Electric utilities; customer energy choice; notice required for customer return to service. Removes certain restrictions on the ability of individual retail customers of electric energy within the Commonwealth, regardless of customer class, to purchase electric energy provided 100 percent from renewable energy from any supplier of electric energy licensed to sell retail electric energy within the Commonwealth. The bill also decreases the required written notice period from five years to six months for certain electric energy customers to return to service by Dominion Energy Virginia after purchasing electric energy from other suppliers.

Epilepsy Heroes Day. Designates March 26, in 2024 and in each succeeding year, as Epilepsy Heroes Day in Virginia.

Civil immunity; dentists and dental hygienists; mental health treatment for health care professionals; reporting requirements. Adds dentists and dental hygienists to the list of providers who are immune from civil liability for any act done or made in performance of his duties while serving as a member of or consultant to an entity that functions primarily to review, evaluate, or make recommendations on a professional program to address issues related to career fatigue and wellness in health care professionals. The bill also extends civil immunity to certain providers for any act done or made in performance of his duties while serving as a member of or consultant to an entity that functions primarily to arrange for or provide outpatient health care for health care professionals. The bill also revises the Board of Medicine reporting requirements when a health care professional is admitted for mental health treatment. Under the bill, if a health care professional is voluntarily admitted to a health care institution for treatment of a substance abuse or psychiatric illness and is no longer believed to be a danger within 30 days then no report will be made to the Board of Medicine.

Joint Commission on Technology and Science; analysis of the use of artificial intelligence by public bodies; report. Directs the Joint Commission on Technology and Science (JCOTS), in consultation with relevant stakeholders, to conduct an analysis of the use of artificial intelligence by public bodies in the Commonwealth and the creation of a Commission on Artificial Intelligence. JCOTS shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committees on Appropriations and Communications, Technology and Innovation and the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriations and General Laws and Technology no later than December 1, 2024.

Individual income tax subtraction; income earned in certain localities. Directs the Department of Taxation and the Commission on Local Government to assess the need for income tax relief in double distressed localities in the Commonwealth that have experienced significant loss of population since 2013. The Department and the Commission must report on their recommendations to the Governor and the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations and the House Committees on Finance and Appropriations by November 1, 2024. Individual income tax subtraction; income earned in certain localities. Directs the Department of Taxation and the Commission on Local Government to assess the need for income tax relief in double distressed localities in the Commonwealth that have experienced significant loss of population since 2013. The Department and the Commission must report on their recommendations to the Governor and the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations and the House Committees on Finance and Appropriations by November 1, 2024.

Adult protective services; central registry. Creates a central registry of substantiated complaints of adult abuse, neglect, and exploitation to be maintained by the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services. The bill establishes (i) investigation requirements for local departments of social services related to reports of adult abuse, neglect, and exploitation; (ii) record retention and disclosure requirements for the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services and local departments of social services; (iii) notice requirements related to findings by local departments and central registry entries; and (iv) an appeals process to contest the findings of a local department related to substantiated reports of adult abuse, neglect, or exploitation. The bill directs the Commissioner for Aging and Rehabilitative Services to adopt regulations to implement the provisions of the bill and exempts the Commissioner's initial adoption of such regulations from the provisions of the Administrative Process Act. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.

Purchase, possession, or transportation of firearm; assault and battery of a family or household member or intimate partner; penalties. Adds to the existing definition of "family or household member" a person's intimate partner, defined in the bill as an individual who, within the previous 12 months, was in a romantic, dating, or sexual relationship with the person. The bill also provides that any person who knowingly and intentionally purchases, possesses, or transports any firearm following a misdemeanor conviction for an offense that occurred on or after July 1, 2024, for the offense of assault and battery against an intimate partner or an offense substantially similar under the laws of any other state or of the United States is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Department of Environmental Quality; data; groundwater and surface water withdrawal permits. Authorizes the Department of Environmental Quality to utilize and incorporate comprehensive groundwater, surface water, and aquifer data in its decision-making processes related to the issuance and renewal of groundwater withdrawal permits and surface water withdrawal permits. Such data may include information relating to water levels, flow rates, and water quality. Department of Environmental Quality; data; groundwater and surface water withdrawal permits. Authorizes the Department of Environmental Quality to utilize and incorporate comprehensive groundwater, surface water, and aquifer data in its decision-making processes related to the issuance and renewal of groundwater withdrawal permits and surface water withdrawal permits. Such data may include information relating to water levels, flow rates, and water quality.

Controlled substances; manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing, etc.; adulterated or misbranded drugs; penalties. Makes it a Class 6 felony for any person, except for permitted manufacturers, to possess, purchase, sell, give, distribute, or possess with intent to sell, give, or distribute an encapsulating machine or a tableting machine that manufactures, compounds, converts, produces, processes, prepares, or otherwise introduces into the human body a controlled substance. The bill makes it a Class 5 felony if such person knows, intends, or has reasonable cause to believe that such action will result in the unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance or counterfeit controlled substance that contains (i) a controlled substance classified in Schedule I or Schedule II of the Drug Control Act or (ii) a controlled substance analog as defined in relevant law. Controlled substances; manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing, etc.; adulterated or misbranded drugs; penalties. Makes it a Class 6 felony for any person, except for permitted manufacturers, to possess, purchase, sell, give, distribute, or possess with intent to sell, give, or distribute an encapsulating machine or a tableting machine that manufactures, compounds, converts, produces, processes, prepares, or otherwise introduces into the human body a controlled substance. The bill makes it a Class 5 felony if such person knows, intends, or has reasonable cause to believe that such action will result in the unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance or counterfeit controlled substance that contains (i) a controlled substance classified in Schedule I or Schedule II of the Drug Control Act or (ii) a controlled substance analog as defined in relevant law. The bill also makes it a felony punishable by imprisonment for not less than 10 nor more than 40 years for any person 18 years of age or older to knowingly allow a minor or a mentally incapacitated or physically helpless person of any age to be present during the manufacture or attempted manufacture of any substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl. The bill also increases from a Class 2 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony the penalty for violations related to adulterated or misbranded drugs and cosmetics.

Public schools; instructional time. Makes several changes relating to student instructional time in public elementary and secondary schools, including (i) defining "instructional hour" for the purpose of minimum annual instructional hour requirements; (ii) establishing several provisions and requirements relating to the enrollment of part-time students in public elementary and secondary schools; (iii) requiring the Board of Education to adopt rules for approving alternative programs for which course credit may be granted for the purpose of satisfying high school graduation requirements to any student who completes such course and masters the course content by demonstrating at least 80 percent of the competencies required by course standards, regardless of time, place, or pace; and (iv) permitting school boards that govern school divisions of innovation to adopt instructional time models that allow students to personalize the pace of learning and accelerate their learning based on the mastery of course content by demonstrating at least 80 percent of the competencies required by course standards, regardless of time, place, or pace.

Charter; Town of Pulaski. Amends the charter for the Town of Pulaski in Pulaski County to reflect the town's shift from May to November municipal elections. The bill clarifies that the town council's membership consists of seven members, including the mayor, and provides that the mayor may vote in the council. The bill also changes the time of the election of the vice-mayor from even-numbered years to odd-numbered years at the first meeting of the council.

Parental admission of minors for inpatient treatment. Clarifies that for the purposes of admission of a minor to a willing mental health facility for inpatient treatment, the finding required to be made by a qualified evaluator that the minor appears to have a mental illness serious enough to warrant inpatient treatment may include a finding of substance abuse and such inpatient treatment may be related to such mental illness, which may include substance abuse. The bill also specifies that a temporary detention order shall not be required for a minor 14 years of age or older who objects to admission to be admitted to a willing facility upon the application of a parent. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Virginia Commission on Youth.

Certain powers of attorney; transfer on death deeds. Provides that an agent under a power of attorney shall not have the authority to create, change, or revoke a transfer on death deed unless specifically granted the power to create or change a beneficiary designation as otherwise provided by law.

Auto recyclers; database search. Clarifies the databases to be searched by the Department of Motor Vehicles upon notification by an auto recycler that he possesses a motor vehicle to be demolished but does not possess a certificate of title, salvage certificate, or nonrepairable certificate for such motor vehicle. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025, and is identical to

Family caregiver tax credit. Creates a nonrefundable income tax credit for taxable years 2024 through 2028 for expenses incurred by an individual in caring for an eligible family member, defined in the bill, who requires assistance with one or more activities of daily living, also defined in the bill. The credit equals 50 percent of eligible expenditures incurred by the caregiver up to $1,000. In order to qualify for the credit, the family caregiver must (i) not receive any compensation or reimbursement for the eligible expenditures and (ii) have federal adjusted gross income that is no greater than $100,000 for an individual or $200,000 for married persons.