Zoning; development and use of accessory dwelling units. Requires a locality to include in its zoning ordinances for single-family residential zoning districts accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, as defined in the bill, as a permitted accessory use. The bill requires a person to seek a permit for an ADU from the locality, requires the locality to issue such permit if the person meets certain requirements enumerated in the bill, and restricts the fee for such permit to $500 or less. The bill prohibits the locality from requiring (i) dedicated parking for the ADU except in densely developed neighborhoods; (ii) setbacks for the ADU greater than that of the primary dwelling; and (iii) consanguinity or affinity between the occupants of the ADU and the primary dwelling. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026. This bill was incorporated into HB 2533.

Application for change of name; person required to register on the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry; victim notification. Requires the attorney for the Commonwealth to make a reasonable effort to notify the victim of an offense for which a person is required to register with the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry or such victim's immediate family member if such victim has died when such registrant applies for a change of name with the court. This bill is identical to SB 1157.

Animal Cruelty Conviction List established. Requires the Superintendent of State Police to establish no later than January 1, 2028, and to maintain an Animal Cruelty Conviction List (List) and to make the List publicly available on the Department of State Police's website. The bill specifies that the List include the names of persons convicted of certain felony animal cruelty offenses on or after July 1, 2025. The bill requires persons convicted of any such offense to pay a fee of $50 per conviction to fund the maintenance of the List. The bill also requires the Department to remove a person's name and information from the List 15 years after its listing if he has no additional felony conviction for any such offense.

Real property tax; exemption by classification. Provides that the property of an organization that is tax exempt by classification includes the property of a single member limited liability company whose sole member is such an organization.

Consumer Data Protection Act; social media; parental consent. Requires any social media platform, defined in the bill, that is subject to the provisions of the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act to obtain verifiable parental consent prior to permitting any minor to create an account with such social media platform and, with such account, use such social media platform. The bill requires such social media platform to give the parent or legal guardian of such minor the option to consent to the collection and use of the minor's personal data without consenting to the disclosure of such minor's personal data to third parties.

C-PACE financing programs. Makes several changes to the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) financing program, including adding a definition of property owner to include a lessee and providing that the lessee may also be eligible for a C-PACE loan by complying with certain conditions, including consent of the fee simple property owner. The bill also (i) changes from two years to three years from a locality's issuance of a certificate of occupancy the time period within which a local C-PACE ordinance may allow submittal of a loan application and (ii) provides that a locality agrees to execute a locality agreement within 30 days of the adoption of the ordinance that opts them into the statewide C-PACE loan program.

Photo speed monitoring devices; proof of violation; retired law-enforcement officials. Allows a retired sworn law-enforcement officer, defined in the bill, to swear to or affirm a certificate for a vehicle speed violation enforced by a photo speed monitoring device.

Board of Education; Standards of Learning assessments and related student assessment methods; assessment development, implementation, and administration reform. Modifies provisions relating to assessment methods for determining the level of achievement of the Standards of Learning objectives by all students, including (i) requirements relating to assessment administration aimed at maximizing instructional time and optimizing time used for assessment administration; (ii) criteria and guidelines for the structure and content of Standards of Learning assessments and alternative assessments developed by local school boards, including criteria for the types of assessment items that shall be included; (iii) provisions relating to eligibility and timelines for students to retake assessments; and (iv) the scoring of Standards of Learning assessments and related assessments, including a requirement that all such assessments be scored on a 100-point scale. The bill requires the Board of Education to provide any teacher who participates in the scoring of Standards of Learning assessments professional development points toward renewal of his license for the time spent scoring such assessments. The bill also requires the Board of Education to develop and make available to each school board certain templates and guidelines relating to assessment content and structure and assessment scoring.

Department of Medical Assistance Services; state plan for medical assistance services; rapid whole genome sequencing; emergency. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to add a provision to the state plan for medical assistance services allowing payment of medical assistance for rapid whole genome sequencing, as defined in the bill, for children three years of age or younger who are receiving inpatient hospital services in an intensive care unit. The bill contains an emergency clause. This bill is identical to SB 1461.

Board of Education; certain add-on endorsements for mathematics teachers. Requires the Board of Education to (i) develop and approve a geometry add-on endorsement for teachers licensed by the Board of Education to provide instruction in geometry for students in kindergarten through grade eight and (ii) amend its regulations establishing the criteria for earning an Algebra I add-on endorsement to (a) eliminate the requirements that candidates complete coursework in calculus, Euclidian geometry, probability and statistics, and discrete mathematics and (b) permit candidates to receive a passing score on the Praxis Algebra I add-on endorsement exam in lieu of the requirements that candidates complete coursework in elementary functions, introductory college algebra, trigonometry, and linear algebra.

Virginia Sports Tourism Grant Program; work group; report. Creates the Virginia Sports Tourism Grant Program, to be administered by the Virginia Tourism Authority, to provide grants to sports tourism activity sponsors, defined in the bill, in order to develop and attract sports tourism activities, also defined in the bill, to the Commonwealth. The bill requires the Virginia Tourism Authority to establish guidelines and criteria for grant awards and to report annually on the Program. The bill also requires a work group of stakeholders to be convened to recommend guidelines for grant awards by the Program and report such recommendations to the General Assembly by October 31, 2025.

Access to minor's records; records stored or accessible from secure website. Specifies that for the purposes of allowing a parent to access the academic or health records of such parent's minor child such access includes any such records that are stored in or accessible from a secure website. This bill is identical to HB 1593.

Professions and occupations; regulation of geologists; licensure; penalty. Provides that professional geologists shall be licensed by the Board for Professional Soil Scientists, Wetland Professionals, and Geologists. Under current law, professional geologists are certified by the Board. The bill requires the Board to issue a license to any individual who holds an unexpired certification to practice as a geologist issued prior to July 1, 2025. The bill also makes any person practicing or offering to practice geology without holding such license from the Board guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill requires the Board to promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of the bill to be effective within 280 days of the bill's enactment.

Real property tax exemption; surviving spouses of members of the armed forces who died in the line of duty; clarification for deaths resulting from suicide. Clarifies that the real property tax exemption currently available to the surviving spouse of any member of the armed forces of the United States who died in the line of duty with a Line of Duty determination from the U.S. Department of Defense includes the death of any such member that was the result of suicide.

Immunity of persons for tort actions based on statements made in connection with any formal review or hearing. Adds to the tort actions for which an individual shall be immune pursuant to applicable law any tort action based solely on a statement made at or in connection with any formal review or hearing authorized by law, including a written or oral statement made pursuant to a report or complaint, that is not one of the public hearings enumerated in current law. Current law provides that an individual shall be immune for any tort action based solely on statements made at a public hearing before, or otherwise communicated to, the governing body of any locality or other political subdivision, or the boards, commissions, agencies, and authorities thereof, and other governing bodies of any local governmental entity concerning matters properly before such body.