Department of Emergency Management and the Department of Health to study the makeup and composition of the emergency management regions, state health regions, and local health districts; report. Directs the Department of Emergency Management and the Department of Health to study the makeup and composition of the seven emergency management regions, the five Virginia health regions, and the 35 local health districts to determine the feasibility of mutually beneficial alignment of such regions and districts. The bill directs the Departments to complete their work and report findings and recommendations to the General Assembly no later than November 30, 2025. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee to Study Pandemic Response and Preparedness in the Commonwealth.

Local officers; oath of office. Provides that, notwithstanding the provisions of any local government charter, or any other provision of law, every elected county, city, town and district officer, on or before the day on which his term of office begins, shall qualify by taking the oath prescribed by general law. Current law allows a local government charter to prescribe a different procedure for taking the oath. This bill is identical to SB 997.

State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act and the General Assembly Conflicts of Interests Act; deadline for annual filing of disclosure statements; deadline for public disclosure. Changes the filing deadline for statements of economic interests and financial disclosure statements from February 1 to December 15. The bill requires the forms to be made public within 30 days of the filing deadline; currently, this is required within six weeks of the filing deadline.

Misbranded food; manufactured-protein food products. Provides that a food is misbranded if it purports to be or is represented as a meat food product and such food product (i) bears or contains a manufactured-protein food product, as defined in the bill; (ii) is offered for sale; and (iii) has a label that is part of or placed on the food product package or other container storing such product that identifies the food as a meat food product, unless such label bears a conspicuous and prominent qualifying term and is in close proximity to an identifying meat term, as such terms are defined in the bill. The bill exempts a meat food product that the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services determines contains a trace amount of a manufactured-protein food product.

Commission on Early Childhood Care and Education; members. Expands from 31 to 32 the minimum number of members of the Commission on Early Childhood Care and Education by adding one representative of the Department of Veterans Services to the nonlegislative citizen members of the Commission. This bill incorporates SB 1427 and is identical to HB 2645.

Local officers; removal of officer appointed for a term certain; officers compensated by the appointing authority. Allows any officer appointed to an office for a term established by law and who receives compensation for his services by the appointing authority to be removed from office if the officer fails to perform his duties as outlined in the description of his position or the rules of the public body to which he has been appointed. The bill specifies that, prior to removal, the officer must be issued a warning from the appointing authority that includes a description of the violation committed and that if an additional violation occurs after the warning, the officer may be removed by a majority vote of the appointing authority upon the motion of the supervisor or council member representing the district for which the officer serves.

Health insurance; coverage for cancer follow-up testing; report. Requires health insurers and other carriers to provide coverage for cancer follow-up testing, as defined in the bill, and prohibits the imposition of deductibles, coinsurance, or any other cost-sharing requirements specifically on cancer follow-up testing. The bill directs the Bureau of Insurance to annually report to the General Assembly on (i) the number of individuals benefiting from the removal of copayments for cancer follow-up testing, (ii) the financial impact on health insurance premiums as a result of the provisions of the bill, and (iii) recommendations for further policy adjustments.

Department of Emergency Management; work groups related to the Commonwealth's response to the COVID-19 pandemic; report. Directs the Department of Emergency Management to convene work groups to (i) study the reliance of the Commonwealth and its localities on federal grants for core emergency management functions, (ii) study and develop a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework to take effect during a disaster for which a state of emergency has been declared, and (iii) study and develop solutions to address breaks in technology continuity among communities across the Commonwealth during emergencies. The bill directs each work group to complete its work and report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly no later than November 30, 2025. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee to Study Pandemic Response and Preparedness in the Commonwealth. This bill was incorporated into SB 1326.

Virginia Housing Trust Fund; creation and management. Provides that the Department of Housing and Community Development (the Department) shall use at least 65 percent of the moneys from the Virginia Housing Trust Fund (the Fund) to provide flexible financing for low-interest loans through eligible organizations and up to 35 percent of the moneys from the Fund to provide grants through eligible organizations for targeted efforts to reduce homelessness. Under current law, the Department is required to use at least 80 percent of the moneys from the Fund to provide flexible financing for low-interest loans and up to 20 percent of the moneys from the Fund to provide grants for targeted efforts to reduce homelessness.

Failure of Commonwealth or locality to communicate or cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; waiver of sovereign immunity. Provides that when (i) the Commonwealth adopts any rule, regulation, or policy or passes any law or (ii) any locality adopts any ordinance, resolution, or motion that impedes the ability of law-enforcement officers, corrections officers, or jail officers to communicate or cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement about a person in the United States illegally, the Commonwealth or such locality waives sovereign immunity as it relates to any injuries or damages sustained by victims of crimes committed by such person.

Phase I Utilities; securitized asset costs. Authorizes Appalachian Power to petition the State Corporation Commission for a financing order for securitized asset costs, as defined in the bill. The bill creates the securitized asset cost charge and provides that the revenues generated by this charge, known as securitized asset cost property, are a property right that can be transferred and pledged as security for the securitized asset cost bonds. The bill establishes the procedures for creating, perfecting, and enforcing the security interest in securitized asset cost property. The bill also prohibits rate increases for Appalachian Power during the months of November through February and prohibits rate adjustment clauses from taking effect on customer bills between the months of November through February. The bill prohibits Appalachian Power from charing a residential customer any interest or late fees between July 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025, and from charging a residential customer any reconnection fees between July 1, 2025, and March 1, 2026. The bill also provides that in any rate proceeding for Appalachian Power, the State Corporation Commission shall include an invitation for public comment. This bill incorporates HB 1588.

Wildlife corridors; action plan, fund, and programs; Virginia Flood Protection Master Plan; wildlife carcass removal tracking; reports. Establishes the Wildlife Corridor Grant Fund to provide grants for projects that preserve or enhance wildlife corridors prioritized by the Wildlife Corridor Action Plan and associated wildlife crossing infrastructure projects and establishes a grant program for the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Department of Forestry, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Wildlife Resources to collaborate on disbursing moneys from the Fund. The bill directs such Departments to submit a report to the General Assembly by November 1 of each odd-numbered year concerning the Fund. The bill requires the Wildlife Corridor Action Plan created by the Department of Wildlife Resources to address the financial needs of the Plan and implement certain additional initiatives. The bill also directs the Department of Conservation and Recreation to include in the Virginia Flood Protection Master Plan a directive to encourage opportunities to incorporate wildlife-friendly design in flood resilience infrastructure where flood risk priorities align with priorities of the Wildlife Corridor Action Plan. The bill requires the Department of Transportation to (i) establish and administer a program for the implementation of wildlife crossings of highways in the Commonwealth, (ii) incorporate the recommendations of the Wildlife Corridor Action Plan established by the Department of Wildlife Resources pursuant to existing law in the policies and procedures of the Department, and (iii) submit a report to the General Assembly in each even-numbered year. The bill requires the Department of Transportation and the Commonwealth Transportation Board to include in all highway maintenance contracts a requirement for such contractor to identify certain data related to wildlife carcass removal and provides that such requirement may be accomplished by using the Department's Wildlife Carcass Removal Tracking application.

Commending the Animal Welfare League of Arlington.

Replacement of trees during development process in localities; tree canopy fund. Allows localities by ordinance to establish a tree canopy fund to collect, maintain, and distribute fees collected from developers that cannot provide for full tree canopy requirements where the development project is situated. The bill requires the ordinance to establish cost units that are based on average costs of two-inch caliper nursery stock trees. The bill allows a locality to use moneys from the fund to (i) plant and maintain trees on public or private property or (ii) make disbursements to a community-based organization that is exempt from income tax pursuant to § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and is operated for tree planting, stewardship, or community-beautification missions that benefit the community at large. The bill requires any funds collected by localities to be spent within five years of the collection date.

Commending the American Friends of Lafayette.