Absentee voting; excuse required to vote absentee by mail; excuse required to vote absentee in person prior to the second Saturday preceding an election. Requires a registered voter to provide a reason for being absent or unable to vote at his polling place on election day in order to receive an absentee ballot to vote by mail. Registered voters offering to vote absentee in person are similarly required by the bill to provide a reason until the second Saturday immediately preceding an election, at which time an excuse is not required to vote absentee in person. The bill provides that an application for an absentee ballot is required to receive an absentee ballot by mail and to vote absentee in person before the second Saturday immediately preceding an election. The bill also repeals the permanent absentee voter list and limits the special annual application to those voters with an illness or disability.

Scenic river designation; Maury River. Extends Scenic river designation; Maury River. Extends the portion of the Maury River previously designated as a state scenic river by an additional 23.2 miles.

Absentee voting; return of absentee ballots; drop-off locations. Repeals the provisions of law providing for the establishment of drop-off locations for the return of absentee ballots.

Virginia Land Conservation Foundation and Fund. Allows the Virginia Land Conservation Fund to make grants to state-recognized and federally recognized Virginia Indian Tribes and requires that at least one nonlegislative citizen member of the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation Board of Trustees be a member of a state-recognized or federally recognized Virginia Indian Tribe. Virginia Land Conservation Foundation and Fund. Allows the Virginia Land Conservation Fund to make grants to state-recognized and federally recognized Virginia Indian Tribes and requires that at least one nonlegislative citizen member of the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation Board of Trustees be a member of a state-recognized or federally recognized Virginia Indian Tribe.

Study; joint subcommittee to study pandemic response and preparedness in the Commonwealth; report. Establishes a joint subcommittee to study pandemic response and preparedness in the Commonwealth. In conducting its study, the joint subcommittee is tasked with examining existing laws in the Commonwealth and developing recommendations regarding the pandemic response and future needs of the Governor, the General Assembly, local governments, public and private health care systems and other facilities and providers, health districts, the judicial system, K-12 and higher education systems, and the business regulatory system. Study; joint subcommittee to study pandemic response and preparedness in the Commonwealth; report. Establishes a joint subcommittee to study pandemic response and preparedness in the Commonwealth. In conducting its study, the joint subcommittee is tasked with examining existing laws in the Commonwealth and developing recommendations regarding the pandemic response and future needs of the Governor, the General Assembly, local governments, public and private health care systems and other facilities and providers, health districts, the judicial system, K-12 and higher education systems, and the business regulatory system.

Elections; campaign finance; disclosure reports; searchable electronic database. Requires the Department of Elections to provide an interface to the campaign finance database maintained by the Department that allows users to easily search for and sort information by individual candidates and types of elections, offices, committees, and donors; donations, expenditures, loans, and other categories of information included in campaign finance reports; and late filings, incomplete filings, and other violations. The interface shall also provide users tools for manipulating and exporting data. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2023.

Elimination of mandatory minimum sentences; modification Elimination of mandatory minimum sentences; modification of sentence to mandatory minimum term of confinement for felony offenses; report. Except for aggravated murder of a law-enforcement officer, eliminates all mandatory minimum sentences of confinement from the Code of Virginia. The bill directs the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to establish a work group to evaluate the feasibility of resentencing persons previously convicted of a felony offense that was punishable by a mandatory minimum term of confinement and to report its findings by November 1, 2022.

Chapters 45 and 51 of the Acts of Assembly of 2020, Special Session I; retroactive and prospective effect. Provides that the provisions of Chapters 45 and 51 of the Acts of Assembly of 2020, Special Session I, shall be given retroactive and prospective effect. The bill also provides that its provisions shall not create any cause of action for damages against the Commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions, nor shall it form the basis for relief in any habeas corpus proceeding or appellate proceeding. Chapters 45 and 51 of the Acts of Assembly of 2020, Special Session I; retroactive and prospective effect. Provides that the provisions of Chapters 45 and 51 of the Acts of Assembly of 2020, Special Session I, shall be given retroactive and prospective effect. The bill also provides that its provisions shall not create any cause of action for damages against the Commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions, nor shall it form the basis for relief in any habeas corpus proceeding or appellate proceeding.

Shipping and Logistics Headquarters Grant Program. Updates some provisions of the Shipping and Logistics Headquarters Grant Program to reflect changes in the agreement between the Commonwealth and a qualified company.

Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services licensed programs; cardiopulmonary resuscitation for program participants. Allows employees of programs licensed by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services who are certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation to comply with a program participant's valid written order not to resuscitate in the event of cardiac and respiratory arrest if the valid written order not to resuscitate is included in the program participant's individualized service plan. The bill directs the Department to develop and distribute to providers guidance regarding compliance with a program participant's valid written order not to resuscitate by program employees certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services licensed programs; cardiopulmonary resuscitation for program participants. Allows employees of programs licensed by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services who are certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation to comply with a program participant's valid written order not to resuscitate in the event of cardiac and respiratory arrest if the valid written order not to resuscitate is included in the program participant's individualized service plan. The bill directs the Department to develop and distribute to providers guidance regarding compliance with a program participant's valid written order not to resuscitate by program employees certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin for treatment of COVID-19. Provides that licensed health care providers with prescriptive authority may prescribe, administer, or dispense hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin to a patient with a clinical diagnosis of COVID-19. The bill prohibits the Board of Medicine from initiating a disciplinary action against a licensed health care provider solely for prescribing, administering, or dispensing hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin to a patient with a clinical diagnosis of COVID-19, provided such clinical diagnosis and treatment has been documented in the patient's medical record by such licensed health care provider.

Dealers; sale of dogs or cats for experimental purposes. Prohibits a dealer, commercial dog breeder, or cat breeder, including an entity that breeds dogs or cats regulated under federal law as research animals, from importing for sale, selling, or offering for sale a dog or cat bred by a person who has received certain citations on or after July 1, 2023, pursuant to the federal Animal Welfare Act.

Virginia National Guard; institutions of higher education; tuition grants. Adds parameters around grants distributed by the Department of Military Affairs (the Department) to members of the Virginia National Guard who are enrolled in any course or program at any public institution of higher education or accredited nonprofit private institution of higher education. The bill provides that an application for a grant shall be made to the Department no later than 30 days prior to the beginning of an academic semester. The bill provides that the Department shall determine whether an applicant is eligible for the grant and communicate acceptance and any additional requirements determined by the Department in writing no later than 30 days after receipt of an application. The bill requires individuals who are eligible for such grants to satisfy all financial obligations with the institution and provide written proof of acceptable academic performance and good standing for the current term no later than 30 days following the end of a term or semester. The bill provides that individuals receiving grants pursuant to the bill incur a single two-year service obligation to the Virginia National Guard and that this two-year obligation commences on the last day of the last term or semester for which tuition assistance was awarded. Virginia National Guard; institutions of higher education; tuition grants. Adds parameters around grants distributed by the Department of Military Affairs (the Department) to members of the Virginia National Guard who are enrolled in any course or program at any public institution of higher education or accredited nonprofit private institution of higher education. The bill provides that an application for a grant shall be made to the Department no later than 30 days prior to the beginning of an academic semester. The bill provides that the Department shall determine whether an applicant is eligible for the grant and communicate acceptance and any additional requirements determined by the Department in writing no later than 30 days after receipt of an application. The bill requires individuals who are eligible for such grants to satisfy all financial obligations with the institution and provide written proof of acceptable academic performance and good standing for the current term no later than 30 days following the end of a term or semester. The bill provides that individuals receiving grants pursuant to the bill incur a single two-year service obligation to the Virginia National Guard and that this two-year obligation commences on the last day of the last term or semester for which tuition assistance was awarded.

Study; Secretary of Commerce and Trade; effects of daylight saving time on the Commonwealth; report. Requests the Secretary of Commerce and Trade to study the effects of the Commonwealth's continued observance of daylight saving time under the federal Uniform Time Act of 1966 and the potential consequences of a decision to use either standard time or daylight saving time year-round in the Commonwealth.

Golf carts and utility vehicles; Town of Ivor. Adds the Town of Ivor to the list of towns that may authorize the operation of golf carts and utility vehicles on designated public highways despite not having established their own police departments.