Christopher Newport University Board of Visitors; annual meetings at the University. Reduces from four to one the minimum number of annual meetings that the Christopher Newport University Board of Visitors is required to hold at the University. This bill is identical to HB 1930.

Certificate of public need; exception; critical access hospitals; swing beds; sunset. Allows critical access hospitals to utilize an average of up to 10 swing beds per day, calculated over the hospital's fiscal year, without obtaining a certificate of public need. Under current law, critical access hospitals may only use up to 10 percent of beds as swing beds. The bill directs the State Commissioner of Health to collect data annually from critical access hospitals that use fiscal year averaging for swing beds and make such data publicly available. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2028. This bill is identical to SB 1177.

Involuntary manslaughter; certain drug offenses. Provides that any person who knowingly, intentionally, and feloniously manufactures, sells, or distributes a controlled substance knowing that such controlled substance contains a detectable amount of fentanyl, including its derivatives, isomers, esters, ethers, salts, and salts of isomers, and unintentionally causes the death of another person is guilty of involuntary manslaughter if (i) such death results from the use of the controlled substance and (ii) such controlled substance is the proximate cause of the death. The bill provides that venue for a prosecution of this crime shall lie in the locality where the manufacturing, sale, or distribution of such controlled substance occurred, where the use of the controlled substance occurred, or where death occurred.The bill also provides that if a person gave or distributed such controlled substance only as an accommodation to another individual who is not an inmate in a community correctional facility, local correctional facility, or state correctional facility, or in the custody of an employee thereof, and not with intent to profit thereby from any consideration received or expected nor to induce the recipient of the controlled substance to use or become addicted to or dependent upon such controlled substance, he is not guilty of involuntary manslaughter but is guilty of a Class 6 felony. This bill is identical to HB 2657.

Consumer Data Protection Act; protections for children. Requires a controller or processor to obtain verifiable parental consent, defined in the bill, prior to registering any child with the controller's or processor's product or service or before collecting, using, or disclosing such child's personal data. The bill also amends the definition of child for purposes of the Consumer Data Protection Act to include any natural person younger than 18 years of age.

Absentee voting; absentee voting in person; available beginning 10 days prior to election. Limits the availability of absentee voting in person to 10 days before the election. Under current law, absentee voting in person is available beginning 45 days prior to the election.

Health care records; fees; certain requests by a patient or his attorney. Requires that a health care provider provide one free copy of a patient's medical records per calendar year if requested by a patient or his attorney for the purposes of supporting a claim or appeal under certain provisions of the Social Security Act or any federal or state financial needs-based benefit program. The bill provides that any additional request for medical records in the same calendar year is subject to a reasonable fee.

Protective orders; Military Protective Orders. Permits a court to issue a preliminary protective order upon evidence of a Military Protective Order issued by a commanding officer in the Armed Forces of the United States, the Virginia National Guard, or the National Guard of any other state in favor of the petitioner or the petitioner's family or household members. The bill provides that a Military Protective Order issued between the parties shall only be admissible or considered as evidence in accordance with the Code of Virginia, the Rules of Evidence of the Supreme Court of Virginia, or other relevant Virginia case law. The bill requires a law-enforcement agency, upon a defendant's violation of a protective order, if such Military Protective Order was issued against the same defendant as a protective order in a Virginia court and registered with the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), to inform the military law-enforcement officer or agency that issued and entered the Military Protective Order into NCIC of such violation. This bill incorporates SB 751 and is identical to HB 1882.

Mineral Mine Safety Act; definition of "surface mineral mine"; mine inspectors; certificate renewal; use of cyanide or cyanide compound. Amends the definition of "surface mineral mine" in the Mineral Mine Safety Act to exclude excavation or grading when conducted solely in aid of onsite farming or construction and under certain conditions enumerated in the bill. The bill amends the definition of "mining" in existing law, relating to the exemption from permits for a mining operation, to extend the required completion time from six months to one year for excavation or grading conducted to construct or expand a farm pond for agricultural irrigation or provision of water for livestock. The bill also amends the qualification requirements for mineral mine inspectors, removes references to the defunct Board of Mineral Mining Examiners, and prohibits the issuance of any permit for a mineral mining or processing operation that includes the use of cyanide or a cyanide compound. This bill is identical to HB 1887.

Study; JLARC; Virginia's campaign finance laws; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to study Virginia's campaign finance laws. In its study, JLARC is directed to (i) identify any legal, technical, and staffing shortcomings in the current election and campaign finance laws relating to (a) reporting and investigating violations, (b) enforcing legal and regulatory requirements, and (c) implementing directions from state government at the local level and (ii) determine whether current budgetary allocations are sufficient to effectively carry out such aspects of the campaign finance system. To that end, JLARC is directed to analyze how existing campaign finance and election laws can be modernized to increase transparency and accountability using best practices from other jurisdictions across the United States and to produce a report of clear recommendations and best practices for improving the current system.

Department of Veterans Services; powers and duties of Commissioner; identification of incarcerated veterans. Provides that the Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Services shall assist the Department of Corrections, sheriffs, and local and regional jails in utilizing the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Veterans Re-Entry Search Services system to identify veterans incarcerated in state prisons and local and regional jails to help such veterans prepare for release or reentry, reduce recidivism and homelessness, connect such veterans to resources to address the challenges of post-traumatic stress disorder, and divert eligible veterans to treatment dockets. This bill incorporates HB 2522 and is identical to SB 1251.

Department of Criminal Justice Services; alcoholic beverage control retail licensees and employees; training on human trafficking. Directs the Department of Criminal Justice Services to develop an online course for the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to offer to retail licensees and their employees to train such licensees and employees to recognize and report instances of suspected human trafficking. The bill also requires the certified alcohol server or seller training that a retail licensee may offer its employees that allows a reduction in the length of any suspension or the amount of any civil penalty imposed for a license violation to include a course developed or approved by the Department of Criminal Justice Services on recognizing and reporting instances of suspected human trafficking.

Certain practical nursing programs; common curriculum; transferability to registered nursing programs; pathway of stackable credentials. Requires the Virginia Community College System, in consultation with the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, the Board of Nursing, and representatives from associate-degree-granting public institutions of higher education that offer nursing programs, to develop a common curriculum for practical nursing programs that shall be implemented at each comprehensive community college in the System that offers a practical nursing program. The bill requires such common curriculum, to the extent possible, to (i) align with the degree requirements for registered nursing programs offered at associate-degree-granting public institutions of higher education and (ii) be transferable to each registered nursing program offered at an associate-degree-granting public institution of higher education. The bill requires each associate-degree-granting public institution of higher education that offers a registered nursing degree program to participate in a practical nursing program to registered nursing program transfer agreement with the System that aligns with the practical nursing program common curriculum established pursuant to the bill and permits any private institution of higher education that offers a registered nursing degree program to be consulted regarding and participate on a voluntary basis in such a transfer agreement. The bill also (a) requires the System to establish a pathway of stackable nursing credentials that consists of a practical nursing to associate registered nursing to bachelor of science in nursing program pathway; (b) directs the System to develop and implement the common curriculum for practical nursing programs by July 1, 2026; and (c) directs the System to submit a progress report to the chairs of the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Education by December 1, 2025. The provisions of the bill relating to the development of the common curriculum for practical nursing programs have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026. The bill incorporates SB 791 and is identical to HB 2548.

Subdivision ordinance; plan review by designated agent. Removes planning commission and governing body approval authority for the administrative review process for plats and plans and assigns such authority solely to a designated agent, defined in the bill. However, the bill provides that the local planning commission may serve as the designated agent of any locality with a population of 5,000 or less. The bill also expedites the review process by shortening the timeframe for forwarding plats and plans to state agencies for review.

Electric utilities; data center cost allocation. Directs the State Corporation Commission to initiate proceedings to determine if the current allocation of costs among different customer classifications of electric utilities requires customers that are not data centers to unreasonably subsidize the costs of customers that are data centers. If the Commission determines that the current allocation of costs requires customers that are not data centers to unreasonably subsidize the costs of customers that are data centers, the bill directs the Commission to promulgate such rules as necessary to eliminate or minimize such unreasonable subsidies to the maximum possible extent.

Public school buses; display of advertising; hiring of school bus drivers in the local school division. Permits any local school board, notwithstanding any regulation to the contrary, to display decals, posters, and stickers on the sides and rear of school buses advertising the hiring of school bus drivers in the local school division, provided that the local school board is responsible for the cost of such decals, posters, and stickers and that no such decal, poster, or sticker obstructs the name of the school division or the number of the school bus.