Air quality monitoring program for certain communities; Virginia Council on Environmental Justice; report. Requires the Department of Environmental Quality to establish an ongoing air quality monitoring program for fenceline communities, as defined in the bill, disproportionately impacted by toxic metals, coal dust pollution, and other inhalable particulate matter that can cause adverse health effects, including PM2.5 and PM10, in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the Department to report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly and the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice by October 1, 2026, and annually thereafter. The bill requires such report to include data analysis on current pollution levels, health risks associated with the identified pollution levels, and any recommendations for regulatory or legislative actions to address any identified risks, and when thresholds established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for particulate matter are exceeded, such report shall also include recommended actions to mitigate such risks. The bill directs the General Assembly to annually review the findings and recommendations from the report to determine whether any legislation is necessary and requires the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice to provide advice and recommendations to the Governor and his cabinet on such findings and recommendations from the report.

Abortion; born alive infant; treatment and care; penalty. Requires every health care provider licensed by the Board of Medicine who attempts to terminate a pregnancy to (i) exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of a human infant who has been born alive following such attempt as a reasonably diligent and conscientious health care practitioner would render to any other child born alive at the same gestational age and (ii) take all reasonable steps to ensure the immediate transfer of the human infant who has been born alive to a hospital for further medical care. A health care provider who fails to comply with the requirements of the bill is guilty of a Class 4 felony and may be subject to disciplinary action by the Board. The bill also requires every hospital licensed by the Department of Health to establish a protocol for the treatment and care of a human infant who has been born alive following an attempt to terminate a pregnancy and for the immediate reporting to law enforcement of any failure to provide such required treatment and care.

Transfer of certain incarcerated persons to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Requires the Director of the Department of Corrections, sheriff, or other official in charge of the correctional facility in which an alien is incarcerated, upon receipt of a detainer from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to transfer custody of the alien to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement no more than five days prior to the date that he would otherwise be released from custody.

Commending Shenandoah University.

Uniform Trust Code; qualified trustee; definition. Expands the definitions of  "independent qualified trustee" and  "qualified trustee" to authorize additional entities to serve as an independent qualified trustee or a qualified trustee of a qualified self-settled spendthrift trust. This bill is identical to HB 1605.

Manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing, etc., of fentanyl, heroin, or related controlled substances; penalties. Provides that a person is guilty of felony homicide, which constitutes second degree murder and is punishable by confinement of not less than five nor more than 40 years, if the underlying felonious act that resulted in the killing of another involved the manufacture, sale, gift, or distribution of a Schedule I or II controlled substance to another and (i) such other person's death results from his use of the controlled substance and (ii) the controlled substance is the proximate cause of his death. The bill provides that venue for a prosecution of this crime shall lie in the locality where the underlying felony occurred, where the use of the controlled substance occurred, or where death occurred. The bill also provides that if a person gave or distributed a Schedule I or II controlled substance only as an accommodation to another individual who is not an inmate in a community correctional facility, local correctional facility, or state correctional facility, or in the custody of an employee thereof, and not with intent to profit thereby from any consideration received or expected nor to induce the recipient of the controlled substance to use or become addicted to or dependent upon such controlled substance, he is guilty of a Class 5 felony. The bill also requires the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to investigate the cause and manner of a death in any case where the attorney for the Commonwealth or the investigating law-enforcement agency has probable cause to believe that the death resulted from such felony homicide. The bill also adds mandatory minimum fines for manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing, or possessing with the intent to manufacture, sell, give, or distribute a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of heroin, fentanyl, or carfentanil based on the weight of such mixtures or substances.

Persons under 21 years of age; possession or use of tobacco products or vape products on school grounds, etc.; civil penalties. Prohibits any person under 21 years of age from possessing a tobacco product on a school bus, on school property, or at a school-sponsored activity. The bill requires that each local school board implement an educational rehabilitation program for a first violation. The bill permits a law-enforcement officer to issue a summons upon a second violation within a single school year and requires a court to order up to eight hours of community service. Upon a third violation within a single school year, the bill adds a civil penalty of up to $50. For a fourth or subsequent violation within a single school year, the bill requires punishment include a civil penalty of up to $50 or up to eight hours of community service. Additionally, the bill requires that the civil penalty be paid in person at the courthouse for the locality by such person accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, unless such person is 18 years of age or older and not enrolled at the school where the offense occurred. The bill directs the Board of Education and local school boards to amend any affected policies by July 1, 2026.

Public schools; Standards of Quality; certain calculations; support services. Requires the Department of Education, (i) in calculating the deduction of federal funds in the Standards of Quality funding formula, to examine actual school division spending on support costs as a percentage of actual school division spending on all public education costs, with certain exceptions such as food service, and (ii) in calculating the costs in the Standards of Quality funding formula beginning with fiscal year 2029, to include all employee benefit costs incurred by a majority of school divisions, including costs related to retirement, health care, life insurance, and payout of earned but unused leave. The bill also requires support services positions to be funded based on a calculation of prevailing costs and prohibits such positions from being subject to any method of funding calculation that caps the number of funded support services positions based on a ratio of such positions to students enrolled in the school division, with the exception of certain support services positions enumerated in the bill.

Electric utilities; retail competition. Authorizes a customer who is a customer of a Phase I Utility that had a typical residential customer bill for a residential customer using 1,000 kWh per month that exceeded 125 percent of the statewide average during the most recent calendar year to purchase electric energy from any supplier of electric energy licensed to sell retail electric energy within the Commonwealth. The bill also decreases the period that such a customer who switches from an investor-owned electric utility to a competing supplier is barred from returning as a customer of its utility from five years to 90 days.

Minor witnesses; appointment of guardian ad litem in circuit court. Authorizes a circuit court to appoint a discreet and competent attorney-at-law as guardian ad litem for a minor witness called to testify in a matter before the circuit court involving certain sex offenses. Under current law, a general district court may appoint a guardian ad litem for a minor witness called to testify in any proceeding and the circuit court may continue the appointment or appoint a new guardian ad litem for such matter on appeal.

Charging several acts of larceny or any offense deemed larceny. Permits the Commonwealth to charge and proceed against a person accused of larceny or any offense deemed larceny for any number of distinct acts of such larcenies that may have been committed by him within six months from the first to the last of the acts charged in the indictment.

Certificate of public need; exception; critical access hospitals; swing beds; sunset. Allows critical access hospitals to utilize an average of up to 10 swing beds per day, calculated over the hospital's fiscal year, without obtaining a certificate of public need. Under current law, critical access hospitals may only use up to 10 percent of beds as swing beds. The bill directs the State Commissioner of Health to collect data annually from critical access hospitals that use fiscal year averaging for swing beds and make such data publicly available. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2028. This bill is identical to HB 1552.

Electric utilities; virtual power plant pilot program. Requires Dominion Energy Virginia to petition the State Corporation Commission for approval to conduct a pilot program to evaluate methods to optimize demand through various technology applications, including the establishment of virtual power plants, by December 1, 2025. The bill requires the pilot program to evaluate electric grid capacity needs and the ability of such virtual power plants to provide grid services, including peak-shaving, during times of peak electric demand. This bill is identical to HB 2346.

Use of restraints on juveniles in court prohibited; exceptions. Prohibits the use of instruments of restraint, as defined in the bill, on a juvenile appearing before the juvenile and domestic relations district court unless, upon motion of the attorney for the Commonwealth or on the court's own motion sua sponte, the court makes a finding that (i) the use of such restraints is necessary (a) to prevent physical harm to such juvenile or another person, (b) because such juvenile has a history of disruptive courtroom behavior that has placed others in potentially harmful situations or presents a substantial threat of serious harm to himself or others as evidenced by recent behavior, or (c) because such juvenile presents a substantial risk of flight from the courtroom and (ii) there are no less restrictive alternatives to such restraints that will prevent flight of or harm to such juvenile or another person, including court personnel or law-enforcement officers. The bill provides that the juvenile shall be entitled to an attorney prior to a hearing on the use of instruments of restraint. The bill also requires the court to provide the juvenile's attorney an opportunity to be heard before the court orders the use of instruments of restraint, and the juvenile's attorney may waive the juvenile's appearance at such hearing. Lastly, the bill requires the court, if such restraints are ordered, to communicate to the parties the basis of the decision either orally or in writing. This bill is identical to HB 2222.

Surplus lines broker taxes; certain insurance policies. Provides that any surplus lines broker or any person required to be licensed as one shall not be subject to the annual taxes, license taxes, or penalties under current law for any policy of insurance procured during the preceding calendar year on behalf of a commuter rail system jointly operated by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation District beginning in calendar year 2025. This bill is identical to HB 1682.