School service providers; deletion of student and family personal information.

HB1535, Admissibility of statements by individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities in certain cases.

Admissibility of statements by individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities in certain cases. Prohibits admission of any evidence from an individual with developmental disabilities or intellectual disabilities, as defined in relevant law, in certain criminal prosecutions unless the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that such individual's decision to speak to law enforcement did not have a direct and substantial relationship to such individual's disability. The bill requires notice be given to the attorney for the Commonwealth if a defendant intends to introduce expert testimony regarding his disability. The bill prohibits any statements made by a defendant during an examination by an expert witness from being used against him except for impeachment or perjury.

SB843, Data centers; state permitting, local approval, moratorium, sunset.

Data centers; state permitting; local approval; moratorium; sunset. Prohibits a locality from granting final approval on or after July 1, 2027, of any application for a rezoning, special exception, special use permit, site plan, or plan of development for the siting of a data center. The bill also prohibits any agency of the Commonwealth from (i) issuing any permit, certificate, registration, license, or other form of approval in connection with the development or siting of a data center or (ii) authorizing the construction of any facilities designed to provide electric distribution service, interconnection, on-site electric generation, or related services for a data center on or after July 1, 2027. The bill sunsets on July 1, 2030.

SB840, Corrections, Director of the Department of; placement of inmates, Red Onion State Prison.

Director of the Department of Corrections; placement of inmates; Red Onion State Prison. Directs the Director of the Department of Corrections to continue accepting and reviewing applications for the confinement of inmates from a state that is a party to the Interstate Corrections Compact entered into pursuant to relevant law but prohibits any placement of any such inmate at the Red Onion State Prison until such time as the General Assembly reauthorizes such placement by an act of assembly. The bill also requires the Director to allow for any inmate who is (i) a citizen of the Commonwealth and (ii) incarcerated in any state that is a party to the Interstate Corrections Compact to be placed in a Department facility.

SB839, Local governing bodies; member nondisclosure agreements prohibited.

Members of local governing bodies; nondisclosure agreements prohibited. Prohibits members of local governing bodies from signing or executing a nondisclosure agreement that prohibits them from discussing matters of public concern related to the performance of their official duties. The bill provides that any such agreement is against public policy, void, and unenforceable. The bill exempts any such member from the prohibition if such nondisclosure agreement is necessary to prevent disclosure of (i) factual circumstances relating to the member's performance of official duties that reasonably implicate privacy interests held by the member, if the member elects to restrict such disclosure; (ii) matters required by law to be kept confidential; or (iii) information related to active civil or criminal investigations. Finally, the bill exempts from its provisions any contracts, covenants, or agreements entered into or renewed prior to July 1, 2027.

SB842, High school student athletes; eligibility, enrollment.

High school student athletes; eligibility; enrollment. Requires any nonprofit corporation founded in Virginia in 1913 that currently organizes and governs interscholastic activities among the public high schools to develop, implement, and enforce rules requiring that a student who is a member of a high school athletic team be deemed to satisfy any residency requirements established by such corporation in order to be eligible for participation on such team if the student is duly enrolled in the high school at which he is a member of such team.

SB841, Data centers; public hearing and notice requirements.

Data centers; public hearing and notice requirements. Provides additional requirements for local land use decisions regarding zoning changes for data center development. The bill requires, in addition to existing requirements for public advertisements, that the published advertisement providing notice for a public hearing regarding any proposed amendment to a zoning ordinance or application for a special exception for a change in use to permit the by-right development of a data center contain (i) the applicant or developer's name; (ii) the anticipated owner or end user of the development, if known; (iii) the street address, tax map parcel numbers of the parcel or parcels, or a description of the boundaries of the area subject to the changes and a link to a map of the subject area; (iv) the approximate acreage subject to the action; and (v) the expected utility infrastructure to be constructed in connection with the development, including electric, sewer, stormwater, and fuel lines, if known. The bill also requires the local governing body, before approving and adopting any zoning ordinance or amendment, and the board of zoning appeals, before authorizing a special exception or variance, to hold at least two public hearings whenever the subject of a land use decision is a data center development. Under current law, the local governing body and the board of zoning appeals are only required to hold one public hearing.