Del. Irene Shin

Health insurance; coverage for at-home blood pressure monitors. Requires health insurers, health maintenance organizations, and corporations providing health care coverage subscription contracts to provide coverage for at-home blood pressure monitors to individuals who (i) have a diagnosis of hypertension, (ii) are at risk of developing hypertension, or (iii) have been recommended for at-home blood pressure monitoring by a licensed health care provider. The coverage provided under the bill shall not be subject to any copayment or fees for an at-home blood pressure monitor. The bill directs the Bureau of Insurance, in consultation with the Department of Health, to establish guidelines for implementing the coverage required by the bill, to monitor compliance of such requirements by health care providers, and to submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly by December 1, 2026.

Institutions of higher education; confidential resource advisors. Requires each public institution of higher education and each private institution of higher education to designate at least one confidential resource advisor to serve as a confidential resource for students and employees to discuss alleged acts of sexual misconduct and receive information on resources available to such students or employees. The bill creates a statutory privilege between the confidential resource advisor and a student or employee who shares information with such confidential resource advisor.

Study; JLARC; Virginia's campaign finance laws; independent agency; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to study Virginia's campaign finance laws. In its study, JLARC is directed to (i) identify any legal, technical, and staffing shortcomings in the current election and campaign finance laws relating to (a) reporting and investigating violations, (b) enforcing legal and regulatory requirements, and (c) implementing directions from state government at the local level and (ii) determine whether current budgetary allocations are sufficient to effectively carry out such aspects of the campaign finance system. To that end, JLARC is directed to analyze how existing campaign finance and election laws can be modernized by creating a new independent agency to increase transparency and accountability using best practices from other jurisdictions across the United States and to produce a report of clear recommendations and best practices for creating such an independent agency for improving the current system.

Line of Duty Act; payments to beneficiaries. Provides that if a deceased person, as that term is defined in the Line of Duty Act, died as a result of certain cancers within 10 years from his date of retirement, his beneficiary shall be entitled to the payment of certain benefits. Under current law, such beneficiary shall be entitled to such payment if the deceased person's death (i) arose out of and in the course of his employment or (ii) was within five years from his date of retirement.

Study; Department of Housing and Community Development; tax implications of allowing localities to implement a land value tax; report. Directs the Department of Housing and Community Development to study the potential tax implications that may result from each of the governing bodies of the Cities of Fairfax, Poquoson, Richmond, and Roanoke levying a land value tax and the potential tax implications that may result from allowing all local governing bodies to implement a land value tax.

Recognition of the Wolf Creek Cherokee Tribe of Virginia. Extends state recognition to the Wolf Creek Cherokee Tribe of Virginia within the Commonwealth.

National Teacher Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fund; eligibility; incentive grant awards. Renames the National Teacher Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fund as the National Board Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fund, expands eligibility for incentive grant awards from such Fund pursuant to such Program from solely teachers who have obtained national certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards to (i) all public school staff who are candidates for initial national certification or maintenance of national certification to cover certain costs of obtaining or maintaining such certification and (ii) all public school staff who have successfully obtained or maintained such certification. The bill also declares as eligible for an annual incentive grant award in the amount of $7,500 all public school staff who have obtained or maintained such certification and an additional $2,500 in any year during the life of certificate in which the public school staff member is employed in a Title 1 school. Current law declares as eligible for an annual incentive grant award of $5,000 in the first year and $2,500 in each subsequent year all teachers who have obtained or maintained such certification.

Abolition of fees; legal representation of indigent defendant. Eliminates the fees for the cost of court-appointed counsel or public defender representation for persons who are determined to be indigent.

Transportation network companies; minimum compensation. Establishes minimum compensation rates for TNC partners. The bill also prohibits gratuities from passengers from being included in TNC partner compensation calculations, authorizes TNC partners to collect gratuity in cash or electronically, and prohibits transportation network companies from limiting the amount that can be paid as gratuity through such companies' digital platforms.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord obligations; access of tenant to broadband services. Prohibits the landlord of a multifamily dwelling unit from accepting payment from a provider of broadband service for granting such provider mere access to the landlord's tenants or giving such tenants mere access to such service. The bill also prohibits a landlord from demanding or accepting payment from tenants in exchange for such a service unless the landlord itself is the provider of the service.