VACo Analysis of 2026-2028 Biennium Budget

The process of developing a new biennium budget concluded on Monday, June 29, with the General Assembly adopting 14 amendments proposed by Governor Spanberger to the budget approved by the legislature on June 22.  A compromise proposal on the tax treatment of data centers broke a months-long impasse; additional revenue from a new electricity consumption tax on data center operators, as well as a revenue reforecast commissioned by the Governor and unveiled in early June, provided additional revenues to support a variety of spending items included in the budget.

An analysis of budget items of importance to local governments follows below.  Other resources that may be useful to local governments include the Compensation Board’s memorandum outlining provisions of interest to Constitutional officers (available at this link), approved Compensation Board budgets for individual offices (available at this link), and the Department of Education’s calculation tool for distributions to school divisions (available at this link).

Data center provisions

• Imposes a new electricity consumption tax on data center operators at the rate of $0.011/kWh for all electricity consumed at each data center per month. The tax would be imposed beginning July 1, 2026 and until July 1, 2028.  A maximum of $600 million raised by the tax per year would be deposited to the state General Fund (GF), with amounts raised in excess of this amount to be refunded to each data center operator on a pro rata basis.  (Item 3-5.24 #1c)
• Directs the Joint Subcommittee on Tax Policy to study the data center sales and use tax exemption and other data center impacts during the 2026 interim, to include examining the impact of the existing exemption and any potential future exemption or incentives, approaches taken in other states related to the data center industry, the estimated direct and indirect economic benefits of data center investment in Virginia, impacts on the environment and quality of life related to data center location and siting, and recommended mechanisms to provide direct revenue to the state from the data center industry. Recommendations are due by December 15, 2026.  (Item 1 #7c)
• Requires the Department of Environmental Quality to establish criteria for the Department to determine “Cooling Water Scarcity Areas” where the evaporation of water for cooling purposes could have detrimental reductions in the quality or quantity of water available for other beneficial uses, with a particular focus on the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area, and imposes certain restrictions on data center water use in such areas. (Item 366 #7c and Governor’s Amendment #5)
• Authorizes the Department of Environment Quality to adopt and enforce regulations for noise at data centers, with regulations to take effect by December 31, 2029. (Item 367 #2c)
• Allows a Phase II utility to consider the economic benefits to historically disadvantaged communities in determining the connection date of large load customers to the electric grid where the local governing body has resolved that such development is in the public interest, associated with the request to interconnect. (Item 475 #2c)
• Requires the State Corporation Commission to collect and aggregate information related to data center electric service agreements, water usage, and permitting for generators and tier type. (Item 477 #1c)

Real Estate Tax Exemptions

• Directs the Department of Taxation to convene a work group to review the cost of mandatory property tax exemptions for disabled veterans and their spouses and the impact of these exemptions on localities. A report is due by November 15, 2026.  VACo worked with advocacy partners to propose similar language during the General Assembly session.  (Item 260 #1c)

Compensation – SOQ Instructional and Support Positions

• Funds the state share of a 4 percent salary increase for SOQ-recognized instructional and support positions in each year of the biennium (instead of the 2 percent increase proposed in the introduced budget). Retains the language in the introduced budget providing that the state share would be prorated for school divisions that provide less than an average 4 percent salary increase.  School divisions providing an average increase in excess of 4 percent in the first year of the biennium would be allowed to credit the excess portion of the increase toward the second year.  The state funds must be matched based on the Local Composite Index.  (Item 125 #2c)
• Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to periodically review comprehensive teacher compensation in the Commonwealth, including benefits such as health insurance and retirement, as part of the State Spending on K-12 Standards of Quality report. (Item 25 #3c)

Compensation – State Employees and State-Supported Local Employees

• Funds a 3.5 percent salary increase for state employees and state-supported local employees in each year of the biennium (instead of the 2 percent increase proposed in the introduced budget). For state-supported local employees, the salary increases take effect August 1, 2026, and July 1, 2027.  (Item 469 #7c)
• Directs the Department of Planning and Budget to collect information annually on salaries and numbers of positions of state-supported local employees. (Item 469 #2c)

K-12 – Rebenchmarking and Technical Updates

• Funds rebenchmarking of the Standards of Quality and other routine and technical updates to school funding as proposed in the introduced budget.
• Estimated distribution tables for individual school divisions may be found at this link.
• Detailed spreadsheets with distribution figures from the Department of Education may be found at this link.

K-12 – Grocery tax hold-harmless

• Retains $625,438 in FY 2027 and $1.1 million in FY 2028, as provided in the introduced budget, to adjust the supplemental payment that holds localities harmless for lost revenue associated with the elimination of the state portion of the sales tax on groceries.

K-12 – Infrastructure and Operations Per-Pupil Funds

• Provides an additional $60 million in FY 2027 for infrastructure and operations per pupil funding. (Item 125 #6c)
• Beginning in FY 2028, authorizes the Department of Education to withhold a portion of Lottery-funded Infrastructure and Operations Per Pupil Funds from school divisions that do not comply with annual reporting requirements (language included in introduced budget).

K-12 – Literary Fund and School Capital

• Expands the authority to impose an additional 1 percent local option sales and use tax for school capital via voter referendum to all cities and counties, a long-sought priority for VACo. Counties interested in exercising this authority in 2026 should immediately review the timeline incorporated in the budget amendment in planning for a potential November referendum, as the Governor proposed amendments to this language, which were approved by the legislature.  Includes additional language authorizing any county or city in Planning District 8 to impose a 1 percent voter-approved local option sales and use tax for public transportation purposes.  Includes language stipulating certain local funding contributions to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).  (The final language as approved is available at this link and listed as Enactment 2.)
• As proposed in the introduced budget, uses $185 million in FY 2027 and $100 million in FY 2028 from the Literary Fund for the state’s share of school employee retirement contributions (and captures equivalent GF savings).
• As proposed in the introduced budget, appropriates an additional $127 million over the biennium from the School Construction Fund, as well as $172 million in FY 2027 from the Literary Fund, for the School Construction Assistance Program, under which the Board of Education makes competitive grants to school divisions for construction, expansion, or modernization of public school buildings.
• Retains language in the introduced budget stipulating that local school boards may not exclude public charter schools, regional public charter schools, or joint and regional schools from consideration for School Construction Assistance Program grants.

K-12 – Special Education

• Provides $74.4 million in FY 2027 and $74 million in FY 2028 to increase the add-on percentages applied to basic aid for special education students. (Item 125 #5c)

K-12 – At-Risk Add-On

• Provides $14.5 million in FY 2027 and $14.4 million in FY 2028 to increase the maximum At-Risk Add-On to 48.85 percent each year, and expands the allowable use of the funds to include initiatives to support both the physical and mental health of students in public schools, such as the hiring of nurses. (Item 125 #13c and Item 125 #9c)

K-12 – Local Composite Index

• Clarifies when a local school division must notify the Department of Education if it determines that a substantial error exists in a constituent index element used to calculate the local composite index. (Item 125 #7c)

K-12 – Joint Subcommittee on Elementary and Secondary Education Funding

• Provides $1 million in FY 2027 and $250,000 in FY 2028 to support the Joint Subcommittee on Elementary and Secondary Education Funding, and directs the Superintendent of Public Instruction to issue a Request for Proposals for a contractor to support the development of a new funding formula. (Item 123 #4c)

Other K-12 Items

• Directs the Department of Education to submit a detailed plan for the state’s school improvement program by November 15, 2026, to the Board of Education and the chairs of the House Appropriations, House Education, Senate Finance and Appropriations, and Senate Education and Health Committees. Directs the Department to develop an annual status report with updates on key school improvement program activities.  (Item 120 #1c)
• Provides $8.6 million in FY 2027 and $9 million in FY 2028 to increase the per meal reimbursement amount for school breakfast from $0.28 to $0.50; language encourages school divisions and individual schools to explore participation in the Community Eligibility Provision. Directs the Department of Education, in collaboration with school divisions, to review participation in the Community Eligibility Provision statewide, including reasons for non-participation, financial benefits that schools or divisions participating in the Community Eligibility Provision have realized, and recommendations for encouraging participation, including cost estimates for each option.  (Item 125 #10c and Item 120 #2c)
• Directs the Department of Education to review funding for regional career and technical education schools, including (i) identifying funding sources and amounts for such schools and (ii) proposing recommendations and estimated costs for alternative funding mechanisms. (Item 123 #3c)

Early Childhood

• Retains the introduced budget’s proposal to fund an additional 6,745 slots per year in the Child Care Subsidy Program by redirecting $71 million in FY 2027 and $66.6 million in FY 2028 from assumed nonparticipation rates for the Virginia Preschool Initiative.
• As proposed in the introduced budget, reflects an additional $13.2 million in FY 2027 and $17.5 million in FY 2028 in federal funds for the Child Care Subsidy Program.
• Provides $25 million in FY 2027 to fund the newly-created Employee Child Care Assistance Pilot Program, which provides matching funds to incentivize employers to contribute to employee child care costs. (Item 126 #2c)
• Eliminates the proposal in the introduced budget to provide $500,000 per year to establish and maintain a platform for affordable child care subsidy accounts and $1 million in FY 2027 as matching funds to incentivize employer contributions to these accounts to support child care costs for their employees. (Item 123 #1c)
• Allows the Superintendent of Public Instruction to alter staff-to-child ratios and group sizes for licensed child day centers and child day centers that participate in the Child Care Subsidy Program or Mixed Delivery Grant Program. (Item 126 #1c)

Education – State Aid to Local Public Libraries

• Provides an additional $1 million per year in state aid to local public libraries. (Item 230 #1c)

Judicial

• Directs the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court to provide an assessment of the cost and feasibility of providing a unified e-filing system for civil and criminal cases in circuit courts and requiring each circuit court to use the unified system. (Item 31 #1c)
• Directs the Indigent Defense Commission, in consultation with the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court, to convene a stakeholder work group to examine fees, fines, and other financial assessments imposed in criminal prosecutions. (Item 40 #1c)
• Provides $3.7 million per year for additional support staff in public defender offices. (Item 40 #2c)

Administration – Constitutional Officers

• Removes funding proposed in the introduced budget for 71 additional sheriffs’ deputy positions; retains the $700,000 in the introduced budget for 18 administrative staff positions. (Item 60 #2c and Item 67 #2c)
• Includes $329,320 in FY 2027 and $359,258 in FY 2028 to restore state salary funding support for all underfunded positions allocated in Commonwealth’s Attorneys’ offices (positions funded with a current salary that is below the minimum salary of the pay band) to the minimum salary of their pay band. (Item 64 #1c)
• Provides $1.6 million in FY 2027 and $1.7 million in FY 2028 to reclassify paralegal positions in Commonwealth’s Attorneys’ offices to a higher administrative salary level. (Item 64 #2c)
• Funds career development program salary incentives for additional circuit court clerks and deputy clerks meeting criteria ($459,927 in FY 2027 and $510,937 in FY 2028). (Item 65 #1c)
• Retains language in the introduced budget exempting the Department of Taxation from paying any fee for remote access to land records.

Administration – Jails

• Increases reimbursements to Nottoway County for expenses associated with confining residents of the Virginia Center for Behavioral Rehabilitation in Piedmont Regional Jail by $75,000 per year. (Item 61 #1c)
• Authorizes the Compensation Board to withhold reimbursements due to local and regional jails for noncompliance with existing requirements to report deaths in custody to the State Board of Local and Regional Jails. (Item 67 #3c)
• Funds the state share of costs for the Roanoke County Jail Renovation Project ($5,024) and for the Piedmont Regional Jail Upgrade Project ($279,827) in FY 2027, as proposed in the introduced budget, as well as the state share of costs for the Prince William-Manassas Regional Adult Detention Center Renovation Project ($275,400) and the Western Tidewater Regional Jail Upgrade Project ($954,992). (Item 386 #1c)
• Consolidates the model addiction recovery program into the Jail Mental Health Pilot Program; provides priority consideration for current grantees of the model addiction recovery program. Allows expansion beyond current pilot sites.  Limits funding for grantees to two years and directs the Department of Criminal Justice Services to ensure that grantees develop a plan to sustain program operations beyond the termination of state funding.  (Item 394 #1c)
• Provides $1 million in FY 2027 in state opioid settlement funds for the Jail-Based Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Transition Fund. VACo supported the creation of this fund and recent infusions of settlement dollars.  (Item 394 #9c)

Administration – Elections

• Retains proposal in the introduced budget to provide $3.3 million in FY 2027 to replace the campaign finance IT system.
• Includes $615,000 in FY 2027 for advertising costs associated with November referenda on Constitutional amendments, as well as $680,000 to support additional costs for executing referenda. (Item 77 #1c and Governor’s Amendment #1)
• Funds costs associated with participating in third-party voter registration exchanges, including the Electronic Registration Information Center ($137,500 in FY 2027 and $110,000 in FY 2028), and $286,131 in FY 2027 and $122,681 in FY 2028 for voter list maintenance. (Item 77 #2c and Item 77 #5c)

Commerce and Trade – Housing

• Increases funding for the Virginia Eviction Reduction Program by $11.5 million in FY 2027 and directs the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) to expand the program to underserved regions of the state, including Northern Virginia. (Item 102 #1c)
• Authorizes DHCD to use up to $750,000 from the Manufactured Home Park Acquisitions Pilot Program (which was established in 2025) to award grants to eligible groups to complete due diligence work prior to making an offer on a manufactured home park, and provides $161,000 per year for DHCD to create a registry of manufactured home park owners in the Commonwealth. (Item 102 #3c and Item 102 #4c)
• Deposits an additional $40 million to the Virginia Housing Trust Fund in FY 2027; directs DHCD to convene a workgroup on the administration of the Trust Fund, including the allocation of funds across Trust Fund programs. Also provides $20 million in FY 2027 for a two-year pilot program providing loan origination and servicing for mixed-income housing developments.  Provides $5 million in FY 2027 for Prince William County’s Affordable Housing Fund.  (Item 102 #5c and Item 102 #10c)
• Authorizes the use of $25 million in unobligated balances from the Low-Income Energy Efficiency Program to support weatherization projects consistent with the recommendations of the Income Qualified Energy Efficiency and Weatherization Task Force; provides $25,000 in FY 2027 to support the Task Force. (Item 102 #6c and Item 102 #7c)
• Provides $261,000 per year to fund implementation of legislation requiring certain localities to report data regarding new and existing housing developments. (Item 102 #8c)
• Provides an additional $6 million in FY 2027 for rapid rehousing and an additional $1 million in FY 2027 for Continuum of Care lead agencies to support their capacity to serve residents at risk of or experiencing homelessness. (Item 102 #9c)

Commerce and Trade/Economic Development – Business Sites

• Retains the introduced budget’s deposit of an additional $10 million in FY 2027 to the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program (for a total of $30 million in FY 2027 and $20 million in FY 2028).
• Transfers $80.8 million from the Virginia Business Ready Sites Acquisition Fund to the General Fund. (Item 3-1.01 #10c)

Commerce and Trade/Economic Development – Broadband

• Does not provide additional funding for the Virginia Telecommunication Initiative; language authorizes balances from funds authorized in the 2025 Appropriation Act to be carried forward and reappropriated.
• Authorizes use of up to $20 million from unobligated Virginia Telecommunication Initiative funding for unexpected make-ready costs, restoration of telecommunications infrastructure damaged by a storm, or required relocation of facilities in public rights-of-way. Directs DHCD to work with the Department of Transportation to implement a process to help broadband providers avoid potential right-of-way conflicts.  (Item 103 #7c)
• As proposed in the introduced budget, modifies language regarding use of federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funding to direct funding to purposes including broadband resiliency, mobile wireless coverage expansion, expansion of broadband infrastructure to and within multi-dwelling units, and critical disaster relief telecommunications resiliency.

Commerce and Trade/Economic Development – Tourism

• Funds several tourism initiatives, including the Blue Highway Festival ($100,000 in FY 2027); the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame ($200,000 in FY 2027); a marketing campaign to attract out-of-state visitors from Black, Indigenous, and Hispanic communities ($1.5 million per year), and the Museum of Black Women Innovators ($1 million in FY 2027). (Item 114 #1c, Item 114 #2c, Item 114 #3c, Item 114 #4c)
• Maintains the $5 million in FY 2027 included in the introduced budget for the Virginia Sports Incentive Grant Program; directs $3 million of this funding to support a 2027 golf tournament in Gainesville and $500,000 to support another tournament to be held in one of several specified locations in 2026. (Item 114 #5c)

Commerce and Trade – Energy

• Provides $465,000 per year for the Department of Energy to establish and administer the Smart Solar Permitting Platform created in legislation enacted in 2026. (Item 109 #3c)
• Capitalizes the Virginia Clean Energy Bank established in 2026 legislation with $5 million per year from the General Fund. (Item 109 #5c)

Other Economic Development Items

• Provides $20 million in FY 2027 for project planning, design, and site development for an inland port in Washington County (reduced from the introduced budget’s proposed $35 million). (Item 450 #1c)
• Funds several community development projects, including transmission water main improvements in the City of Portsmouth ($7 million in FY 2027); development of the U.S. Route 1 corridor in the Town of Dumfries ($7 million in FY 2027); demolition of the Richmond Coliseum ($15 million in FY 2027); and an accessible trail in Albemarle County ($1.5 million from balances in the Low-Income Energy Efficiency Program Fund). (Item 103 #4c, Item 103 #8c, Item 103 #9c, Item 103 #6c)
• As proposed in the introduced budget, reduces funding for Enterprise Zones by $500,000 per year. Increases funding for the Virginia Main Street Program by $360,000 per year (rather than $500,000 as proposed in the introduced budget).  (Item 103 #1c)
• Provides $3 million in FY 2027 for the Virginia Institute for Biotechnology at the University of Virginia (rather than $35 million as proposed in the introduced budget); provides $6 million in FY 2027 for the Patient Research Center at Virginia Tech and $3 million for the Virginia Commonwealth University Medicines for all Institute.  (Item 115 #1c, Item 115 #2c, and Item 115 #3c)
• Removes authorization for the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority to use up to $500,000 in FY 2027 to develop the Virginia Artificial Intelligence Institute; instead provides a like amount of funding to the University of Virginia for the planning and development of the Commonwealth Artificial Intelligence Institute. (Item 115 #5c and Item 188 #1c)
• Captures $4.7 million in GO Virginia Funding (the introduced budget had proposed to direct this funding to the Great Opportunities in Technology and Engineering Careers program under the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research). (Item 238 #1c)

Workforce Development

• Provides an additional $500,000 per year to the Internship Virginia program managed by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority; allows local governments to qualify for matching grants provided to employers hiring undergraduate student interns. (Item 113 #1c)
• Increases funding for the New Economy Workforce Credential Grant Program by $9.5 million in FY 2027 and $2.7 million in FY 2028 from the General Fund, in addition to $13.6 million in FY 2027 in balances transferred from the Virginia Community College System. Requires the annual report on the program to include an analysis of grant fund utilization by occupational field.  (Item 131 #4c)
• Provides $20 million in FY 2027 to expand career technical education programs and workforce development across the Virginia Community College System. (Item 203 #4c)

Children’s Services Act (CSA)

• Retains funding for the state share of forecasted growth in the program as proposed in the introduced budget ($49.6 million in FY 2027 and $86.5 million in FY 2028).
• Retains language in the introduced budget capping growth in state reimbursement to localities for private day special education services, which VACo had sought to remove. Includes language clarifying that the cap applies to per student/per diem tuition rates.  (Item 271 #1c)
• As an alternative approach, the conference report includes an additional $10 million in FY 2027 for reimbursements to school divisions through the Students with Intensive Support Needs Application (SISNA), as well as language directing the Department of Education to expand the disability categories eligible for payments through this program, with consideration given to students with complex behavioral needs who otherwise would be referred to private day school placements. VACo strongly supports this additional funding and language.  The conference report also includes language VACo supports directing the Department of Education to make recommendations on removing barriers to using funds and improving the application process, as well as directing the Department of Education to issue guidance on the use of funds to support students transitioning back to public school from private placements.  (Item 125 #1c, Item 118 #1c)
• Removes funding previously provided to the Office of Children’s Services to contract with the Department of Education to review private day placement decisions in localities with higher-than-average numbers of placements. Requires the Office of Children’s Services to produce an annual report on private day school placement costs in a format aligned with the annual report on SISNA.  (Item 272 #1c and Item 272 #2c)
• Adopts the introduced budget’s proposal to capture $1.3 million in FY 2027 and $2.4 million in FY 2028 in General Fund savings associated with removing automatic inflation adjustments for Medicaid rates for psychiatric residential treatment facilities.
• Retains the introduced budget’s reduction in the state match for community-based services funded through CSA to reflect an average state match of 71 percent. VACo had sought to reverse this action.
• Clarifies eligibility for special education wrap-around services under the Children’s Services Act. (Item 271 #2c)

Medicaid

• Funds the state General Fund share of forecasted growth in Medicaid ($2.8 billion over the biennium); includes several cost-containment measures, such as eliminating inflation adjustments for certain provider rates, placing limitations on mobile crisis coverage, requiring a review of administrative expenses, and capping annual spending per recipient on dental services.
• Deposits $350 million in FY 2027 as a Medicaid reserve contingency in the event of higher-than-expected costs in the program. (Item 471 #1c)
• Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) to convene a Medicaid Financial Sustainability Workgroup to analyze expenditure trends and identify strategies to moderate spending growth. (Item 295 #7c)
• Includes $28 million in FY 2027 and $31.2 million in FY 2028 for the state General Fund share of increased rates for certain services provided through Developmental Disability waivers, as proposed in the introduced budget. The conference report adds $10.6 million in FY 2027 and $11.8 million in FY 2028 for the state General Fund share of rate increases for additional services.  (Item 291 #8c)
• Funds rate increases for agency and consumer-directed personal care, respite and companion services in the home and community-based services waivers and Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment program effective January 1, 2027, and January 1, 2028. (Item 291 #7c, as amended by Governor’s Amendment #4).
• Delays implementation of statutory requirements for DMAS to contract with a single third-party pharmacy benefits manager until January 1, 2028 (rather than July 1, 2026). (Item 295 #1c)
• Directs DMAS and the Virginia Department of Health to create an assessment tool for long-term services and supports screenings for children under the age of 18 and directs the Departments to implement measures necessary to ensure the consistent statewide application of screening criteria. These screenings determine the eligibility and the level of care needed for Medicaid-funded long-term services and supports.

Medicaid – HR 1 Implementation

• Maintains introduced budget’s inclusion of $69.2 million in FY 2027 and $65.2 million in FY 2028 from federal funds and the coverage assessment imposed on hospitals to implement the community engagement and eligibility verification requirements from the federal reconciliation legislation enacted in 2025; funding will support IT system changes, outreach, and DMAS staffing.
• Maintains the introduced budget’s appropriation of $200 million per year in anticipated federal funding for the new Rural Health Transformation Program established in the 2025 reconciliation legislation and authorization of up to 13 positions at DMAS to be supported with program funds. Requires annual reporting on the status of the program.  (Item 296 #1c)
• Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Resources and the Secretary of Labor to coordinate efforts to ensure that individuals subject to Medicaid work/community engagement requirements are connected to work opportunities. (Item 270 #1c)
• Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to establish a task force on reducing error rates in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and implementation of work/community engagement requirements in Medicaid. (Item 270 #2c)
• Directs DMAS and the Department of Social Services to collaborate on public outreach regarding assistance available in verifying eligibility information. (Item 295 #4c)
• Provides regulatory authority to DMAS to implement requirements under HR 1. (Item 295 #6c)

Behavioral Health – Community Services Boards (CSBs)

• Directs the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) to examine alternatives to the current 10 percent local match requirement for CSBs and report recommendations by November 1, 2027. (Item 299 #4c)
• As proposed in the introduced budget, allows DBHDS to make payments to CSBs pursuant to performance contract terms rather than in 24 semi-monthly installments; also allows DBHDS to distribute funding for jail diversion and reentry services, jail discharge planning, and certain diversion services based on a reimbursement model.
• Directs DMAS to collaborate with DBHDS to identify necessary steps to transition to a prospective payment system as part of the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic model for CSBs. (Item 295 #2c)
• Directs DBHDS to identify strategies to incentivize CSBs to serve more individuals subject to an Emergency Custody Order or a Temporary Detention Order in crisis receiving centers and crisis stabilization units. (Item 299 #3c)
• Directs DBHDS to include in its annual performance contracts with CSBs a requirement that CSBs maximize billing of Medicaid services provided to eligible clients. (Item 299 #6c)
• Directs DBHDS to require each CSB to report annually on its expenditures on STEP-VA services, with amounts expended broken out by service, and directs DBHDS to provide recommendations as to whether additional flexibility to move funding between services should be considered. (Item 301 #5c)

Behavioral Health – Other Items

• Removes language stipulating that each local or regional implementation area for the Marcus Alert system is to receive $600,000 per year; allowing flexibility in the allocation of this funding was a recommendation of the Behavioral Health Commission. Provides $3.6 million in FY 2027 and $7.8 million in FY 2028 to support statewide implantation of Marcus Alert programs.  (Item 301 #1c)
• Delays the implementation of redesigned Medicaid-funded community mental health services from June 30, 2026, to July 1, 2027. Concerns had been expressed about provider readiness to launch the new services on the originally-scheduled date.  (Item 291 #9c)
• Requires DBHDS to report on the status of Virginia’s compliance with the permanent injunction entered into the settlement with the Department of Justice regarding services for individuals with certain disabilities. (Item 298 #1c)
• Directs DBHDS to report on provider capacity for Developmental Disability waiver services across the Commonwealth, including service gaps and workforce challenges. (Item 300 #4c)
• Increases support for the State Rental Assistance Program by $1 million per year. This program provides rental subsidies for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities.  (Item 301 #4c)
• Provides $120,000 in FY 2027 and $455,000 in FY 2028 for DBHDS to create statewide standards for recovery residences. (Item 299 #1c)
• Provides $33 million in FY 2027 for safety and security renovations at Catawba Hospital; provides $10 million in FY 2027 for demolition and remediation of property at Central Virginia Training Center. (Item C-0.50 #1c)
• Maintains provisions in the introduced budget replacing $2.7 million per year in GF support for the state 988 system with funds from the Crisis Call Center Fund and providing an additional $3 million per year in Crisis Call Center Funds to support 988 crisis call center dispatch staff.
• Eliminates proposal in the introduced budget to provide $2 million in FY 2027 for the Department of Criminal Justice Services to reimburse local law enforcement agencies for time spent transporting an individual under an emergency custody order or a temporary detention order. (Item 394 #8c)
• Does not increase funding for Part C Early Intervention services. Allows funds appropriated for early intervention services to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) to be transferred to the Virginia Department of Health to provide early intervention services through local health departments in accordance with signed agreements.

Aging/Long-Term Care – Area Agencies on Aging

• Enhances support for Area Agencies on Aging by $2.5 million per year. (Item 319 #1c)
• Provides an additional $375,000 per year for Long-Term Care Ombudsman programs at local Area Agencies on Aging, as proposed in the introduced budget.

Aging/Long-Term Care – Auxiliary Grant

• Increases the Auxiliary Grant rate from $2,103 to $2,130 per month, effective January 1, 2026.
• Sweeps $2 million in balances from the Auxiliary Grant program in FY 2027.  (Item 332 #1c)

Aging/Long-Term Care – Nursing Facilities

• Provides $35 million GF for the state’s share of an increase to Medicaid nursing facility reimbursement rates in FY 2027. (Item 291 #11c)
• Funds six additional medical facility inspectors at the Virginia Department of Health, in addition to the two additional medical facility inspectors funded in the introduced budget, to reduce the backlog of complaints regarding nursing facilities. (Item 278 #3c)
• As provided in the introduced budget, enhances standards for the Medicaid-funded value-based purchasing program for nursing facilities by allowing facilities with major quality or safety issues to be found ineligible for enhanced funding for a period to be determined by DMAS and barring Special Focus Facilities (the poorest-performing facilities under federal quality standards) from receiving enhanced funding.
• Retains provisions in the introduced budget allowing $4.1 million in civil money penalty funds to be used for the federal Nursing Home Staffing Campaign, which uses civil money penalties imposed on nursing facilities for certain types of noncompliance with health and safety standards to provide incentives to nurses to work in nursing facilities and in state inspection roles.

Health – Virginia Department of Health/Local Health Districts

• Provides $8.2 million in FY 2027 and $6.8 million in FY 2028 to deploy an electronic health record system across all local health districts (included in introduced budget).
• Provides $655,913 GF per year for the state share of rent increases in local health districts (included in introduced budget).
• Provides an additional $500,000 in FY 2027 for the Northern Virginia Firefighter Occupational Screening Program (Item 275 #1c); also provides $2.1 million per year to establish the Firefighter Cancer Screening Grant program, which will award grants to localities for cancer screening tests. (Governor’s amendment #8).
• Eliminates the proposed creation of the Virginia Center for the Nursing Workforce under the Department of Health Professions, which had been included in the introduced budget. (Item 288 #1c)
• Appropriates $4.8 million each year from nongeneral funds generated from the increase in the fee for vital records from $12.00 to $15.00, as provided in legislation enacted in 2026; changes the portion of the fee revenue provided to all health districts from 65 percent to 85 percent and the portion going to the Office of Vital Records from 35 percent to 15 percent and allows for the fee revenue to be provided to all health districts, not just state administered health districts. (Item 277 #1c)
• Provides $14.9 million GF in FY 2027, $16.9 million GF in FY 2028, and $578,702 NGF each year to support core public health services, maintain epidemiological response capacity and preparedness, and maintain public health systems, cloud infrastructure, and cybersecurity. This funding includes six medical facility inspectors for nursing facilities discussed above.  (Item 278 #3c)
• Note: The Virginia Department of Health provided updated local match rates for the new biennium to local departments of health last fall as part of the biennial review required by Va. Code § 32.1-34.3.

Health – Drinking Water

• Allows carry-forward of drinking water grant funding provided in the 2025 Appropriation Act. Provides an additional $50 million in FY 2027, with at least $20 million earmarked for the City of Richmond, followed by priority consideration for the Town of Orange, Town of Jarratt, and Town of Blackstone, and for Fairfax County for the purposes of providing assistance for local governments and well owners to connect to the public surface water systems.  Establishes the Richmond Regional Water Workgroup to make recommendations concerning maintenance of and capital improvements and repairs to the City of Richmond’s Water Treatment Plant to ensure its reliability as a supplier of drinking water.  (Item 283 #1c)

Health – Health Insurance Premium Assistance

• Provides $150 million in FY 2027 to the State Corporation Commission for a state-based health insurance premium assistance program for individuals and families with household incomes between 138 percent and 250 percent of the federal poverty level. (Item 478 #2c)

Health – Other Health Items

• Includes $300,000 in FY 2027 and $900,000 in FY 2028 in state GF for the state match for federal Maternal Infant Early Childhood Home Visiting program funding. (Item 280 #1c)
• Directs the Board of Health to adopt regulations establishing a permitting process and food safety requirements applicable to out-of-state entities for the sale or service of food that has been prepared outside of the Commonwealth; a permit granted under such regulations will only allow out-of-state entities to serve food at temporary, short-term events or from a mobile food unit permitted to operate in the Commonwealth, or to distribute food to persons of the same business operation or of a related business operation in a restaurant. (Item 286 #2c)

Social Services – Child Welfare

• Provides $212,046 per year for overtime costs associated with extending the existing 24-hour response timeline for valid reports of abuse or neglect for children younger than two to include children up to age three, as proposed in the introduced budget.
• Provides $3.5 million per year in state GF and $1.5 million per year in federal funding to increase the minimum salary for family services employees in local departments of social services to $55,000, as proposed in the introduced budget. These staff provide a continuum of services designed to assist families in safely caring for children and vulnerable adults.
• Includes $656,842 in FY 2027 and $2.7 million in FY 2028 in state GF (as well as $218,946 in FY 2027 and $898,744 in FY 2028 in federal funds), as proposed in the introduced budget, to enhance state oversight of local departments by enabling the Commissioner of Social Services to issue corrective action plans and proceed with state takeover of local departments of social services.
• Includes $300,000 per year to implement a statewide program to support the well-being of local department of social services workers and improve the retention of the state’s child welfare workforce. (Item 328 #1c)
• Directs the Department of Social Services to report quarterly on the centralized training academy model for child welfare staff that was funded in the 2024 Appropriation Act. (Item 328 #4c)
• Adjusts funding levels from the introduced budget to reflect the phased-in approach to centralized intake for child protective services that was adopted by the General Assembly; provides $1 million GF and matching non-General Funds in FY 2027 for the cost of a comprehensive study and review of the screening process used for child protective services complaints across Virginia, as directed by legislation enacted in 2026. (Item 333 #2c)

Social Services – Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

• As proposed in the introduced budget, includes $43 million in FY 2027 and $57.4 million in FY 2028 to absorb the additional administrative costs being shifted to the state as a result of changes included in HR 1. These funds cover the state and local portions of the administrative funds that are split between the state and localities; localities would be responsible for additional costs associated with federal funds that flow directly to localities without a state contribution (an arrangement known as “pass-through” funding).
• Maintains funding in the introduced budget ($1.1 million in FY 2027 and $1.3 million in FY 2028, as well as $520,865 in FY 2027 and $416,692 in FY 2028 in federal funding) for a SNAP quality assurance team (which would be charged with finding and correcting SNAP payment errors before they can affect the state’s error rate), as well as $555,096 in FY 2027 and $605,559 in FY 2028 (and $252,316 in FY 2027 and $201,853 in FY 2028 from federal funds) to increase salaries for SNAP quality control reviewers.
• Provides $1 million GF per year (and matching NGF) for the Department of Social Services to contract with a vendor to assist in efforts to decrease the SNAP error rate. (Item 328 #2c).  As noted in the Medicaid section above, directs the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to establish a task force on reducing error rates in SNAP and implementation of work/community engagement requirements in Medicaid.  (Item 270 #2c)
• Provides $1.5 million per year to connect individuals newly subject to SNAP or Medicaid work requirements to qualifying employment or volunteer activities and resources. (Item 328 #3c)
• Sets aside $135 million in FY 2028 for a potential state cost share for SNAP benefits pursuant to HR 1 (this figure assumes the state’s payment error rate will be between 8 and 9.99 percent and that the state will be required to contribute 10 percent of benefit costs). (Item 329 #1c)
• Directs the Department of Social Services to establish a methodology for determining each local department of social services’ SNAP payment error rate and publish local error rates on its website alongside the state error rate by June 30 of each year. (Item 330 #2c)

Other Social Services Items

• Bars the Department of Social Services from expanding the use of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant funds beyond programs and services authorized in the Appropriation Act, authorized by the General Assembly, or required by federal law. (Item 329 #2c)
• Bars the Department of Social Services from altering local match rates, methodologies, or policies in any manner that would increase the state share of program costs, except as authorized by an act of the General Assembly or as required by federal law. (Item 330 #1c)
• Directs the Department of Social Services to report annually on the allocation and use of state and federal funds distributed to local departments of social services, to include a breakdown of programs and services supported by federal, state, and local funds for each department. (Item 330 #4c)
• Directs the Commission on Youth to develop recommendations to incentivize local governments to draw down additional funding to support Child Advocacy Centers. (Item 21 #3c)

Labor

• Provides $6.5 million in FY 2027 and $3.6 million in FY 2028 for the Department of Labor and Industry to hire additional personnel for labor law enforcement activities and to develop a comprehensive case management system. (Item 352 #1c)
• Authorizes a treasury loan for the Virginia Employment Commission to fund the start-up costs associated with the implementation of the Paid Family and Medical Leave Program established through legislation enacted in 2026. (Item 359 #1c)
• Amends language in the recently-enacted paid sick leave legislation to revise the definition of “family member” and adjust the required increments for sick leave to be taken. (Governor’s Amendment #13)

Natural and Historic Resources – Water Quality and Water Supply

• Deposits $189 million in FY 2027 to the Water Quality Improvement Fund for matching grants for wastewater treatment plan improvement projects, in addition to the $140.5 million in FY 2027 included in the introduced budget for wastewater treatment plant projects in the Hampton Roads Sanitation District. (Item 368 #2c)
• Revises problematic language from the introduced budget regarding the process for application for funding through the Water Quality Improvement Fund. VACo had worked with advocacy partners to improve this language.  (Item 368 #3c)
• Maintains the $43.5 million in FY 2027 for the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund included in the introduced budget.
• Deposits $1 million in FY 2027 to the Water Quality Improvement Fund for the Virginia Trees for Clean Water Program and for other water quality grants made by the Department of Forestry. (Item 362 #5c)
• Restores $4 million in FY 2027 for the Virginia Conservation Assistance Program (this funding level represents partial restoration of funds, which were eliminated in the introduced budget). (Item 362 #6c)
• As proposed in the introduced budget, provides a total of $286 million in GF and nongeneral funds in FY 2027 to support the Virginia Agricultural Cost-Share program. This amount includes the mandatory allocation from surplus revenues of $107.9 million GF, an additional $36.2 million GF, and the remaining appropriation from nongeneral fund sources of interest in the Virginia Natural Resources Commitment Fund and partial balances in the WQIF reserve.  The conference report adds $8.5 million in FY 2027 to fully fund the agricultural best management practices needs assessment for FY 2027.  (Item 362 #7c)
• Includes funding for several projects in certain localities, including $50 million in FY 2027 to the City of Richmond for its Combined Sewer Overflow Project; $1 million in FY 2027 to Prince William County to assist with the connection of Bristow Manor to the Prince William County wastewater collection system; and $3.5 million in FY 2027 to the King George County Service Authority for repairs to the Dahlgren Wastewater Treatment Plant Facility. (Item 368 #1c, Item 368 #4c, and Item 368 #7c)
• Provides $750,000 per year for water supply planning activities in support of the statutory requirement for regional water supply plans to be submitted by October 2029. VACo worked with advocacy partners in support of these funds. (Item 366 #4c)
• Funds several studies, including $300,000 in FY 2027 and $200,000 in FY 2028 for a study of feasibility and cost of aquifer recharge at wastewater treatment facilities in the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area; $1.2 million in FY 2027 to expand ground water research in the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area; and $200,000 in FY 2027 for a study of challenges to the groundwater supply in western Loudoun and Fauquier Counties. (Item 366 #5c; Item 366 #8c, and Item 366 #2c)

Other Natural and Historic Resources Items

• Provides $100 million in FY 2027 to enhance environmental monitoring in the Commonwealth. Directs the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality to review and evaluate state environmental monitoring activities and determine where improvements can be made or are necessary.  The Department of Environmental Quality may request funding from this appropriation to address critical gaps in environmental monitoring as identified in the comprehensive study.  (Item 471 #2c)
• Maintains the introduced budget’s deposit of an additional $1 million in FY 2027 to the Dam Safety, Flood Prevention and Protection Assistance Fund. Also provides $1.5 million in FY 2027 for the Lake Barcroft Dam Flood Mitigation Project.  (Item 362 #4c)
• Deposits $25 million in FY 2027 to the Soil and Water Conservation District Dam Maintenance, Repair, and Rehabilitation Fund, rather than transferring these dollars to the General Fund. (Item 362 #3c)
• Directs the Department of Environmental Quality to revise the Virginia Waste Management Board’s landfill regulations to ensure that financial assurance is sufficient for design, construction, and operation of: i) a landfill cap, ii) leachate management, iii) gas collection and management and iv) other activities necessary to maintain the landfill in a manner that protects human health and the environment. Provides $10.6 million in FY 2027 to address environmental issues at the Shoosmith Landfill in Chesterfield County; directs the Secretary of Natural Resources, in consultation with the Secretary of Finance, Department of Environmental Quality, and Department of Planning and Budget, to evaluate options and funding mechanisms to resolve ongoing issues associated with closing the landfill.  (Item 365 #1c and Item 368 #8c)
• Provides $1.6 million in FY 2027 and $1.1 million in FY 2028 to the Department of Environmental Quality for the fiscal impact of legislation requiring monitoring and reporting of PFAS discharged by industrial users of publicly owned treatment works, as well as $500,000 in FY 2027 for the Department of Environmental Quality to conduct an analysis of PFAS disposal alternatives. (Item 366 #3c and Item 366 #6c)
• Includes language requiring all agencies to take actions necessary for the Commonwealth to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. (Item 368 #5c)
• Subject to certain conditions, authorizes the Department of Conservation and Recreation to accept the donation of property in Loudoun County to establish Oak Hill State Park. (Governor’s Amendment #10)

Public Safety and Homeland Security – Fire and Rescue

• Removes the authorization proposed in the introduced budget that would have allowed the Department of Fire Programs to use Aid to Localities funding from the Fire Programs Fund to cover the costs of State Fire Marshal’s Office personnel. (Item 405 #1c)
• Includes language from the introduced budget extending the deadline for a report assessing fees charged by the State Fire Marshal’s Office to conduct fire safety inspections and determining whether fees should be adjusted based on the cost of these inspections from October 2025 to October 2026.

Public Safety and Homeland Security – Emergency Management

• Provides $130,000 in FY 2027 to support the work group established in 2026 legislation to evaluate emergency management needs in Virginia. (Item 398 #2c)
• Directs the Department of Housing and Community Development to prioritize applications that are consistent with state floodplain standards when awarding grants from the resiliency-focused portion of the Virginia Disaster Assistance Fund authorized in the 2025 Appropriation Act. (Item 102 #2c)
• Sets aside an additional $200,000 from the Disaster Assistance Fund established in the 2025 Appropriations Act for a pilot emergency management mobile application communications platform in Health Service Area 3. (Item 102 #13c)
• Eliminates the proposed transfer in the introduced budget of $35 million in interest from the Low-Income Energy Efficiency Program Fund for emergency management, as well as the introduced budget’s proposal to provide $12 million over the biennium in General Fund support for emergency management capability. (Item 102 #14c, Item 399 #2c)
• Retains language from the introduced budget directing the Department of Emergency Management to issue a request for proposals from providers of wireless services that utilize satellites to provide communications capabilities for local first responders and emergency managers in rural areas; removes proposed funding. (Item 398 #1c)

Public Safety and Homeland Security – Department of Juvenile Justice

• Provides $1.8 million per year for the increased cost of central admissions and placements at the Department of Juvenile Justice and $942,065 per year for the increased cost of community placement programs, as proposed in the introduced budget.
• Restores language related to the use of savings from the closures of juvenile correctional centers as part of the 2016 transformation plan that had been removed from the introduced budget. (Item 413 #1c)
• Funds $1000 bonuses for employees at Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center and funding for a Records Custodian position, which was recommended in the recent audit issued by the Office of the State Inspector General (Item 414 #1c and Item 414 #2c)

Public Safety and Homeland Security – Aid to Localities with Police Departments

• Does not increase funding levels for aid to localities with police departments (“HB 599” funding).

Public Safety and Homeland Security – Other Items

• Provides an additional $3 million each year for grants to local sexual assault and domestic violence victims services programs. (Item 394 #6c)
• Designates $6.2 million in FY 2027 from unutilized cash balances in the School Resource Officer Incentive Grants Fund to expand the state’s digital mapping program to include public universities and community colleges; language also authorizes the Department to provide one-time fifth-year continuation grants to localities with a low local composite index if additional funds are available. Reduces the annual appropriation for the Fund from $20.4 million each year to $15.9 million each year to better reflect utilization trends.  Transfers $10 million in unobligated balances to the General Fund.  (Item 394 #3c, Item 394 #7c, Item 3-1.01 #4c)

Transportation – Transit

• Includes $153 million in FY 2027 for the state share of additional operating assistance for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) throughout the biennium. Requires WMATA to produce a 20-year, conceptual capital plan every five years beginning June 30, 2027, a funding/financial plan for major projects, and an annual report on the performance of WMATA and its capital program.  Requires the Department of Rail and Public Transportation to study WMATA cost savings and cost efficiency efforts and submit a report to the General Assembly by October 15, 2026.  (Item 433 #6c and Item 433 #7c)
• Provides $19 million in FY 2027 for one-time transit capital investments. (Item 433 #2c)
• Directs the Department of Rail and Public Transportation to evaluate the feasibility of consolidating several local Northern Virginia bus systems into a single, unified regional bus system. (Item 433 #5c)
• Provides $300,000 in FY 2027 to support the work of a joint subcommittee established in 2026 to study public transit in Hampton Roads. (Item 433 #1c)
• As proposed in the introduced budget, increases the set-aside from the Commonwealth Mass Transit Fund from $1.5 million to $2 million per year for human services mobility programs. Reduces the set-aside for state safety oversight of fixed rail guideway transit agencies by an equivalent amount.  Expands the authorized use of state transit safety oversight funds for broader transit safety needs.  (Item 433 #4c)
• Directs the Department of Rail and Public Transportation and DHCD to conduct a statewide review of funding opportunities for transit-oriented development around existing and proposed transit and rail stations. (Item 435 #1c)

Transportation – Other Items

• Directs the Secretary of Transportation to evaluate options for accelerating large-scale improvements to the Interstate 81 corridor. (Item 420 #4c)
• Directs the Virginia Department of Transportation, in collaboration with the Secretaries of Transportation and Commerce and Trade, to engage with stakeholders and recommend to the Commonwealth Transportation Board a priority project or projects to advance using the $90 million allocated for U.S. Route 220 from the Priority Transportation Fund. (Item 438 #1c)
• Provides $7 million in FY 2027 for the Route 460 Phase IIA Finish Grade Project. (Item 438 #2c)
• Directs the Secretary of Transportation to identify federal funds to support the deployment of rural electric vehicle charging infrastructure. (Item 420 #1c)
• Directs the Secretary of Transportation, in collaboration with the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Department of Motor Vehicles, to work with the District of Columbia and the State of Maryland to review issues related to ticket reciprocity and out-of-state vehicle registration. (Item 420 #2c)
• Directs a study of the feasibility of imposing a tax on paid parking in private or commercial parking lots and garages in Northern Virginia. (Item 420 #3c)
• Revises provisions related to the use of the Transportation Partnership Opportunity Fund (TPOF) for economic development; language address the timing of notice to the members and staff of the MEI Commission on the proposed use of TPOF resources and the duration of the MEI Commission’s review. (Item 438 #3c)

Veterans and Defense Affairs

• Provides $2 million in FY 2027 for the Virginia Military Community Infrastructure Grant Program, which awards grants to aid the planning and design, construction, or completion of infrastructure projects that enhance military readiness, installation resiliency, or quality of life for military communities (included in the introduced budget).
• Restores language from the 2025 Appropriation Act regarding funding to mitigate adverse impacts on military installations caused by the encroachment of incompatible uses; directs the Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs to report on how additional flexibility for encroachment mitigation program funding would be used. (Item 454 #1c)
• Removes the proposed $100,000 increase for the Virginia Values Veterans Program that was included in the introduced budget (this program assists Virginia employers in hiring and retaining veterans). (Item 456 #2c)

Tax Policy – Taxes on Tips, Overtime, and Motor Vehicle Loan Interest

• Removes proposals in the introduced budget to create Virginia-specific income subtractions for income attributable to tips, income attributable to overtime, and interest on a motor vehicle loan. (Item 4-14 #2c)

Tax Policy – Standard Deduction and Earned Income Tax Credit

• Increases the standard deduction from $8,750 for single filers and $17,500 joint filers to $9,200 for single filers and $18,400 for joint filers for tax year 2027, and again to $9,300 for single filers and $18,600 for joint filers for tax years 2028 and 2029. (Item 4-14 #1c)
• Extends provisions allowing taxpayers to claim a refundable Virginia income tax credit of 20 percent of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit to January 1, 2030. (Item 4-14 #1c)

Tax Policy – Market-Based Sourcing

• Eliminates proposal in the introduced budget to use market-based sourcing for the attribution of sales for purposes of calculating corporate income tax. (Item 4-14 #1c)

Other items

• Retains provisions in the introduced budget removing prior emergency-specific language authorizing electronic meetings during a gubernatorial state of emergency and instead requiring any public body meeting electronically under existing FOIA authority (§ 2.2-3708.2) to post a recording or transcript within FOIA timeframes and distribute meeting minutes using the same method as meeting notice, reinforcing uniform transparency requirements.
• Deposits $225 million in FY 2027 to a new Federal Uncertainty Contingency Fund that may be used to address unanticipated reductions in federal funding affecting state programs and services. (Item 471 #3c)
• Establishes a retail cannabis market, with provisions setting out tax rates, licensure requirements, and product testing and packaging requirements, among other provisions. (Item 4-14 #4c)
• Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to include an analysis of state spending for aid to localities as part of its State Spending report at least every five years. (Item 25 #2c)
• Removes language dealing with the state’s process for identifying and assisting localities in fiscal distress; legislation on this topic was enacted in 2024. (Item 4-8.03 #1c)

VACo Contact: VACo Legislative Team