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Bill Tracker

HB1529

Tax Commissioner; information sharing; eligibility for medical assistance. Authorizes the Tax Commissioner to provide to the Virginia Health Benefit Exchange information voluntarily provided by taxpayers for the purposes of identifying persons who meet the income eligibility requirements for medical assistance and would like to newly enroll in medical assistance. The bill authorizes the Virginia Health Benefit Exchange to divulge to the Department of Medical Assistance Services and the Department of Social Services, upon entering into a written agreement, such information to facilitate such enrollments and applications, as applicable. The bill contains technical amendments and is effective for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2026.

HB1528

Special election to fill certain vacancies in the General Assembly; deadline for parties to nominate. Requires parties to nominate candidates for any special election to fill a vacancy in the General Assembly occurring between December 10 and March 1 within seven days of any writ of election or order calling such special election.

HB1527

Sports betting; NCAA Division I sports. Creates an exception to the prohibition on placing or accepting bets on Virginia college sports by allowing such bets to be placed or accepted on Virginia colleges participating in an NCAA Division I competition for a given sport. The bill also imposes a tax of 50 percent on permit holders for bets placed on NCAA Division I sports played at Virginia colleges and universities and directs the Virginia Lottery to allocate 100 percent of such tax revenue to the NCAA Division I Sports Betting Fund, created in the bill, for the purpose of supporting NCAA Division I college and university athletic programs in the Commonwealth. The bill’s effective date is contingent upon the enactment of legislation by the General Assembly that establishes a Virginia Gaming Commission or other similar agency for the purposes of overseeing legal forms of gaming in the Commonwealth.

HB1525

Possession, transportation, or purchase of certain firearms by certain persons; penalty. Provides additional exceptions, outlined in the bill, for persons younger than 18 years of age to possess or transport handguns or assault firearms anywhere in the Commonwealth. The bill also makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for persons younger than 21 years of age to purchase a handgun or assault firearm anywhere in the Commonwealth.

HB1524

Carrying assault firearms in public areas prohibited; penalty. Prohibits the carrying of certain semi-automatic center-fire rifles, pistols, and shotguns or any firearm modified to be operable as an assault firearm on any public street, road, alley, sidewalk, or public right-of-way or in any public park or any other place of whatever nature that is open to the public, with certain exceptions. Under current law, the prohibition on carrying certain shotguns and semi-automatic center-fire rifles and pistols applies to a narrower range of firearms, only in certain localities, and only when such firearms are loaded. A violation of this prohibition is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

HB1523

Certified violence prevention professional; certification. Establishes requirements for use of the title “certified violence prevention professional” and directs the Board of Health to promulgate regulations setting forth (i) requirements for use of the title, (ii) requirements for education and training programs necessary to meet the requirements for certification, (iii) qualifications for training entities, (iv) limitations on the number of approved training entities, and (v) other regulations as deemed necessary.

HB1522

Nursing homes and assisted living facilities; licensure; automated external defibrillators. Requires nursing homes and assisted living facilities to have and maintain an automated external defibrillator and have staff trained to use such automated external defibrillator.

HB1423

Department of Behavioral Health and Development Services; group homes; oversight and accountability; report. Directs the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to analyze and make recommendations on the oversight and accountability of group homes and to submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the House Committee on Health and Human Services and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by November 1, 2026.

HB1422

Tax credit; solar energy equipment. Establishes a nonrefundable income tax credit for taxable years 2026 through 2030 for individuals who incur allowable expenses, as defined in the bill, for the purchase and installation of solar energy equipment, also defined in the bill. An individual who properly claims this credit shall be allowed a credit in the amount of 15 percent of the cost of such equipment and allowable expenses, up to $1,000. The aggregate amount of credits allowable under the provisions of the bill shall not exceed $5 million per taxable year.

Del. Garrett McGuire

17th District, County of Fairfax (part)

Legislative Assistant: Andrew Millin

Administrative Assistant During Session: Wanda Green