Virginia 2024 Regular Session All Bills
VA
Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB278
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Virginia Abortion Care and Gender-Affirming Health Care Protection Act; reproductive and gender-affirming health care services; prohibitions on extradition for certain crimes; civil penalties. Establishes the Virginia Abortion Care and Gender-Affirming Health Care Protection Act. The bill provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealth that all persons are entitled to provide, receive, and help others provide or receive abortion care and gender-affirming health care services not prohibited under the laws of the Commonwealth, and that such provision, receipt, and assistance is not diminished, chilled, or infringed by public or private actors. Virginia Abortion Care and Gender-Affirming Health Care Protection Act; reproductive and gender-affirming health care services; prohibitions on extradition for certain crimes; civil penalties. Establishes the Virginia Abortion Care and Gender-Affirming Health Care Protection Act. The bill provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealth that all persons are entitled to provide, receive, and help others provide or receive abortion care and gender-affirming health care services not prohibited under the laws of the Commonwealth, and that such provision, receipt, and assistance is not diminished, chilled, or infringed by public or private actors. The bill provides that no law-enforcement officer acting in the Commonwealth or employed by the Commonwealth or any of its localities or political subdivisions may investigate, arrest, or detain any person, seek the issuance of a warrant, or otherwise assist in or provide support for any investigation regarding either the provision or receipt of abortion care or gender-affirming care not prohibited under the laws of the Commonwealth or any person's menstrual health data. The bill creates a private right of action for any person who is aggrieved by such unlawful investigation to obtain an injunction or other equitable relief against such law-enforcement officer. The bill also creates a private right of action for any person who sustains any injury, damages, or other harm resulting from another person who, under the law of a jurisdiction other than the Commonwealth, engages or attempts to engage in abusive litigation, as defined in the bill. The bill also provides that no demand for extradition of a person charged with a criminal violation of law of another state shall be recognized by the Governor if such alleged violation involves the receipt of or assistance with protected health care activity, as defined in the bill, within the Commonwealth unless the alleged criminal violation would also constitute a criminal offense under the laws of the Commonwealth. The bill provides that any subpoena under the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act or any summons for a witness for another state in a criminal case shall include an attestation, made under penalty of perjury, stating whether the subpoena or summons seeks documents, information, or testimony related to the provision, receipt, attempted provision or receipt, assistance in the provision or receipt, or attempted assistance in the provision or receipt of protected health care activity, as defined in the bill.
VA
Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB279
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Virginia Commonwealth University Health System Authority; board of directors membership; powers and duties; capital projects; issuance of bonds. Provides for a number of reforms related to the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System Authority. The bill reduces the number of members serving on the Authority's board of directors and the number of physician-faculty members that are required to serve on the board, requires persons who are appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates and the Senate Committee on Rules to be nonlegislative citizen members, and changes the term of office for board members. Additionally, the bill amends the Authority's powers and duties to provide outside oversight of certain actions taken or contemplated by the Authority. The Authority is required to notify the Governor, the Secretary of Finance, and the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees prior to seeking financing or incurring debt or entering into a contract related to hospital facilities and other projects. Further, the Authority is required to conduct a comprehensive financial and risk analysis for every proposed capital project and, for capital projects exceeding $15 million, to consult with the Secretary of Finance and the Department of Planning and Budget on various details, in addition to notifying the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees and providing specific information related to the capital project.
VA
Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB28
Introduced
12/11/23
Refer
12/11/23
Report Pass
1/18/24
Engrossed
1/22/24
Refer
2/13/24
Report Pass
2/28/24
School boards; powers and duties; policies regarding cell phones and other handheld communication devices. Permits each school board to develop and implement a policy to prohibit the possession or use of cell phones and other handheld communication devices during regular school hours.
VA
Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB280
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Report Pass
1/25/24
Report Pass
2/6/24
Engrossed
2/8/24
Refer
2/15/24
Refer
2/23/24
Health care; decision-making; end of life; penalties. Allows an adult diagnosed with a terminal disease to request and an attending health care provider to prescribe a self-administered controlled substance for the purpose of ending the patient's life. The bill requires that a patient's request for a self-administered controlled substance to end his life must be given orally on two occasions and in writing, signed by the patient and one witness, and that the patient be given an express opportunity to rescind his request at any time. The bill makes it a Class 2 felony (i) to willfully and deliberately alter, forge, conceal, or destroy a patient's request, or rescission of request, for a self-administered controlled substance to end his life with the intent and effect of causing the patient's death; (ii) to coerce, intimidate, or exert undue influence on a patient to request a self-administered controlled substance for the purpose of ending his life or to destroy the patient's rescission of such request with the intent and effect of causing the patient's death; or (iii) to coerce, intimidate, or exert undue influence on a patient to forgo a self-administered controlled substance for the purpose of ending the patient's life. The bill also grants immunity from civil or criminal liability and professional disciplinary action to any person who complies with the provisions of the bill and allows health care providers to refuse to participate in the provision of a self-administered controlled substance to a patient for the purpose of ending the patient's life. Health care; decision-making; end of life; penalties. Allows an adult diagnosed with a terminal disease to request and an attending health care provider to prescribe a self-administered controlled substance for the purpose of ending the patient's life. The bill requires that a patient's request for a self-administered controlled substance to end his life must be given orally on two occasions and in writing, signed by the patient and one witness, and that the patient be given an express opportunity to rescind his request at any time. The bill makes it a Class 2 felony (i) to willfully and deliberately alter, forge, conceal, or destroy a patient's request, or rescission of request, for a self-administered controlled substance to end his life with the intent and effect of causing the patient's death; (ii) to coerce, intimidate, or exert undue influence on a patient to request a self-administered controlled substance for the purpose of ending his life or to destroy the patient's rescission of such request with the intent and effect of causing the patient's death; or (iii) to coerce, intimidate, or exert undue influence on a patient to forgo a self-administered controlled substance for the purpose of ending the patient's life. The bill also grants immunity from civil or criminal liability and professional disciplinary action to any person who complies with the provisions of the bill and allows health care providers to refuse to participate in the provision of a self-administered controlled substance to a patient for the purpose of ending the patient's life.
VA
Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB281
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Report Pass
1/24/24
Engrossed
1/29/24
Refer
2/13/24
Refer
2/21/24
Report Pass
2/27/24
Enrolled
3/6/24
Chaptered
4/8/24
Passed
4/8/24
Family cemeteries; interment rights; proof of kinship. Allows a family member or descendant, as defined in the bill, of a deceased person buried in a family cemetery, also defined in the bill, that is located on private property to petition the circuit court of the county or city where the property is located for interment rights upon such property. The bill provides that such family member or descendant may prove kinship to the court through official documentation or nonofficial documentation, such as obituaries, family Bibles or other documents with family signatures, journals or letters of the deceased person interred on the private property, family photographs, or other documentation deemed by the court to be reliable. Family cemeteries; interment rights; proof of kinship. Allows a family member or descendant, as defined in the bill, of a deceased person buried in a family cemetery, also defined in the bill, that is located on private property to petition the circuit court of the county or city where the property is located for interment rights upon such property. The bill provides that such family member or descendant may prove kinship to the court through official documentation or nonofficial documentation, such as obituaries, family Bibles or other documents with family signatures, journals or letters of the deceased person interred on the private property, family photographs, or other documentation deemed by the court to be reliable.
VA
Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB282
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Report Pass
2/1/24
Virginia Highway Safety Improvement Program; surplus funds. Provides that beginning in fiscal year 2025, in any fiscal year in which there is a surplus of general fund revenues, as that term is defined in the bill, the Governor shall include in his proposed budget an appropriation of 10 percent of such surplus for the Virginia Highway Safety Improvement Program for the purpose of funding projects consistent with the objectives of the Program.
VA
Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB283
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Report Pass
1/18/24
Report Pass
2/12/24
Engrossed
2/13/24
Refer
2/15/24
Report Pass
2/28/24
Engrossed
3/4/24
Engrossed
3/5/24
Enrolled
3/8/24
Chaptered
4/5/24
Passed
4/5/24
Free school meals; stakeholder work group; report. Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction, in coordination with the Secretary of Education, to convene a stakeholder work group to study the estimated impact of offering free school meals to students statewide, identify options for reducing or eliminating student and school meal debt, and make recommendations on options for leveraging other programs funded at the state and federal levels for the provision of student school meals. The bill requires the work group to report its findings and recommendations to the Joint Subcommittee on Elementary and Secondary Education Funding by November 1, 2024. Free school meals; stakeholder work group; report. Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction, in coordination with the Secretary of Education, to convene a stakeholder work group to study the estimated impact of offering free school meals to students statewide, identify options for reducing or eliminating student and school meal debt, and make recommendations on options for leveraging other programs funded at the state and federal levels for the provision of student school meals. The bill requires the work group to report its findings and recommendations to the Joint Subcommittee on Elementary and Secondary Education Funding by November 1, 2024.
VA
Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB284
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Siting of data centers; impacts on resources and historically significant sites. Provides that any local government land use application required for the siting of a data center shall only be approved in areas where the data center will (i) have a minimal impact on historic, agricultural, and cultural resources and (ii) not be within one mile of a national park, state park, or other historically significant site.
VA
Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB285
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Siting of data centers; site assessment. Requires a locality, prior to any approval for the siting of a data center, to require disclosure of water and power usage at full build-out and perform a site assessment to examine the effect of the data center on water usage, the regional electric grid, and carbon emissions as well as any impacts on agricultural, historic, and cultural resources within the locality.
VA
Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB286
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Electric utilities; underground transmission lines. Provides that the construction and reconstruction of any underground, in whole or in part, electrical transmission lines of at least 69 kilovolts and less than 500 kilovolts along a highway right-of-way under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation in Planning District 8 where a data center proposal is under construction in an area located within a half mile of a National Battlefield Park and within one mile of a state forest is in the public interest.
VA
Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB287
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Comprehensive community colleges; authority to offer and confer certain baccalaureate degrees. Authorizes the State Board for Community Colleges, subject to approval and certification by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia of a proposal submitted for such purpose, to establish an upper division of any comprehensive community college consisting of the third and fourth years of baccalaureate degree programs that lead to occupations in a high-demand field and confer baccalaureate degrees in such degree programs. The bill requires any proposal submitted to the Council for such purpose to include (i) the information required for application for Council certification pursuant to relevant law; (ii) any information necessary to establish that the applicable comprehensive community college meets the requirements for Council certification and accreditation by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education; (iii) the specific baccalaureate degree programs the State Board is seeking approval to offer at the applicable comprehensive community college and information to establish that such baccalaureate degree programs lead to occupations in a field that meets the criteria of a high-demand field, as set forth in the bill; and (iv) any other information that the Council deems necessary. Comprehensive community colleges; authority to offer and confer certain baccalaureate degrees. Authorizes the State Board for Community Colleges, subject to approval and certification by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia of a proposal submitted for such purpose, to establish an upper division of any comprehensive community college consisting of the third and fourth years of baccalaureate degree programs that lead to occupations in a high-demand field and confer baccalaureate degrees in such degree programs. The bill requires any proposal submitted to the Council for such purpose to include (i) the information required for application for Council certification pursuant to relevant law; (ii) any information necessary to establish that the applicable comprehensive community college meets the requirements for Council certification and accreditation by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education; (iii) the specific baccalaureate degree programs the State Board is seeking approval to offer at the applicable comprehensive community college and information to establish that such baccalaureate degree programs lead to occupations in a field that meets the criteria of a high-demand field, as set forth in the bill; and (iv) any other information that the Council deems necessary.
VA
Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB288
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Data centers; noise abatement. Provides that any local government land use application required for the siting of a data center shall be approved only in accordance with certain notice and noise abatement requirements. The bill provides that residents within a half-mile radius of the parcel shall receive notice of the proposed data center and that the data center operator shall hold two neighborhood meetings. The bill requires a data center operator to design and build the data center to incorporate sound mitigation methods sufficient to prevent the sound levels emanating from the data center from exceeding the ambient noise levels that were observed in a baseline study, as determined by a third-party acoustic engineer. The bill also provides that upon issuance of a certificate of occupancy, and for five years thereafter, the data center operator shall conduct a noise study performed by a third-party acoustical engineer to document noise levels emanating from the data center measured at the property line of the nearest property to the data center property that is planned or zoned for residential land uses, or other noise sensitive use as reasonably determined by the locality, during peak operation of the data center mechanical equipment. The bill also provides that if the data center operator intends to use backup power generators on the parcel, the operator shall maintain a public website announcing the times when the generators will be in operation.
VA
Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB289
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Stormwater management regulations; enterprise data center operations. Directs the State Water Control Board to adopt regulations that require certain stormwater management techniques for land disturbances related to the construction, expansion, or operation of an enterprise data center operation, as defined in the bill, that is located within one mile of any land owned or operated as a unit of the National Park Service or designated as a Virginia State Park or state forest.
VA
Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB29
Introduced
12/20/23
Refer
12/20/23
Report Pass
2/18/24
Refer
2/26/24
Budget Bill. Amends Chapter 2 of the Acts of Assembly of 2022, Special Session I, as amended by Chapter 769 of the Acts of Assembly of 2023, as further amended by Chapter 1 of the Acts of Assembly of 2023, Special Session I.
VA
Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB290
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Report Pass
2/5/24
Engrossed
2/7/24
Refer
2/13/24
Report Pass
2/16/24
Enrolled
2/26/24
Chaptered
3/26/24
Passed
3/26/24
Guardians and conservators; order of appointment and certificate of qualification; annual report. Requires a petitioner to file with a petition for the appointment of a guardian, a conservator, or both a cover sheet on a form prepared by the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia. The bill requires a guardian to file an initial annual report reflecting the first four months of guardianship since qualification within six months of the date of qualification and to file the second and each subsequent annual report for each succeeding 12-month period within four months from the last day of the last 12-month period covered by the previous annual report. The bill also specifies which documents the clerk shall forward to certain entities upon the qualification of a guardian or conservator.