Illegal gambling; exemptions. Exempts from the provisions of Code prohibiting illegal gambling the placement or operation of or communication to and from data center equipment in the Commonwealth associated with the hosting of lottery games duly authorized by another state or jurisdiction and regulated and operated consistent with and exclusively for the benefit of such state or jurisdiction, provided that wagering on such games is legally authorized in such other state or jurisdiction and the individuals wagering on such games are required by the laws or regulations of such other state or jurisdiction to be physically located within the geographic bounds of such other state or jurisdiction at the time the wager is initiated or placed.

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.

Grandparent; petition for visitation. Provides that in any case or proceeding in which a grandparent has petitioned the court for visitation with a minor grandchild, the court may consider whether (i) the marriage of the parents of such child has been dissolved, (ii) a parent of the child has abandoned such child, (iii) the child was born while the parents were not married, or (iv) a parent of the child has prevented the grandparent from visitation at any hearing in such a case or proceeding held to determine the best interest of the child.

Study; Joint Commission on Health Care; impacts of cell phone possession and use on students in public schools; report. Directs the Joint Commission on Health Care to study the impacts of cell phone possession and use in public schools on student learning outcomes, including the quality of learning and the ability of students to retain and recall information, student attention and focus, and student mental and behavioral health.

Virginia Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant Program and Fund; firearm and ammunition tax. Establishes the Virginia Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant Program (the Program) and redirects funds from the Virginia Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention Fund (the Fund) to support such program. The bill requires the Program be administered by the Department of Criminal Justice Services (the Department) to distribute grants to localities and organizations for the purpose of improving public health and safety by supporting effective violence reduction initiatives in communities that are disproportionately impacted by violence, particularly homicides, shootings, and aggravated assaults. The bill provides that funds may also be used to finance the hiring of counselors in public elementary and secondary schools and research initiatives that have the objective of reducing gun violence. Virginia Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant Program and Fund; firearm and ammunition tax. Establishes the Virginia Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant Program (the Program) and redirects funds from the Virginia Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention Fund (the Fund) to support such program. The bill requires the Program be administered by the Department of Criminal Justice Services (the Department) to distribute grants to localities and organizations for the purpose of improving public health and safety by supporting effective violence reduction initiatives in communities that are disproportionately impacted by violence, particularly homicides, shootings, and aggravated assaults. The bill provides that funds may also be used to finance the hiring of counselors in public elementary and secondary schools and research initiatives that have the objective of reducing gun violence. The bill provides that the Department shall issue grants on a competitive basis. As a condition of receiving a grant, a locality or organization must commit a cash or in-kind contribution equivalent to the amount of the grant, with waivers allowed for good cause, and report on its progress toward achieving the grant's objectives. The bill requires the Department to provide public access to such reports. The bill imposes a five percent tax on the sale of any firearm or ammunition, with all revenue from the tax accruing to the Fund. Under the bill, firearm and ammunition sales to state or local agencies or law-enforcement officers are exempt from such tax.

Absentee voting; voter satellite offices; minimum number required. Requires that absentee voting in person be available in the office of the general registrar and in any voter satellite office that the governing body of any county or city chooses to establish. Localities with a population of 50,000 or more are required to establish at least one voter satellite office to be in operation for the duration of the period during which absentee voting in person is available. Under current law, the governing body of any county or city, regardless of its population, is authorized to establish as many voter satellite offices as it deems necessary.

Public elementary and secondary schools; compulsory attendance policies and procedures; educational neglect defined. Revises the policies and procedures relating to addressing the nonattendance or nonenrollment of a child subject to compulsory education requirements by expanding the definition of "abused or neglected child" to include educational neglect and, therefore, requiring any teacher, attendance officer, or other person employed by such child's school, to report such neglect to the appropriate authority in accordance with pertinent law. The bill defines "educational neglect" as the failure or refusal to provide necessary education for a child who is subject to compulsory attendance in accordance with relevant law and is enrolled in a public school and has missed 10 percent or more of the academic year, including by (i) causing or allowing the child to become chronically absent, defined as any student who has missed 10 percent or more of the academic year for any reason, including excused and unexcused absences, or (ii) failing or refusing to enroll a child in any school who is not otherwise exempt from school attendance if (a) such failure or refusal to enroll continues after the school notifies and institutes proceedings against the parent and (b) the time elapsed between the institution of proceedings and the continued noncompliance to date exceeds 10 percent of the academic year.

Virginia Advisory Committee for Career and Technical Education; recommendations, guidelines, and best practices for incorporation of career and technical education into public elementary school curricula; report. Requires the Virginia Advisory Committee for Career and Technical Education established by the Board of Education to develop and submit to the Board of Education, the Governor, and the General Assembly no later than November 1, 2024, recommendations, guidelines, and best practices for the incorporation of career and technical education into public elementary school curricula.

Local sales tax entitlement; blighted retail district. Entitles a blighted retail district in Stafford County that undergoes a major reconstruction or renovation involving a capital investment of at least $15 million to the one percent local sales tax revenue generated on the premises of the project to be used towards debt service to bridge the gap between available debt and equity and the expected costs of the project. The bill states that in order to qualify for the entitlement, the project must have at least 70 percent of the funding for the project in place. The bill specifies that the blighted retail project must provide a match for the one percent local sales tax revenue.

Public deposits; credit unions. Authorizes credit unions to hold public deposits and become qualified public depositories. The bill provides that the Commonwealth and counties, cities, towns, and other political subdivisions of the Commonwealth may become members of a credit union for the purposes of placing deposits in and receiving services from the credit union. The bill directs the Treasury Board to designate a rating service to evaluate the creditworthiness of any credit union seeking to become a qualified public depository within 180 days of enactment. The bill also requires the Treasury Board to promulgate emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill.

Abolition of juvenile fines and fees; criminal offenses. Abolishes court costs, fines, and fees assessed to a juvenile or his parent or other persons responsible for his care in circuit court and juvenile and domestic relations district court related to prosecutions of criminal offenses. Abolition of juvenile fines and fees; criminal offenses. Abolishes court costs, fines, and fees assessed to a juvenile or his parent or other persons responsible for his care in circuit court and juvenile and domestic relations district court related to prosecutions of criminal offenses.

Land preservation tax credit; maximum amount increase. Increases from $75 million to $100 million, beginning in 2024, the maximum amount of land preservation tax credits that may be issued in a calendar year.

Study; State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; $10,000 per year baccalaureate degree; report. Requests that the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (i) study the feasibility of implementing the option for students to pay $10,000 annually for tuition and mandatory fees to earn a degree at a baccalaureate public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth by surveying each baccalaureate public institution of higher education to determine the likely impact of such an option on enrollment, revenue, costs, services, staffing, and such other factors as the institution deems relevant and (ii) report its findings to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than November 30, 2024.

Action establishing boundaries to land; attorney fees. Provides that in an action to establish boundary lines the court may award attorney fees to any prevailing party when the need to ascertain the true boundary lines arose from the action of another party, and where such action was in willful disregard of the rights of another. The bill also provides that a claim of damages may be joined with any proceeding to establish boundary lines. This bill is a recommendation of the Boyd-Graves Conference.

Department of Housing and Community Development; Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; affordable housing; criminal record screening model policy. Requires the Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development (the Department) to develop a criminal record screening model policy for admitting or denying an applicant for affordable housing covered under the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's guidance on the application of the Fair Housing Act and maintain such model policy on its website. The bill prohibits a landlord of an affordable housing unit from inquiring about or requiring disclosure of, or if such information is received, basing an adverse action, in whole or in part, on an applicant's criminal or arrest record unless the landlord does so in accordance with the criminal record screening model policy developed by the Department and posted on its website and provides the applicant with a written copy of such policy. The bill directs the Department to convene a stakeholder group to provide input into the development of the criminal record screening model policy.