Virginia 2025 Regular Session All Bills
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2263
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Violations of protective orders; preliminary child protective order; penalties. Changes the punishment and sentencing requirements for a violation of a preliminary child protective order to the same penalties as violations of preliminary, emergency, and permanent family abuse protective orders, including enhanced penalties for certain violations. Under current law, (i) the maximum penalty for violations of child protective orders constitutes contempt of court; however, if the violation involves an act or acts of commission or omission that endanger the child's life or health, or results in bodily injury to the child, it is punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor and (ii) the court is not required to enter a permanent family abuse protective order (i.e., a protective order with a maximum duration of two years) upon a conviction of a violation of a preliminary child protective order.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2264
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Report Pass
1/22/25
Report Pass
1/29/25
Engrossed
2/3/25
Refer
2/5/25
Report Pass
2/11/25
Enrolled
2/17/25
Vetoed
3/24/25
Department of Taxation; free tax filing program. Directs the Tax Commissioner to terminate the Virginia Free File program and the related agreement with the Consortium for Virginia. The bill also requires the Tax Commissioner to develop and offer a free individual state income tax filing program, effective beginning in taxable year 2028, that is similar to and compatible with the federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Direct File program. To implement the new program, the bill requires the Tax Commissioner to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the IRS and coordinate with the IRS in program development. The bill contains technical amendments that remove obsolete language regarding fillable forms. This bill is identical to SB 1306.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2265
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Report Pass
1/22/25
Engrossed
1/27/25
Refer
1/29/25
Report Pass
2/13/25
Enrolled
3/7/25
Chaptered
3/21/25
Passed
3/21/25
Certain individuals to be deemed licensed as teachers with an endorsement in special education early childhood (birth–age five years). Provides that any individual who has been employed in the Commonwealth as a preschool special education teacher licensed with an endorsement in special education - general curriculum K-12 for at least 15 school years shall be deemed licensed as a teacher with an endorsement in special education early childhood (birth–age five years) upon the recommendation of the division superintendent in the local school division in which such individual is employed to the Department of Education that such teacher is well-qualified to continue to teach preschool special education in such school division. The bill contains an emergency clause.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2266
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Report Pass
1/28/25
Engrossed
1/31/25
Refer
2/4/25
Report Pass
2/10/25
Engrossed
2/13/25
Engrossed
2/17/25
Enrolled
2/19/25
Chaptered
4/2/25
State Corporation Commission; distribution cost sharing program; required distribution system upgrades. Directs the State Corporation Commission by July 1, 2026, to establish by regulation a distribution cost sharing program for Dominion Energy Virginia and Appalachian Power to construct distribution system upgrades required to interconnect participating projects, as defined in the bill. The bill directs the Commission to require each such utility to file any tariffs, agreements, or forms necessary for the implementation of the program by December 1, 2026, and to submit a report on the implementation of the program by November 1, 2028. This bill is identical to SB 1058.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2267
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Report Pass
1/29/25
Air quality monitoring program for certain communities; Virginia Council on Environmental Justice; report. Requires the Department of Environmental Quality to establish an ongoing air quality monitoring program for fenceline communities, as defined in the bill, disproportionately impacted by toxic metals, coal dust pollution, and other inhalable particulate matter that can cause adverse health effects, including PM2.5 and PM10, in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the Department to report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly and the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice by October 1, 2026, and annually thereafter. The bill requires such report to include data analysis on current pollution levels, health risks associated with the identified pollution levels, and any recommendations for regulatory or legislative actions to address any identified risks, and when thresholds established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for particulate matter are exceeded, such report shall also include recommended actions to mitigate such risks. The bill directs the General Assembly to annually review the findings and recommendations from the report to determine whether any legislation is necessary and requires the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice to provide advice and recommendations to the Governor and his cabinet on such findings and recommendations from the report.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2268
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Report Pass
1/27/25
Department of Law; Division of Emerging Technologies, Cybersecurity, and Data Privacy established. Establishes within the Department of Law a Division of Emerging Technologies, Cybersecurity, and Data Privacy to oversee and enforce laws governing cybersecurity, data privacy, and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies. The bill requires the Division to submit an annual report to the Joint Commission on Technology and Science (JCOTS) by November 1 of each year detailing (i) trends in enforcement, audit findings, and compliance rates under cybersecurity, data privacy, and AI-related laws and (ii) legislative recommendations for addressing emerging challenges and technological advancements. The bill also requires JCOTS to (a) collaborate with the Division to hold public hearings to gather community input on the impact of emerging technologies and issue legislative recommendations to address gaps in existing laws or emerging risks related to cybersecurity, data privacy, and AI and (b) monitor the implementation and enforcement of laws governing cybersecurity, data privacy, and AI.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2269
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Report Pass
1/30/25
Engrossed
2/3/25
Engrossed
2/4/25
Refer
2/5/25
Report Pass
2/13/25
Engrossed
2/18/25
Engrossed
2/19/25
Enrolled
3/7/25
Chaptered
3/24/25
Passed
3/24/25
Hospitals; reports of threats or acts of violence against health care providers. Requires hospitals in the Commonwealth to establish a workplace violence incident reporting system to document, track, and analyze any incident of workplace violence reported. The bill requires each hospital to (i) report the data collected via the reporting system to the chief medical officer and the chief nursing officer of such hospital on, at minimum, a quarterly basis and (ii) send a report to the Department of Health on an annual basis that includes, at a minimum, the number of incidents of workplace violence voluntarily reported by an employee. The bill also requires the Secretary of Health and Human Resources, in collaboration with the Department of Criminal Justice Services, to convene a stakeholder work group for the purpose of making recommendations on the workplace violence system and policies adopted pursuant to the bill. This bill is identical to SB 1260.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2270
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Commitment of serious juvenile offenders. Allows a juvenile and domestic relations district court to qualify a transferred juvenile as a serious offender and commit him to the Department of Juvenile Justice regardless of whether he meets existing criteria regarding criminal background if, upon the court's review of the juvenile's entire criminal history, such qualification is otherwise justified. Under current law, only a circuit court is allowed to make such qualification and commitment. The bill requires the committing juvenile and domestic relations district court or circuit court to document its reasoning for such commitment in writing.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2271
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Revocation of postrelease supervision. Provides that a revocation hearing for a violation of postrelease supervision shall be conducted by the circuit court of the original sentencing jurisdiction in accordance with the provisions regarding revocation hearings for a suspended sentence or probation violation. Under current law, revocation hearings for violations of postrelease supervision are conducted by the Virginia Parole Board following the same procedures as a parole violation.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2272
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Virginia Freedom of Information Act; Virginia Parole Board; meetings. Provides that except for a public meeting convened for conducting the final deliberation and vote regarding whether the Virginia Parole Board will grant parole to a prisoner, a meeting of the Virginia Parole Board members, regardless of whether such members invite staff or other guests to participate in such meeting, shall not be deemed a meeting subject to the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2273
Introduced
1/7/25
Refer
1/7/25
Kill permits for deer, elk, or bear; local authority. Clarifies that the Director of the Department of Wildlife Resources or his designee has the exclusive authority to provide written authorization to kill deer, elk, or bear and prohibits a locality from amending, abridging, or limiting such authorization.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2274
Introduced
1/8/25
Refer
1/8/25
Health benefit programs; discrimination; cause of action. Adds licensed outpatient facilities to the types of preferred providers that an insurer is required to establish terms and conditions for and is prohibited from discriminating against with regard to the insurer's health benefit program. The bill removes provisions stating that certain price differences are not considered discrimination. The bill provides for a cause of action for any health care provider that suffers loss as a result of an insurer's violation of provisions related to the health benefit program or an insurer's breach of any provider contract provision. Under the bill, if the court finds that the violation or breach resulted from an insurer's gross negligence or willful conduct, the court may increase damages to an amount not exceeding three times the actual damages sustained, and in addition to any damages awarded, the health care provider may be awarded equitable and injunctive relief and reasonable attorney fees and court costs.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2275
Introduced
1/8/25
Refer
1/8/25
Virginia Freedom of Information Act; civil penalties. Increases the minimum and maximum civil penalties that may be imposed upon an officer, employee, or member of a public body for violations of certain provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The bill also adjusts the minimum and maximum civil penalty for such second and subsequent violations, in addition to increasing the minimum and maximum civil penalties that can be imposed on a public body for violations related to certifying a closed meeting.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2276
Introduced
1/8/25
Refer
1/8/25
Report Pass
1/24/25
Report Pass
1/29/25
Engrossed
2/3/25
Refer
2/5/25
Report Pass
2/11/25
Report Pass
2/17/25
Engrossed
2/20/25
Engrossed
2/20/25
Engrossed
2/21/25
Engrossed
2/21/25
Enrolled
3/7/25
Vetoed
3/24/25
Voter registration; list maintenance activities; cancellation procedures; record matches; required identification information; data standards. Requires certain, specified identification information to be included on the lists or records received by the Department of Elections for list maintenance purposes and requires the Department, upon receiving any such list or record, to do an initial comparison of the information included on such list or record with the list of registered voters and determine the confidence score for any match. The bill specifies that only records with matches with a confidence score of at least 80 are transmitted to the appropriate general registrars. The bill prohibits the use of voter data received from another state or jurisdiction or through a list comparison for list maintenance purposes when the data file does not include a unique identifier for each individual whose information is contained in the data file. The bill requires the Department to annually review all sources of data utilized for list maintenance activities for the purpose of determining the validity, completeness, accuracy, and reliability of the data received from each source, and to include the results of such review in its annual report to the House and Senate Committees on Privileges and Elections regarding its list maintenance activities. The bill prohibits the cancellation within 90 days of any election of any registration identified as belonging to a person no longer residing in the Commonwealth or otherwise no longer entitled to vote by a data match program conducted using lists of registered voters exchanged with other states. The bill requires the general registrars to send notice prior to cancelling a voter's record regardless of the reason for cancellation. Lastly, the bill clarifies that when a voter's registration is canceled, a cancellation record must be created and that such records are public in accordance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and the National Voter Registration Act. The bill includes numerous technical amendments for organizational purposes. Certain provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB2277
Introduced
1/8/25
Refer
1/8/25
Report Pass
1/31/25
Engrossed
2/3/25
Refer
2/5/25
Report Pass
2/11/25
Enrolled
2/19/25
Vetoed
3/24/25
Elections administration; duties of local electoral board; certification of election; grounds for removal; civil penalty. Provides that the certification of the results of an election is a clear ministerial duty of the local electoral boards and that a member of the local electoral board who neglects or refuses to perform such duty in accordance with law shall be subject to removal proceedings by the State Board of Elections and assessed a penalty not exceeding $1,000. The bill also authorizes the State Board of Elections to intervene and carry out the duties related to election certification in the event a local electoral board fails or refuses to do so.