Employment; paid sick leave; civil penalties. Expands provisions of the Code that currently require one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked for home health workers to cover all employees of private employers and state and local governments. The bill requires that employees who are employed and compensated on a fee-for-service basis accrue paid sick leave in accordance with regulations adopted by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry. The bill provides that employees transferred to a separate division or location remain entitled to previously accrued paid sick leave and that employees retain their accrued sick leave under any successor employer. The bill allows employers to provide a more generous paid sick leave policy than prescribed by its provisions and specifies that employees, in addition to using paid sick leave for their physical or mental illness or to care for a family member, may use paid sick leave to seek or obtain certain services or to relocate or secure an existing home due to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking. The bill provides that certain health care workers who work no more than 30 hours per month may waive the right to accrue and use paid sick leave. The bill also provides that employers are not required to provide paid sick leave to certain health care workers who are employed on a pro re nata, or as-needed, basis, regardless of the number of hours worked. The bill requires the Commissioner to promulgate regulations regarding employee notification and employer recordkeeping requirements. The bill authorizes the Commissioner, in the case of a knowing violation, to subject an employer to a civil penalty not to exceed $150 for the first violation, $300 for the second violation, and $500 for each successive violation. The Commissioner may institute proceedings on behalf of an employee to enforce compliance with the provisions of this bill. Additionally, the bill authorizes an aggrieved employee to bring a civil action against the employer in which he may recover double the amount of any unpaid sick leave and the amount of any actual damages suffered as the result of the employer's violation. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.

Minimum parking requirements; prohibition on mandates by localities. Provides that no locality shall adopt, enforce, or maintain any ordinance, policy, or requirement that mandates a minimum number of parking spaces for any new building, structure, or other use or any existing building, structure, or other use that is undergoing material rehabilitation, defined in the bill. The bill has a delayed effective date of September 1, 2026.

Study; Department of Conservation and Recreation; methods to mitigate flooding in Prince Edward County; report. Requests the Department of Conservation and Recreation to work in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study methods to mitigate flooding in Prince Edward County. The resolution specifies that the study focus on flooding mitigation for the Town of Farmville and its surrounding areas stemming from the Appomattox River and its tributaries.

Study; Department of Conservation and Recreation; state park in Washington County; report. Requests the Department of Conservation and Recreation to study the feasibility of establishing a state park in Washington County at the Mendota Trail and Abrams Falls located within the Holston River Watershed.

Study; JLARC; expansion of discretionary parole eligibility; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to consult with all relevant stakeholders to study the potential impacts of expanded discretionary parole eligibility. The resolution directs JLARC to complete its first year of meetings by September 1, 2026, and to submit an interim report by March 1, 2027. Additionally, JLARC is directed to complete its second year of meetings and submit its findings and recommendations no later than December 1, 2027.

Constitutional amendment (first reference); qualifications of voters; United States citizenship. Proposes an amendment to the Constitution of Virginia to clarify that a person who has not obtained United States citizenship either at birth or through naturalization is not qualified to vote.

Electric utilities; electric distribution infrastructure serving data centers. Prohibits the costs associated with the construction or extension of any electric distribution infrastructure that primarily serves the load of a data center, including the costs of any associated land acquisition, from being recovered from any other customer.

Charter; City of Virginia Beach; certain land use approvals. Amends the charter for the City of Virginia Beach by providing that no application to rezone property to a higher density or a more intense zoning district south of the blue line, as defined in the bill, shall be approved except by a recorded affirmative vote of three-fourths of all of the members elected to the city council. The bill further provides that no extension of public water and sanitary sewer shall extend south of the blue line absent a public hearing and specific findings by the city council.

School division accessibility challenges and barriers; reports, summary, and plan. Requires each school board or division superintendent to review and report to the Department of Education no later than August 1, 2026, certain challenges and barriers relating to the accessibility of public elementary and secondary school buildings and grounds in the local school division. The bill requires the Department to consolidate all such reports into a summary document and submit (i) such document, (ii) a plan for achieving full compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 across all school divisions in the Commonwealth, and (iii) any legislative and budgetary recommendations for fully executing such plan to the Chairs of the Senate Committee on Education and Health, the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations, the House Committee on Appropriations, and the House Committee on Education no later than November 1, 2026.

Department of Motor Vehicles data; certain institutions of higher education; fees. Authorizes the release of certain privileged Department of Motor Vehicles data to those institutions of higher education that have entered into an agreement with the Department to offer special license plates bearing the seal, symbol, emblem, or logotype of that institution of higher education. The bill authorizes the Department to charge a one-time fee of $10,000 from each participating institution to cover the cost of implementing the provisions of this bill. The bill limits the use of such data to surveys, marketing, and solicitations related to such institution of higher education and such purposes as are otherwise authorized in writing by the subject of the information and requires the consent of the subject of the information prior to disclosure of the information. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027. This bill is identical to HB 1226.

Court fines and fees; indigent defendant; waiver of fees. Provides that in any criminal or traffic case, the court may waive the assessment of certain fees specified in the bill, either wholly or in part, if the court determines the defendant to be indigent pursuant to the financial criteria set forth in relevant law and unable to pay such fee. The bill provides that the court may make such determination sua sponte or upon motion of the defendant at any time prior to the entry of an order for which such fee is assessed or the final order has been entered.

Alteration of suspension system and bumper heights; proof of compliance. Authorizes a court to dismiss a summons for offenses related to altering the suspension system or bumper heights of vehicles when proof of compliance is provided to the court on or before the court date.

Green warning lights, snow plows and vehicles equipped with truck-mounted attenuators. Authorizes snow plows used for clearing or removing snow on or along public highways and vehicles equipped with a truck-mounted attenuator that are used in constructing, maintaining, and repairing highways or utilities on or along public highways to be equipped with and use either (i) flashing, blinking, or alternating amber warning lights of types approved by the Superintendent of State Police or (ii) alternating amber and green warning lights of a type approved by the Superintendent of State Police. The bill requires that warning lights be lit only when performing the functions that qualify them to be equipped with such lights and that if a vehicle is equipped with multiple warning lights that are alternating amber and green warning lights, such lights shall be used synchronously with each other.

Court Date Reminder Program established. Establishes a Court Date Reminder Program, to be developed or procured by the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia, for the purpose of reminding criminal defendants to appear at each of their scheduled court appearances and to provide any related information. The bill directs the Program to send a text message notification to any defendant with a criminal case or traffic infraction in general district court or circuit court, allows a defendant to opt out of participating in the Program, and allows the Program administrator or his designee to use other communication methods to contact a defendant when such defendant is unable to receive text messages, including telephone, email, or other internet-based technology.

Hours of work for paid firefighters. Provides that the Department of Fire Programs shall encourage employers to implement work schedules that do not require any paid firefighter's normally scheduled shifts to exceed 42 hours per workweek.