Safeguarding American Veteran Empowerment Act; prohibited practices; penalties. Creates the Safeguarding American Veteran Empowerment Act to regulate the practices of persons seeking to receive compensation for preparing, presenting, prosecuting, advising, consulting, or assisting any individual regarding any veterans' benefits matter, as defined in the bill. The bill provides that a violation of its provisions constitutes a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.

Affordable housing; assisted living facilities. Allows localities that have adopted an affordable housing program to negotiate that in an application for a special exception or special use permit affordable rental units be included for any proposed development of an assisted living facility. Such ordinance shall apply to applications approved on or after January 1, 2026.

High-risk artificial intelligence; development, deployment, and use; civil penalties. Creates requirements for the development, deployment, and use of high-risk artificial intelligence systems, defined in the bill, and civil penalties for noncompliance, to be enforced by the Attorney General. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.

Department of Conservation and Recreation; acceptance of property to establish a state park; Loudoun County. Authorizes the Department of Conservation and Recreation to accept or acquire from The Conservation Fund approximately 1,240 acres of real property and any buildings or structures thereon between Little River Turnpike, James Monroe Highway, and Tail Race Road, known as Oak Hill Farm, in Loudoun County for the purpose of establishing and operating a state park that provides outdoor recreation and historical interpretation opportunities and supports agricultural uses on such property.

Public utilities; classification of customers. Requires that a public electric utility or a public utility authorized to furnish water or water and sewer service include a separate classification for data centers, as defined in the bill, when satisfying the existing requirement that any rate, toll, charge, or schedule of a public utility is only considered to be just and reasonable by the State Corporation Commission if the public utility has demonstrated that such rates, tolls, charges, or schedules contain reasonable classifications of customers.

Certain applicants for employment in public schools; certain official documentation required. Directs each school board to require on its application for employment for any individual whose position will involve the provision of direct instruction or support to elementary school students or students with disabilities, whether on a full-time or part-time or on a permanent or temporary basis, official documentation of the individual's criminal, educational, and employment history for at least the immediately preceding three years.

Small renewable energy projects; permit by rule. Amends the definition of "small renewable energy project" for the purposes of obtaining a permit by rule from the Department of Environmental Quality to include interconnection facilities, as defined in the bill. The bill requires that the Department of Environmental Quality and the State Corporation Commission enter into a memorandum of understanding to implement the provisions of the bill. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.

Campaign finance; coordination and required independent expenditure committee disclosure; civil penalties. Provides a more detailed definition of the term "coordinated" or "coordination" in the context of campaign finance than current law. The bill also requires all persons making independent expenditures to file statements of organization and to file campaign finance reports thus making such persons subject to existing civil penalties for violations of filing laws.

High school diploma seal of biliteracy; designation as high-demand industry workforce credential for certain purposes. Requires the Board of Education to include on its list of industry workforce credentials its diploma seal of biliteracy and to consider such seal to be a high-demand industry workforce credential for the purpose of satisfying graduation requirements and determining and calculating high school student readiness in its school accountability system.

Dangers and victims of communism; recognition; Standards of Learning and programs of instruction. Requires the Governor to annually issue a proclamation setting the seventh day of November as Victims of Communism Day and requiring such day to be suitably observed in each public elementary and secondary school in the Commonwealth as a day honoring the approximately 100 million individuals who have fallen victim to communist regimes around the world and to be suitably observed by a public exercise in the Capitol and elsewhere as the Governor may designate in such proclamation. The bill also requires the Board of Education to include in the history and social science Standards of Learning in grades six through 12 and each school board to emphasize in its Standards-aligned program of instruction in grades six through 12 the study of the dangers of communism.

Real Estate Board; membership; qualifications. Increases from five to seven years the amount of time a licensed real estate broker or salesperson must be actively engaged in the profession in order to serve as a member of the Real Estate Board. The bill also provides additional qualifications and requirements specific to those members who are licensed real estate brokers or salespersons. This bill is identical to SB 866.

Special conservators of the peace; emergency and involuntary civil admissions. Clarifies that the term "law-enforcement officer" as used in relevant law relating to emergency and involuntary civil admissions includes a special conservator of the peace authorized by an order of appointment pursuant to relevant law that states he is a "law-enforcement officer" for the purposes of laws related to emergency custody and involuntary temporary detention.

Court appearance of a person not free on bail. Makes various changes to provisions regarding bail hearings, including (i) the appointment of counsel for the accused, (ii) the information provided to counsel for the accused, (iii) a requirement that counsel for the accused, when practicable, be provided with adequate time to confer with the accused prior to any bail hearing, and (iv) the compensation of counsel for the accused. Effective in due course, the bill provides that the chief judge in each circuit shall create a plan to be completed by November 1, 2025, that establishes the means by which the jurisdiction will meet these requirements. The remainder of the bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2026.

Virginia Natural Resources Commitment Fund; reallocation of certain funds for conservation practices. Allows until July 1, 2027, in any fiscal year, any funds previously distributed to the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program for the purpose of grants for agricultural best management practices that cannot be obligated by a soil and water conservation district by June 15 during the fiscal year to be reallocated by the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board to any soil and water conservation district for conservation practices. The bill also allows the Board to reallocate the remaining previously distributed funds that cannot be obligated by June 15 to the soil and water conservation districts within the same watershed. Finally, the bill directs the Department of Conservation and Recreation to include in its annual reports to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations relating to the clean-up plan for the Chesapeake Bay and Virginia waters the amounts of funds reappropriated between watersheds as provided in the bill.

Law-enforcement agencies; use of certain technologies and interrogation practices; forensic laboratory accreditation. Directs the Department of Criminal Justice Services to establish a comprehensive framework for the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning systems, audiovisual surveillance technologies, and custodial and noncustodial interrogations of adults and juveniles by law-enforcement agencies, which shall include (i) developing policies and procedures and publishing model policies for the use of generative AI, machine learning systems, and audiovisual surveillance technologies and interrogation practices and (ii) establishing compulsory minimum training standards for basic training and recertification of law-enforcement officers on the use of generative AI, machine learning systems, audiovisual surveillance technologies, and conducting interrogations. The bill provides that the Department shall establish and publish such model policies by January 1, 2026, and that all law-enforcement agencies shall adopt policies consistent with such model policies by July 1, 2026. The bill requires any person employed as a law-enforcement officer prior to July 1, 2025, to complete the training required by the bill by January 1, 2029. The bill also provides that no local law-enforcement agency or campus police department shall operate a forensic laboratory, defined in the bill, unless such forensic laboratory is accredited by an accrediting body that requires conformance to forensic-specific requirements and that is a signatory to the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) Mutual Recognition Arrangement with a scope of accreditation that covers the testing being performed. The bill also prohibits local law-enforcement agencies and campus police departments from purchasing any equipment or instrument that is intended to be used in forensic laboratory analysis or any breath test device, presumptive chemical test, or presumptive mobile instrument unless such equipment, instrument, device, or test has been approved by the Department of Forensic Science or the Forensic Science Board. Such provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2029.