Del. Rae Cousins

Extreme Weather Taxpayer Protection Program and Fund established. Establishes the Extreme Weather Taxpayer Protection Program and Fund, administered by the Department of Conservation and Recreation, for the purpose of holding parties responsible for covered greenhouse gas emissions between the covered period of January 1, 1995, and December 31, 2025, for the parties' share of the Commonwealth's costs due to climate change. The bill defines responsible parties as fossil fuel extractors or crude oil refiners causing emissions of one billion metric tons or more of covered greenhouse gases during the covered period. Under the bill, responsible parties are strictly liable for cost recovery payments to the Commonwealth. The bill requires the State Treasurer to conduct an assessment of the costs to the Commonwealth and its residents of the emissions of covered greenhouse gases during the covered period. The bill establishes the Extreme Weather Relief Fund into which the cost recovery payments from responsible entities are deposited and used to pay for extreme weather relief projects, as defined in the bill.

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.

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 83 is a ceremonial resolution commending the Greater Washington Society for Clinical Social Work for its contributions to mental health services in the region. It has no policy provisions or direct impact on laws, regulations, or constituents - its purpose is solely to express legislative recognition. The bill passed unanimously in both the Senate and House via voice vote in February 2026 and was sent to the Governor. As a non-binding resolution, it does not alter any existing laws or create new obligations. This type of bill is common for honoring organizations but has no practical effect beyond symbolic acknowledgment.

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.

School boards; student diabetes care and management in schools; divisionwide plan required. Requires each school board to develop, amend as necessary, and implement a divisionwide plan for the care, at school during regular school hours, of each public elementary or secondary school student who is diagnosed with diabetes in the school division, to become effective beginning with the 2027–2028 school year, in accordance with the requirements enumerated in the bill, including that each such divisionwide plan must: (i) give consideration to, and incorporate, where appropriate, the guidelines contained in the Department of Education's Diabetes Management in Schools: Manual for Unlicensed Personnel (the Manual); (ii) include procedures for ensuring that each school building in the school division that is attended by one or more students diagnosed with diabetes meets the minimum staffing requirements set forth in current law for employees trained in the administration of insulin and glucagon; (iii) ensure that the provision or assistance with the provision of diabetes-related care by licensed or unlicensed school board employees is consistent with the guidance contained in the most recent revision of the Manual and applicable law; and (iv) provide opportunities for parental involvement and input in the process of providing students with diabetes-related care and developing or amending the divisionwide plan.The bill also expands the diabetes care and management that each school board is required, pursuant to current law, to permit each student diagnosed with diabetes to independently provide to require each school board to permit each such student to carry with him and use a cell phone or smart device, consistent with applicable law, to monitor, address, or contact his parent, the school, or his health care provider on diabetes-related matters.The bill directs the Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Health and other enumerated stakeholders, to (a) no later than January 1, 2027, conduct a comprehensive review of the Manual and revise it as necessary in accordance with the requirements set forth in the bill and (b) at least biennially, review the Manual, revise it as necessary to ensure currency and accuracy, and post it in a publicly accessible location on its website. Finally, the bill directs the Department of Education, in collaboration with the Department of Health, to develop, periodically review, post on its website, and make available to each school board informational materials for parents on type 1 and type 2 diabetes and directs each school board to make such informational materials available to the parent of each student enrolled in the school division at the beginning of each school year.The bill contains technical amendments.

Petition for modification of a sentence; eligibility; procedures; report. Provides procedures for individuals serving a sentence for certain felony convictions or a combination of such convictions who remain incarcerated in a state or local correctional facility or secure facility and meet certain criteria to petition the circuit court that entered the original judgment or order to (i) suspend the unserved portion of such sentence or run the unserved portion of such sentence concurrently with another sentence, (ii) place such person on probation for such time as the court shall determine, or (iii) otherwise modify the sentence imposed. Depending on the type of conviction, the bill allows the court to grant a hearing on such petition after an individual has served at least 25 years for certain offenses, after 20 years for certain other offenses, and after 15 years for any other felony conviction not specified. The bill directs the Department of Corrections to convene a work group of relevant stakeholders to (a) consider and recommend best practices for implementation of the bill and (b) evaluate and recommend updates to victim notification systems. The work group shall complete its meetings by November 1, 2026, and report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly no later than December 1, 2026.

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.

Manufacturing or sale of cosmetic products with certain ingredients prohibited. Prohibits any person from manufacturing, selling, delivering, offering for sale, or using in connection with a consumer transaction any cosmetic product that contains certain ingredients that are listed in the bill. The bill provides that a violation of its provisions constitutes a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.

Impact fees; residential development. Authorizes any locality to impose impact fees on certain residential developments in order to defray the costs of constructing public facilities necessitated by those developments. Under current law, such impact fees have limited applicability and may be imposed only by those counties that have established urban transportation service districts. The bill also deletes provisions of current law that narrow the scope of included public facilities for localities in the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area.