Installation, maintenance, and operation of devices in highway right-of-way for law-enforcement purposes; regulation authority; civil penalty. Authorizes the Department of State Police or the chief law-enforcement officer of a locality to install devices for law-enforcement purposes in the right-of-way of highways under state jurisdiction. The bill defines law-enforcement purposes as an active felony investigation, an effort to prevent a targeted act of violence, or an attempt to locate missing, endangered, or wanted persons by law enforcement through the identification of a motor vehicle and excludes from the definition the enforcement of speed limits, traffic laws, tolling requirements, or high-occupancy vehicle requirements. The bill authorizes entering into agreements with private entities for the maintenance and operation of such devices. The bill requires the data collected to be maintained for no more than 30 days following its collection and limits the data and information collected to data and information about (i) the make, model, condition, location, and color of a vehicle and the information on the vehicle's license plate and (ii) the date and time the data and information was collected.

Tangible personal property tax; classification; certain vehicles. Removes the sunset on authorization for localities to assign a rate of tax or assessment different from the general tangible personal property rate on certain automobiles, trucks, motor vehicles for use by the handicapped, motorcycles, mopeds, all-terrain vehicles, off-road motorcycles, campers, and other recreational vehicles. Under current law, such authorization is limited to taxable years 2022 through 2024.

Legal notices and publications; online-only news publications; requirements. Provides that, where any ordinance, resolution, notice, or advertisement is required by law to be published in a newspaper, such ordinance, resolution, notice, or advertisement instead may be published in an online-only news publication subject to certain requirements specified in the bill. The bill sets out a process by which an online-only news publication shall petition the circuit court of the appropriate jurisdiction to publish such ordinances, resolutions, notices, or advertisements and authorizes the court to grant such online-only news publication the authority to publish such ordinances, resolutions, notices, or advertisements for a period of one year. The bill also describes the process by which an online-only news publication may continue renewing such authority to publish in each successive year.

Training standards for law-enforcement officers; drug use. Requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to establish training standards and publish and periodically update model policies for law-enforcement personnel on the use of naloxone or other opioid antagonists to prevent opioid overdose deaths, in coordination with statewide naloxone training programs developed by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and the Virginia Department of Health. Training standards for law-enforcement officers; drug use. Requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to establish training standards and publish and periodically update model policies for law-enforcement personnel on the use of naloxone or other opioid antagonists to prevent opioid overdose deaths, in coordination with statewide naloxone training programs developed by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and the Virginia Department of Health.

Public high schools; personnel; career coach required. Requires each school board to employ at least one career coach in each public high school in the local school division whose duties are required to include assisting students with securing internships, externships, and credentialing opportunities as required by the Profile of a Virginia Graduate, providing students with information on apprenticeship programs, and connecting students to career opportunities. 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.

Medical Ethics Defense Act established. Establishes the right of a medical practitioner, health care institution, or health care payer not to participate in or pay for any medical procedure or service that violates such medical practitioner's, health care institution's, or health care payer's conscience, as those terms and conditions are defined in the bill. The bill provides protections for medical practitioners who disclose violations of the bill or report violations of laws or ethical guidelines for the safe provision of any medical procedure or service. The bill also provides a private right of action for any party harmed by violations of the bill.

Violation of protective orders; venue. Allows a person to be prosecuted for a violation of a protective order charge in the jurisdiction where the party protected by the protective order resided at the time of such violation.

Financial institutions; certain payments required electronically. Requires any financial institution that initiates an electronic fund transfer as payment for the sale to a consumer of a security issued by such financial institution to make available to the consumer the option of completing any payment of principal, interest, dividend, or other distribution related to the security via an electronic fund transfer. Financial institutions; certain payments required electronically. Requires any financial institution that initiates an electronic fund transfer as payment for the sale to a consumer of a security issued by such financial institution to make available to the consumer the option of completing any payment of principal, interest, dividend, or other distribution related to the security via an electronic fund transfer.

State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; membership; representative of a historically black college or university. Requires the membership of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to include at least one nonlegislative citizen member who has served as a chief executive officer of one of the Commonwealth's historically black colleges or universities. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026. State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; membership; representative of a historically black college or university. Requires the membership of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to include at least one nonlegislative citizen member who has served as a chief executive officer of one of the Commonwealth's historically black colleges or universities. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.

Sales and use tax exemption; data centers. Requires data center operators to meet certain energy efficiency standards in order to be eligible for the sales and use tax exemption for data center purchases. Under the bill, a data center operator shall be eligible for the exemption only if such operator demonstrates that (i) its facilities either (a) have a power usage effectiveness score of no greater than 1.2 or (b) for data centers co-located in buildings with other commercial uses, achieve an energy efficiency level of no less than the most efficient 15 percent of similar buildings constructed in the previous five years and (ii) it will procure carbon-free renewable energy and associated renewable energy certificates from facilities equal to 90 percent of its electricity requirements or that its electricity will be otherwise derived from non-carbon-emitting, renewable sources. Sales and use tax exemption; data centers. Requires data center operators to meet certain energy efficiency standards in order to be eligible for the sales and use tax exemption for data center purchases. Under the bill, a data center operator shall be eligible for the exemption only if such operator demonstrates that (i) its facilities either (a) have a power usage effectiveness score of no greater than 1.2 or (b) for data centers co-located in buildings with other commercial uses, achieve an energy efficiency level of no less than the most efficient 15 percent of similar buildings constructed in the previous five years and (ii) it will procure carbon-free renewable energy and associated renewable energy certificates from facilities equal to 90 percent of its electricity requirements or that its electricity will be otherwise derived from non-carbon-emitting, renewable sources.

Study; JLARC; salaries and expenses of legislators; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study the salaries, expense allowances, retirement benefits, and other emoluments received by members of the General Assembly and to make recommendations for any adjustments to such salaries or expenses. As part of this study, JLARC will review the current salaries, expense allowances, retirement benefits, and other emoluments of the members of the General Assembly; examine the Commonwealth's history of legislative compensation; review the compensation, expenses, and benefits for legislative service in other states; assess various state methodologies in determining reasonable legislative compensation, including the tying of salaries to certain indexes or economic indicators; and make recommendations for any adjustments to such salaries, expenses, benefits, or other emoluments. Study; JLARC; salaries and expenses of legislators; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study the salaries, expense allowances, retirement benefits, and other emoluments received by members of the General Assembly and to make recommendations for any adjustments to such salaries or expenses. As part of this study, JLARC will review the current salaries, expense allowances, retirement benefits, and other emoluments of the members of the General Assembly; examine the Commonwealth's history of legislative compensation; review the compensation, expenses, and benefits for legislative service in other states; assess various state methodologies in determining reasonable legislative compensation, including the tying of salaries to certain indexes or economic indicators; and make recommendations for any adjustments to such salaries, expenses, benefits, or other emoluments.

Advance Health Care Planning Registry; amendment of regulations. Amends the list of documents that may be submitted to the Advance Health Care Directive Registry to include any other document that supports advance health care planning. The bill also changes the name of the Advance Health Care Directive Registry to the Advance Health Care Planning Registry. The bill directs the Department of Health to amend certain Advance Health Care Planning Registry regulations.

Tax exemptions; Confederacy organizations. Eliminates the exemption from state recordation taxes for the Virginia Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and eliminates the tax-exempt designation for real and personal property owned by the Virginia Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the General Organization of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Confederate Memorial Literary Society, and the Stonewall Jackson Memorial, Incorporated.

E-Verify program. Requires every employer to enroll in the E-Verify program by January 1, 2025, and to use the program for each newly hired employee who is to perform work within the Commonwealth. Under current law, only state agencies and certain employers with contracts with state agencies are required to use the program. The bill also requires the Attorney General to request the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, once each calendar quarter, to provide a list of agencies and employers that are enrolled and participate in the E-Verify program and to make such list available on the Attorney General's website.

Voter registration; list maintenance data standards; challenges to a voter's registration. Prohibits the use of voter data received from another state or jurisdiction or through a list comparison for list maintenance purposes when the data file does not include a unique identifier for each individual whose information is contained in the data file. The bill requires the Department of Elections to conduct an annual review of all sources of data utilized for list maintenance activities in the preceding 12-month period for the purpose of determining the validity, completeness, accuracy, and reliability of the data received from each source and to include the results of such review in its annual report to the House and Senate Committees on Privileges and Elections regarding its list maintenance activities. Lastly, the bill removes provisions allowing general registrars to adjudicate challenges to a voter's registration, reserving such process to the courts. The bill includes technical amendments. Voter registration; list maintenance data standards; challenges to a voter's registration. Prohibits the use of voter data received from another state or jurisdiction or through a list comparison for list maintenance purposes when the data file does not include a unique identifier for each individual whose information is contained in the data file. The bill requires the Department of Elections to conduct an annual review of all sources of data utilized for list maintenance activities in the preceding 12-month period for the purpose of determining the validity, completeness, accuracy, and reliability of the data received from each source and to include the results of such review in its annual report to the House and Senate Committees on Privileges and Elections regarding its list maintenance activities. Lastly, the bill removes provisions allowing general registrars to adjudicate challenges to a voter's registration, reserving such process to the courts. The bill includes technical amendments.