Bills & Legislation

Artificial Intelligence Companion Chatbots and Minors Act; established, enforcement, civil penalty.

Artificial Intelligence Chatbots and Minors Act established; enforcement; civil penalties; individual action. Creates the Artificial Intelligence Chatbots and Minors Act to require a covered entity, defined in the bill, to (i) implement certain reasonable systems and processes, (ii) make reasonable efforts to notify appropriate emergency services or law enforcement if it obtains knowledge that a user faces an imminent risk of death or serious physical injury, and (iii) submit a report to the Attorney General after obtaining knowledge of certain covered incidents, defined in the bill, connected to one or more of its chatbots. The bill also requires an operator, defined in the bill, to disclose the non-human nature of the chatbot to users at certain intervals. The bill authorizes the Attorney General to initiate an action to seek an injunction and civil penalties for violations and also provides an individual civil action for any person harmed by a violation or the parent or legal guardian of a minor harmed by a violation.

Tara A. DurantRepublican

Unlicensed care homes; homes to register with Department of Social Services.

Department of Social Services; unlicensed care homes; registration. Requires every person that constitutes, or that operates or maintains, an unlicensed care home, defined in the bill, to register such home with the Commissioner of the Department of Social Services.

Glen H. Sturtevant, Jr.Republican

Hampton University; recognition and restoration of status as a land-grant university.

Mamie E. LockeDemocrat

Virginia Public Procurement Act; preference for local products and firms, by localities.

Virginia Public Procurement Act; preference for local products and firms; by localities. Allows the governing body of a county, city, or town to give preference to goods, services, and construction produced in such locality or provided by persons, firms, or corporations having principal places of business in the locality if the bid price is not more than five percent greater than the bid price of the lowest responsive and active bidder. In such a circumstance, the bill permits the bidder of goods, services, and construction produced in such locality or provided by persons, firms, or corporations having principal places of business in the locality to match the price of the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. Under current law, such preference may only be given in the case of a tie bid.

Adam P. EbbinDemocrat

Zoning; special exceptions for City of Portsmouth.

Zoning; special exceptions; City of Portsmouth. Adds the City of Portsmouth to those localities that have been granted authority to impose a condition upon any special exception relating to retail alcoholic beverage control licensees that provides that such special exception will automatically expire upon a change of ownership of the property, a change in possession, a change in the operation or management of a facility, or the passage of a specific period of time.

L. Louise LucasDemocrat

DJJ; transfer of responsibility to Secretary of Health and Human Resources.

Department of Juvenile Justice; transfer of responsibility from Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to Secretary of Health and Human Resources; stakeholder work group. Directs the Office of the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security and the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to convene a stakeholder work group to create a plan and recommended timeline for transferring responsibility for the Department of Juvenile Justice from the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to the Secretary of Health and Human Resources. The bill requires the work group to be composed of interested parties, including representatives from civil liberty organizations, organizations engaged in the daily work of youth justice and violence prevention, formerly incarcerated persons and their families, and mental health experts. The bill directs the work group to submit its plan and recommended timeline for executing the transfer to the Chairs of the House Committee for Courts of Justice, House Committee on Public Safety, Senate Committee for Courts of Justice, and Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services by November 1, 2026.

Mamie E. LockeDemocrat

Mental health service providers; definitions, use of artificial intelligence system, civil penalty.

Use of artificial intelligence system by mental health service providers; civil penalty. Permits the use of an artificial intelligence system by mental health service providers to assist in providing therapy or counseling services if such mental health service provider maintains full responsibility for all interactions, outputs, and data use associated with the system. The bill prohibits the use of an artificial intelligence system to provide therapy or counseling services without a mental health service provider. The bill specifies that records kept by mental health service providers must comply with health records privacy requirements; creates an exception for religious counseling, peer support, or self-help materials and educational resources; and establishes a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for violations of the statute.

Barbara A. FavolaDemocrat

Peanut; designating as state snack.

Official emblems and designations; state snack; peanut. Designates the peanut as the official state snack.

Emily M. JordanRepublican

School boards; payment of school meal debt.

Department of Education; impact of requiring each school board to pay unpaid meal balance from uncollectible school meal debts; report. Directs the Department of Education to evaluate and submit to the chairs of the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriations and Education and Health and the House Committees on Appropriations and Education by November 1, 2026, a report on the impact of requiring each school board, at the end of each school year, to pay for the total unpaid school meal balance on the nonprofit food service account of each public elementary or secondary school in the school division resulting from uncollectible school meal debts on any student account.

Danica A. RoemDemocrat

Parole; investigation prior to release, input from the attorney for the Commonwealth.

Parole; investigation prior to release; input from the attorney for the Commonwealth. Requires the Parole Board to notify the attorney for the Commonwealth in each jurisdiction in which an offense occurred for which a prisoner is incarcerated as part of the required investigation to determine if such prisoner will be released on parole. The bill further provides that the attorney for the Commonwealth may submit his input to the Board regarding the impact the release of the prisoner will have on the jurisdiction. The bill requires that any such input received shall be considered by the Board but shall not infringe on the Board's authority to exercise its decision-making authority.

David R. SuetterleinRepublican

Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program; establishment of student meal plan credit donation program.

Institutions of higher education; Hunger-Free Campus Food Pantry Grant Program; establishment of student meal plan credit donation program. Renames the Hunger-Free Campus Food Pantry Grant Program, established pursuant to applicable law, as "the Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program" and amends the Program by expanding the criteria that a public institution of higher education or eligible private institution of higher education must satisfy to receive a designation as a "Hunger-Free Campus" and be awarded a grant under the Program to include a requirement that any such institution to establish both (i) an on-campus food pantry, pursuant to current law, and (ii) if such institution offers a meal swipe program or equivalent student meal swipe plan, a student meal credit sharing program, whereby students may voluntarily donate unused meal plan credits to be distributed for use by other students at campus dining halls or at its on-campus food pantry or to otherwise support its on-campus food pantry. The bill also requires grants awarded pursuant to the Program to be used to support on-campus efforts and initiatives to eliminate student food insecurity at such institution through the maintenance and operation of both its food pantry, pursuant to current law, and its student meal credit sharing program established in accordance with the bill.

Danica A. RoemDemocrat

Retail Sales and Use Tax; definitions, imposes firearm and ammunition tax.

Retail sales and use tax; firearm and ammunition tax. Imposes a firearm and ammunition tax equal to 11 percent of the gross receipts from the sale and distribution of any firearm or ammunition by a firearms or ammunition manufacturer, as such terms are defined in the bill. The bill provides that proceeds from such tax shall be distributed to the general fund with the intent that such proceeds are used for gun violence prevention efforts and community safety in the Commonwealth. The bill contains a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.

Angelia Williams GravesDemocrat