Advertisement of legal notices; website. Allows a locality to advertise legal notices on the locality's website instead of, or in addition to, publishing such notices in a newspaper having general circulation in the locality.
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.
Certain school divisions; cost-savings agreements; requirements. Removes the limitation on any school board that enters into certain cost-savings agreements with a school board that governs a contiguous school division for the consolidation or sharing of educational, administrative, or support services and thus qualifies for adjustment of state share of basic aid computed annually on the basis of the composite index of local ability-to-pay of such contiguous school division that caps such adjusted basic aid payment at an amount equal to the basic aid payment appropriated to such locality by the 2007 Session of the General Assembly. The bill also permits, notwithstanding the requirement set forth in relevant law that a school division has 65 percent or more of its local taxes coming from real estate taxes in order for the school board that governs such school division to be eligible to enter into such cost-savings agreements with a contiguous school division, the Bath County School Board to enter into such cost-savings agreements with the Augusta County School Board, provided that all other conditions and limitations set forth in relevant law apply to any such agreement.
Virginia Consumer Protection Act; prohibited practices; artificial intelligence disclosure. Prohibits the dissemination or sale of an item created with artificial intelligence technology that contains a videographic or still image intending to depict an actual person or an audio or audio-visual recording intending to depict the voice of an actual person where the creator has not disclosed the use of artificial intelligence technology.
Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy; protocol; information; training. Requires the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to take certain actions upon the finding that an individual died from Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP), defined in the bill. The bill directs the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to publish information on SUDEP and a SUDEP death investigation form on its website. Additionally, the bill requires the Chief Medical Examiner and local medical examiners to complete training in the investigation of SUDEP on a triennial basis. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025.
Department of Veterans Services; Veteran's Fellowship for State Government Pilot Program. Creates, within the Department of Veterans Services, the Veteran's Fellowship for State Government Pilot Program (the Program) through which the Department shall collaborate with Virginia Commonwealth University to recruit veterans to participate in undergraduate-level and graduate-level cohorts to assist such veterans in pursuing educational pathways to employment with the Commonwealth. The Department shall report annually to the General Assembly by November 1 regarding the progress of the participants, the return on investment for the Commonwealth, and recommendations for Program enhancements. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2027.
Consumer Data Protection Act; controller privacy notice; cookies; consumer consent. Requires the privacy notice that a controller must provide to consumers to include a method by which a consumer may opt out of the automatic placement of a data file, commonly referred to as a "cookie," on the consumer's computer or web browser and a disclosure of the purposes for which the data files are used. The bill prohibits controllers from using cookies, except those that are strictly necessary, without the prior express consent of the consumer and prohibits controllers from preventing access to their services if such consent is not granted. The bill also requires controllers to document and store proof of such consent and make available an easily accessible method by which consumers may withdraw such consent.
Public high schools; personnel; college and career specialist required. Requires each school board to employ at least one college and career specialist, as defined in the bill, in each public high school in the local school division. The bill provides that each such individual shall be employed in addition to and not as a replacement for the required school counselor positions, specialized student support positions, or support services positions.
Attorney General; instituting or conducting criminal prosecutions for violations of criminal sexual assault and commercial sex trafficking committed against children. Authorizes the Attorney General to institute or conduct criminal prosecutions in cases involving a violation of criminal sexual assault or commercial sex trafficking when such crimes are committed against children.
Local prohibition or regulation of gas-powered leaf blowers; civil penalty. Provides that any locality may by ordinance prohibit or regulate the use of gas-powered leaf blowers. The bill provides that the ordinance may include provisions for a civil penalty and that the funds from such civil penalties may be used by the locality to assist with the purchase of nonprohibited leaf blowers by residents and local businesses.
Fire and Emergency Medical Services Grant Fund; funding for fire and emergency medical services. Increases the vehicle registration fee used to provide support for emergency medical services from $4.25 to $6.25 for each pickup or panel truck and each motor vehicle. The bill also creates the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Grant Fund to provide funding (i) to increase the number of firefighters and emergency medical services personnel to help communities meet industry minimum standards and attain 24-hour staffing to provide adequate assistance and (ii) to purchase heavy apparatus necessary for fire and emergency medical services.
Taxation. Decreases, beginning in taxable year 2025, the income tax imposed (i) on income less than $3,000, from two percent to 1.75 percent; (ii) on income in excess of $3,000 but less than $5,000, from three percent to 2.65 percent; (iii) on income in excess of $5,000 but less than $17,000, from five percent to 4.4 percent; and (iv) on income in excess of $17,000, from 5.75 percent to 5.1 percent. The bill increases from 20 to 25 percent, beginning in taxable year 2025, the amount of credit eligible taxpayers may claim pursuant to the income tax credit for low-income taxpayers. The bill also increases the annual aggregate amount of Education Improvement Scholarships tax credits that are available from $25 million to $30 million beginning fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal year thereafter. The bill defines "digital personal property," "streaming," and "taxable service" for the purposes of the retail sales and use tax. The bill increases the sales and use tax from 4.3 percent to 5.2 percent. Amendments are made throughout the bill to impose the sales and use tax on taxable services in addition to tangible personal property. The bill requires that one half of the additional sales and use tax revenues generated by taxable services and digital personal property that is deposited in the Commonwealth Transportation Fund be distributed to the Transportation Partnership Opportunity Fund, and the additional one half of such revenues be distributed to the Interstate 81 Corridor Improvement Fund until June 30, 2031, or until $400 million has been deposited in the Interstate 81 Corridor Improvement Fund. Certain provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025.
