Virginia 2025 Regular Session All Bills
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB694
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Elections; absentee voting; counting ballots prior to the close of polls. Allows officers of election at a central absentee precinct to begin ascertaining and recording the number of votes cast by absentee ballots at any time after noon on the day of the election. Under current law, absentee ballots that are counted by hand may be tallied, but not counted, at any time after noon on the day of the election, and no ballot totals for any absentee ballots shall be ascertained until after polls close. The bill also clarifies that vote totals for absentee ballots cast in person on voting systems cannot be determined until the day of the election. The bill also requires that general registrars begin processing absentee ballots on the fourteenth day prior to the day of the election. Under current law such processing is not required until the seventh day prior to the day of the election.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB696
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Report Pass
2/7/24
Engrossed
2/12/24
Refer
2/14/24
Report Pass
2/29/24
Establishment of recovery high schools; authorization in certain Superintendent's regions. Authorizes any school board that governs a school division located in Superintendent's Region 2, 4, or 7 to establish a recovery high school in the relevant school division as a year-round high school (i) for which enrollment is open to any high school student who resides in the relevant Superintendent's region and is in the early stages of recovery from substance use disorder or dependency and (ii) for the purpose of providing such students with the academic, emotional, and social support necessary to make progress toward earning a high school diploma and reintegrating into a traditional high school setting.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB697
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Report Pass
2/2/24
Engrossed
2/7/24
Refer
2/9/24
Synthetic media; penalty. Expands the applicability of provisions related to defamation, slander, and libel to include synthetic media, defined in the bill. The bill makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person to use any synthetic media 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 media 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 media, including deepfakes, and any further action needed to address the issue of such use in fraudulent acts.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB721
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Report Pass
1/26/24
Refer
1/26/24
Local anti-rent gouging authority; civil penalty. Provides that any locality may by ordinance adopt anti-rent gouging provisions. The bill provides for notice and a public hearing prior to the adoption of such ordinance and specifies that all landlords who are under the ordinance may be required to give at least two months' written notice of a rent increase and cannot increase the rent by more than the locality's calculated allowance, described in the bill as the maximum amount a landlord can increase a tenant's rent during any 12-month period, in effect at the time of the increase. The bill sets such allowance as equal to the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index or seven percent, whichever is less, states that such allowance is effective for a 12-month period beginning July 1 each year, and requires the locality to publish such allowance on its website by June 1 of each year. Certain facilities, as outlined in the bill, are exempt from such ordinance. The bill also allows a locality to establish an anti-rent gouging board that will develop and implement rules and procedures by which landlords may apply for and be granted exemptions from the rent increase limits set by the ordinance. Finally, the bill provides that a locality may establish a civil penalty for failure to comply with the requirements set out in the ordinance.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB725
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Report Pass
2/2/24
Engrossed
2/7/24
Refer
2/9/24
Counties, cities and towns; powers of local government; conveyance of real property; public hearing requirement. Adds to the list of exemptions from the requirement imposed upon localities to hold a public hearing prior to the disposition of real property owned by such locality the conveyance of any utility easement necessary to provide utilities to residential properties adjacent to property owned by the locality. Current law only excludes from such public hearing requirement (i) the leasing of real property to another public body, political subdivision, or authority and (ii) the conveyance of site development or utility easements related to transportation projects across public property.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB742
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Report Pass
2/9/24
Engrossed
2/12/24
Refer
2/14/24
State Board of Elections; appointment of Commissioner of Elections. Provides for the appointment of the Commissioner of Elections to be made by the State Board of Elections; currently, the Governor makes such appointment. The appointment or removal of a Commissioner shall require an affirmative vote of four of the five members of the Board. The Commissioner shall be subject to confirmation and reconfirmation by the General Assembly every four years. If the Board fails to make or communicate an appointment of a Commissioner by the end of the term, the bill provides that the Commissioner serving at such time shall be deemed to be reappointed and shall be subject to reconfirmation at the next regular session. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB745
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Refer
1/19/24
Mattress stewardship program established; civil penalty. Prohibits the disposal of a mattress, as defined in the bill, in a landfill or an incinerator beginning January 1, 2028, and requires producers of mattresses sold at retail in the Commonwealth or a representative organization acting on a producer's behalf to submit a plan for the establishment of a mattress stewardship program. Such mattress stewardship program plan shall establish an assessment for all mattresses sold in the Commonwealth and a network of convenient and free collection sites for postconsumer mattresses, defined in the bill, that will facilitate higher rates of recycling and materials recovery for postconsumer mattresses. The bill establishes annual reporting requirements for mattress producers or representative organizations and establishes a Mattress Stewardship Program Advisory Board to advise on the proper implementation and sustainability of the mattress stewardship program. The bill also establishes the powers and duties of the Department of Environmental Quality as they relate to the bill and civil penalties for improper mattress disposal and violations of the mattress stewardship program.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB747
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Artificial Intelligence Developer Act established; civil penalty. Creates operating standards for developers and deployers, as those terms are defined in the bill, relating to artificial intelligence, including (i) avoiding certain risks, (ii) protecting against discrimination, (iii) providing disclosures, and (iv) conducting impact assessments and provides that the Office of the Attorney General shall enforce the provisions of the bill. The provisions of the bill related to operating standards for deployers have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB762
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Organ donation leave tax credit. Establishes a nonrefundable income tax credit for taxable years 2024 through 2028 for a taxpayer that is a private employer, as defined by the bill, for certain costs incurred during a period of organ donation leave received by an employee organ donor.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB765
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Termination of parental rights; sexual abuse; clear and convincing standard; petition filed by other parent. Allows a parent to file a petition to terminate the parental rights of the other parent if the circumstances giving rise to such a petition allege that such parent engaged in conduct prohibited by relevant law relating to sexual abuse, whether or not the parent has been charged with or convicted of the alleged violation, and the child was conceived of such conduct. The bill further requires the court to issue an order terminating the parental rights of a parent upon a finding, based on clear and convincing evidence, that (i) such parent engaged in the conduct prohibited by relevant law relating to sexual abuse, whether or not the parent has been charged with or convicted of the alleged violation, and the child was conceived of such conduct and (ii) termination of the parental rights of such parent is in the best interests of the child. The bill specifies that, if such parent is found by clear and convincing evidence to have engaged in the prohibited conduct resulting in the conception of such child, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that termination is in the best interest of the child, but no presumption shall be made by the court that one parent alone is contrary to the best interests of the child.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB766
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Custody and visitation arrangements; best interests of the child; expert testimony; history of abuse. Requires a court to consider any history of family abuse, sexual abuse, child abuse, or an act of violence, force, or threat in determining best interests of a child for purposes of determining custody or visitation arrangements. Under current law, only such history that occurred no earlier than 10 years prior to the filing of a custody or visitation petition is required to be considered. The bill also requires that any expert evidence from a court-appointed or outside professional relating to any alleged abuse of a child subject to such petition shall only be admitted if such professional possesses demonstrated expertise and clinical experience in working with victims of the type of such abuse alleged that is not solely of a forensic nature. The bill further directs the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia to provide mandatory judicial training on trauma-informed practices in proceedings involving domestic violence to magistrates and judges of the juvenile domestic relations district courts, general district courts, circuit courts, and the Court of Appeals of Virginia, the justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia, and court personnel.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB774
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Report Pass
1/26/24
Engrossed
1/31/24
Refer
2/2/24
Alcohol safety action program; local administrative fee. Provides that any county, city, or town, or any combination thereof, that has established and operates an alcohol safety action program and supplements fees collected for the program pursuant to general law by more than 33 percent annually in order to fully fund the program may charge a local administrative fee of no more than $100 to each person entering such program.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB775
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Report Pass
2/5/24
Engrossed
2/8/24
Refer
2/12/24
License plate reader systems; civil penalty. Provides requirements for the use of license plate reader systems, defined in the bill, by law-enforcement agencies. The bill limits the use of such systems to scanning, detecting, and recording data about vehicles and license plate numbers for the purpose of identifying a vehicle that is (i) associated with a wanted, missing, or endangered person or human trafficking; (ii) stolen; (iii) involved in an active law-enforcement investigation; or (iv) in the vicinity of a recent crime and may be connected to that crime. The bill authorizes and requires the Commonwealth Transportation Board to establish a permitting process for installing and using such systems in state highway rights-of-way. This bill incorporates HB 1037.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB787
Introduced
1/9/24
Refer
1/9/24
Report Pass
1/30/24
Refer
2/2/24
Report Pass
2/9/24
Engrossed
2/12/24
Refer
2/14/24
Report Pass
2/23/24
Administrative Process Act; exemptions; limitations; appeals of case decisions regarding benefits sought. Provides that in appeals of case decisions regarding the grant or denial of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, general relief, auxiliary grants, or state-local hospitalization, the review shall be based upon the agency record and the court may enter intermediate relief. The bill also provides that in such appeals, unless an error of law appears, the court shall enter judgment by dismissing the review action or affirming the agency regulation or decision.
VA
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Virginia House Bill HB80
Introduced
12/27/23
Refer
12/27/23
Advisory Council on Breakthrough Therapies for Veteran Suicide Prevention; established; report. Establishes the Advisory Council on Breakthrough Therapies for Veteran Suicide Prevention to advise the State Health Commissioner on the regulations and infrastructure necessary to support clinical access to and training for medication-assisted U.S. Food and Drug Administration breakthrough therapies for veteran suicide prevention. The bill requires the Commissioner of Health to report annually by December 1 to the Governor and the General Assembly regarding its activities and recommendations. The Council has a sunset date of July 1, 2027.