Average teacher salary in the Commonwealth; national average. Requires the Governor's introduced budget bills for the 2025, 2026, and 2027 Regular Sessions of the General Assembly to propose funding for, and state funding to be provided pursuant to the general appropriation act enacted during any regular or special session of the General Assembly during 2025, 2026, or 2027 to fund, the Commonwealth's share of compensation supplement incentives for Standards of Quality-funded instructional and support positions sufficient to increase the average teacher salary in the Commonwealth to at least the national average teacher salary by the end of the 2026–2028 biennium and establishes a detailed timeline and process for satisfying such requirement.

Study; JLARC; solar development; agriculture, forestry, and environment; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study the impact of utility-scale solar development in the Commonwealth on agriculture, forestry, and the environment.

Special education; Parental Behavior Technician Registration and Participation Pilot Program; established. Establishes the Parental Behavior Technician Registration and Participation Pilot Program (the Pilot Program), to be developed and administered by the Board of Education in collaboration with the Department of Health and the Advisory Board on Behavioral Analysis, for the purpose of assisting parents of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with becoming a registered behavior technician (RBT) in order to provide assistance to their children both in the classroom as a volunteer under the supervision of a licensed behavior analyst or other qualified Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) individual and outside the classroom in the home environment. The bill provides that the Pilot Program shall assist any eligible parent, defined as any parent of a child with ASD who is enrolled in a public school in the Commonwealth and receives special education, by (i) providing assistance, resources, and support to any eligible parent in meeting the requirements to receive an RBT credential and (ii) coordinating with the school board of the school division in which the child of an RBT-credentialed parent is enrolled to set up a volunteer position for the parent to provide assistance as an RBT in his child's special education program under the supervision of a licensed behavior analyst or other qualified ABA individual. The bill provides that funds appropriated for the at-risk add-on or for support services from basic school aid, pursuant to relevant law, may be used to fund the Pilot Program. Finally, the bill requires the Board of Education to report annually to the Governor and the Generally Assembly by October 1 of each year for the duration of the Pilot Program on the progress of the Pilot Program. The provisions of the bill expire on July 1, 2027. Special education; Parental Behavior Technician Registration and Participation Pilot Program; established. Establishes the Parental Behavior Technician Registration and Participation Pilot Program (the Pilot Program), to be developed and administered by the Board of Education in collaboration with the Department of Health and the Advisory Board on Behavioral Analysis, for the purpose of assisting parents of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with becoming a registered behavior technician (RBT) in order to provide assistance to their children both in the classroom as a volunteer under the supervision of a licensed behavior analyst or other qualified Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) individual and outside the classroom in the home environment. The bill provides that the Pilot Program shall assist any eligible parent, defined as any parent of a child with ASD who is enrolled in a public school in the Commonwealth and receives special education, by (i) providing assistance, resources, and support to any eligible parent in meeting the requirements to receive an RBT credential and (ii) coordinating with the school board of the school division in which the child of an RBT-credentialed parent is enrolled to set up a volunteer position for the parent to provide assistance as an RBT in his child's special education program under the supervision of a licensed behavior analyst or other qualified ABA individual. The bill provides that funds appropriated for the at-risk add-on or for support services from basic school aid, pursuant to relevant law, may be used to fund the Pilot Program. Finally, the bill requires the Board of Education to report annually to the Governor and the Generally Assembly by October 1 of each year for the duration of the Pilot Program on the progress of the Pilot Program. The provisions of the bill expire on July 1, 2027.

Charter; City of Portsmouth; emergency. Amends the charter for the City of Portsmouth by aligning dates for nomination of candidates and the filling of city council vacancies with state law. The bill also updates a Code of Virginia reference and contains an emergency clause.

Regulation of electric utilities; development of renewable energy facilities; powers of State Air Pollution Control Board; powers of State Corporation Commission. Repeals provisions (i) requiring the State Air Pollution Control Board to adopt regulations to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from any electricity generating unit in the Commonwealth and authorizing the Board to establish an auction program for energy allowances; (ii) prohibiting the State Corporation Commission from approving any new utility-owned generation facilities that emit carbon dioxide as a by-product of energy generation, in certain circumstances; (iii) declaring that statutory allowances for energy derived from sunlight, onshore wind, offshore wind, and storage facilities are in the public interest; and (iv) relating to the development of solar and wind generation and energy storage capacity, development of offshore wind capacity, and generation of electricity from renewable and zero carbon sources. The bill provides that planning and development activities for new nuclear generation facilities are in the public interest.

Land records; recording and indexing fees. Provides that no clerk of a circuit court shall assess separate recording and indexing fees for one document that contains two or more instruments that may serve independent legal purposes, including a record of a mortgage as a financing statement, unless the person presenting such document or instruments requests that such document or instruments be recorded and indexed in more than a single instance. The bill also provides that no recordation tax shall be required of a quitclaim deed between a grantor and grantee when no consideration has passed between the parties, provided that such quitclaim deed shows on its face that no consideration has passed.

Vacancies in elected local offices; timeliness of special election to fill vacancy. Provides that when a vacancy occurs in an elected local office that is subject to a ward-based or district-based residency requirement, the election to fill such vacancy shall be ordered and held within 365 days of the vacancy occurring.

Behavioral Health Commission; membership. Changes the composition of the Behavioral Health Commission by increasing from two to three the number of House appointees who are required to be members of the House Committee on Appropriations.

Personal property tax relief; qualifying vehicles; reimbursement and appropriation. Provides for a portion of the general fund surplus at the close of the immediately preceding fiscal year to be appropriated for increased car tax relief. Personal property tax relief; qualifying vehicles; reimbursement and appropriation. Provides for a portion of the general fund surplus at the close of the immediately preceding fiscal year to be appropriated for increased car tax relief. If more than $250 million in general fund surplus remains after all mandatory assignments under current law, then the total amount the Commonwealth shall pay in reimbursements to localities for providing required tangible personal property tax relief on qualifying vehicles for the immediately following tax year, beginning in tax year 2025, shall be $950 million plus up to 25 percent of the remaining surplus. In such case, the surplus amount would be held in reserve for appropriation for such tax relief and not further assigned by the Comptroller. If less than $250 million in general fund surplus remains after such mandatory assignments, the total amount of reimbursements from the Commonwealth to localities would remain at $950 million, the fixed amount under current law, and the remaining surplus would be assigned by the Comptroller for nonrecurring expenditures. Also beginning in tax year 2025, the bill increases from $20,000 to $30,000 the base vehicle value for which a county, city, or town shall establish its tangible personal property tax rate for each qualifying vehicle and reimbursements from the Commonwealth therefor.

Railroad safety; civil penalties. Requires a crew of at least two qualified individuals on all trains, locomotives, or light engines used in connection with moving freight.

Assistance for certain voters outside of the polling place; definition of "person with a disability"; training. Amends the definition of "person with a disability" for purposes of the Elections title to mean any person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of his major life activities or who has a record of such impairment. The bill provides that any qualified voter who is a person with a disability shall be eligible for assistance outside of the polling place and makes technical amendments for consistency. The bill requires the training required for all officers of election to include specific training on voting outside of a polling place and directs the Department of Elections to incorporate into guidance documents for election officials the processes and procedures for voting outside of the polling place, including best practices for providing assistance for voters with disabilities.

Admission to bail; rebuttable presumptions against bail. Creates a rebuttable presumption against bail for certain criminal offenses enumerated in the bill. The bill also requires the court to consider specified factors when determining whether the presumption against bail has been rebutted and whether there are appropriate conditions of release.

State Department of Health; regulation of certain organizations; sale of food. Expands a current exemption to allow churches, fraternal or school organizations, organizations that are exempt from taxation under § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and volunteer fire departments and volunteer emergency medical services agencies that not only hold, as provided for in current law, but also participate in occasional dinners, bazaars, and other fundraisers of one or two days' duration, at which food (i) prepared in the homes of members; (ii) prepared in the kitchen of the church, school, or organization; or (iii) purchased or donated from a licensed restaurant is offered for sale to the public, to conduct such activities without applying for any permits or licensure from the State Department of Health. State Department of Health; regulation of certain organizations; sale of food. Expands a current exemption to allow churches, fraternal or school organizations, organizations that are exempt from taxation under § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and volunteer fire departments and volunteer emergency medical services agencies that not only hold, as provided for in current law, but also participate in occasional dinners, bazaars, and other fundraisers of one or two days' duration, at which food (i) prepared in the homes of members; (ii) prepared in the kitchen of the church, school, or organization; or (iii) purchased or donated from a licensed restaurant is offered for sale to the public, to conduct such activities without applying for any permits or licensure from the State Department of Health.

Electric utilities; retail competition; aggregated competitive purchasers. Creates a limited exception to the requirement that the State Corporation Commission must find that a petition for certain competitive purchasers to aggregate their demands to become qualified to purchase retail electric energy is consistent with the public interest in order for the Commission to approve such petition. The bill provides that a customer seeking such approval may remunerate the utility for any adverse effects to the incumbent utility or its remaining utility customers contrary to the public interest as determined by the Commission. The bill also provides that such customers shall not be denied permission to procure retail electric energy from a competitive supplier and that such remuneration fee shall be recalculated by the Commission on a triennial basis from when a customer commences a competitive service agreement.

Study; Board of Veterinary Medicine; shortage of large animal veterinarians; report. Directs the Board of Veterinary Medicine, in consultation with the State Veterinarian, to complete a two-year study of the shortage of large animal veterinarians, with technical assistance provided by relevant stakeholders, including a member of the House of Delegates and a member of the Senate of Virginia, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates and the Senate Committee on Rules, respectively. Study; Board of Veterinary Medicine; shortage of large animal veterinarians; report. Directs the Board of Veterinary Medicine, in consultation with the State Veterinarian, to complete a two-year study of the shortage of large animal veterinarians, with technical assistance provided by relevant stakeholders, including a member of the House of Delegates and a member of the Senate of Virginia, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates and the Senate Committee on Rules, respectively.