Prevailing wage rate for underground infrastructure works by public service companies. Directs the Department of Labor and Industry to determine and make available the prevailing wage rate for underground infrastructure work. Under the bill, each public service company shall ensure that its bid specifications or other contracts applicable to underground infrastructure works require payment at the prevailing wage rate. The bill requires contractors and subcontractors to post the prevailing wage rate in a prominent and accessible place at the work site. The bill also requires each contractor or subcontractor subject to the provisions of the bill to comply with certain recordkeeping requirements. The provisions of the bill apply to contracts entered into on or after July 1, 2025.
Del. Shelly Simonds
Sponsored bills
Minimum wage. Increases the minimum wage incrementally to $15.00 per hour by January 1, 2027. The bill codifies the adjusted state hourly minimum wage of $12.41 per hour that is effective January 1, 2025, and increases the minimum wage to $13.50 per hour effective January 1, 2026, and to $15.00 per hour effective January 1, 2027. The bill requires the Commissioner of Labor and Industry to establish an adjusted state hourly minimum wage by October 1, 2027.
Prescription Drug Affordability Board established; drug cost affordability review. Establishes the Prescription Drug Affordability Board for the purpose of protecting the citizens of the Commonwealth and other stakeholders within the health care system from the high costs of prescription drug products. The bill requires the Board to meet in open session at least four times annually, with certain exceptions and requirements enumerated in the bill. Members of the Board are required to disclose any conflicts of interest, as described in the bill. The bill also creates a stakeholder council for the purpose of assisting the Board in making decisions related to drug cost affordability. The bill tasks the Board with identifying prescription, generic, and other drugs, as defined in the bill, that are offered for sale in the Commonwealth and, at the Board's discretion, conducting an affordability review of any prescription drug product. The bill lists factors for the Board to consider that indicate an affordability challenge for the health care system in the Commonwealth or high out-of-pocket costs for patients. The bill also provides that any person aggrieved by a decision of the Board may request an appeal of the Board's decision and that the Attorney General has authority to enforce the provisions of the bill. The bill provides that the Board shall establish no more than 12 upper payment limit amounts annually between July 1, 2026, and January 1, 2029.The bill requires the Board to annually report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly, beginning on December 31, 2026. Provisions of the bill apply to state-sponsored and state-regulated health plans and health programs and obligate such policies to limit drug payment amounts and reimbursements to an upper payment limit amount set by the Board, if applicable, following an affordability review. The bill specifies that Medicare Part D plans are not bound by such decisions of the Board.The bill also requires the nonprofit organization contracted by the Department of Health to provide prescription drug price transparency to provide the Board access to certain data reported by manufacturers. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.
Collective bargaining by public employees; exclusive bargaining representatives. Repeals the existing prohibition on collective bargaining by public employees. The bill creates the Public Employee Relations Board, which shall determine appropriate bargaining units and provide for certification and decertification elections for exclusive bargaining representatives of state employees and local government employees. The bill requires public employers and employee organizations that are exclusive bargaining representatives to meet at reasonable times to negotiate in good faith with respect to wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. The bill repeals a provision that declares that, in any procedure providing for the designation, selection, or authorization of a labor organization to represent employees, the right of an individual employee to vote by secret ballot is a fundamental right that shall be guaranteed from infringement. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026. This bill is identical to SB 917.
Elections; conduct of election; ranked choice voting; report. Makes the decision to conduct an election by ranked choice voting subject to a determination of feasibility by the State Board of Elections. The bill provides procedures for tabulating and reporting results of elections conducted using ranked choice voting, including procedures for duplicating damaged or defective ballots. The bill requires the State Board of Elections to provide standards for and to approve vote tabulating software for use with existing voting systems in elections conducted by ranked choice voting and to produce generalized voter education materials on ranked choice voting. The bill permits the State Board of Elections to create and modify recount procedures to the extent necessary to accommodate a recount of an election conducted by ranked choice voting. Finally, the bill directs the Department of Elections to review the testing and approval framework for voting equipment in the Commonwealth and submit a report of such review no later than the first day of the 2026 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
Comprehensive plan; social determinants of health. Encourages localities to utilize relevant and available data and research related to social determinants of health to consider how a locality's adopted comprehensive plan will impact the locality's overall public health and access to health care services.
Virginia Public Procurement Act; additional public works contract requirements. Provides that public bodies shall require the contractor and its subcontractors for any capital outlay project, as defined in the bill, to complete certain safety training programs, maintain records of compliance with applicable laws, and participate in approved apprenticeship training programs. The bill provides exemptions from such requirements for reasons related to lack of availability of apprentices and high costs. The provisions of the bill do not apply to transportation-related construction projects. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026. This bill is identical to SB 962.
High-risk artificial intelligence; development, deployment, and use; civil penalties. Creates requirements for the development, deployment, and use of high-risk artificial intelligence systems, defined in the bill, and civil penalties for noncompliance, to be enforced by the Attorney General. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.
Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources; protection of existing tidal and nontidal wetlands; wetland restoration and creation; policy task force; report. Directs the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources to establish a policy task force to develop (i) strategies to protect existing tidal and nontidal wetlands and restore, create, and plan for the persistence of such wetlands in the Commonwealth and (ii) mechanisms to incorporate such strategies into appropriate plans, including the Virginia Flood Protection Master Plan and the Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan, to address losses and adverse impacts from human activities and climate change. The bill requires the task force to include certain relevant stakeholders, to meet at least two times annually, to report its initial findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources by December 1, 2025, and to update its report at least every two years.
Department of Housing and Community Development; affordable housing; development by nonprofit organizations. Directs the Department of Housing and Community Development to develop a document describing considerations that a locality may consider when implementing an ordinance to stimulate affordable housing and strategies on property owned by a property tax-exempt nonprofit organization. Such document shall be published on the Department's website no later than December 31, 2025.