 1, 2027, in an amount equal to $3 per square foot of each data center facility footprint, as defined in the bill, and directs no less than $250 million of revenues from the tax to be distributed for various land protection and preservation purposes, including into the Virginia Tribal Commitment Fund, as created in the bill. The bill also repeals provisions requiring the Governor to include in the budget bill or in his amendments to the general appropriation act a recommended appropriation from the general fund, up to $20 million, for land preservation as follows: (i) 80 percent of the unissued credits to the Virginia Land Conservation Fund, of which at least 50 percent must be used for acquisitions with public access; (ii) 10 percent to the Virginia Battlefield Preservation Fund; and (iii) 10 percent to the Virginia Farmland and Forestland Preservation Fund.

Constitutional amendment (voter referendum); fundamental right to reproductive freedom. Provides for a referendum at the November 3, 2026, election to approve or reject an amendment to the Constitution of Virginia relating to the right to make one's own decisions related to reproductive health care, including access to abortion. The amendment protects patients and their doctors and nurses from being punished for making such decisions. The amendment allows the state to place restrictions on access to abortion during the third trimester of pregnancy except when the patient's life or physical or mental health is at risk or the pregnancy cannot survive. This bill is identical to SB 449.