Bills & Legislation

Virginia Public Procurement Act; local arbitration agreements.

Virginia Public Procurement Act; local arbitration agreements. Allows a participating locality, for any procurement solicitation or contract exceeding $10,000 for goods and services, to require the bidder or offeror to disclose certain information regarding pre-dispute arbitration clauses, defined in the bill, in employment, civil rights, and certain consumer disputes, and provides that a locality may consider the policies and practices related to arbitration of each bidder and offeror. The bill also provides that a participating locality shall require the bidder or offeror to provide written or electronic submissions to allow the locality to ascertain (i) whether the bidder or offeror requires persons with whom it is in a work relationship or prospective work relationship to sign or otherwise enter into a contract containing a pre-dispute arbitration clause that would cover an employment or civil rights dispute and (ii) whether the bidder or offeror requires consumers to sign or otherwise enter into a contract containing a pre-dispute arbitration clause as a condition of downloading mobile applications or using websites to pay a school district for goods, services, or fees. The bill authorizes a participating locality to cancel, terminate, or suspend, in whole or in part, the contract of any contractor that has violated a provision of the bill and to declare the contractor ineligible for further contracts with such locality for up to five years.

Marcus B. SimonDemocrat

Roanoke Higher Education Authority; powers and duties, specialized noncredit workforce training.

Roanoke Higher Education Authority; board of trustees; powers and duties; specialized noncredit workforce training. Requires the board of trustees of the Roanoke Higher Education Authority to seek opportunities to collaborate with local comprehensive community colleges to meet specialized noncredit workforce training needs identified by industry but provides that if local comprehensive community colleges are unable to meet identified industry needs, then the board may seek to collaborate with other education providers to provide or may provide Roanoke Higher Education Center-delivered specialized noncredit workforce training independent of local comprehensive community colleges.

Jason S. BallardRepublican

In-state tuition; eligibility for certain members of National Guard or Reserves of the Armed Forces.

In-state tuition eligibility; certain members of National Guard or Reserves of the Armed Forces of the United States units in the Commonwealth. Declares eligible for in-state tuition charges at public institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth regardless of domicile any member of the National Guard or the Reserves of the Armed Forces of the United States who is not a resident of the Commonwealth but who is an active member of a unit of the National Guard or the Reserves of the Armed Forces of the United States in the Commonwealth.

Jason S. BallardRepublican

Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act; permits electronic nontestamentary estate docs.

Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act. Permits electronic nontestamentary estate planning documents, defined in the bill as certain enumerated records relating to estate planning that are readable as text at the time of signing and are not wills or contained in wills, to be signed and notarized, as appropriate, by electronic means. The bill provides that such electronic nontestamentary estate planning documents shall not be denied legal effect or enforceability or excluded as evidence in a proceeding solely because such documents are in electronic form. The bill also allows for the electronic presence, as that term is defined in the bill, of any witness who is otherwise required by law to be in the physical presence of the person signing the nontestamentary estate planning document.

Amy J. LauferDemocrat

Bath County and Augusta County School Boards; cost-savings agreements, requirements.

Certain school divisions; cost-savings agreements; requirements. Removes the limitation on any school board that enters into certain cost-savings agreements with a school board that governs a contiguous school division for the consolidation or sharing of educational, administrative, or support services and thus qualifies for adjustment of state share of basic aid computed annually on the basis of the composite index of local ability-to-pay of such contiguous school division that caps such adjusted basic aid payment at an amount equal to the basic aid payment appropriated to such locality by the 2007 Session of the General Assembly. The bill also permits, notwithstanding the requirement set forth in relevant law that a school division has 65 percent or more of its local taxes coming from real estate taxes in order for the school board that governs such school division to be eligible to enter into such cost-savings agreements with a contiguous school division, the Bath County School Board to enter into such cost-savings agreements with the Augusta County School Board, provided that all other conditions and limitations set forth in relevant law apply to any such agreement.

Chris S. RunionRepublican

Legislature Modernization, Commission on; established, report.

Commission on Legislature Modernization; report. Establishes the Commission on Legislature Modernization in the legislative branch for the purpose of studying the operation and functionality of the General Assembly and identifying ways to make the legislature more effective, efficient, responsive, reflective, and transparent on behalf of all Virginians. The Commission will consist of 17 members, which shall include 9 legislators, 6 nonlegislative citizen members, and 2 ex officio members. The Commission shall be convened for a period of two years, every 10 years in the year ending in four, and shall terminate after the submission of its final report to the General Assembly at the end of its second year.

Elizabeth B. Bennett-ParkerDemocrat

School boards, certain; cost of competing adjustments, eligibility.

Cost of competing adjustment; eligibility; certain school boards. Provides that the Accomack County School Board and the Northampton County School Board are eligible to receive the cost of competing adjustment to salaries for instructional and support positions as part of the state share of basic aid pursuant to the general appropriation act.

Robert S. Bloxom, Jr.Republican

Elections, State Board of; appointment of Commissioner of Elections.

State Board of Elections; appointment of Commissioner of Elections. Provides for the appointment of the Commissioner of Elections to be made by the State Board of Elections; currently, the Governor makes such appointment. The appointment or removal of a Commissioner shall require an affirmative vote of four of the five members of the Board. The Commissioner shall be subject to confirmation and reconfirmation by the General Assembly every four years. If the Board fails to make or communicate an appointment of a Commissioner by the end of the term, the bill provides that the Commissioner serving at such time shall be deemed to be reappointed and shall be subject to reconfirmation at the next regular session. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025.

Israel D. O'QuinnRepublican

Mattress stewardship program; established, report, civil penalty.

Mattress stewardship program established; civil penalty. Prohibits the disposal of a mattress, as defined in the bill, in a landfill or an incinerator beginning January 1, 2028, and requires producers of mattresses sold at retail in the Commonwealth or a representative organization acting on a producer's behalf to submit a plan for the establishment of a mattress stewardship program. Such mattress stewardship program plan shall establish an assessment for all mattresses sold in the Commonwealth and a network of convenient and free collection sites for postconsumer mattresses, defined in the bill, that will facilitate higher rates of recycling and materials recovery for postconsumer mattresses. The bill establishes annual reporting requirements for mattress producers or representative organizations and establishes a Mattress Stewardship Program Advisory Board to advise on the proper implementation and sustainability of the mattress stewardship program. The bill also establishes the powers and duties of the Department of Environmental Quality as they relate to the bill and civil penalties for improper mattress disposal and violations of the mattress stewardship program.

Amy J. LauferDemocrat

Artificial Intelligence Developer Act; established, civil penalty.

Artificial Intelligence Developer Act established; civil penalty. Creates operating standards for developers and deployers, as those terms are defined in the bill, relating to artificial intelligence, including (i) avoiding certain risks, (ii) protecting against discrimination, (iii) providing disclosures, and (iv) conducting impact assessments and provides that the Office of the Attorney General shall enforce the provisions of the bill. The provisions of the bill related to operating standards for deployers have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.

Michelle Lopes MaldonadoDemocrat

Organ donation leave tax credit; establishes a nonrefundable credit for taxable years 2024-2028.

Organ donation leave tax credit. Establishes a nonrefundable income tax credit for taxable years 2024 through 2028 for a taxpayer that is a private employer, as defined by the bill, for certain costs incurred during a period of organ donation leave received by an employee organ donor.

Karrie K. DelaneyDemocrat

Parental rights; termination for alleged sexual abuse, petition filed by other parent.

Termination of parental rights; sexual abuse; clear and convincing standard; petition filed by other parent. Allows a parent to file a petition to terminate the parental rights of the other parent if the circumstances giving rise to such a petition allege that such parent engaged in conduct prohibited by relevant law relating to sexual abuse, whether or not the parent has been charged with or convicted of the alleged violation, and the child was conceived of such conduct. The bill further requires the court to issue an order terminating the parental rights of a parent upon a finding, based on clear and convincing evidence, that (i) such parent engaged in the conduct prohibited by relevant law relating to sexual abuse, whether or not the parent has been charged with or convicted of the alleged violation, and the child was conceived of such conduct and (ii) termination of the parental rights of such parent is in the best interests of the child. The bill specifies that, if such parent is found by clear and convincing evidence to have engaged in the prohibited conduct resulting in the conception of such child, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that termination is in the best interest of the child, but no presumption shall be made by the court that one parent alone is contrary to the best interests of the child.

Karrie K. DelaneyDemocrat

Custody and visitation arrangements; best interests of the child, family history of abuse.

Custody and visitation arrangements; best interests of the child; expert testimony; history of abuse. Requires a court to consider any history of family abuse, sexual abuse, child abuse, or an act of violence, force, or threat in determining best interests of a child for purposes of determining custody or visitation arrangements. Under current law, only such history that occurred no earlier than 10 years prior to the filing of a custody or visitation petition is required to be considered. The bill also requires that any expert evidence from a court-appointed or outside professional relating to any alleged abuse of a child subject to such petition shall only be admitted if such professional possesses demonstrated expertise and clinical experience in working with victims of the type of such abuse alleged that is not solely of a forensic nature. The bill further directs the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia to provide mandatory judicial training on trauma-informed practices in proceedings involving domestic violence to magistrates and judges of the juvenile domestic relations district courts, general district courts, circuit courts, and the Court of Appeals of Virginia, the justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia, and court personnel.

Karrie K. DelaneyDemocrat

Alcohol safety action program; local administrative fee.

Alcohol safety action program; local administrative fee. Provides that any county, city, or town, or any combination thereof, that has established and operates an alcohol safety action program and supplements fees collected for the program pursuant to general law by more than 33 percent annually in order to fully fund the program may charge a local administrative fee of no more than $100 to each person entering such program.

Charniele L. HerringDemocrat

License plate reader systems; use by law-enforcement agencies, civil penalty.

License plate reader systems; civil penalty. Provides requirements for the use of license plate reader systems, defined in the bill, by law-enforcement agencies. The bill limits the use of such systems to scanning, detecting, and recording data about vehicles and license plate numbers for the purpose of identifying a vehicle that is (i) associated with a wanted, missing, or endangered person or human trafficking; (ii) stolen; (iii) involved in an active law-enforcement investigation; or (iv) in the vicinity of a recent crime and may be connected to that crime. The bill authorizes and requires the Commonwealth Transportation Board to establish a permitting process for installing and using such systems in state highway rights-of-way. This bill incorporates HB 1037.

Charniele L. HerringDemocrat

Administrative Process Act; appeals of case decisions regarding benefits sought.

Administrative Process Act; exemptions; limitations; appeals of case decisions regarding benefits sought. Provides that in appeals of case decisions regarding the grant or denial of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, general relief, auxiliary grants, or state-local hospitalization, the review shall be based upon the agency record and the court may enter intermediate relief. The bill also provides that in such appeals, unless an error of law appears, the court shall enter judgment by dismissing the review action or affirming the agency regulation or decision.

Patrick A. HopeDemocrat

Parental access to minor's medical records; consent by certain minors to treatment.

Parental access to minor's medical records; consent by certain minors to treatment of mental or emotional disorder. Adds an exception to the right of parental access to a minor child's health records if the furnishing to or review by the requesting parent of such health records would be reasonably likely to deter the minor from seeking care. Under the bill, a minor 16 years of age or older who is determined by a health care provider to be mature and capable of giving informed consent shall be deemed an adult for the purpose of giving consent to treatment of a mental or emotional disorder. The bill provides that the capacity of a minor to consent to treatment of a mental or emotional disorder does not include the capacity to refuse treatment for a mental or emotional disorder for which a parent, guardian, or custodian of the minor has given consent and that a parent, legal guardian, or custodian of a minor shall be notified by a health care provider of the minor's drug abuse, substance abuse, or potential of self-harm.

Candi Mundon KingDemocrat

Juvenile and domestic relations district court; recording of proceedings.

Recording of proceedings in district courts; juvenile and domestic relations district court. Allows an audio recording of proceedings in a juvenile and domestic relations district court to be made by a party or his counsel.

Rae CousinsDemocrat

School boards; expands availability of allowable alternatives for pupil transportation.

Schools boards; pupil transportation; alternatives. Expands the availability of allowable alternatives to traditional school bus transportation services relating to the transportation of students to and from school or school-related activities, including permitting any school board of a school division for which providing transportation by school bus is not cost effective to use a portion of its transportation funding to provide a grant to any parent of a student who provides student transportation to and from school, subject to certain conditions enumerated in the bill.

Terry L. AustinRepublican

Appointment of counsel for accused; felonies punishable by a mandatory minimum term of confinement.

Appointment of counsel for accused; felonies punishable by a mandatory minimum term of confinement for life. Provides that in any case in which an indigent defendant is charged with any felony punishable by a mandatory minimum term of confinement for life, the court shall appoint two competent, qualified, and experienced attorneys, one of whom shall be the public defender in a jurisdiction in which a public defender office is established, for the defendant. Under current law, the court is required to appoint two such attorneys in cases in which an indigent defendant is charged with a Class 1 felony. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Criminal Justice Conference.

Will DavisRepublican

Human trafficking investigators; licensing by the Department of Criminal Justice Services.

Human trafficking investigators; licensing by the Department of Criminal Justice Services. Authorizes the Department of Criminal Justice Services to register and issue licenses for human trafficking investigators. The bill provides that a human trafficking investigator is a private investigator who is GSA compliant and engages in the business of, or accepts employment to make, investigations to obtain information on sex trafficking or severe forms of trafficking as defined in the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and in the federal Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015.

Wren M. WilliamsRepublican

Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act; flood-related disclosures.

Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act; flood-related disclosures. Requires the Real Estate Board to include on its repetitive risk loss disclosure form for owners of residential real property space for the disclosure of historical flood damages, flood insurance claims, and costs to such residential real property along with other related information. The bill also requires the owner of residential real property within the Commonwealth to disclose to any purchaser or renter of such property certain facts related to the flood history and risk of such property.

Phil M. HernandezDemocrat

Health insurance; coverage for therapeutic day treatment services.

Health insurance; coverage for therapeutic day treatment services. Requires health insurers providing health care plans to provide coverage for therapeutic day treatment services for children with serious emotional disturbances, defined in the in bill as children who have a mental illness diagnosis and have experienced functional limitations due to emotional disturbance, including experiencing a school shooting or the loss of a loved one in a school setting, over the past 12 months on a continuous or intermittent basis. Under the bill, "therapeutic day treatment services" are treatment programs that combine psychotherapeutic interventions with education and mental health and may include evaluation; medication education and management; opportunities to learn and use daily living skills and to enhance social and interpersonal skills; and individual, group, and family counseling. The bill applies to plans delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed on and after January 1, 2025.

Nadarius E. ClarkDemocrat

Income tax, state; establishes a new tax bracket beginning on and after January 1, 2024.

Imposition of income tax. Establishes a new income tax bracket beginning on and after January 1, 2024, that taxes income in excess of $1 million at a rate of 10 percent. The bill provides that 50 percent of revenues generated by the new tax bracket will be dedicated to providing additional basic aid funding for public schools, 30 percent of such revenues will be dedicated to the Child Care Subsidy Program, and 20 percent of such revenues will be dedicated to the Virginia Housing Trust Fund.

Phil M. HernandezDemocrat

Affordable housing; purchase of development rights.

Purchase of development rights for affordable housing. Permits any local government to purchase development rights or accept the donation of development rights in an effort to preserve and provide affordable housing. The bill grants local governments the powers necessary to carry out the purchase of such development rights. The bill prohibits the conversion or diversion of such affordable housing once the development rights are purchased unless the local government determines that such diversion is essential to the development and growth of the locality and in accordance with the locality's comprehensive plan.

David L. BulovaDemocrat

Students; Department of Education's model policy on cell phone use during instructional time.

Department of Education; model policy on student cell phone use during instructional time; local adoption. Requires the Department of Education to develop, adopt, and distribute to each school board a model policy whereby public elementary and secondary school students are prohibited from possessing or using personal cell phones or other personal handheld communication devices during instructional time at school. The bill requires the Department, in developing and adopting such model policy, to seek to balance the interests of students' academic achievement, cognitive development, safety, and general well-being and permits the Department to include appropriate exceptions in extraordinary circumstances such as emergency situations or situations involving the need to contact the student's parents. The bill requires each school board to develop and adopt a policy that is consistent with such model policy adopted by the Department.

Mark L. Earley, Jr.Republican

Vehicle exhaust systems; inspection and administrative fee.

Vehicle exhaust systems; inspection and administrative fee. Prohibits passenger car exhaust systems from emitting noise in excess of 95 decibels in Planning District 8 on any highway; driveway or premises of a church, school, recreational facility, or business; any governmental property open to the public; any industrial establishment providing parking space for customers, patrons, or employees; and any highway under construction or not yet open to the public. The bill allows, in Planning District 8, a law-enforcement officer to stop a passenger car he determines is emitting exhaust system noise in excess of such limit and issue a notice of an administrative fee of $250 to be assessed at the time of the vehicle's next registration renewal and establishes a process for inspecting such vehicle. The bill has a contingent effective date of January 1, 2025, provided that the Department of Environmental Quality has received the necessary funding to supply the necessary equipment for such vehicle exhaust system inspections to inspection stations. The bill sunsets on July 1, 2027.

Vivian E. WattsDemocrat

Certified nursing facilities; administrative sanctions, facilities subject to minimum standards.

Certified nursing facilities; administrative sanctions; facilities subject to minimum standards. Amends the administrative sanctions that may be imposed on certified nursing facilities in relation to compliance with staffing requirements. The bill directs the State Health Commissioner, in determining whether or not to impose sanctions, to make the determination of whether a certified nursing facility was located in a medically underserved area that severely limited the ability of the certified nursing facility to recruit and retain direct care staff. The bill requires nursing facilities subject to a corrective action plan to demonstrate compliance with the corrective action plan on a quarterly basis. Under the bill, in determining whether a corrective action plan is needed, the Commissioner shall consider certain evidence of direct care staff hours, unless the facility has had a change in ownership. The bill changes from three to two the number of corrective action plans after which, if a a certified nursing facility fails to show compliance or improvement, the Commissioner may place the facility on probation. The bill also includes all nursing homes eligible to receive Medicaid reimbursement for residents in the list of facilities subject to minimum standards for (i) construction and maintenance; (ii) operation, staffing, and equipping; and (iii) the qualifications and training of staff. The bill changes the effective date of certain provisions passed in the 2023 Session of the General Assembly relating to staffing requirements for certified nursing facilities from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2024.

Vivian E. WattsDemocrat

Income tax, state; creates a new tax bracket.

Income taxes. Creates a new income tax bracket for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2024, for income in excess of $600,000, which is to be taxed at seven percent. The bill also creates two new tax credits: a child and dependent care tax credit and a family caregiver tax credit. Both tax credits would be refundable for Virginia residents and would be available for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2029. The child and dependent care tax credit would equal 50 percent of the federal tax credit allowed for employment-related expenses for household and dependent care services. A similar income tax deduction for employment-related expenses would be sunsetted by the bill. The family caregiver tax credit would apply to expenses incurred by an individual in caring for an eligible family member, defined in the bill, who requires assistance with one or more activities of daily living, also defined in the bill. The family caregiver tax credit equals 50 percent of eligible expenditures incurred by the caregiver up to $1,000. The family caregiver tax credit shall be available only to taxpayers that have federal adjusted gross income that is no greater than $100,000 for individuals or $200,000 for married persons.

Vivian E. WattsDemocrat

Retail Sales and Use tax; levies tax on following services: admissions, charges for recreation, etc.

Sales and use tax on services. Levies the retail sales and use tax on the following services: admissions; charges for recreation, fitness, or sports facilities; nonmedical personal services or counseling; dry cleaning and laundry services; companion animal care; residential home repair or maintenance, landscaping, or cleaning services when paid for directly by a resident or homeowner; vehicle and engine repair; repairs or alterations to tangible personal property; storage of tangible personal property; delivery or shipping services; travel, event, and aesthetic planning services; and communications services that are not subject to the communications sales and use tax and are not digital personal property. The bill also imposes the retail sales and use tax on digital personal property, defined in the bill as a digital product delivered electronically that the purchaser owns or has the ability to continually access without having to pay an additional subscription or usage fee to the seller after paying the initial purchase price. Revenues generated by the taxes levied on services and digital personal property shall be allocated in the same manner as other sales and use taxes; however, revenues from the state portion of the sales and use tax that would be allocated to the general fund shall instead be allocated to school divisions as follows: (i) 60 percent shall be distributed to localities on the basis of school-age population and (ii) 40 percent shall be distributed to localities on the basis of the high-need student population in the locality. The bill clarifies that a high-need student population includes students who are (a) automatically certified for free school meals because of participation in social services programs, (b) participants in a program of special education, or (c) English language learners. The bill provides certain exemptions to the sales and use tax on services, including health care services that must be performed by a person licensed or certified by the Department of Health Professions, veterinary services, professional services, Internet access services, and services provided by a person who does not receive more than $2,500 per year in gross receipts for performance of such services. The bill exempts services purchased by a nonprofit organization and services purchased by a homeowners' association or by a landlord for the benefit of his tenant. The bill also repeals the service exemptions currently provided for the sale of custom programs and modification of prewritten programs. The bill imposes the communications sales and use tax on prepaid calling services and on digital subscription services, defined in the bill as services for which the user pays in order to access and use software, reading materials, or other digital data or applications for a defined period of time, which products the user does not own or have permanent access to outside of such period of time.

Vivian E. WattsDemocrat

Best interests of the child; assuring frequent and continuing contact with both parents.

Best interests of the child; assuring frequent and continuing contact with both parents. Provides that, in determining the best interests of a child for purposes of custody and parenting time arrangements, upon request of either party, the court shall assure a minor child of frequent and continuing contact with both parents so as to maximize the amount of time the minor child spends with each parent.

Mark L. Earley, Jr.Republican

Small Business and Supplier Diversity, Department of; guidance to small businesses.

Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity; guidance to small businesses; identification of enforcement actions; work group; report. Requires the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity to develop and provide guidance to businesses with newly approved permits and established businesses regarding responsibilities and requirements for maintaining such business that includes information identifying any regularly occurring required report to a state agency and any associated fees, penalties, or waivers. The bill requires each state agency to annually report any enforcement action taken by the agency against a small business in the previous calendar year that specifies each infraction and the enforcement action taken by the agency. The bill requires the Department to post de-identified aggregated data by state agency and infraction type from such reports on its website. The bill requires the Department to convene a work group to identify and recommend means to provide relief to small businesses regarding regularly occurring required reports to state agencies. The work group is required to identify each such report and consider (i) if such report can be required less frequently or eliminated; (ii) if the required information has not changed since the previous report, allowing the small business to satisfy the reporting requirement by indicating that there has been no change; (iii) establishing a waiver or lowering the threshold to qualify for an existing waiver; (iv) reducing or eliminating any penalty for noncompliance; and (v) any other means to reduce the regulatory burden on small businesses. The Department is required to report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly by November 1, 2024.

Hillary Pugh KentRepublican

Conflict of Interests Act, State and Local Government, etc.; deadline for public disclosure.

State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act and the General Assembly Conflicts of Interests Act; deadline for annual filing of disclosure statements; deadline for public disclosure. Changes the filing deadline for statements of economic interests and financial disclosure statements from February 1 to December 15. The bill requires the forms to be made public within 30 days of the filing deadline; currently, this is required within six weeks of the filing deadline.

Kannan SrinivasanDemocrat

Zoning; developmental and use of accessory dwelling units.

Zoning; development and use of accessory dwelling units. Requires a locality to include in its zoning ordinances for single-family residential zoning districts accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, as defined in the bill, as a permitted accessory use. The bill requires a person to seek a permit for an ADU from the locality, requires the locality to issue such permit if the person meets certain requirements enumerated in the bill, and restricts the fee for such permit to $100 or less. The bill prohibits the locality from requiring (i) dedicated parking for the ADU; (ii) lot sizes or setbacks for the ADU greater than that of the primary dwelling; (iii) consanguinity or affinity between the occupants of the ADU and the primary dwelling; and (iv) redundant water, sewer, or septic capacity for the ADU. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025.

Kannan SrinivasanDemocrat

Voting equipment and systems; State Board approval process, printed receipt for cast ballot.

Elections; voting equipment and systems; State Board approval process; printed receipt for cast ballot. Requires voting systems approved by the State Board of Elections to produce a printed receipt for each voter who has cast a ballot that shows the date and time the voter's ballot was cast, the voter's number corresponding to the order in which ballots were cast, and a list of all the voter's selections on the ballot as recorded by the voting system.

Hillary Pugh KentRepublican

Data centers; energy usage.

Department of Energy; data center energy usage. Requires each data center located in the Commonwealth to make a quarterly energy source report to the Department of Energy's Division of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency that identifies the amount of energy, disaggregated by the source of energy, consumed by the data center in the previous quarter. The bill requires the Division to publish aggregate deidentified data from such reports on its website. The bill also directs the Secretary of Commerce and Trade to convene a work group to estimate the future energy demands of the data center industry in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the work group to include representatives from the Department of Energy, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority, the State Corporation Commission, the data center industry, electric utilities, and other interested stakeholders. The Secretary is required to report the findings of the work group to the General Assembly by November 30, 2024.

Kannan SrinivasanDemocrat

Highway Corporation Act of 1988; quarterly reports.

Highway Corporation Act of 1988; reports. Requires a roadway operator under the Highway Corporation Act of 1988 to quarterly file with the State Corporation Commission, the Secretary of Transportation, and the Chairmen of the House and Senate Committees on Transportation a complete financial report and provide any additional current and historical financial information as requested by any of the same such entities.

Kannan SrinivasanDemocrat

License plate readers; penalties.

License plate readers; penalties. Provides requirements for the use of license plate readers, defined in the bill, by law-enforcement agencies. The bill requires such agencies to enter into an agreement with the license plate reader owner or other responsible non-law-enforcement entity to operate a data trust, defined in the bill, to store the data collected by a license plate reader and requires any such law-enforcement agency to apply to the data trust for access to such data. The bill limits the use of license plate readers to scanning, detecting, and identifying license plate numbers for the purpose of identifying vehicles involved in certain crimes.

Irene ShinDemocrat

Common interest communities; associations may ban use of pesticides in or upon any common area.

Common interest communities; pesticides; prohibition on use. Clarifies that common interest community associations may ban the use of pesticides in or upon any common area or common element, as defined in relevant law. The bill also allows such associations to establish reasonable restrictions on the use of pesticides within the common interest community if such use might reasonably affect any lot, common area, unit, or common element.

Irene ShinDemocrat

Dulles Toll Road & Dulles Greenway; DOT to review tolls, fines, and penalties.

Department of Transportation; Dulles Toll Road and Dulles Greenway; report. Directs the Department of Transportation to review the tolls, fines, and penalties assessed on the Dulles Toll Road and the Dulles Greenway.

Kannan SrinivasanDemocrat

Substantial risk orders; recommendations for issuance.

Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security and the Secretary of Health and Human Resources; work group; report. Directs the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security and the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to convene a work group to study and make recommendations on procedures for requiring health care providers or facilities to report to a law-enforcement officer in order to initiate procedures for the issuance of a substantial risk order. The bill requires the work group to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly by November 1, 2024.

Irene ShinDemocrat

Absentee voting in person; voter satellite offices, etc.

Absentee voting in person; voter satellite offices; establishment on the campus of certain public institutions of higher education. Requires, for any general election, at least one voter satellite office to be established on the campus of any baccalaureate public institution of higher education that has more than 3,000 enrolled students. The bill directs the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to report each year to the State Board of Elections the number of enrolled students, as defined by the bill, at each baccalaureate public institution of higher education and requires the State Board to use this number to determine which institutions meet the enrollment threshold for requiring an on-campus voter satellite office for the general election held the following year. The governing body of a county or city where a baccalaureate public institution of higher education meeting the enrollment threshold is located, or the general registrar serving such county or city, shall collaborate with the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to select a location for the establishment and operation of a voter satellite office on such institution's campus. The location selected shall be within the student activity center on the institution's campus, unless such placement creates an undue burden on the operation of such institution, in which case the location selected shall be centrally located on the institution's campus.

Irene ShinDemocrat

Local government; authority, service employees, transition period.

Building service employees; public contracting. Permits any county, city, or town in the Commonwealth to provide for certain requirements concerning incumbent and successor service employers, defined in the bill, by local ordinance or resolution. For example, such local ordinance or resolution may require that successor service employers retain incumbent service employees during a transition period of 90 days. Under the bill, service employees are those who perform work in connection with the care or maintenance of property, services at an airport, or food preparation services at schools. The bill provides that a employer that violates the provisions of a local ordinance or resolution enacted pursuant to the bill may be subject to a civil action and monetary damages.

Alfonso H. LopezDemocrat

C-PACE loans; removes an exclusion for residential dwellings and condominiums.

C-PACE loans; residential dwellings and condominiums. Removes an exclusion for residential dwellings with fewer than five dwelling units and condominium projects from certain requirements related to a voluntary special assessment lien that secures a loan for the initial acquisition and installation of clean energy, resiliency, or stormwater management improvements.

Alfonso H. LopezDemocrat

VA Human Rights Act; prohibits discrimination on the basis of citizenship or immigration status.

Virginia Human Rights Act; prohibits discrimination on the basis of citizenship or immigration status. Adds citizenship or immigration status to the classes protected from unlawful discrimination in the Virginia Human Rights Act.

Alfonso H. LopezDemocrat

Income tax, state; Virginia local journalism sustainability credits.

Virginia local journalism sustainability tax credits. Creates a nonrefundable income tax credit for eligible local newspaper publishers, defined in the bill, for compensation paid to local news journalists. The credit is equal to (i) for the first taxable year in which the credit is claimed, the lesser of 10 percent of the actual amounts paid in wages to local news journalists during such taxable year or $5,000 and (ii) in subsequent taxable years, the lesser of five percent of the actual amounts paid in wages to local news journalists during such taxable year or $2,500. The credit includes an aggregate cap of $5 million per taxable year. The bill also creates a nonrefundable income tax credit for eligible small businesses with fewer than 50 employees for certain expenses incurred for local media advertising in a local newspaper or in a broadcast of a local radio or television station. The credit is equal to (i) for the first taxable year in which the credit is claimed, the lesser of 80 percent of the actual amounts paid or incurred for qualified local media advertising expenses or $4,000 and (ii) in subsequent taxable years, the lesser of 50 percent of the actual amounts paid or incurred for qualified local media advertising expenses during such taxable year or $2,000. The credit includes an aggregate cap of $10 million per taxable year. Each of the credits may be claimed in taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2029.

Alfonso H. LopezDemocrat

Child tax credit; creates a credit for taxable years 2024 through 2028.

Child tax credit. Creates a tax credit for taxable years 2024 through 2028 for individuals whose households include dependents younger than the age of 18. The bill provides that the amount of the credit will be equal to $500 for each such dependent for an individual or married persons filing a joint return whose family Virginia adjusted gross income, as defined by Virginia code, does not exceed $100,000. The bill provides that if the taxpayer is a resident of the Commonwealth for the full taxable year, and the amount of such credit exceeds the taxpayer's liability for the taxable year, the excess shall be refunded by the Tax Commissioner.

Kathy K.L. TranDemocrat

Electric utilities; notice required for customer return to service.

Electric utilities; notice required for customer return to service. Decreases the required written notice period to 90 days for certain electric energy customers to return to service by an investor-owned utility after purchasing electric energy from other suppliers. Currently, such electric energy customers must provide five years' written notice to return to service by Dominion Energy Virginia or three years' written notice to return to service by Appalachian Power.

Alfonso H. LopezDemocrat