Electric utilities; integrated resource plans. Makes various changes related to the content and process for an integrated resource plan (IRP) developed by an electric utility that provides a forecast of its load obligations and a plan to meet those obligations. The bill (i) extends the planning timeframe from 15 to 20 years; (ii) requires Appalachian Power to file an IRP by removing an exception from the definition of "electric utility"; (iii) changes the frequency a utility is required to file an IRP from biennially to triennially; and (iv) requires utilities to consider the use of grid-enhancing technologies as alternatives to new transmission infrastructure, and when new transmission lines are envisioned, to provide the reasons grid-enhancing technologies are not sufficient to defer or eliminate the need for new transmission infrastructure.The bill requires that the current stakeholder review process for integrated resource plans be facilitated by a third-party facilitator selected by the State Corporation Commission and compensated by the utility. The bill requires, as part of the stakeholder review process, the utility to provide stakeholders with reasonable access to the same modeling software, modeling assumptions, modeling inputs, and data used by the utility to evaluate supply and demand resources in its integrated resource plan to enable stakeholders to create modeling scenarios for the utility's consideration during the development of its integrated resource plan.The bill requires the Commission to (a) establish guidelines that ensure that utilities develop comprehensive integrated resource plans and provide meaningful public engagement and maximum transparency during the planning process; (b) conduct a proceeding by July 1, 2026, and at least once every five years thereafter, to identify and review each of its existing orders relevant to integrated resource plans to determine if such orders remain necessary and effective and are not overly burdensome; and (c) to convene a work group to make recommendations on the required guidelines.Finally, the bill requires any petition to permit the construction and operation of electrical generating facilities filed by an electric utility that is required to file an integrated resource plan to (1) incorporate the intent to construct and operate such generating facilities or (2) if the utility's intent to construct and operate such generating facilities was not identified in the utility's most recently approved integrated resource plan, provide a detailed explanation of why the utility did not anticipate the need for such generating facilities.As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation. This bill is identical to SB 1021.

Highway rights-of-way; invasive species. Requires the Commonwealth Transportation Board to establish and implement a policy for identifying, digging up, and destroying any invasive plant on the list of invasive plants created by the Department of Conservation and Recreation on any state highway right-of-way.

Possession or transportation of firearms, firearms ammunition, stun weapons, or explosives or carrying concealed weapons by persons convicted of a misdemeanor hate crime prohibited; penalty. Prohibits any person who has been convicted, on or after July 1, 2025, of assault or assault and battery if it appears on the face of the warrant upon such conviction that such person intentionally selected the person against whom the offense was committed because of his race, religious conviction, gender, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, color, or ethnic or national origin from knowingly and intentionally possessing or transporting any firearm or ammunition for a firearm, any stun weapon, or any explosive material or carrying a concealed weapon, a violation of which is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Protective orders; dissolution of existing order. Provides that, upon the issuance of a new protective order involving a petitioner and respondent, the court shall dissolve any existing order issued by such court involving the same petitioner and respondent.

Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security and Secretary of Health and Human Resources; combat the sale of illicit cannabis products; work group; report. Directs the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security and the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to convene a work group to analyze the current efforts in the Commonwealth to combat the sale of illicit cannabis products and develop recommendations to enhance such enforcement efforts with a focus on protecting consumers and children from harmful, untested, and unregulated products. The bill requires the work group to complete its work and submit a report regarding its findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the House Committees on Appropriations, on General Laws, and for Courts of Justice and the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriations, on General Laws and Technology, on Rehabilitation and Social Services, and for Courts of Justice by October 1, 2025.

Department of Education; culturally responsive and language-appropriate mental health support and services; guidance and policies. Requires, no later than October 1, 2026, the Department of Education to develop, adopt, and provide to each local school board guidance on the adoption of policies governing the provision of culturally responsive and language-appropriate mental health support and services for students in the local school division and permits any school board to develop and adopt policies in the local school division that are consistent with the guidelines adopted and provided by the Department of Education.

Child day-care facility investment and child day-care expense reimbursement tax credits. Allows a taxpayer to claim a nonrefundable income tax credit for 25 percent of amounts incurred for eligible child day-care expenses of the taxpayer's employees that are either paid directly by the taxpayer or reimbursed by such taxpayer to the taxpayer's employees during the taxable year. The bill also increases from $25,000 to $50,000 the amount for which a taxpayer may claim a credit for establishing a child day-care facility for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2026. Finally, approval of applications for the credits shall be limited to those that are assumed to result in no more than $200,000 of credits in any fiscal year. Under current law, such limit is $100,000.

Issuance of writ of vacatur for victims of human trafficking. Amends the procedure that allows victims of human trafficking, defined in the bill, to file a petition of vacatur in circuit court to have certain convictions vacated and the police and court records expunged for such convictions. This bill incorporates HB 2227 and is identical to SB 1460.

Real property tax; exemption for religious buildings; rebuilding structure. Provides that the property tax exemption for property used for religious worship shall include property on which a church or other building for religious worship is being replaced or rebuilt. The property owner shall demonstrate the intention to use such structure exclusively for religious worship or for the residence of the minister of any church or religious body, as well as certain other requirements provided in the bill. This bill applies to tax years on and after January 1, 2023.

Unlawful dissemination of intimate images of another; penalties. Creates a tiered system of penalties for the unlawful dissemination of intimate images of another person, an offense formerly known as the unlawful dissemination or sale of videographic or still images of another person.

Expansion of Medicaid services for students at public schools; certain platforms, surveys, and analyses; report. Requires the Department of Education to enter into one or more statewide contracts with providers of a platform for Medicaid billing for reimbursable services rendered at school sites that any school board may utilize at no cost to facilitate, track, and coordinate such billing. The bill requires the Department of Education to survey each local school division to determine which school divisions bill Medicaid for reimbursable services rendered at school sites, the types of services that are billed, and the amounts for which such services are billed and to report its findings to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Education, the Senate Committee on Education and Health, and the School Health Services Committee no later than August 1, 2025. The bill also requires the School Health Services Committee to collaborate with local school divisions and such other stakeholders as it deems necessary to identify barriers to Medicaid billing for reimbursable services rendered at school sites in each local school division, with a particular focus on local school divisions in which such Medicaid billing is unutilized or underutilized.

Line of Duty Act; Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System; enhanced benefits for certain fire personnel. Adds the State Fire Marshal and personnel of the Virginia Department of Fire Programs who, as a regular component of their official duties, are exposed to hazards or threats to their life and health to the lists of those eligible for benefits under the Line of Duty Act and for membership in the Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System.

Research university collaborative; Virginia Institute of Marine Science; reassigning coastal resource management duties. Makes the Commonwealth's research university collaborative the scientific advisor to the Commonwealth on matters of coastal resilience. The bill shifts the duties of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science relating to coastal resource management, including the duty of developing comprehensive coastal resource management guidance for local governments, to the collaborative. The bill requires certain localities to incorporate such guidance developed by the collaborative into the next scheduled review of its comprehensive plan beginning in 2026.

Workers' compensation; presumption of compensability for lymphoma or myeloma. Expands the workers' compensation presumption of compensability for certain cancers causing the death or disability of certain employees who have completed five years of service in their position to include lymphoma and myeloma. The presumption for these cancers does not apply for any individual diagnosed with such a condition before July 1, 2025.

Commonwealth Savers Plan; Access Fund established; report. Establishes the Access Fund as a portion of the Fund of the Commonwealth Savers Plan (the Plan), to be managed by the governing board of the Plan (the board) as a part of the Fund but to be accounted for separately from the Fund, into which certain Fund moneys shall be allocated for the purpose of supporting the Plan's goal of enhancing the accessibility, attainability, and affordability of higher education for all citizens of the Commonwealth. The bill directs the board to (i) establish or identify and fund certain programs and partnerships to further the goal of enhancing the accessibility, attainability, and affordability of higher education for all citizens of the Commonwealth, including programs and partnerships that provide scholarships, grants, or mentoring and coaching services to certain identified populations of students; (ii) use certain distributions from the Access Fund, in accordance with the investment objectives and total return spending policy described in the bill and the standard of care set forth in applicable law, to support such programs and partnerships; (iii) appoint an Access Advisory Committee for the purpose of assisting the board by making recommendations relating to any such programs and partnerships for which distributions from the Access Fund could be used; and (iv) submit to relevant committees of the General Assembly and the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission by December 1 of each year a report on the Plan's activities relating to the Access Fund for the preceding year. Finally, the bill directs the Audit and Actuarial Committee to, in addition to its other duties set forth in applicable law, assess and make recommendations to the board regarding the availability of Fund moneys for allocation to the Access Fund.