Virginia 2025 Regular Session All Bills
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1040
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Report Pass
1/27/25
Engrossed
1/30/25
Refer
2/6/25
Report Pass
2/13/25
Engrossed
2/18/25
Engrossed
2/19/25
Engrossed
2/19/25
Engrossed
2/19/25
Enrolled
3/7/25
Vetoed
5/2/25
Electric utilities; renewable energy portfolio standard program requirements; power purchase agreements. Amends certain renewable energy portfolio standard program requirements for Dominion Energy Virginia, including (i) the annual percentage of program requirements to be met with behind-the meter solar, wind, or anaerobic digestion resources of three megawatts or less located in the Commonwealth and (ii) the date by which 75 percent of such requirements shall be met with resources located in the Commonwealth. The bill also removes the requirement for a solar-powered or wind-powered generation facility to have a capacity of no less than 50 kilowatts to qualify for a third party power purchase agreement under a pilot program. The bill permits Dominion Energy Virginia to recover certain costs prior to December 31, 2032, and provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to encourage development on previously developed project sites, as defined in existing law, to reduce the land use impacts of solar development. This bill is identical to HB 1883.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1041
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Report Pass
1/22/25
Report Pass
1/29/25
Engrossed
2/3/25
Refer
2/6/25
Report Pass
2/10/25
Enrolled
2/18/25
Chaptered
3/24/25
Passed
3/24/25
Virginia Forensic Nursing Advisory Council established; sexual assault forensic examiners; physical evidence recovery kits; report. Establishes the Virginia Forensic Nursing Advisory Council (the Council), which consists of five members appointed by the Governor, each of whom shall have expertise in forensic examination of sexual assault victims and shall currently reside and practice in the Commonwealth. The Council shall review and make recommendations as necessary to the Board of Health with support from the Coordinator of the Virginia Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner Coordination Program concerning (i) criteria to become a sexual assault forensic examiner, (ii) the process for certification as a sexual assault forensic examiner, (iii) the curriculum and training program of an entity seeking approval to train sexual assault forensic examiners, (iv) qualifications of prospective sexual assault forensic examiners, and (v) strategies for expanding access to sexual assault forensic examiners. The bill requires the Council to report, at least annually, to the General Assembly regarding the status of sexual assault forensics in the Commonwealth, including any recommendations to improve the quality of such services. The bill also amends provisions of law related to physical evidence recovery kits. This bill is identical to HB 2088.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1042
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Report Pass
1/15/25
Report Pass
1/29/25
Engrossed
1/31/25
Refer
2/6/25
Report Pass
2/6/25
Enrolled
2/13/25
Chaptered
3/24/25
Passed
3/24/25
Certified public accountant; educational requirements. Clarifies education and experience requirements for candidates to qualify for CPA licensure. The bill also provides that, to qualify for practice privileges within the Commonwealth, an individual must have a license in good standing in another jurisdiction and have passed the CPA examination. The bill directs the Board of Accountancy to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill. The bill contains technical amendments. This bill is identical to HB 2042.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1043
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Report Pass
1/15/25
Engrossed
1/20/25
Refer
2/5/25
Report Pass
2/6/25
Enrolled
2/17/25
Chaptered
3/24/25
Passed
3/24/25
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; terms and conditions of rental agreement; renewal notice. Provides that a landlord who owns more than four rental dwelling units or more than a 10 percent interest in more than four rental dwelling units, whether individually or through a business entity, in the Commonwealth shall be required to provide written notice of nonrenewal to any tenant. This bill is identical to HB 1867.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1044
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Report Pass
1/21/25
Report Pass
1/29/25
Engrossed
1/31/25
Refer
2/6/25
Report Pass
2/14/25
Enrolled
3/7/25
Chaptered
3/24/25
Passed
3/24/25
Elections; election results; reporting; provisional ballots. Requires the general registrar of each locality to report to the Department of Elections for each precinct in his locality the total number of provisional ballots cast, the number of those provisional ballots determined to be valid by the electoral board, and the results of such valid provisional ballots by voters assigned to such precinct. The bill specifies that results from provisional voting and voting at the precinct on election day must be reported separately. The bill directs the Department to establish standards for ascertaining and reporting such information and provides that such standards must direct that all results be posted promptly and no later than 5:00 p.m. on the tenth day after the election day.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1045
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Siting of data centers; property classified for industrial use. Requires that any local government land use application for the siting of a data center shall only be approved if such application is for a data center located on property classified by local ordinance for industrial use. The bill applies only to such applications submitted on or after July 1, 2025.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1046
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
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. Finally, the bill provides that any noise ordinance adopted by a locality shall set maximum allowable sound levels for data centers, including by (i) using alternative low frequency noise metrics and (ii) setting noise rules and enforcement mechanisms in its zoning ordinance, separate from existing noise ordinances.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1047
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Report Pass
1/27/25
Report Pass
1/30/25
Engrossed
2/4/25
Refer
2/7/25
Report Pass
2/13/25
Enrolled
2/20/25
Vetoed
3/24/25
Department of Energy; demand response programs; evaluation and assessment; report. Directs the Department of Energy to evaluate and assess benefits, impacts, best practices, and implementation recommendations for demand response programs in the Commonwealth and to report such evaluation and assessment by November 1, 2025.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1048
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Report Pass
1/23/25
Engrossed
1/27/25
Refer
2/3/25
Report Pass
2/5/25
Enrolled
2/17/25
Vetoed
5/2/25
School board policies; parental notification; safe storage of prescription drugs and firearms in the household. Requires each local school board to develop and implement a policy to require the annual notification of the parent of each student enrolled in the local school division, to be sent by email and, if applicable, SMS text message within 30 calendar days succeeding the first day of each school year, of (i) the importance of securely storing any prescription drug, as defined in relevant law, present in the household and (ii) the parent's legal responsibility to safely store any firearm present in the household. The bill requires each school board to make such parental notification available in multiple languages on its website. This bill is identical to HB 1678.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1049
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Electric utilities; approval required for construction of certain electrical transmission lines. Prohibits the construction of a new transmission line overhead unless the State Corporation Commission first determines that the construction of such transmission line in whole or in part underground is not in the public interest.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1050
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Report Pass
1/28/25
Engrossed
1/31/25
Campaign finance; contributions from corporations prohibited; civil penalty. Prohibits any corporation from making any contribution to any committee organized under the provisions of the Campaign Finance Disclosure Act of 2006 and prohibits any such committee from soliciting or accepting any contribution from any corporation. Any committee that knowingly accepts, or any person who knowingly makes to such committee, contributions in violation of the prohibition is subject to a civil penalty of up to two times the amount of the contribution, as assessed by the State Board of Elections.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1051
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Report Pass
2/3/25
Engrossed
2/4/25
Refer
2/7/25
Report Pass
2/12/25
Enrolled
2/19/25
Chaptered
4/2/25
Grooming and boarding establishments; inspections by animal control officers. Allows an animal control officer to inspect a grooming or boarding establishment that is not regulated by the Board of Veterinary Medicine with the consent of the owner or person in charge or pursuant to a warrant upon a receipt of a complaint or twice annually upon their own motion to ensure compliance with state animal care laws and regulations. The bill requires an animal control officer, a law-enforcement officer, or the State Veterinarian to obtain the consent of the owner or person in charge of any business premises of any dealer, pet shop, groomer, or boarding establishment to investigate allegations of a complaint of a suspected violation of state or local animal care laws. Current law does not require such consent to investigate allegations of a complaint. The bill allows an animal control officer to search a building or place pursuant to a warrant after making a sworn statement regarding any potential violations of the cruelty to animals laws. Current law only allows a sheriff, deputy sheriff, or police officer to conduct such a search. The bill also directs the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to, in consultation with the State Veterinarian, convene a work group to consider whether to propose a state license and other regulatory requirements for animal boarding establishments similar to the current licensing requirements for animal shelters and submit its report of such findings and recommendations by December 1, 2026. This bill is identical to HB 2313.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1052
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Report Pass
1/22/25
Engrossed
1/27/25
Refer
2/3/25
Report Pass
2/13/25
Enrolled
2/20/25
Vetoed
3/24/25
Virginia Human Rights Act; definition of "employer." Reduces from 15 to five the number of employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year for the purposes of the definition of "employer."
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1053
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Report Pass
1/20/25
Engrossed
1/22/25
Engrossed
1/23/25
Refer
2/4/25
Report Pass
2/10/25
Enrolled
2/18/25
Chaptered
3/24/25
Passed
3/24/25
Synthetic digital content; penalty; work group. Expands the applicability of provisions related to defamation, slander, and libel to include synthetic digital content, defined in the bill. The bill makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person to use any synthetic digital content for the purpose of committing any criminal offense involving fraud, constituting a separate and distinct offense with punishment separate and apart from any punishment received for the commission of the primary criminal offense. The bill also authorizes the individual depicted in the synthetic digital content to bring a civil action against the person who violates such prohibition to recover actual damages, reasonable attorney fees, and such other relief as the court determines to be appropriate. The bill directs the Attorney General to convene a work group to study and make recommendations on the current enforcement of laws related to the use of synthetic digital content, including deepfakes, and any further action needed to address the issue of such use in fraudulent acts. The substantive provisions of the bill do not become effective unless reenacted by the 2026 Session of the General Assembly and the provisions directing the Attorney General to convene a work group become effective in due course. This bill is identical to HB 2124.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia Senate Bill SB1054
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Virginia Cannabis Control Authority; draft regulations governing cannabis; report. Directs the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority to draft regulations governing the indoor cultivation, processing, manufacturing, testing, packaging, labeling, distribution, sale, and delivery of marijuana to adults age 21 or older in the Commonwealth, which shall (i) include appropriate application and license fees; (ii) include transaction limits; and (iii) model, to the greatest extent practicable, the regulations promulgated by the Authority governing the Medical Cannabis Program. The bill requires the Authority to report such draft regulations to the General Assembly by November 15, 2025, and indicate the date by which it would be able to implement and enforce such regulations, issue licenses, provide adequate enforcement, and implement a transitional sales program for pharmaceutical processors. The bill specifies that any regulations drafted by the Authority pursuant to the provisions of the bill shall not become effective until such regulations are approved by an act of the General Assembly.