Petition for modification of a sentence; eligibility; procedures. Provides a process for a person serving a sentence for any conviction or a combination of any convictions who remains incarcerated in a state or local correctional facility or secure facility and meets certain criteria to petition the circuit court that entered the original judgment or order to (i) suspend the unserved portion of such sentence or run the unserved portion of such sentence concurrently with another sentence, (ii) place such person on probation for such time as the court shall determine, or (iii) otherwise modify the sentence imposed.

Purchase of certain firearms; age requirement; penalty. Prohibits any person under 21 years of age from purchasing a handgun or assault firearm, with exceptions for the purchase of an assault firearm by a law-enforcement officer, correctional officer, jail officer, or member of the Armed Forces of the United States, the Virginia National Guard, or the National Guard of any other state. Accordingly, the bill prohibits a licensed dealer from selling, renting, trading, or transferring from his inventory a handgun or assault firearm to any person under 21 years of age. A violation of either prohibition is a Class 6 felony. The bill also expands the definition of "assault firearm" as the term applies to criminal history record information checks.

School-connected overdoses; policies relating to parental notification and response; requirements. Requires each division superintendent or his designee to notify the parent of each student in the local school division of any school-connected overdose, defined as any verified overdose that occurs on school premises during or after regular school hours or during school-sanctioned activities whether on or off school premises, within 24 hours of learning of the overdose and to include in such notification as much information as is known about the circumstances surrounding the overdose. The bill requires the Board of Education to establish guidelines for school-connected overdose response and parental notification policies, including (a) a model action plan for each school board to follow in responding to the overdose, including communicating and coordinating with the Department of Education and the local law-enforcement liaison or local law-enforcement agency that employs the school resource officers for such school division, and (b) criteria for issuing the parental notification to ensure sensitivity to the privacy interests of any affected individuals.

Towing; vehicles with expired registration; civil penalty. Requires a towing operator, defined in the bill, for a parking lot of a multifamily dwelling unit, defined in the bill, to post written notice on a vehicle providing at least 48 hours' notice to a resident prior to removing a resident's vehicle, defined in the bill, from such parking lot of the multifamily dwelling unit for an expired registration or expired vehicle inspection sticker and to provide a copy of such notice to the landlord of such multifamily dwelling unit. The bill provides that a towing operator who fails to comply with these requirements shall be required to reimburse the resident for the cost of the tow and shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $100. Towing; vehicles with expired registration; civil penalty. Requires a towing operator, defined in the bill, for a parking lot of a multifamily dwelling unit, defined in the bill, to post written notice on a vehicle providing at least 48 hours' notice to a resident prior to removing a resident's vehicle, defined in the bill, from such parking lot of the multifamily dwelling unit for an expired registration or expired vehicle inspection sticker and to provide a copy of such notice to the landlord of such multifamily dwelling unit. The bill provides that a towing operator who fails to comply with these requirements shall be required to reimburse the resident for the cost of the tow and shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $100.

Paid family and medical leave insurance program; notice requirements; civil action. Requires the Virginia Employment Commission to establish and administer a paid family and medical leave insurance program with benefits beginning January 1, 2027. Under the program, benefits are paid to covered individuals, as defined in the bill, for family and medical leave. Funding for the program is provided through premiums assessed to employers and employees beginning January 1, 2026. The bill provides that the amount of a benefit is 80 percent of the employee's average weekly wage, not to exceed 80 percent of the state weekly wage, which amount is required to be adjusted annually to reflect changes in the statewide average weekly wage. The bill caps the duration of paid leave at 12 weeks in any application year and provides self-employed individuals the option of participating in the program. Paid family and medical leave insurance program; notice requirements; civil action. Requires the Virginia Employment Commission to establish and administer a paid family and medical leave insurance program with benefits beginning January 1, 2027. Under the program, benefits are paid to covered individuals, as defined in the bill, for family and medical leave. Funding for the program is provided through premiums assessed to employers and employees beginning January 1, 2026. The bill provides that the amount of a benefit is 80 percent of the employee's average weekly wage, not to exceed 80 percent of the state weekly wage, which amount is required to be adjusted annually to reflect changes in the statewide average weekly wage. The bill caps the duration of paid leave at 12 weeks in any application year and provides self-employed individuals the option of participating in the program.

Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity; guidance to small businesses; identification of enforcement actions; work group; report. Requires the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity to develop and provide guidance to businesses with newly approved permits and established businesses regarding responsibilities and requirements for maintaining such business that includes information identifying any regularly occurring required report to a state agency and any associated fees, penalties, or waivers. Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity; guidance to small businesses; identification of enforcement actions; work group; report. Requires the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity to develop and provide guidance to businesses with newly approved permits and established businesses regarding responsibilities and requirements for maintaining such business that includes information identifying any regularly occurring required report to a state agency and any associated fees, penalties, or waivers. The bill requires each state agency to annually report any enforcement action taken by the agency against a small business in the previous calendar year that specifies each infraction and the enforcement action taken by the agency. The bill requires the Department to post de-identified aggregated data by state agency and infraction type from such reports on its website. The bill requires the Department to convene a work group to identify and recommend means to provide relief to small businesses regarding regularly occurring required reports to state agencies. The work group is required to identify each such report and consider (i) if such report can be required less frequently or eliminated; (ii) if the required information has not changed since the previous report, allowing the small business to satisfy the reporting requirement by indicating that there has been no change; (iii) establishing a waiver or lowering the threshold to qualify for an existing waiver; (iv) reducing or eliminating any penalty for noncompliance; and (v) any other means to reduce the regulatory burden on small businesses. The Department is required to report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly by November 1, 2024.

Institutions of higher education; students who report act of hazing or bullying experienced as result of report of act of hazing; on-campus mental and behavioral health support. Requires each public institution of higher education and nonprofit private institution of higher education to provide information about on-campus individuals or entities that are qualified to provide the appropriate ongoing mental and behavioral health support to any student who reports to the institution an act of hazing or an act of bullying experienced as the result of a report of an act of hazing. Institutions of higher education; students who report act of hazing or bullying experienced as result of report of act of hazing; on-campus mental and behavioral health support. Requires each public institution of higher education and nonprofit private institution of higher education to provide information about on-campus individuals or entities that are qualified to provide the appropriate ongoing mental and behavioral health support to any student who reports to the institution an act of hazing or an act of bullying experienced as the result of a report of an act of hazing.

Consumer Data Protection Act; social media platforms; addictive feed. Prohibits a person that operates a social media platform that has knowledge that a user of the social media platform is a child under the age of 18 from using an addictive feed, defined in the bill, unless such social media platform obtains verifiable parental consent. Consumer Data Protection Act; social media platforms; addictive feed. Prohibits a person that operates a social media platform that has knowledge that a user of the social media platform is a child under the age of 18 from using an addictive feed, defined in the bill, unless such social media platform obtains verifiable parental consent.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; Manufactured Home Lot Rental Act; retaliatory conduct prohibited. Adds numerous actions to the list of prohibited retaliatory actions by a landlord against a tenant under the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act and Manufactured Home Lot Rental Act and specifies actions by a tenant for which a landlord may not retaliate. The bill modifies and expands the list of actions a landlord may take without violating the prohibition on retaliation. The bill allows a tenant, when the landlord has unlawfully retaliated, to recover actual damages and to assert retaliation as a defense in any action brought against him for possession. Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; Manufactured Home Lot Rental Act; retaliatory conduct prohibited. Adds numerous actions to the list of prohibited retaliatory actions by a landlord against a tenant under the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act and Manufactured Home Lot Rental Act and specifies actions by a tenant for which a landlord may not retaliate. The bill modifies and expands the list of actions a landlord may take without violating the prohibition on retaliation. The bill allows a tenant, when the landlord has unlawfully retaliated, to recover actual damages and to assert retaliation as a defense in any action brought against him for possession.

School crossing zones. Expands the definition of "school crossing zone" to include areas surrounding schools where the presence of students reasonably requires a special warning to motorists and provides that the term "school" includes public institutions of higher education and nonprofit private institutions of higher education. Currently, the definition of "school crossing zone" includes only areas surrounding schools where the presence of children requires such warning. Existing provisions of law allowing photo speed monitoring devices to be installed in school crossing zones will apply to any location that meets the expanded definition.

Child victims and witnesses using two-way closed-circuit television; standard. Expands the age range during which a child may testify using two-way closed-circuit television in a criminal case to include any child younger than 18 years of age at the time of the trial. Under current law, an alleged victim must be 14 years of age or younger at the time of the alleged offense and 16 years of age or younger at the time of the trial to testify by two-way closed-circuit television, and a child witness must be 14 years of age or younger at the time of the trial to so testify. The bill also provides that the court may order that the testimony of a child be taken by two-way closed-circuit television if it finds that the child is unavailable to testify in open court in the presence of the defendant, the jury, the judge, and the public if the court finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, based upon expert opinion testimony, that the child will suffer emotional trauma that is more than de minimis as a result of testifying in the defendant's presence and not the courtroom generally. Under current law, the court may order such testimony be taken by two-way closed-circuit television if there is a substantial likelihood, based upon expert opinion testimony, that the child will suffer severe emotional trauma from so testifying.

Public high school students; economics education and financial literacy; benchmark assessment. Requires the Board of Education to develop and make available to each school board an economics education and financial literacy benchmark assessment and requires each school board to require each public high school student enrolled in the local school division, except in the case of a public high school student whose individualized education program indicates otherwise, to take such assessment at least once during grades nine through 12. The bill requires the Board to annually report to the Governor and the General Assembly the state-level and school division-level student results on such benchmark assessment in order to aid decision-making regarding any policy changes that may be necessary to improve student learning in the relevant subject matter areas.

Community services boards; core of services. Adds to the list of the core services to be provided by community services boards (i) crisis services for individuals with a mental illness or substance use disorder, (ii) outpatient mental health and substance abuse services, (iii) psychiatric rehabilitation services, (iv) peer support and family support services, (v) mental health services for members of the armed forces located 50 miles or more from a military treatment facility and veterans located 40 miles or more from a Veterans Health Administration medical facility, and (vi) care coordination services. The bill removes language that conditions the duty of community services boards to provide case management services on the availability of funding. The bill further requires community services boards to provide any such services (a) to every adult who has a serious mental illness, child who has or is at risk of serious emotional disturbance, and individual who has a substance use disorder and (b) in a timely manner and at a location that is near the individual. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026, for most provisions. Community services boards; core of services. Adds to the list of the core services to be provided by community services boards (i) crisis services for individuals with a mental illness or substance use disorder, (ii) outpatient mental health and substance abuse services, (iii) psychiatric rehabilitation services, (iv) peer support and family support services, (v) mental health services for members of the armed forces located 50 miles or more from a military treatment facility and veterans located 40 miles or more from a Veterans Health Administration medical facility, and (vi) care coordination services. The bill removes language that conditions the duty of community services boards to provide case management services on the availability of funding. The bill further requires community services boards to provide any such services (a) to every adult who has a serious mental illness, child who has or is at risk of serious emotional disturbance, and individual who has a substance use disorder and (b) in a timely manner and at a location that is near the individual. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026, for most provisions.

Task Force on Maternal Health Data and Quality Measures; report. Directs the State Health Commissioner to reestablish the Task Force on Maternal Health Data and Quality Measures for the purpose of evaluating maternal health data collection processes to guide policies in the Commonwealth to improve maternal care, quality, and outcomes for all birthing people in the Commonwealth. The bill directs the Task Force to report its findings and conclusions to the Governor and General Assembly by December 1 of each year regarding its activities. The bill directs the Task Force to conclude its work by December 1, 2025. This bill reestablishes the Task Force on Maternal Health Data and Quality Measures that concluded on December 1, 2023.

Board of Medicine; Board of Nursing; joint licensing of advanced practice registered nurses and licensed certified midwives. Moves the professions of advanced practice registered nurses and licensed certified midwives from being licensed jointly by the Board of Medicine and the Board of Nursing to being licensed by the Board of Nursing only.