Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act; dissemination of personal information to federal government; civil penalties. Provides that any agency or political subdivision of the Commonwealth shall only disseminate personal information (i) to the extent necessary to comply with state or federal law, including the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act; (ii) to the extent necessary to carry out the administration of a state or federal program pursuant to state or federal law; (iii) to comply with a subpoena, court order, or administrative proceeding; (iv) to the extent necessary to ensure fulfillment of the obligations of a purchase or contract made in accordance with the Virginia Public Procurement Act or a memorandum of understanding or management agreement made in accordance with the Restructured Higher Education Financial and Administrative Operations Act; (v) when the data subject has given consent; or (vi) to the extent necessary to accomplish a proper purpose of the agency. The bill also prohibits an agency or political subdivision from selling personal information. The bill authorizes a court, in the case of a willful and knowing violation, to subject a specific public officer, appointee, or employee of any agency to civil penalties.
Department of Education; artificial intelligence system use in instructional settings; development of AIS safety guidance required; AIS Innovation in Education Pilot Program established; report. Requires the Department of Education, in consultation with school divisions and other relevant stakeholders, to compile information on current uses of artificial intelligence systems (AIS) for student instruction in public schools in the Commonwealth and to establish and post in a publicly accessible location on its website guidance for the safe, ethical, and equitable use of AIS in instructional settings in public elementary and secondary schools. The bill requires each school board to establish, implement, and enforce policies consistent with the guidance developed by the Department in accordance with the provisions of the bill. The bill also directs the Department to establish and oversee the AIS Innovation in Education Pilot Program for the purpose of funding, evaluating, and scaling innovative uses of AIS in public elementary and secondary schools by providing support to school divisions in piloting AIS applications for instruction, tutoring, student engagement, operational efficiency, and teacher support and to submit an annual report to the Chairs of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by December 1. The Pilot Program has an expiration date of July 1, 2030. This bill is identical to SB 394.
Voter registration; list maintenance; third-party data exchanges; approval by State Board of Elections. Requires the Commissioner of Elections, prior to entering into or terminating a memorandum of understanding or modifying the terms of an existing memorandum of understanding with any third party for the exchange of voter registration data, to submit the proposed memorandum of understanding, the reason for termination, or the proposed modifications, as appropriate, to the State Board of Elections for review and approval. Approval shall require a vote of two-thirds of the State Board. The bill also requires the Commissioner of Elections to apply for, enter into, and maintain membership for the Commonwealth in the Electronic Registration Information Center.
Elections; candidates and elected officials; address confidentiality. Prohibits the custodian of any filing made by a candidate from releasing the address, phone number, or email address of such candidate in response to a request made under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The bill permits a candidate to provide the unique identifier assigned to him in the voter registration system pursuant to relevant law in place of his residence address on any candidate filing. The State Board of Elections is prohibited from requiring candidates to disclose their address or unique identifier on petitions prior to their being filed. The bill also adds elected officials to the list of people who may furnish, in addition to their residence street address, a post office box address located within the Commonwealth to be included in lieu of their street address on the lists of registered voters. The certificate of election delivered to the winner of an election is required to be accompanied by a notice that the person meets the qualifications for being granted protected voter status along with instructions for updating their voter registration in order to attain such status. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027. This bill is identical to HB 835.
Use of unmanned aircraft systems by law-enforcement officers; search warrants; model policy. Expedites the issuance of a search warrant for unmanned aircraft systems by law-enforcement officers upon a finding of reasonable and probable cause by an authorized judicial official, as defined in the bill, and permits the use of unmanned aircraft systems without a search warrant when law enforcement is surveying the scene of a crime or to respond to a public safety call for service when such crime scene or call for service is located on public property, to locate a person when such person has fled the offense location during the initial response to an incident, or to provide real-time aerial observation to increase on-scene safety and security. Such provisions are subject to a reenactment clause. The bill also requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services, in consultation with the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission and the Virginia Association of Commonwealth's Attorneys, to establish a model policy for the use of unmanned aircraft systems by December 1, 2026. This bill is identical to HB 1219.
School boards; student cell phone and smart device possession and use policies. Amends the requirements for the student cell phone and smart device possession and use policies that each school board is required to develop and each public elementary and secondary school is required to implement pursuant to applicable law to require such policies to, except as provided in applicable law, restrict student cell phone and smart device possession and prohibit student cell phone and smart device use on school property from bell to bell. Current law only requires such policies to restrict student cell phone and smart device possession and use on school property from bell to bell.
Public schools; student instruction; addictive potential of time spent using certain electronic devices. Requires instruction concerning time spent using electronic devices such as computers, cell phones, and other smart devices and the addictive potential thereof to be provided by the public schools as prescribed by the Board of Education. This bill is identical to HB 1486.
Elections; political campaign advertisements; synthetic media; penalty. Prohibits electioneering communications containing synthetic media, as those terms are defined in the bill, from being published or broadcast without containing the following conspicuously displayed statement: "This message contains synthetic media that has been altered from its original source or artificially generated and may present conduct or speech that did not occur." The bill creates a civil penalty not to exceed $25,000 for a violation of such prohibition and a Class 1 misdemeanor for a willful violation. The bill permits any registered voter who receives an electioneering communication in violation of this requirement to institute an action for preventative relief to prohibit the publication or dissemination of such electioneering communication, including an application for a permanent or temporary injunction.
Artificial Intelligence Chatbots and Minors Act established; enforcement; civil penalties; individual action. Creates the Artificial Intelligence Chatbots and Minors Act to require a covered entity, defined in the bill, to (i) implement certain reasonable systems and processes, (ii) make reasonable efforts to notify appropriate emergency services or law enforcement if it obtains knowledge that a user faces an imminent risk of death or serious physical injury, and (iii) submit a report to the Attorney General after obtaining knowledge of certain covered incidents, defined in the bill, connected to one or more of its chatbots. The bill also requires an operator, defined in the bill, to disclose the non-human nature of the chatbot to users at certain intervals. The bill authorizes the Attorney General to initiate an action to seek an injunction and civil penalties for violations and also provides an individual civil action for any person harmed by a violation or the parent or legal guardian of a minor harmed by a violation.
Use of artificial intelligence system by mental health service providers; civil penalty. Permits the use of an artificial intelligence system by mental health service providers to assist in providing therapy or counseling services if such mental health service provider maintains full responsibility for all interactions, outputs, and data use associated with the system. The bill prohibits the use of an artificial intelligence system to provide therapy or counseling services without a mental health service provider. The bill specifies that records kept by mental health service providers must comply with health records privacy requirements; creates an exception for religious counseling, peer support, or self-help materials and educational resources; and establishes a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for violations of the statute.
