Del. Rae Cousins

Maddy summaryThis is a ceremonial resolution (SJ 106) commending Curtis Allen for his contributions. It does not create new laws or affect any policies, as it is solely a formal expression of recognition. The resolution passed unanimously in both the Senate (via voice vote on 2026-02-26) and House (via voice vote on 2026-03-02). It is a non-binding gesture with no practical impact on legislation or constituents.

Teacher licensure; technical professional license; curriculum and instruction coursework; comprehensive community colleges. Permits any individual seeking a technical professional license to complete any required coursework in curriculum and instruction at any comprehensive community college in the Commonwealth that offers such coursework, regardless of whether such coursework is offered on a for-credit basis or as part of a noncredit workforce credential.

Public schools; indoor air quality; industry-recognized uniform inspection and evaluation. Adds several items that are required to be included in the industry-recognized uniform inspection and evaluation of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system that is required at least every four years for each public elementary and secondary school building, including measurement of radon levels in the air and testing for moisture incursion. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.

Equity in public school funding and staffing; special education students; at-risk students; annual report. Establishes in Standard of Quality 2 the At-Risk Program and a state-supported add-on for special education students and requires corresponding formulas for the funding of such initiatives to be established in the general appropriation act. The bill also requires the Department of Education to report annually to the House Committees on Education and Appropriations and the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriations and on Education and Health the total and per pupil annual operating expenditures from local, state, and federal sources in each school division and the change in expenditures from each such source over the immediately preceding two-year, three-year, and five-year timeframes, expressed in both dollar amounts and percentages.

Public funding for multifamily residential housing; Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; common household pets. Requires any multifamily residential housing development receiving an investment of public funds to allow occupants to own or otherwise maintain within the occupant's dwelling unit at least one common household pet, defined in the bill, without restrictions on breed or weight below 65 pounds. The bill additionally requires any landlord subject to the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act to provide a disclosure with any application for a rental agreement containing a written copy of any terms and conditions of the rental agreement regarding an applicant's ability to own or otherwise maintain a common household pet within the dwelling unit. If such landlord maintains a website regarding the property, such terms and conditions shall additionally be published to such website. The provisions of the bill do not become effective unless reenacted by the 2027 Session of the General Assembly.

Workers' compensation; presumption of compensability for certain cancers. 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 lung cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma for any individual diagnosed with such a condition on or after July 1, 2027.

Department of Medical Assistance Services; Medicaid estate recoveries. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services (the Department) to limit the operation of its estate recovery program to the recovery of only federally required costs. The bill directs the Department to make information on estate recovery available on its website in multiple languages. The bill directs the Department to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill.

Powers and duties of the Marine Products Board; full-time equivalent position established; marketing and production of blue catfish. Directs the Marine Products Board to establish a full-time equivalent position to identify grants and other funding opportunities for the marketing and production of blue catfish in the Commonwealth and disburse moneys from such grants and funds.

State correctional facilities; participation of prisoners in employment and educational programs; reentry planning. Expands the program assignments in which the Director of the Department of Corrections may place a prisoner while such prisoner is confined in a state correctional facility. The bill requires the Director to place a prisoner in an appropriate program assignment within (i) 90 days of the arrival of a prisoner sentenced to a new term of confinement to a state correctional facility or (ii) 60 days of a prisoner already in custody being transferred to a new state correctional facility and provides that participation in such program assignments shall be for an average of 30 hours per week, calculated individually across the calendar year. Finally, the bill expands upon the requirements for a prisoner's reentry plan, including requiring an assessment, if necessary, of a prisoner's readiness to take a high school equivalency test and any modifications needed for the prisoner to take or improve upon such test, and making available peer and group educational programs developed and led by qualified prisoners.

Retail sales and use tax; exemption for data centers. Requires a data center operator, in order to be eligible for the existing data center sales and use tax exemption, to (i) beginning July 1, 2027, not use co-located generating facilities that emit carbon dioxide, other than backup generators; (ii) beginning July 1, 2029, contract for a certain percentage of energy, capacity, and renewable energy certificates from clean energy resources, as evidenced by a certification from the State Corporation Commission, or contracts and service agreements; (iii) utilize only non-carbon dioxide-emitting backup power sources, such as energy storage resources, beginning on a date dependent on the data center's initial service date; and (iv) demonstrate, for any new data center issued a final certificate of occupancy or its equivalent on or after January 1, 2030, or for any data center operator seeking an amended memorandum of understanding, sufficient investment in environmental management and energy efficiency measures to provide system-wide benefits, as defined in the bill. Finally, the bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.