Elections; political campaign advertisements; advertisements sponsored by a person or political committee that is not a party committee.

Department of Motor Vehicles; highway use fee; tiered flat rate system; work group; report. Directs the Department of Motor Vehicles to convene a work group to determine the feasibility of implementing a tiered flat rate system to accurately determine the correct amount of highway use fee to be charged at the point of sale of a motor vehicle. The bill directs the work group to complete its work and report its findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the Senate and House Committees on Transportation no later than November 15, 2024.

Renewable energy portfolio standard; eligibility of hydrogen and nuclear resources. Provides that, for the purposes of the renewable energy portfolio standard, eligible sources include (i) hydrogen resources that are produced from zero-carbon generating facilities located in the Commonwealth and (ii) zero-carbon nuclear generating facilities located in the Commonwealth that were placed into service after July 1, 2024.

Paid sick leave; health care providers and grocery store workers. Requires employers to provide paid sick leave to health care providers and grocery store workers. Under current law, employers are only required to provide paid sick leave to certain home health workers. The bill removes requirements that workers work on average at least 20 hours per week or 90 hours per month to be eligible for paid sick leave. The bill provides that certain health care providers may waive their right to accrue and use paid sick leave and provides an exemption for employers of certain other health care providers. The bill requires the Department of Labor and Industry to develop guidelines for retail employers that sell groceries to provide sick leave and to publish such guidelines by December 1, 2024. The provisions of the bill other than the requirement for the Department of Labor and Industry to develop guidelines have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025.

Study; State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; $10,000 per year baccalaureate degree; report. Requests that the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (i) study the feasibility of implementing the option for students to pay $10,000 annually for tuition and mandatory fees to earn a degree at a baccalaureate public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth by surveying each baccalaureate public institution of higher education to determine the likely impact of such an option on enrollment, revenue, costs, services, staffing, and such other factors as the institution deems relevant and (ii) report its findings to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than November 30, 2024.

Synthetic media; penalty. Expands the applicability of provisions related to defamation, slander, and libel to include synthetic media, defined in the bill. The bill makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person to use any synthetic media for the purpose of committing any criminal offense involving fraud, constituting a separate and distinct offense with punishment separate and apart from any punishment received for the commission of the primary criminal offense. The bill also authorizes the individual depicted in the synthetic media to bring a civil action against the person who violates such prohibition to recover actual damages, reasonable attorney fees, and such other relief as the court determines to be appropriate. The bill directs the Attorney General to convene a work group to study and make recommendations on the current enforcement of laws related to the use of synthetic media, including deepfakes, and any further action needed to address the issue of such use in fraudulent acts.

Commissioner of Health; work group to study the occurrence of microplastics in the Commonwealth's public drinking water; report. Directs the Commissioner of Health to convene a work group to study the occurrence of microplastics in the Commonwealth's public drinking water and develop recommendations for the reduction of microplastics in the Commonwealth's public drinking water. The bill requires the work group to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committees on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committees on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and Education and Health by December 1, 2024.

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 operator's product or service or before collecting, using, or disclosing such child's personal data and prohibits a controller from knowingly processing the personal data of a child for purposes of (i) targeted advertising, (ii) the sale of such personal data, or (iii) profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects concerning a consumer. 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.

Income tax; contributions to Virginia College Savings Plan accounts; report. Increases the maximum individual income tax deduction for amounts paid or contributed to a prepaid tuition contract or college savings trust account entered into with the Virginia College Savings Plan from $4,000 to $7,500 in taxable year 2024, $11,000 in taxable year 2025, and $15,000 for taxable year 2026 and thereafter. Such amount shall be adjusted for changes in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U) beginning in taxable year 2024. The deduction is limited to $4,000 for taxpayers with federal adjusted gross income that is greater than $100,000 for an individual or $200,000 for married persons filing a joint return. The bill also creates an individual or corporate deduction, as applicable, of up to $4,000 for the amount a child day center or child day program paid or contributed to a customer's or client's prepaid tuition contract or college savings trust account entered into with the Virginia College Savings Plan. The bill also provides a nonrefundable income tax credit for taxable years 2024 through 2028 for 35 percent of expenses incurred by a business during the taxable year for contributions into a Virginia College Savings Plan account owned by an employee of the business. If the employee receiving the contribution is a qualified employee, as defined in the bill, the bill specifies that the credit shall not exceed $500 annually for each such employee. If the employee receiving the contribution is a qualified employee who is not highly compensated, as defined in the bill, the bill specifies that the credit shall not exceed $1,000 annually for each such employee. The bill provides that the total amount of tax credits available for a calendar year shall not exceed $5 million and that any unused tax credit may be carried over for five years.

Study; JLARC; creation of Secretariat of Rural Affairs; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study the need for and feasibility of creating a Secretariat of Rural Affairs in the Commonwealth.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; noncompliance by certain landlords; tenant remedies. Allows a tenant to bring a civil cause of action for compensatory damages against a housing authority when there is a material noncompliance by such housing authority with the rental agreement or a noncompliance with any provision of the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act that materially affects the health and safety of the tenant.

Tax credit for purchase of mobile machinery and equipment used by road contractors for processing recyclable asphalt materials on pavements and roadways. Creates a nonrefundable tax credit for taxable years 2025 through 2029 in an amount equal to 20 percent of the purchase price paid, as defined in the bill, during the taxable year for machinery and equipment used to reclaim, recycle, or reprocess existing asphalt materials from pavements and roadways. The bill requires a taxpayer to submit invoices with an income tax return verifying the amount of purchase price paid for such machinery and equipment. The bill provides a $3 million aggregate annual cap on the number of credits to be distributed, as administered by the Department of Taxation. Any credit not used for the taxable year in which the purchasing price for recycling machinery was paid may be carried over for the next 10 years until the total credit amount is used.

Study; joint committee of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health to study fair school funding reform; report. Establishes a joint committee consisting of five members of the House Committee on Education and three members of the Senate Committee on Education and Health to study fair school funding reform by, among other things, utilizing the recommendations from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission in its July 2023 report, "Virginia's K-12 Funding Formula," and any stakeholder input and feedback received by the joint committee to produce and submit to the Division of Legislative Automated Services by the first day of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly an executive summary of its findings and recommendations.

Purchase of development rights for affordable housing. Permits any local government to purchase development rights or accept the donation of development rights in an effort to preserve and provide affordable housing. The bill grants local governments the powers necessary to carry out the purchase of such development rights. The bill prohibits the conversion or diversion of such affordable housing once the development rights are purchased unless the local government determines that such diversion is essential to the development and growth of the locality and in accordance with the locality's comprehensive plan.

Study; Joint Commission on Health Care; impacts of cell phone possession and use on students in public schools; report. Directs the Joint Commission on Health Care to study the impacts of cell phone possession and use in public schools on student learning outcomes, including the quality of learning and the ability of students to retain and recall information, student attention and focus, and student mental and behavioral health.