Hate crimes and discrimination; ethnic animosity; penalties. Provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to safeguard all individuals within the Commonwealth from unlawful discrimination in employment and in places of public accommodation because of such individual's ethnic origin and prohibits such discrimination. The bill also adds victims who are intentionally selected because of their ethnic origin to the categories of victims whose intentional selection for a hate crime involving assault, assault and battery, or trespass for the purpose of damaging another's property results in a higher criminal penalty for the offense. The bill also provides that no provider or user of an interactive computer service on the Internet shall be liable for any action voluntarily taken by it in good faith to restrict access to material that the provider or user considers to be intended to incite hatred on the basis of ethnic origin.

Photo speed monitoring devices; location. Authorizes the governing body of any county, city, or town to provide by ordinance for the placement and operation of photo speed monitoring devices in any location deemed necessary by the locality for the purposes of recording violations resulting from the operation of a vehicle in excess of the speed limit. The bill provides the same requirements for such devices, information collected from such devices, and any enforcement actions resulting from information collected from such devices as current law applies to the use of such devices in school crossing zones and highway work zones. The bill requires that two signs, rather than one, be placed warning of such device if the device is placed somewhere other than a school crossing zone or highway work zone.

Weapons; possession or transportation; facility that provides mental health services or developmental services; penalty. Makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person to possess in or transport into any facility that provides mental health services or developmental services in the Commonwealth, including a hospital or an emergency department or other facility rendering emergency medical care, any (i) firearm or other weapon designed or intended to propel a missile or projectile of any kind; (ii) knife, except a pocket knife having a folding metal blade of less than three inches; or (iii) other dangerous weapon, including explosives and stun weapons. The bill provides that any such firearm, knife, explosive, or weapon is subject to seizure by a law-enforcement officer and specifies exceptions to the prohibition. Weapons; possession or transportation; facility that provides mental health services or developmental services; penalty. Makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person to possess in or transport into any facility that provides mental health services or developmental services in the Commonwealth, including a hospital or an emergency department or other facility rendering emergency medical care, any (i) firearm or other weapon designed or intended to propel a missile or projectile of any kind; (ii) knife, except a pocket knife having a folding metal blade of less than three inches; or (iii) other dangerous weapon, including explosives and stun weapons. The bill provides that any such firearm, knife, explosive, or weapon is subject to seizure by a law-enforcement officer and specifies exceptions to the prohibition.

Voter registration; verification of social security Voter registration; verification of social security numbers; provisional registration status. Requires the general registrar to verify that the name, date of birth, and social security number provided by an applicant on the voter registration application match the information on file in the Social Security Administration database or other database approved by the State Board of Elections before registering such applicant. If the information provided by the applicant does not match the information on file in such database, the applicant (i) is provisionally registered to vote and notified as to what steps are needed to be fully registered to vote and (ii) is permitted to vote by provisional ballot but such ballot shall not be counted until the voter presents certain information. The bill also requires the general registrar to verify annually no later than August 1 that the name, date of birth, and social security number in the registration record of each registered voter in the registrar's jurisdiction match the information on file with the Social Security Administration or other database approved by the State Board and, in accordance with current law, to initiate the cancellation of the registration of any voter whose registration record information does not match the database information. The State Board is authorized to approve the use of any government database to the extent required to enable each general registrar to carry out the provisions of the bill and to promulgate rules for the use of such database. The Department of Elections is required to provide each general registrar access to the Social Security Administration database and any other database approved by the State Board. The Department is further required to enter into any agreement with any federal or state agency to facilitate such access. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.

Long-term services and supports screening; expedited screening; screening exemption; emergency. Modifies existing provisions regarding the required long-term services and supports screening under the state plan for medical assistance services by creating greater flexibility for how screenings are completed under certain circumstances. Under the bill, any individual receiving inpatient services in an acute care hospital discharged to a nursing facility for skilled care only is not required to be screened prior to discharge from the hospital unless the individual requests the screening. The bill directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill.

Study; JLARC; effect of salaries, employment benefits, and other relevant factors on teacher recruitment and retention; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study the effect of salaries, employment benefits, and other relevant factors on recruiting and retaining high-quality, fully licensed teachers, including (i) examining salaries, employment benefits, and other financial benefits and incentives available to teachers in relation to teacher recruitment and retention in each local school division; (ii) identifying disparities in salaries, employment benefits, and other financial benefits and incentives available to teachers in relation to teacher recruitment and retention rates between high-poverty and rural school divisions, high-income school divisions, and the Commonwealth on average; (iii) reviewing salaries, employment benefits, and other financial benefits and incentives available to teachers in relation to the rates of teacher recruitment and retention and the numbers of fully licensed teachers in adjoining states and the District of Columbia; and (iv) identifying factors that positively impact the recruitment and retention of high-quality, fully licensed teachers.

Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Marine Resources Commission; study of ecology, fishery impacts, and economic importance of Atlantic menhaden; report. Directs the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) in collaboration with the Marine Resources Commission and certain stakeholders, as provided in the bill, to conduct a three-year study of the ecology, fishery impacts, and economic importance of the Atlantic menhaden population in the waters of the Commonwealth. The bill requires VIMS to provide a report on its findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources no later than October 1, 2027.

State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; public institutions of higher education; policies for establishing eligibility for accommodations; report. Requires the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, in consultation with representatives of public institutions of higher education, disability advocacy organizations, students enrolled at public institutions of higher education, higher education disability accommodation professionals, and a subject matter expert, to (i) study the processes by which each public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth determines the eligibility for accommodations of an admitted or enrolled student with a temporary or permanent disability, (ii) identify in such processes any potential barriers to establishing eligibility, and (iii) make recommendations on reducing any such barriers and on the development and establishment of a uniform accommodations eligibility determination in the Commonwealth.

School boards; powers and duties; policies regarding cell phones and other handheld communication devices. Permits each school board to develop and implement a policy to prohibit the possession or use of cell phones and other handheld communication devices during regular school hours.

School crossing zones. Expands the definition of "school crossing zone" to include areas surrounding schools where the presence of students reasonably requires a special warning to motorists and provides that the term "school" includes public institutions of higher education and nonprofit private institutions of higher education. Currently, the definition of "school crossing zone" includes only areas surrounding schools where the presence of children requires such warning. Existing provisions of law allowing photo speed monitoring devices to be installed in school crossing zones will apply to any location that meets the expanded definition.

Manufacture, importation, sale, etc., of auto sears; prohibition; penalty. Prohibits the manufacture, importation, sale or offer to sell, possession, transfer, or transportation of an auto sear, defined in the bill as a device, other than a trigger activator, for use in converting a semi-automatic firearm to shoot automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. A violation is punishable as a Class 6 felony. The bill also provides for the forfeiture of any auto sear concealed, possessed, transported, or carried in violation of the prohibition.

Virginia Brownfield and Coal Mine Renewable Energy Grant Fund and Program; allocation of funds. Removes the prohibition on the allocation of funds to the Virginia Brownfield and Coal Mine Renewable Energy Grant Fund and Program unless federal funds are available in an amount that would cover the entire cost of such an allocation.

Deferred dispositions; expungement. Clarifies that a charged dismissed after a deferred disposition that may be eligible for expungement upon agreement of all parties includes an original charge that was reduced or a charge that is dismissed after a plea or stipulation of the facts that would justify a finding of guilt. Deferred dispositions; expungement. Clarifies that a charged dismissed after a deferred disposition that may be eligible for expungement upon agreement of all parties includes an original charge that was reduced or a charge that is dismissed after a plea or stipulation of the facts that would justify a finding of guilt.

Towing fees; Commonwealth Trespass Towing Rate-Setting Advisory Panel established. Creates the Commonwealth Trespass Towing Rate-Setting Advisory Panel to advise the General Assembly and the Governor on statewide trespass towing fees and related ancillary fees. The bill increases from $150 to $190 the maximum statewide hookup and initial towing fee of any passenger car, from $30 to $65 the maximum ancillary fee for towing a vehicle between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., and from $30 to $35 the maximum ancillary fee for towing a vehicle on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday. The bill clarifies that such limitations on fees do not include any reasonable credit card fees. The bill requires localities to set their own towing rates to at least the amounts of the maximum statewide rates and removes requirements specific to Planning Districts 8 and 16 regarding localities setting their own towing rates.

First offense drug program; previous misdemeanor marijuana conviction. Allows any person to participate in the first offender drug program even if such person was previously convicted of an offense related to misdemeanor possession of marijuana or who has had a previous dismissal of a misdemeanor offense for possession of marijuana pursuant to the program. Current law prohibits any person with a previous marijuana conviction from participating in the program.