Del. Cia Price

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.

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.

Civilian deaths in custody; failure to comply with annual report; funding for local and regional adult correctional facilities. Requires the State Board of Local and Regional Jails to notify the Office of the Governor if any local or regional correctional facility fails to send reports with information required by law regarding civilian deaths in custody within 10 days. If such facility fails to comply within 10 days, the bill allows the Governor discretion to direct the Comptroller to withhold all further payment to such facility of all funds, or of any part of them, appropriated and payable by the Commonwealth to such facility, for any and all purposes, until such correctional facility complies.

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.

Unemployment benefits; maximum duration. Provides that, beginning July 1, 2026, for claims effective on or after July 1, 2026, an eligible individual's weekly unemployment compensation benefit amount shall be paid for a maximum duration of 26 weeks.

Firefighters Cancer Screening Grant Program and Fund established. Creates the Firefighters Cancer Screening Grant Program and Fund to award grants to localities for costs incurred in providing certain cancer detection tests to firefighters. The bill provides that in any year that the amount of funds in the Firefighters Cancer Screening Fund reduces to zero and the Fund does not receive a separate appropriation, the Grant Program and Fund shall expire.

Court Date Reminder Program established. Establishes a Court Date Reminder Program, to be developed or procured by the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia, for the purpose of reminding criminal defendants to appear at each of their scheduled court appearances. The bill directs the Program to send a text message notification to any defendant with a criminal case in general district court or circuit court for whom the court has a telephone number prior to any scheduled hearing that requires his appearance and allows a defendant to opt out of participating in the Program. The Program has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.The bill also directs the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court to convene a Court Date Reminder Program work group to advise on the implementation and expansion of the Program and submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Supreme Court of Virginia and the Chairs of the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice by December 1, 2026.

Elections; election offenses; intimidation and threats toward election officials; penalty. Removes the requirement that a person willfully hinder or prevent an election official from administering elections in order to be found guilty of intimidation and threats toward such official, which is a Class 5 felony under current law.

Department of Medical Assistance Services; collection of data and information on Medicaid estate recovery; report. Requests the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) to collect data and information on Medicaid estate recovery in the Commonwealth. DMAS is requested to collect data and information on (i) whether the Commonwealth adjusts or recovers for long-term services and supports and related services provided through Medicaid beyond the federally required minimum and, if so, what percentage of the overall amount recovered by the Commonwealth is for such services; (ii) whether additional assets beyond a Medicaid enrollee's probate estate are recovered by the Commonwealth and, if so, what percentage of the overall amount recovered by the Commonwealth is from assets beyond such enrollees' probate estates; (iii) whether homes of modest value are excluded from Medicaid estate recovery and, if so, how DMAS defines "home of modest value"; (iv) the cost-effectiveness threshold followed by DMAS for pursuing Medicaid estate recovery; and (v) the criteria used to evaluate undue hardship waiver applications. DMAS is requested to also collect race and demographic data for each of the most recent five years on (a) the total number of collections, (b) the number of undue hardship waiver applications submitted, and (c) the number of undue hardship waiver applications that were approved or otherwise successful. The bill requires DMAS to submit an executive summary and such data and information to the members of the House Committee on Health and Human Services and the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services no later than the first day of the 2027 Regular Session of the General Assembly.