Department of Education; Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; mental health first aid training program; development of plan to incentivize and facilitate participation. Directs the Department of Education, in collaboration with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, to develop and implement a plan to incentivize and facilitate participation in the Commonwealth Mental Health First Aid Program, established pursuant to applicable law, by public school staff and students. As introduced, the bill is a recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee to Study Pandemic Response and Preparedness in the Commonwealth. This bill is identical to SB 1377.

Discovery; electronic means; report. Requires all attorneys for the Commonwealth to provide discovery materials for all courts to counsel of record for the accused by electronic means unless such materials are prohibited from being distributed by law or impossible to provide by electronic means. The bill directs the Supreme Court of Virginia to promulgate rules to implement this provision by July 1, 2027. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2028.The bill also requires the Executive Secretary of the Compensation Board, or a designee, to convene a work group to determine the costs associated with any changes in operations and technology infrastructure necessary to implement the provisions of the bill. The bill requires the Executive Secretary of the Compensation Board to provide an interim report to the General Assembly by November 30, 2025, and a final report to the General Assembly by August 1, 2026. This bill was incorporated into SB 963.

Affordable housing; religious organizations and other tax-exempt properties. Provides that no local ordinance shall require a special exception, special use permit, conditional use permit, or additional fee to be obtained for the development and construction of affordable housing on real property owned by a religious organization or certain nonprofit organizations that is connected to a public sewage system. The bill requires that at least 60 percent of the housing development's total units be for affordable housing and that the housing development remain affordable for at least 50 years.

Board of Pharmacy; long-acting injectable or extended-release prescription drugs; correctional facilities. Allows the Board of Pharmacy to register a correctional facility to maintain a floor stock of long-acting injectable or extended-release prescription drugs for the treatment of mental illness or substance use disorder. The bill requires such long-acting injectable or extended-release prescription drugs to be stored in an area accessible only to persons who are licensed to administer such prescription drugs, regardless of whether the prescriber is on site. The bill provides that each correctional facility shall maintain an ongoing perpetual inventory of all such drugs in Schedules II through V and that such perpetual inventory shall (i) accurately indicate the physical count of each drug on hand at the time the inventory is performed and (ii) no less than once per month, include a reconciliation of each drug with a written explanation for any difference between the physical count and the theoretical count. This bill is identical to HB 2473.

Celebrating the life of Henry Furlong Baldwin.

Energy Innovation Pilot Program established. Establishes the Energy Innovation Pilot Program to foster the development of innovative energy projects by allowing Program participants to provide grid services or other beneficial energy measures. Under the Program, a participant, after obtaining State Corporation Commission approval, is not required to comply with specific state statutes and regulations pertaining to the generation, transmission, or distribution of electric energy for sale, except for those laws and regulations that are required for worker safety, public safety, or environmental protection, for a period of five years. The bill includes provisions for application requirements, an approval process, Program exit procedures, a test period extension process, suspension or revocation of Commission approval, consumer protections, Commission investigations, and recordkeeping and reporting requirements.

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; contractors; designated employees; affiliates.

Statewide housing targets for localities. Requires localities to increase their total housing stock by at least 7.5 percent over the five-year period beginning January 1, 2027. The bill provides that in order to meet the 7.5 percent growth target, a locality shall develop a housing growth plan that best meets the needs of the locality and may include any of various listed housing growth strategies. The bill further provides that after January 1, 2032, an applicant who seeks local government approval for a residential development that will have the effect of increasing the supply of housing in a locality and has that application rejected may, in addition to other remedies, appeal such decision to the Housing Approval Board, which shall be established by the Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development. The bill authorizes the Housing Approval Board to overturn local decisions and approve applications under certain circumstances. However, if the Housing Approval Board determines that a locality has in good faith implemented at least three of the housing growth strategies listed in the bill and has not rejected more than 25 percent of new housing development proposals over the previous five years, the Housing Approval Board shall allow the local decision to stand. Finally, the bill provides that the Housing Approval Board shall give extra weight for increases in affordable housing and for the rehabilitation of current, underutilized housing stock. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.

Election of Circuit Court Judges, General District Court Judges, Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Judges, members of the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission, and the Auditor of Public Accounts.

Celebrating the life of Holly Jennings King.

Commending Anne Cochrane Pace.

Statewide Fire Prevention Code Act; counterfeit and unsafe lighters prohibited. Prohibits the offering or sale to the public of unsafe lighters or counterfeit lighters, defined in the bill, regardless of whether such offering or sale is conducted on a retail basis or wholesale basis.

Celebrating the life of Lamuel Scott Prater.

Commending Olivia Bryant.

Commending Grayson County High School.