Virginia 2025 Regular Session All Bills
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2026
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Data centers; industrial zoning. Requires a locality to review and amend its zoning ordinance to (i) designate data centers as industrial uses for zoning purposes; (ii) review the locations of zones allowing data centers by right, and adjust the zoning map, if needed, considering proximity to residential areas; (iii) review the minimum requirements in the zoning ordinance, such as setbacks and building heights, for the purpose of mitigating negative impacts on residential or other sensitive areas and consider adding requirements specific to data centers as needed; (iv) identify optimal areas for data center development in the locality, including locations that are suitable from the locality's perspective as well as the industry's perspective; (v) consider zoning ordinance changes to reduce the likelihood of noisy data centers, including through limiting allowable locations and requiring sound modeling, and prohibit the constant low-frequency noise of data centers from reaching residential areas; and (vi) require commitments from data centers making zoning requests to sufficiently mitigate negative impacts on any nearby residential areas. The provisions of the bill shall only apply to localities where data centers are already addressed in the locality's zoning ordinance and where a locality is revising its zoning ordinance to include data centers.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2027
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
State Corporation Commission; certificate of operation for high load facilities. Prohibits any person from operating a high load facility, defined in the bill as a facility whose electricity demand exceeds 25 megawatts that was not operating before July 1, 2026, without first having obtained a certificate of operation from the State Corporation Commission. The bill requires the Commission to permit the operation of a high load facility upon a finding that such facility and associated facilities (i) will have no material adverse effect upon the rates paid by customers of any regulated public utility in the Commonwealth, taking into account any likely generation, transmission, or distribution needs attributable to the operation of the high load facility; (ii) will have no material adverse effect upon reliability of electric service provided by any regulated public utility; (iii) would be consistent with the Commonwealth Clean Energy Policy; and (iv) are not otherwise contrary to the public interest. The bill requires the Commission to consider certain factors in a review of a petition for a certificate to operate a high load facility, including whether there is sufficient energy, capacity, and grid infrastructure to support the operation of the high load facility and whether the operation of the high load facility would create an unreasonable cross-subsidy across customers served by the incumbent electric utility. Finally, the bill requires the Commission to conduct a proceeding to establish minimum criteria for the issuance of a certificate of operation for a high load facility and requirements for public notice and an opportunity for hearing.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2028
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
School boards; entitlement to one-time fee from certain data centers. Provides that any school board that governs a school division that contains a public school located within three miles of a data center, as such term is defined in relevant law, that received its certificate of occupancy from the relevant locality after July 1, 2025, is entitled to a one-time fee of $250,000 to be paid by the owner of such data center no later than 90 days after the issuance of such data center's certificate of occupancy by the locality.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2029
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Report Pass
1/22/25
Engrossed
1/27/25
Refer
1/29/25
Report Pass
2/5/25
Enrolled
2/10/25
Chaptered
3/24/25
Passed
3/24/25
Real property tax; exemption for elderly and disabled individuals. Revises various provisions of the local real property tax exemption and deferral program for elderly and disabled individuals. The bill allows a locality to require that an individual (i) pay all delinquent taxes, penalties, and interest assessed by the locality and incurred prior to becoming eligible for an exemption or deferral; (ii) enter into an installment agreement with the locality for the payment of all such delinquent amounts in installments over a period that is reasonable under the circumstances, but that in no event shall exceed 72 months; (iii) submit and obtain the treasurer's agreement to an offer in compromise with respect to all amounts of delinquent taxes, penalties, and interest; or (iv) carry out a combination thereof. Additionally, the bill provides that notice of the terms and conditions of the exemption and deferral program may be included in any notice of change in assessment and that the treasurer shall post such information on the locality's website. Finally, the bill allows a locality to provide a prorated exemption or deferral for the portion of the taxable year during which the taxpayer would have qualified for such exemption or deferral but had not yet filed an application. This bill is identical to SB 816.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2030
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Report Pass
1/29/25
Environmental Justice Task Force; report. Establishes the Environmental Justice Task Force, for the purpose of furthering environmental justice in the Commonwealth, consisting of appointees from the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Department of Emergency Management, Department of Energy, Department of Housing and Community Development, Department of Health, Department of Transportation, State Corporation Commission, and Virginia Economic Development Partnership. The bill requires the Task Force to advise the Governor and state agencies of the Commonwealth and establish certain policies to be used by such state agencies on environmental justice issues, particularly issues related to historically economically disadvantaged communities. The bill directs the Task Force to report its findings and conclusions to the Governor and General Assembly by November 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, regarding its activities.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2031
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Sewage disposal; alternative onsite sewage systems; elimination of report filing fee. Eliminates the $1 filing fee required for the filing of site visit reports by licensed operators of alternative onsite sewage systems.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2032
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Report Pass
1/15/25
Report Pass
1/22/25
Engrossed
1/27/25
Refer
1/29/25
Report Pass
2/13/25
Department of Education; English language learner students; data collection on expenditures. Requires the Department of Education to develop and implement a data collection process related to English language learner expenditures and student English proficiency levels and identify other options to support English language learners and provide a status report to the Joint Subcommittee on Elementary and Secondary Education Funding on its implementation and data collection efforts by September 1, 2025.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2033
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Report Pass
1/17/25
Report Pass
1/24/25
Report Pass
1/29/25
Engrossed
2/3/25
Engrossed
2/4/25
Refer
2/5/25
Report Pass
2/7/25
Report Pass
2/12/25
Enrolled
2/19/25
Chaptered
3/21/25
Passed
3/21/25
Department of Criminal Justice Services; alcoholic beverage control retail licensees and employees; training on human trafficking. Directs the Department of Criminal Justice Services to develop an online course for the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to offer to retail licensees and their employees to train such licensees and employees to recognize and report instances of suspected human trafficking. The bill also requires the certified alcohol server or seller training that a retail licensee may offer its employees that allows a reduction in the length of any suspension or the amount of any civil penalty imposed for a license violation to include a course developed or approved by the Department of Criminal Justice Services on recognizing and reporting instances of suspected human trafficking.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2034
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Report Pass
1/22/25
Engrossed
1/27/25
Refer
1/29/25
Report Pass
2/11/25
Enrolled
2/19/25
Chaptered
4/2/25
Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources; protection of existing tidal and nontidal wetlands; wetland restoration and creation; policy task force; report. Directs the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources to establish a policy task force to develop (i) strategies to protect existing tidal and nontidal wetlands and restore, create, and plan for the persistence of such wetlands in the Commonwealth and (ii) mechanisms to incorporate such strategies into appropriate plans, including the Virginia Flood Protection Master Plan and the Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan, to address losses and adverse impacts from human activities and climate change. The bill requires the task force to include certain relevant stakeholders, to meet at least two times annually, to report its initial findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources by December 1, 2025, and to update its report at least every two years.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2035
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
High-energy facilities; water and energy usage information reports; statewide clearinghouse established. Requires any owner or operator of a high-energy facility, as defined in the bill, to submit to the Department of Environmental Quality no later than May 1, 2026, and on a quarterly basis thereafter, a report that contains certain information relating to water and energy usage for each such facility. The bill requires the Department, no later than July 1, 2026, to design, implement, and maintain a publicly accessible website to serve as a statewide clearinghouse for information relating to water and energy usage of all high-energy facilities operating in the Commonwealth. The bill provides that, in order to fully cover the costs of designing, implementing, and maintaining the statewide clearinghouse, the Department shall assess an initial fee to each owner or operator of a high-energy facility and may assess an annual fee thereafter for each year that such high-energy facility is in active use. The bill requires any owner or operator of a high-energy facility to notify the Department of any substantial change in operations or technologies that would require an update to the information required by the bill at least 60 days prior to making such change. The bill also requires the Department to convene a work group of stakeholders for the purpose of identifying additional information required to be published to the statewide clearinghouse. Such work group is required to convene at least three times by July 1, 2026, in a manner that is open to the public, and each such meeting is required to include a public comment period of no less than 60 days following such meeting.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2036
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Report Pass
1/16/25
Report Pass
1/31/25
Engrossed
2/3/25
Refer
2/5/25
Report Pass
2/12/25
Report Pass
2/14/25
Engrossed
2/19/25
Engrossed
2/20/25
Enrolled
3/7/25
Chaptered
4/2/25
Reckless driving; exhibition driving; penalties. Expands reckless driving to include exhibition driving, defined in the bill. The bill prohibits (i) slowing or stopping traffic for a race or exhibition driving; (ii) riding as a passenger on the hood or roof of a motor vehicle during a race or exhibition driving; or (iii) aiding or abetting exhibition driving. The bill establishes penalties for violations and establishes a process for impounding or immobilizing motor vehicles driven by persons arrested for exhibition driving.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2037
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Report Pass
1/24/25
Engrossed
1/29/25
Refer
1/31/25
Report Pass
2/10/25
Engrossed
2/12/25
Engrossed
2/14/25
Enrolled
2/19/25
Vetoed
3/24/25
Land development; solar canopies in parking areas. Provides that any locality may include in its land development ordinances a provision that requires that an applicant must install a solar canopy over designated surface parking areas. Such provisions shall apply only to nonresidential parking areas with 100 parking spaces or more and may require coverage of up to 50 percent of the surface parking area. The bill provides that localities shall allow for deviations, in whole or in part, from the requirements of the ordinance when its strict application would prevent the development of uses and densities otherwise allowed by the locality's zoning or development ordinance. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2038
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Prohibition on procurement and use of insecure uncrewed aircraft systems; report. Prohibits, beginning on July 1, 2025, any public body from purchasing, leasing, or otherwise procuring an insecure uncrewed aircraft system (UAS), as that term is defined in the bill. The bill further prohibits, beginning on July 1, 2029, any public body from using, whether directly or through work with or on behalf of another public body, an insecure UAS. The bill directs the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) to establish cybersecurity standards for the certification of secure UAS and maintain a list of approved UAS manufacturers and models on its website. The bill also requires the Joint Commission on Technology and Science, in collaboration with stakeholders, to review cybersecurity standards and make recommendations every two years to ensure alignment with emerging UAS technologies, evolving cybersecurity threats, the operational and safety needs of public bodies, and public safety priorities within the Commonwealth. Finally, the bill establishes the Uncrewed Aircraft Replacement Grant Program, to be administered by the Department of Criminal Justice Services, to award grants to aid public bodies with the transition from insecure UAS to secure UAS.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2039
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Report Pass
1/17/25
Report Pass
1/24/25
Report Pass
1/29/25
Engrossed
2/3/25
Refer
2/5/25
Report Pass
2/12/25
Report Pass
2/17/25
Engrossed
2/20/25
Engrossed
2/20/25
Engrossed
2/20/25
Enrolled
3/7/25
Vetoed
3/24/25
Department of Criminal Justice Services; Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council; Virginia Statewide Interoperability Executive Committee; encrypted telecommunications. Requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to, in consultation with the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council and the Virginia Statewide Interoperability Executive Committee, establish a model policy on the use of encrypted telecommunications by law-enforcement agencies. The bill requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to establish and publish such model policy by January 1, 2026.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2040
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Report Pass
1/28/25
Engrossed
1/31/25
Engrossed
1/31/25
Refer
2/4/25
Report Pass
2/13/25
Engrossed
2/18/25
Engrossed
2/19/25
Enrolled
3/7/25
Chaptered
4/2/25
Speech-language pathology assistants; licensure, qualifications, scope of practice; revocation or suspension of license; continuing education. Adds speech-language pathology assistants to the professions governed by the Board of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology. The bill also establishes qualifications, scope of practice, and supervision requirements for speech-language pathology assistants. The bill directs the Board of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology to adopt regulations governing the speech-language pathology assistant profession by July 1, 2026, and specifies that the provisions governing the licensure of speech-language pathology assistants have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.