Certain school divisions; cost-savings agreements; requirements. Removes the limitation on any school board that enters into certain cost-savings agreements with a school board that governs a contiguous school division for the consolidation or sharing of educational, administrative, or support services and thus qualifies for adjustment of state share of basic aid computed annually on the basis of the composite index of local ability-to-pay of such contiguous school division that caps such adjusted basic aid payment at an amount equal to the basic aid payment appropriated to such locality by the 2007 Session of the General Assembly. The bill also permits, notwithstanding the requirement set forth in relevant law that a school division have 65 percent or more of its local taxes coming from real estate taxes in order for the school board that governs such school division to be eligible to enter into such cost-savings agreements with a contiguous school division, the Bath County School Board to enter into such cost-savings agreements with the Augusta County School Board, provided that all other conditions and limitations set forth in relevant law apply to any such agreement.

Access to minor's records; records contained in or made available through secure website. Specifies that for the purposes of allowing a parent to access the academic or health records of such parent's minor child such access includes access to such records that are stored in or accessible from a secure website. This bill is identical to SB 846.

Income tax; housing opportunity tax credit; sunset extended. Extends the housing opportunity tax credit sunset date from taxable year 2025 to taxable year 2030. The bill also increases the aggregate credit cap across all calendar years from $255 million to $1.505 billion and imposes an annual aggregate credit cap of $250 million in each calendar year between 2026 and 2030. The bill also provides that of the $250 million in credits authorized per calendar year from 2026 through 2030, 33 percent shall be reserved for qualified projects located in a geographic area within the Balance of State Pool, defined in the bill. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Housing Commission.

Unlawful detainer actions; no rental agreement between owner and occupant; immediate execution of writ of possession. Provides that, at an emergency hearing on a summons for unlawful detainer filed by an owner of a residential single family dwelling unit where there is no rental agreement between an owner and occupant, if the court enters judgment in favor of such owner, and a writ of possession is issued, the owner may request that the 72-hour waiting period for execution of such writ be waived and that the sheriff immediately execute such writ.

Sale of certain weight loss and muscle building products to minors prohibited. Prohibits any person from selling or distributing an over-the-counter diet pill or dietary supplement for weight loss or muscle building to a person who is younger than 18 years of age and requires that the purchaser demonstrate, by producing a driver's license or similar photo identification issued by a government agency, that he is at least 18 years of age. For mail or Internet sales, the bill requires that the person offering an over-the-counter diet pill or dietary supplement for weight loss or muscle building (i) prior to the sale verifies that the purchaser is at least 18 years of age through a commercially available database that is regularly used by businesses or governmental entities for the purpose of age and identity verification and (ii) uses a method of mailing, shipping, or delivery that requires the signature of a person at least 18 years of age before the products will be released to the purchaser. The bill also requires that over-the-counter diet pills or dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building will only be displayed for sale behind a store counter that is not accessible to consumers or in a locked case that requires assistance from a store employee for customer access. A violation of the bill's provisions is punishable by a civil penalty in the amount of $500 for a first violation and $2,500 for a second or subsequent violation within a three-year period.

Commonwealth Savers Plan; Virginia College Opportunity Endowment and Fund established; report. Establishes (i) the Endowment Scholarship Program for the purpose of providing scholarships to students at eligible institutions, as defined in the bill; (ii) the Virginia College Opportunity Endowment as an agency of the Commonwealth for the purpose of establishing and administering the Endowment Scholarship Program; (iii) as a subfund of the Commonwealth Savers Plan's fund, the DB529 Fund for the purpose of holding in trust the assets of prepaid tuition contracts to meet contractual obligations; (iv) as a subfund of the Commonwealth Savers Plan's fund, the Virginia College Opportunity Fund (the Opportunity Fund), into which certain funds from the DB529 Fund shall be deposited for the purpose of funding, by income generated from investments of such deposits, the Endowment Scholarship Program and other programs established for the purpose of enhancing educational access and affordability for students with recognized financial need, as set forth in the bill; and (v) the College Opportunity Investment Advisory Committee for the purpose of making recommendations to and assisting the General Assembly in determining the prudence of directing deposits, and the amounts of any such deposits, of actuarial surpluses of the Commonwealth Savers Plan from the DB529 Fund into the Opportunity Fund. The bill requires the board of the Commonwealth Savers Plan to (a) after the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2025, deposit $500 million into the Opportunity Fund from the DB529 Fund; (b) each fiscal year thereafter, in accordance with the timeline set forth in the bill, submit to the General Assembly a report on the funded status, as defined by applicable law, of the DB529 Fund and the recommendation of the College Opportunity Investment Advisory Committee as to the prudence of directing deposits of additional actuarial surpluses of the Plan from the DB529 Fund into the Opportunity Fund; and (c) each subsequent year, deposit additional actuarial surpluses into the Opportunity Fund in accordance with the provisions of the bill. Finally, the bill contains provisions (1) relating to voluntary contributions to the Opportunity Fund for the purpose of receiving tax fund contributions and income tax deductions; (2) exempting from mandatory disclosure requirements certain information contained in a public record relating to the Commonwealth Savers Plan or the Virginia College Opportunity Endowment and Fund, and (3) authorizing the College Opportunity Investment Advisory Committee to hold closed meetings for certain purposes.

Operation of the City of Hampton local health department. Requires the City of Hampton to enter into a contract with the Department of Health for the local administration of local health services. Currently, the local department of health is operated as a joint venture between the state and local governments.

Claims; Michael Haas; compensation for wrongful inclusion on sex offender registry. Provides that any person receiving an award for wrongful incarceration for a felony conviction on and after January 1, 2023, shall receive, in addition to the compensation for the wrongful incarceration, not less than $30,000 for each year or fraction thereof (i) of imprisonment after being sentenced to death or (ii) that such person was required to register with the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry after release from incarceration. Current law allows such additional compensation only for persons receiving an award for wrongful incarceration for a felony conviction on and after January 1, 2024.The bill also grants relief in an amount to be appropriated to Michael Haas, who was wrongly convicted of forcible sodomy and, as a result of such wrongful conviction, required to wrongfully register on the sex offender registry.

Electric utilities; construction of renewable energy facilities. Requires Dominion Energy Virginia and Appalachian Power, in constructing any renewable energy facility, to develop and submit a plan to the State Corporation Commission for review and approval that addresses the following considerations, to the extent not already addressed in existing filings: (i) options for utilizing local workers; (ii) the economic development benefits of the project for the Commonwealth, including capital investments and job creation; (iii) opportunities to advance the Commonwealth's workforce and economic development goals, including furtherance of apprenticeship and other workforce training programs; and (iv) giving priority to the hiring, apprenticeship, and training of local workers, workers from historically economically disadvantaged communities, and veterans. The bill requires that in approving any such facility, the Commission shall issue findings related to how the facility will advance such interests.

Secure storage of firearms; penalties. Creates a Class 4 misdemeanor for any person who fails to securely store a firearm on any premises where such person knows, or reasonably should know, that a minor or a person who is prohibited by law from possessing a firearm is, or is likely to be, present. The bill increases the penalty to a Class 1 misdemeanor if a minor or a person who is prohibited by law from possessing a firearm obtains such firearm. The bill includes certain exceptions and requires firearms dealers to post a notice stating firearm storage requirements and the penalty for improperly storing such firearms. The bill also creates a Class 4 misdemeanor for any person who fails to report to law enforcement the theft or loss of a firearm from a vehicle and a Class 1 misdemeanor if another person obtains such firearm. Finally, the bill requires the Superintendent of State Police, in conjunction with the Commissioner of Health, to create a public awareness campaign on the importance of the secure storage of firearms by January 1, 2026.

Public utilities; rate increases during certain months prohibited. Prohibits the regulated operating revenues of certain public utilities from being increased in the months of November, December, January, or February. The bill's limitation does not apply to certain increases, which are the same exceptions as allowed for the existing prohibition on multiple rate increases during a 12-month period. This bill was incorporated into HB 2621.

Department of Housing and Community Development; rental assistance voucher pilot program. Establishes the rental assistance voucher pilot program within the Department of Housing and Community Development for the purpose of providing direct rental assistance to qualifying households, as defined by the bill, in the form of rental assistance vouchers. The bill directs the Department to submit an annual report to the General Assembly on the implementation and impact of the rental assistance voucher program. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2028.

Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity; employment services organizations. Amends provisions related to the powers and duties of the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity to allow the Department to implement any remediation or enhancement measure for employment services organizations as may be authorized by the Governor pursuant to existing law and develop regulations for program implementation. The bill also directs the Department to amend relevant regulations of the Virginia Administrative Code to reflect the intent of the General Assembly to specifically reference "employment services organizations" in such regulations. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Virginia Disability Commission.

Department of Housing and Community Development; rental assistance pilot program. Establishes the rental assistance pilot program within the Department of Housing and Community Development for the purpose of providing monthly rental assistance to qualifying households, as defined by the bill. The bill directs the Department to submit an annual report to the General Assembly on the implementation and impact of the rental assistance program. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2028.

Corporate income tax; sourcing of sales other than sales of tangible personal property. Implements market-based corporate income tax sourcing for attributing sales, other than sales of tangible personal property, to Virginia beginning in taxable year 2026.