Del. Cia Price

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; civil action for unlawful detainer; termination notice; energy submetering equipment. Provides that no landlord shall file or maintain an action for unlawful detainer against a residential tenant for any alleged lease violation until the landlord has provided the tenant with a proper and effective termination notice and that no notice of termination of tenancy for nonpayment of rent pursuant to the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act shall be effective unless such notice contains a written statement of charges and payments over the course of the tenancy or the past 12 months, whichever is shorter, and any late charges, attorney fees, costs, and other charges or damages as contracted for in the rental agreement that are due and owing. The bill requires such notice to also include debits and credits incurred by the tenant for energy and utility bills and any additional charges permitted as applicable. The bill also requires the owner of any residential building to maintain adequate records indicating how monthly energy and utility billing fees are calculated and including a history of billing fee payments for each tenant over the duration of the tenancy or the past 12 months, whichever is shorter. Such records shall be made available to the tenant upon request. Finally, the bill removes a provision allowing for the collection of fees when a tenant requests such records. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027. This bill is identical to SB 294.

Elections; absentee and provisional ballots; cure process. Requires that, if the electoral board determines that any person having submitted a provisional vote was not entitled to vote as a result of a material error or omission on the provisional ballot form, the registrar is required to promptly notify the voter by telephone or email of the error or omission and to provide information to the voter on how to correct the issue so his ballot may be counted. The voter is entitled to make such necessary corrections before noon on the Monday after the election. The bill moves the deadline for curing errors or omissions in absentee ballot applications from noon on the third day after the election to noon on the Monday after the election. The bill also requries the Department of Elections to issue guidance to local election officials on the uniform processing and counting of provisional ballots, including any provisional ballot cast by a person submitting a registration application on the same day as the election.

Secretary of Public Safety; firearm violence. Directs the Secretary of Public Safety to convene a work group to develop policy and legislative recommendations to establish the Virginia Gun Violence Prevention Center. The bill allows the work group to (i) meet both in-person and virtually, (ii) have small group breakouts for the purpose of advancing work in a timely and efficient manner, and (iii) collaborate with experts and other representatives as needed. The bill requires the work group to report its findings and any legislative and policy recommendations to the General Assembly by December 15, 2026. This bill is identical to SB 364.

Requirement that certain injuries to children be reported by physicians, nurses, teachers, etc.; penalties for failure to report. Creates a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person required to file a report, pursuant to relevant law, who fails to do so as soon as possible, but not longer than 24 hours after having reason to suspect a reportable offense of child abuse or neglect where such reportable offense is alleged to have occurred at a private or state-operated hospital, institution, or facility to which children have been committed or where children have been placed for care and treatment. The bill also provides that a second or subsequent conviction is a Class 6 felony. The bill further expands the mandatory reporting requirements for certain enumerated persons in their professional or official capacities to include certain offenses related to children and certain obscenity and related offenses and applies all such mandatory reporting requirements to all public and private school athletics program coaches, directors, and adult volunteers, including those associated with interscholastic teams and clubs. Under current law, the mandatory reporting requirements apply to such enumerated persons who suspect that a child is an abused or neglected child and to public or private sports organization or team athletic coaches, directors, or adult volunteers.

Sickle Cell Trait Awareness and Education Program established. Directs the Department of Health to establish the Sickle Cell Trait Awareness and Education Program to raise public awareness of and provide education on sickle cell trait.

Presidential electors; National Popular Vote Compact. Enters Virginia into an interstate compact known as the Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote. Article II of the Constitution of the United States gives the states exclusive and plenary authority to decide the manner of awarding their electoral votes. Under the compact, Virginia agrees to award its electoral votes to the presidential ticket that receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The compact goes into effect when states cumulatively possessing a majority of the electoral votes have joined the compact. A state may withdraw from the compact; however, a withdrawal occurring within six months of the end of a President's term shall not become effective until a President or Vice President has qualified to serve the next term. The bill also provides for the manner of appointing electors when such agreement does and does not govern the appointment of electors. This bill is identical to HB 965.

Sports betting; prohibition on use of credit cards. Prohibits the Director of the Virginia Lottery from approving the use of credit cards as a method for sports bettors to fund sports betting accounts. The bill also requires a permit holder to take reasonable measures to prohibit the acceptance of credit cards to fund sports betting accounts on its sports betting platform.

Unauthorized use of voice or likeness; punitive damages; statute of limitations. Expands the existing ability for any person to maintain a suit in equity, including the accompanying remedies available and statute of limitations, for the unauthorized use of his name, portrait, or picture for advertising purposes or for the purposes of trade to include the unauthorized use of his voice or likeness. This bill is identical to SB 753.

Prior authorization; requiring physician review for denial. Prohibits a health insurance carrier from making an adverse determination of a prior authorization request (i) for prescription drugs unless such denial has been reviewed and approved by a licensed physician or, if a licensed physician is not available, by a licensed pharmacist or (ii) for health care services unless such adverse determination has been reviewed and approved by (a) a licensed physician; (b) in the case of mental health services, a licensed mental health provider if a licensed physician is unavailable; or (c) in the case of dental services, a licensed dentist if a licensed physician is unavailable.

Juvenile and domestic relations district courts; jurisdiction; definitions; petition by noncitizen aged 18 to 21 years for legal custody. Allows an unmarried noncitizen between the ages of 18 and 21 who has been abused, neglected, or abandoned to petition a juvenile and domestic relations district court to be placed in the physical custody of a proposed legal custodian. The bill also includes such unmarried noncitizen in the definitions of "child," "juvenile," and "minor," as such terms are related to juvenile and domestic relations district courts.