Department of Wildlife Resources; singular license for waterfowl blinds in Chesapeake Bay Public Access Authorities. Requires the Department of Wildlife Resources to develop a singular license for all riparian stationary blinds issued to the Middle Peninsula Chesapeake Bay Public Access Authority and the Northern Neck Chesapeake Bay Public Access Authority and to develop a fee schedule for such license. Department of Wildlife Resources; singular license for waterfowl blinds in Chesapeake Bay Public Access Authorities. Requires the Department of Wildlife Resources to develop a singular license for all riparian stationary blinds issued to the Middle Peninsula Chesapeake Bay Public Access Authority and the Northern Neck Chesapeake Bay Public Access Authority and to develop a fee schedule for such license.

Sewage sludge regulations; relief from administrative requirements; adverse and unusual weather events. Requires the State Water Control Board, with the assistance of the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Department of Health, to adopt regulations that include procedures for addressing administrative, staging, signage, and additional on-site and alternative storage site requirements when routine and on-site storage facility capacity and holding times are anticipated to be exceeded for the purpose of protecting against the release of sewage sludge into state waters and to account for increased intensity, frequency, and duration of storm events. The bill directs the Department of Environmental Quality to form a regulatory advisory panel consisting of certain stakeholders for the purpose of assisting the Board in developing the regulations as required by the bill. Sewage sludge regulations; relief from administrative requirements; adverse and unusual weather events. Requires the State Water Control Board, with the assistance of the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Department of Health, to adopt regulations that include procedures for addressing administrative, staging, signage, and additional on-site and alternative storage site requirements when routine and on-site storage facility capacity and holding times are anticipated to be exceeded for the purpose of protecting against the release of sewage sludge into state waters and to account for increased intensity, frequency, and duration of storm events. The bill directs the Department of Environmental Quality to form a regulatory advisory panel consisting of certain stakeholders for the purpose of assisting the Board in developing the regulations as required by the bill.

C-PACE loans; residential dwellings and condominiums. Removes an exclusion for residential dwellings with fewer than five dwelling units and condominium projects from certain requirements related to a voluntary special assessment lien that secures a loan for the initial acquisition and installation of clean energy, resiliency, or stormwater management improvements.

Virginia Board for Asbestos, Lead, and Home Inspectors; dust sampling technicians, renovators, and accredited renovation training programs. Removes the responsibility of the Board for Asbestos, Lead, and Home Inspectors to promulgate regulations concerning dust sampling technicians, renovators, and accredited renovation training programs.

Department of Environmental Quality; nuclear energy electric generation facilities; permitting. Redefines "small renewable energy projects" as "small clean energy projects" and adds an electrical generation facility with a rated capacity not exceeding 300 megawatts that generates electricity only from nuclear energy located in Planning District 1 (LENOWISCO), 2 (Cumberland Plateau), 3 (Mount Rogers), or 4 (New River Valley Region) to the definition for purposes of the regulation of such projects by the Department of Environmental Quality. The bill requires the Department to limit the permitting of such facilities pursuant to the definition and directs the Department to develop the applicable permit by rule regulations for such nuclear energy projects to be effective as soon as practicable.

Toll invoices; mail. Authorizes the use of a trackable correspondence equivalent to certified mail for sending invoices for unpaid tolls to a vehicle owner prior to the Department of Motor Vehicles placing a registration stop on such vehicle due to unpaid tolls. Current law requires such invoices to be mailed by certified mail.

Assault and battery; affirmative defense; penalty. Provides an affirmative defense to prosecution of an individual for assault or assault and battery of certain specified individuals for which the enhanced Class 6 felony and six month mandatory minimum apply if such individual proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, that at the time of the assault or assault and battery (i) the individual's behaviors were a result of (a) mental illness or (b) a neurocognitive disorder, including dementia, or a neurodevelopmental disability, including a developmental disability or intellectual disability, such as autism spectrum disorder, as defined in the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association or (ii) the individual met the criteria for issuance of an emergency custody order. Assault and battery; affirmative defense; penalty. Provides an affirmative defense to prosecution of an individual for assault or assault and battery of certain specified individuals for which the enhanced Class 6 felony and six month mandatory minimum apply if such individual proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, that at the time of the assault or assault and battery (i) the individual's behaviors were a result of (a) mental illness or (b) a neurocognitive disorder, including dementia, or a neurodevelopmental disability, including a developmental disability or intellectual disability, such as autism spectrum disorder, as defined in the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association or (ii) the individual met the criteria for issuance of an emergency custody order. The bill provides that if such individual does not prove that his behaviors were a result of his mental illness, intellectual disability, developmental disability, or neurocognitive disorder but the evidence establishes that his mental illness, intellectual disability, developmental disability, or neurocognitive disorder otherwise contributed to his behaviors, the finder of fact may find the accused guilty of a misdemeanor assault or assault and battery. The bill also provides that such affirmative defense shall not be construed to allow an affirmative defense for voluntary intoxication.

Notaries; fees. Raises from $5 to $10 the amount a notary may charge for taking and certifying the acknowledgment of any writing, or administering and certifying an oath, or certifying affidavits and depositions of witnesses.

Department of Conservation and Recreation; two-year pilot program; all-terrain power wheelchairs in state parks. Provides that the Department of Conservation and Recreation shall establish a two-year pilot program beginning October 1, 2024, and ending October 30, 2026, to enhance accessibility for individuals with limited mobility in Virginia's state parks by providing all-terrain power wheelchairs that may be used by such persons during their visits. The bill permits the Department to choose the locations for the pilot program and enter into a contract for the purchase of all-terrain power wheelchairs to be used in the pilot program. The bill allows the Department to adopt guidelines to administer the pilot program and requires the Department to make a report available to the public regarding the outcome of the pilot program on its website by November 1, 2026. Department of Conservation and Recreation; two-year pilot program; all-terrain power wheelchairs in state parks. Provides that the Department of Conservation and Recreation shall establish a two-year pilot program beginning October 1, 2024, and ending October 30, 2026, to enhance accessibility for individuals with limited mobility in Virginia's state parks by providing all-terrain power wheelchairs that may be used by such persons during their visits. The bill permits the Department to choose the locations for the pilot program and enter into a contract for the purchase of all-terrain power wheelchairs to be used in the pilot program. The bill allows the Department to adopt guidelines to administer the pilot program and requires the Department to make a report available to the public regarding the outcome of the pilot program on its website by November 1, 2026.

Cigarettes intended to be heated; heated tobacco products; taxation. Redefines "cigarette" for state cigarette tax purposes to include "cigarettes intended to be heated" as defined in the bill and distinguished from "heated tobacco products." The bill also subjects such cigarettes intended to be heated to an excise tax of 2.25 cents per stick on and after July 1, 2024, and subjects other cigarettes to an excise tax of three cents on and after July 1, 2020. Cigarettes intended to be heated; heated tobacco products; taxation. Redefines "cigarette" for state cigarette tax purposes to include "cigarettes intended to be heated" as defined in the bill and distinguished from "heated tobacco products." The bill also subjects such cigarettes intended to be heated to an excise tax of 2.25 cents per stick on and after July 1, 2024, and subjects other cigarettes to an excise tax of three cents on and after July 1, 2020.

Local government powers; regulation of tobacco, nicotine, and hemp product retail sale locations. Permits localities to regulate by ordinance the location of retail sale locations established after July 1, 2024, that sell tobacco, nicotine, and hemp products. The bill provides that such ordinance may prohibit such retail sale locations within 1,000 linear feet of a public, private, or parochial school.

Board of Medicine; temporary licensure of physicians licensed in a foreign country. Permits the Board of Medicine to issue a provisional license to a physician licensed in a foreign country for no more than two years, then a subsequent renewable two-year license if the physician practices in a medically underserved area. After two years of practice under the renewable license in a medically underserved area, a physician licensed in a foreign country is eligible to apply for a full, unrestricted license to practice medicine. The bill specifies that eligibility for such licenses is conditional upon an applicant demonstrating certain educational and experiential qualifications to the Board and obtaining employment with a medical care facility that provides an assessment and evaluation program for physicians licensed in a foreign country. Board of Medicine; temporary licensure of physicians licensed in a foreign country. Permits the Board of Medicine to issue a provisional license to a physician licensed in a foreign country for no more than two years, then a subsequent renewable two-year license if the physician practices in a medically underserved area. After two years of practice under the renewable license in a medically underserved area, a physician licensed in a foreign country is eligible to apply for a full, unrestricted license to practice medicine. The bill specifies that eligibility for such licenses is conditional upon an applicant demonstrating certain educational and experiential qualifications to the Board and obtaining employment with a medical care facility that provides an assessment and evaluation program for physicians licensed in a foreign country.

Commission on Legislature Modernization; report. Establishes the Commission on Legislature Modernization in the legislative branch for the purpose of studying the operation and functionality of the General Assembly and identifying ways to make the legislature more effective, efficient, responsive, reflective, and transparent on behalf of all Virginians. The Commission will consist of 17 members, which shall include 9 legislators, 6 nonlegislative citizen members, and 2 ex officio members. The Commission shall be convened for a period of two years, every 10 years in the year ending in four, and shall terminate after the submission of its final report to the General Assembly at the end of its second year.

Tax credit; eligible education expenses; home instruction and private education. Creates a tax credit for taxable years 2024 through 2028 that may be claimed by any parent of a child who receives home instruction or attends a private elementary or secondary school in Virginia. The bill specifies that an eligible individual may claim the credit for certain eligible education expenses, as defined in the bill and imposes certain limitations on who may claim the credit and how much credit may be claimed based on a taxpayer's Virginia adjusted gross income.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; units occupied by elderly tenants; rent stabilization allowance. Allows any locality to adopt rent stabilization provisions to prohibit any landlord, defined in the bill, from increasing the rent on any unit in which an elderly tenant, defined in the bill, resides by an amount that exceeds such locality's rent stabilization allowance. The bill defines "rent stabilization allowance" as the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index, for the region in which the locality sits, from March in the preceding year to March in the current year, plus two percent. Finally, the bill requires any rent stabilization ordinance to include a procedure by which a landlord may apply for an exemption if the net operating income generated by the rental dwelling unit has not been maintained due to escalating operating expenses or for other appropriate reasons as established by the locality.