Virginia Natural Resources Commitment Fund; Department of Conservation and Recreation; extending application deadline. Directs the Department of Conservation and Recreation to extend the deadline by 30 days for a person to submit an application to the Virginia Natural Resources Commitment Fund.

Department of Medical Assistance Services; expedited review process for Medicaid service authorization requests; report. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to (i) implement expedited review of Medicaid service authorization requests consistent with applicable federal law and (ii) annually transmit the prior authorization report required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to the Chairs of the House Committees on Appropriations and Health and Human Services and the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriations and Education and Health.

Aggravated murder; assault and battery; correctional officer; custodial employee of Department of Corrections; penalties. Adds to the definition of aggravated murder, which is a Class 1 felony, the willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of a correctional officer, defined in relevant law, when such killing is for the purpose of interfering with the performance of his official duties. The bill also expands the definition of aggravated murder to include the willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of any person by a prisoner confined in a juvenile correctional facility, defined in relevant law. The bill provides that if any person maliciously causes bodily injury to another by any means, including the means set out in existing law, with intent to maim, disfigure, disable, or kill, and knowing or having reason to know that such other person is a correctional officer, as defined in relevant law, engaged in the performance of his public duties as a correctional officer, such person is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for a period of not less than five years nor more than 30 years and, subject to existing law, a fine of not more than $100,000; upon conviction, the sentence of such person shall include a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of two years. The bill also provides that if any person unlawfully, but not maliciously, with the intent aforesaid, causes bodily injury to another by any means, knowing or having reason to know such other person is a correctional officer engaged in the performance of his public duties as a correctional officer, he is guilty of a Class 6 felony, and upon conviction, the sentence of such person shall include a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of one year. Lastly, the bill provides that if an assault and battery upon (i) a correctional officer; (ii) a person directly involved in the care, treatment, or supervision of inmates in the custody of the Department of Corrections; (iii) an employee of a local or regional correctional facility directly involved in the care, treatment, or supervision of inmates in the custody of the facility; or (iv) a person directly involved in the care, treatment, or supervision of persons in the custody of or under the supervision of the Department of Juvenile Justice involves the use of any bodily fluid or excrement from such person charged, the sentence of such person, upon conviction, shall include a mandatory minimum term of confinement of three years.

Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Month. Designates September, in 2026 and in each succeeding year, as Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Month in Virginia.

Celebrating the life of George Otis Mead III.

Electric utilities; virtual power plant pilot program; Phase I Utilities. Requires Appalachian Power 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 July 1, 2027. 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.

Claims; Messiah Aladar Johnson; compensation for wrongful incarceration. Grants relief in an amount to be appropriated to Messiah Aladar Johnson, who was wrongly convicted of and subsequently incarcerated for five counts of robbery, 12 counts of the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, six counts of abduction, attempted robbery, and shooting into an occupied building in 1998.

Commending the Augusta Regional Dental Clinic.

Microchip and semiconductor manufacturing and supply chain tax credits; Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority evaluation; report. Creates a series of individual and corporate income tax credits for companies engaged in the microchip and semiconductor manufacturing and supply chain business that between January 1, 2026, and December 31, 2036, (i) invest at least $400 million, (ii) create at least 100 new jobs, (iii) pay an average prevailing wage salary, and (iv) submit a plan for use of and committing $50 million of community investments. The bill creates three refundable tax credits in taxable years 2026 through 2030 in amounts equal to (a) five percent of capital investment expenditures incurred during the year, (b) six percent of child care services expenditures incurred during the year, and (c) 7.5 percent of gross wages paid for each new job created during the year.

Department of Education; public school teacher licensure requirements; comprehensive review of alternative licensure pathways; stakeholder work group; report. Directs the Department of Education (the Department) to convene a stakeholder work group to conduct a comprehensive review of the alternative licensure pathways, as that term is defined in the bill, available to public school teachers in the Commonwealth and make recommendations on improving the quality, efficacy, and outcomes of such alternative licensure pathways. The bill directs the Department to submit to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health (i) by January 1, 2027, an interim report on the findings and preliminary recommendations of the work group and (ii) by November 1, 2027, a final report on the findings and recommendations of the work group.

Commending the Southern Virginia University men's volleyball team.

Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank; established; report. Creates the Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank to finance clean energy projects, greenhouse gas emissions reduction projects, and other qualified projects through the strategic deployment of public funds in the form of grants, loans, credit enhancements, and other financing mechanisms. An advisory board consisting of nonlegislative citizen members and ex officio members shall oversee the Bank and provide recommendations related to the Bank and its effectiveness. The bill contains provisions for (i) the powers and duties of the Bank, (ii) lending practices, (iii) a strategic plan, (iv) an investment strategy, (v) public outreach requirements, (vi) audits, and (vii) reporting requirements. This bill is identical to SB 225.

Celebrating the life of Zachary Wayne Reese.

Elections; polling places; prohibited activities; acts in furtherance of federal immigration laws. Prohibits any person from performing any act for the purpose or in furtherance of enforcement of federal immigration laws within 40 feet of any building, or part thereof, used as (i) a polling place, (ii) a meeting place for the local electoral board while the electoral board meets to ascertain the results of an election, or (iii) the place for a recount.

Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program authority; right of entry; performance bond. Removes the requirement for a Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program (VESMP) authority to have a performance bond with surety, cash escrow, letter of credit, any combination thereof, or such other legal arrangement in order to enter any establishment or upon any property, public or private, for the purpose of initiating or maintaining appropriate actions that are required by conditions imposed by the VESMP authority on a land-disturbing activity when an owner, after proper notice, has failed to take acceptable action within the time specified.