Data centers and cloud computing; sales tax exemption; grant fund. Creates the Cloud Computing Cluster Infrastructure Grant Fund for the purpose of providing grants to qualified companies, defined in the bill as a company, including its affiliates, that enters into a memorandum of understanding with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority and is expected to (i) make or cause to be made a capital investment of at least $50 billion and (ii) create at least 1,500 new full-time jobs that pay an average annual wage of at least one and one-half times the prevailing average wage in the locality where the job is located. The bill requires that, in order to become a qualified company, a company successfully complete a qualification process that includes an endorsement from the MEI Commission and approval in the appropriation act for the amount of grants that are to be provided. Data centers and cloud computing; sales tax exemption; grant fund. Creates the Cloud Computing Cluster Infrastructure Grant Fund for the purpose of providing grants to qualified companies, defined in the bill as a company, including its affiliates, that enters into a memorandum of understanding with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority and is expected to (i) make or cause to be made a capital investment of at least $50 billion and (ii) create at least 1,500 new full-time jobs that pay an average annual wage of at least one and one-half times the prevailing average wage in the locality where the job is located. The bill requires that, in order to become a qualified company, a company successfully complete a qualification process that includes an endorsement from the MEI Commission and approval in the appropriation act for the amount of grants that are to be provided. The bill also extends the data center sales and use tax exemption to 2040 for a data center operator that (a) makes a capital investment of at least $35 billion in data centers in the Commonwealth and (b) creates at least 1,000 direct new jobs, of which at least 100 of such jobs pay at least one and one-half times the prevailing average wage in the Commonwealth. Such data center operator shall be eligible for further extension of the sales and use tax exemption to 2050 if the data center operator (1) makes a total capital investment of at least $100 billion, inclusive of the initial $35 billion investment, and (2) creates a total of at least 2,500 direct new jobs, of which at least 100 of such jobs pay at least one and one-half times the prevailing average wage in the Commonwealth, inclusive of the 1,000 jobs initially created.

Registered surgical technologist; credentialing. Adds the National Center for Competency Testing as an accepted credentialing organization for registered surgical technologists.

Purchase of firearms; special identification without a photograph. Provides that to establish personal identification and residence in Virginia for the purposes of purchasing a firearm, a prospective purchaser may present a special identification card without a photograph issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles to a person with a sincerely held religious belief prohibiting the taking of a photograph.

Department of Education; Standards of Learning assessment revision work group; timeline for Request for Proposal for provider of revised assessments. Prohibits the Department of Education from releasing a Request for Proposal for a provider of revised Virginia Standards of Learning summative assessments of proficiency until after the work group convened for the purpose of developing a plan for the implementation of such revised assessments has submitted its initial iteration of such plan. The bill permits the Department of Education to extend the current state assessment contract until December 31, 2025, to ensure continuity in the administration of the state assessment program. Department of Education; Standards of Learning assessment revision work group; timeline for Request for Proposal for provider of revised assessments. Prohibits the Department of Education from releasing a Request for Proposal for a provider of revised Virginia Standards of Learning summative assessments of proficiency until after the work group convened for the purpose of developing a plan for the implementation of such revised assessments has submitted its initial iteration of such plan. The bill permits the Department of Education to extend the current state assessment contract until December 31, 2025, to ensure continuity in the administration of the state assessment program.

Commending Historic Huntley.

Health insurance; pharmacy benefits managers; employee welfare benefit plans. Provides that entities providing or administering self-insured or self-funded employee welfare benefit plans are subject to provisions related to pharmacy benefits management, including certain prohibited conduct and recordkeeping requirements.

Virginia Recycling Development Center; established; report.

Local government; standardization of public notice requirements for certain intended actions and hearings; report. Standardizes the frequency and length of time that notices of certain meetings, hearings, and other intended actions of localities must be published in newspapers and other print media. The notice provisions included in the bill are organized into the following three groups: (i) publication required one week before the meeting, hearing, or intended action; (ii) publication required two consecutive weeks before the meeting, hearing, or intended action; and (iii) publication required three consecutive weeks before the meeting, hearing, or intended action. In addition, the bill amends provisions related to the content of notices for zoning ordinances and amendments to such ordinances by removing the requirement that such notices contain a descriptive summary of the proposed action and providing that such notices shall include the street address or tax map parcel number of the parcels subject to the action. In cases where the intended action affects more than 25 parcels, the notice must also include the approximate acreage subject to the intended action. For more than 100 parcels of land, the advertisement may instead include a description of the boundaries of the area subject to the changes and a link to a map of the subject area. The bill also removes the requirement that notices of proposed amendments to a zoning map state the general usage and density range of the proposed amendment and the general usage density set forth in the applicable part of the comprehensive plan. The bill directs the Virginia Code Commission to convene a work group to continue review of the notice requirements throughout the Code of Virginia and requires the Virginia Code Commission to submit a report to the Chairmen of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology summarizing the work and any recommendations of the work group by November 1, 2023. Local government; standardization of public notice requirements for certain intended actions and hearings; report. Standardizes the frequency and length of time that notices of certain meetings, hearings, and other intended actions of localities must be published in newspapers and other print media. The notice provisions included in the bill are organized into the following three groups: (i) publication required one week before the meeting, hearing, or intended action; (ii) publication required two consecutive weeks before the meeting, hearing, or intended action; and (iii) publication required three consecutive weeks before the meeting, hearing, or intended action. In addition, the bill amends provisions related to the content of notices for zoning ordinances and amendments to such ordinances by removing the requirement that such notices contain a descriptive summary of the proposed action and providing that such notices shall include the street address or tax map parcel number of the parcels subject to the action. In cases where the intended action affects more than 25 parcels, the notice must also include the approximate acreage subject to the intended action. For more than 100 parcels of land, the advertisement may instead include a description of the boundaries of the area subject to the changes and a link to a map of the subject area. The bill also removes the requirement that notices of proposed amendments to a zoning map state the general usage and density range of the proposed amendment and the general usage density set forth in the applicable part of the comprehensive plan. The bill directs the Virginia Code Commission to convene a work group to continue review of the notice requirements throughout the Code of Virginia and requires the Virginia Code Commission to submit a report to the Chairmen of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology summarizing the work and any recommendations of the work group by November 1, 2023.

Constitutional amendment (first reference); environmental justice. Establishes that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to follow the principles of environmental justice in the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies and to ensure that no population, especially minority, low-income, or historically economically disadvantaged communities, faces higher levels or greater impacts of pollution and climate change than other populations.

Proton therapy; clinical evidence for decisions on coverage. Requires that a health insurance carrier consider (i) coverage for proton radiation therapy by Medicare, Medicaid, or any other governmental health coverage or (ii) a recommendation of proton radiation therapy by a patient's treating physician or radiation oncologist as a sufficient standard of clinical evidence to justify coverage of proton therapy coverage. Proton therapy; clinical evidence for decisions on coverage. Requires that a health insurance carrier consider (i) coverage for proton radiation therapy by Medicare, Medicaid, or any other governmental health coverage or (ii) a recommendation of proton radiation therapy by a patient's treating physician or radiation oncologist as a sufficient standard of clinical evidence to justify coverage of proton therapy coverage.

State employees; health insurance coverage; incapacitated adult children. Provides that the plan established by the Department of Human Resource Management for the provision of health insurance coverage for state employees shall allow for an incapacitated child, defined in the bill, to be enrolled under a participating state employee's coverage without regard to whether such child lives with the covered employee as a member of the employee's household so long as the child is dependent upon the employee for more than half of the child's financial support and the child is receiving residential support services. State employees; health insurance coverage; incapacitated adult children. Provides that the plan established by the Department of Human Resource Management for the provision of health insurance coverage for state employees shall allow for an incapacitated child, defined in the bill, to be enrolled under a participating state employee's coverage without regard to whether such child lives with the covered employee as a member of the employee's household so long as the child is dependent upon the employee for more than half of the child's financial support and the child is receiving residential support services.

Vehicle exhaust systems; equipment. Prohibits (i) the sale or offering for sale of any mechanical or electronic device that creates or amplifies noise emitted by a motor vehicle, moped, or motorized skateboard or scooter that is louder than the noise emitted by the motor vehicle, moped, or motorized skateboard or scooter as originally manufactured and (ii) the operation of a motor vehicle, moped, or motorized skateboard or scooter equipped with any such device. The bill prohibits the issuance of a safety inspection approval sticker on any vehicle equipped with such a device or other unlawful muffler.

Virginia Freedom of Information Act; electronic meetings; local and regional public bodies. Allows, with certain exceptions, local and regional public bodies to convene as many all-virtual public meetings as each such public body deems acceptable in its individual remote participation meeting policy, to be adopted at least once annually by recorded vote at a public meeting. Current law limits all-virtual public meetings to no more than two times per calendar year or 25 percent of the meetings held per calendar year rounded up to the next whole number, whichever is greater, and prohibits any such meeting from being held consecutively with another all-virtual public meeting.

Local sales and use tax; exemption for essential personal hygiene products and infant formula. Exempts essential personal hygiene products and infant formula from the local sales and use tax. Under current law, such products are exempt from state sales and use tax but are subject to the local one percent option.

Delinquent tax lands. Extends the maximum duration of an installment agreement between a locality and a landowner to pay delinquent taxes from 60 to 72 months. Delinquent tax lands. Extends the maximum duration of an installment agreement between a locality and a landowner to pay delinquent taxes from 60 to 72 months.