Commitment of serious juvenile offenders. Allows a juvenile and domestic relations district court to qualify a transferred juvenile as a serious offender and commit him to the Department of Juvenile Justice regardless of whether he meets existing criteria regarding criminal background if, upon the court's review of the juvenile's entire criminal history, such qualification is otherwise justified. Under current law, only a circuit court is allowed to make such qualification and commitment. The bill requires the committing juvenile and domestic relations district court or circuit court to document its reasoning for such commitment in writing.

Utility Facilities Act; definition of public utility. Provides that for the purpose of the Utility Facilities Act, "public utility" does not include a company that provides electric service from a generation facility located on the same tract of land as a customer with an actual or anticipated load greater than one megawatt that has been notified by its incumbent electric utility that such utility is unable to provide adequate electric service within six months of the customer's request, provided that (i) the company utilizes an electricity generation process that has an emissions rate at least 30 percent lower than the average annual marginal grid emissions rate in the PJM transmission region at the time of installation and (ii) all costs associated with such generator are borne by the customer and not by other ratepayers.

Department of Workforce Development and Advancement; powers and duties. Requires the Department of Workforce Development and Advancement to ensure that all state workforce development programs and state workforce education and training programs (i) address an industry need identified on a high-demand occupation or field list created by the Department and the Virginia Board of Workforce Development and Advancement and (ii) include a job placement component in their implementation and operating plans. Publicly funded workforce development and workforce education and training programs may apply for an exemption from such requirements, and the Commissioner shall approve or disapprove such application within 45 days of receipt. The bill provides that if the Commissioner does not provide a response within 45 days of receipt, the waiver request will be deemed approved. The bill also provides that if a program is denied an exemption by the Commissioner, such program may appeal the decision to the Secretary of Labor within 10 days of the date of denial by the Commissioner and the Secretary of Labor will make a final determination within 30 days of receipt of the appeal.

Board of Pharmacy; membership; emergency medical services agencies authorized to obtain controlled substance registration. Adds a career fire/emergency medical services (EMS) member and a volunteer fire/EMS member to the Board of Pharmacy for a total of 12 members. In addition, the bill directs the Board of Pharmacy to promulgate regulations authorizing EMS agencies and regional EMS councils to obtain a controlled substance registration. The authorization allows an EMS agency or regional EMS council to receive controlled substances in Schedules II through VI from a wholesale distributor, manufacturer, third-party logistics provider, warehouse, or pharmacy. The bill also directs the Board of Pharmacy to promulgate regulations specifying a fire station with around the clock staffing is authorized to store controlled substances in a locked room with an access control device and camera monitoring system.

Board of Education; Standards of Quality; Standards of School Safety. Requires the Board of Education (the Board), in collaboration with the Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety and such other stakeholders as it deems appropriate, to establish pursuant to regulation the Standards of School Safety for the purpose of assessing school safety in each local school division in the Commonwealth and each school building therein based on such objective, quantifiable measures of safety as the Board deems appropriate. The bill requires the Board to incorporate compliance with the Standards of School Safety as a school and school division accountability measure for the purposes of the Standards of Accreditation.

Fraudulent insurance acts; penalty. Creates a Class 4 felony for fraudulent insurance acts, enumerated in the bill.

Income tax exclusion; veteran student loan forgiveness. Eliminates the sunset date and expands eligibility for the income tax exclusion for any income received by a disabled veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States from the discharge of federal student loan indebtedness.

Virginia Retirement System; service credit for career and technical education teachers. Provides that a member of the Virginia Retirement System shall be eligible for additional years of service credit for service earned as a teacher in the field of career and technical education. The amount of service credit earned shall be as follows: (i) for service earned as a member who is more than 45 years old but less than 55 years old at the time of such service, such service shall be multiplied by the weighted years of service factor of 2.0 and (ii) for service earned as a member who is more than 55 years old at the time of such service, such service shall be multiplied by the weighted years of service factor of 2.5.

Drinking water; Occoquan Reservoir PFAS Reduction Program established. Creates the Occoquan Reservoir PFAS Reduction Program to reduce excessive levels of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in public drinking water derived from the Occoquan Reservoir. The bill requires certain facilities to monitor for PFAS on or before October 1, 2025, using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Method 1633 or an alternative method approved by the EPA. The bill requires any such facility to report all results to the Department of Environmental Quality no later than the tenth day of the next month after the month in which the result is reported by the laboratory and to include in such report all PFAS analytes measured by the test method. The bill requires by July 1, 2027, for any facility that measures exceedances in its discharge of the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for PFAS in drinking water promulgated on or before January 1, 2025, the Department, for an individual Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit if the facility discharges directly to surface waters, or a major publicly owned treatment works, for an indirect discharger, to modify the applicable discharge permit to require that the facility's discharge not exceed that MCL. The bill requires the modified permit to provide a compliance schedule that requires compliance with such level as soon as possible but no later than July 1, 2029. The bill exempts from its provisions any industrial discharger not listed in the bill, any publicly owned treatment works or drinking water treatment plant, or a municipal solid waste facility but provides that any public water system may follow the requirements of the bill for the purpose of planning for compliance with the MCL for PFAS in finished water. The bill clarifies that its provisions will not limit the authority of the Department or the owner or operator of any publicly owned treatment works to which any user discharges wastewater to require monitoring or reporting or otherwise regulate the discharge of any PFAS chemicals or other pollutants under other applicable legal authority.

Department of Medical Assistance Services; presumptive eligibility for pregnant individuals; qualified entities; performance standards for qualified entities. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to seek federal authority to implement presumptive eligibility for pregnant individuals, in addition to the existing hospital presumptive eligibility program and, if the Department receives such authority, allows the Department to authorize qualified entities to make determinations of presumptive eligibility for pregnant individuals. The bill directs qualified entities to provide (i) the necessary applications for medical assistance on the day in which the presumptive eligibility decision is made and (ii) assistance with completing such applications through available modalities. Under the bill, qualified entities are authorized to make determinations of presumptive eligibility for pregnant individuals who meet eligibility criteria for certain medical assistance programs and have not had a presumptive eligibility period during the current pregnancy. The bill also sets forth certain performance standards that qualified entities must meet to remain a qualified entity, described in the bill.

Seizure rescue medications; administration by certain school employees; possession by certain students. Permits a prescriber to authorize an employee of (i) a school board, (ii) a school for students with disabilities, (iii) an accredited private school, (iv) a local governing body, or (v) a local health department who is trained in the administration of seizure rescue medications for the treatment of seizures resulting from a condition causing seizures to administer such medications to a student diagnosed with a condition causing seizures when the student is believed to be experiencing or about to experience a seizure pursuant to a written order or standing protocol issued within the course of the prescriber's professional practice and with the consent of the student's parents. The bill provides that any such authorized employee who administers or assists in the administration of such medications to a student diagnosed with a condition causing seizures when the student is believed to be experiencing or about to experience a seizure in accordance with the prescriber's instructions shall not be liable for any civil damages for ordinary negligence in acts or omissions resulting from the rendering of such treatment. The bill also permits any local school board to adopt and implement policies (a) permitting any student enrolled in any elementary or secondary school in the local school division who has a diagnosis of a condition causing seizures to possess seizure rescue medications during the school day, at school-sponsored activities, or while on a school bus or other school property if the student's parent has submitted a seizure management and action plan that includes written consent of the parent and written approval of the student's primary care provider for such self-possession or (b) for the administration of seizure rescue medications to any student enrolled in any elementary or secondary school in the local school division who has a diagnosis of a condition causing seizures, consistent with the provisions of the bill relating to prescriber authorization. This bill is identical to SB 1036.

Virginia Energy Facility Review Board established; localities; comprehensive plan and local ordinances related to siting of critical interconnection projects; planning district commissions; regional energy plans; Virginia Clean Energy Technical Assistance Center established. Establishes the Virginia Energy Facility Review Board as a political subdivision of the Commonwealth for the purposes of conducting critical interconnection reviews; conducting analysis and study policy options; reviewing regional energy plans, local comprehensive plans, and local solar and storage ordinances; and facilitating the responsible siting of critical interconnection projects in the Commonwealth.The bill also establishes the Virginia Clean Energy Technical Assistance Center, consisting of public institutions of higher education, to serve as an interdisciplinary study, research, and information resource and to provide technical assistance to state agencies, planning district commissions, localities, the Review Board, other public bodies, and private entities in matters related to critical interconnection projects. The bill requires the Center to collaborate with the Review Board to issue the regional energy report and to establish the model local ordinance.The bill requires the Review Board to issue a regional energy report that models each planning district's meaningful annual contribution to clean energy generation, energy efficiency measures, and energy storage. Each planning district commission is required to adopt a regional energy plan to address energy generation, storage, and use that demonstrates a meaningful contribution to Commonwealth's energy goals as determined by the regional energy report issued by the Review Board and to submit the plan to the Review Board. The Review Board is required to determine if a regional energy plan is in compliance with certain provisions within 60 days of receipt of such plan. If the Review Board determines that the regional energy plan is not in compliance, the relevant planning district commission has 60 days to adopt a compliant regional energy plan. If the relevant planning district commission fails to adopt a compliant energy plan within the 60 days, the Review Board, within 90 days of such failure, is required to issue an alternative regional energy plan that is in effect for such region.The bill requires the Review Board to establish a model local ordinance for siting, permitting, and zoning of critical interconnection projects and all other ground-mounted front-of-meter solar energy and energy storage projects. The bill requires each locality to adopt an ordinance for the permitting of solar energy facilities and energy storage facilities, that is consistent with the Commonwealth Clean Energy Policy and the model ordinance and submit it to the Review Board. Under the bill, the Review Board is required to determine if the local ordinance is compliant with certain requirements. If the Review Board determines that the local ordinance is not in compliance, the locality has 60 days to adopt a compliant local ordinance. If the locality fails to adopt a compliant local ordinance within the 60 days, the bill provides that the model local ordinance established is in effect for such locality. The bill provides a procedure for a planning district commission or a locality to appeal a Review Board determination regarding a regional energy plan or a local ordinance.Under the bill, any developer planning to construct a critical interconnection project is required to submit an application to the Review Board. The Review Board is required to determine if the critical interconnection project (i) qualifies as a project of statewide significance, defined in the bill, and (ii) complies with the ordinance in each locality in which the proposed critical interconnection project would be located. In making its determination, the Review Board is required to consider the Commonwealth Clean Energy Policy, certain regulations adopted by the State Air Pollution Control Board, the certain renewable portfolio requirements, and any other information it deems relevant. The bill provides that the Review Board has the discretion to disregard any unreasonable restriction, defined in the bill, in the local ordinance on the installation of the critical interconnection projects or the building of structures that facilitate the installation of critical interconnection projects. In addition, the Review Board may consider any regional energy plan developed by the relevant planning district commission. The Review Board is required to issue its opinion on the critical interconnection project within 90 days of receiving an application.The bill requires a locality to issue its final decision regarding any zoning change, variance, or the issuance of a special exemption, special use permit, or conditional use permit related to a critical interconnection project no later than 180 days after receiving a critical interconnection opinion issued by the Review Board. If the locality's final decision diverges from the Review Board's opinion, the locality is required to include a written determination setting forth all facts and conclusions reached by the locality that support its final decision. Under the bill, a locality's failure to make a final decision within the 180-day period, constitutes a granting of the zoning change, variance, special exemption, special use permit, or conditional use permit related to a critical interconnection project.The bill requires that any appeal of a locality's decision related to a critical interconnection project will be filed in the circuit court of such locality. The bill provides that such appeal can be brought only by the aggrieved applicant or the owner of the property subject to a special and no other person has standing to file such appeal or seek judicial review. Under the bill, in any such appeal, there is a rebuttable presumption that the opinion of the Review Board is correct. Such presumption may be overcome by a preponderance of the evidence that the locality's decision to grant or deny a project or to include the challenged conditions was consistent with provisions in the locality's ordinance that are not unreasonable restrictions. This bill is a recommendation of the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation.

Collective bargaining; individual home care providers. Establishes within the Department of Medical Assistance Services the Virginia Home Care Authority to ensure the effectiveness and quality of the services of home care programs in the Commonwealth. The bill authorizes individual providers, as defined in the bill, to select an exclusive bargaining representative and to collectively bargain with the Virginia Home Care Authority regarding matters including wages, benefits, and all terms and conditions of employment that are within the Authority's control. The bill's provisions do not become effective until July 1, 2026, and unless legislation is enacted in the Commonwealth authorizing public employees to engage in collective bargaining.

Appeals; security for appeal and fees; procedure on appeal. Changes the amount of the suspending bond required during the pendency of all appeals of any judgment granting legal, equitable, or any other form of relief from one year's interest calculated from the date of the notice of appeal to the value of the judgment plus two and one-half years' interest calculated from the date of the notice of appeal. The bill also provides an appellate court with discretion in assessing attorney fees, costs, and necessary expenses against an indigent defendant when the conviction of the defendant is upheld on appeal. Under current law, the appellate court must assess such fees, costs, and expenses against an indigent defendant when the conviction of the defendant is upheld on appeal. Finally, the bill also provides that a panel of the Court of Appeals may dispense with oral argument if such panel unanimously decides that such oral argument is unnecessary because the facts and legal arguments are adequately presented in the briefs and the record such that the decisional process would not be significantly aided by oral argument and provides that this provision shall expire on June 30, 2027, unless reenacted by the 2027 Session of the General Assembly.

Civil penalties for certain repeat zoning violations in Planning District 23; appeals. Provides an enhanced level of civil penalties in Planning District 23 (Hampton Roads) for repeat violations involving nonpermitted commercial uses, defined in the bill. The bill also clarifies (i) that when a board of zoning appeals hears appeals from the decision of an administrative officer and alters the statutorily required order of evidence, it is a reversible error if the appellant lodges an objection and the board subsequently refuses to reorder the hearing and (ii) that the required statement of a right to appeal an administrative officer's decision must be sent to the aggrieved person by certified mail with proof of delivery.