Higher education; financial assistance; Virginia National Guard State Tuition Assistance Program; eligibility criteria. Makes several changes to the Virginia National Guard State Tuition Assistance Program, including (i) making the provisions relating to the requirements and conditions for eligibility for and award of grants under the Program subject to regulations as prescribed by the Adjutant General, (ii) eliminating the requirement to satisfy financial obligations with the institution of higher education at the beginning of each semester, (iii) simplifying the requirements relating to academic performance and good standing, and (iv) providing that, upon acceptance of an application for a grant, grant funds are to be disbursed to the applicable institution of higher education for credit against the recipient student's account. This bill is identical to HB 1595.

Prohibiting employer seeking wage or salary history of prospective employees; wage or salary range transparency; cause of action. Prohibits a prospective employer from (i) seeking the wage or salary history of a prospective employee; (ii) relying on the wage or salary history of a prospective employee in determining the wages or salary the prospective employee is to be paid upon hire; (iii) relying on the wage or salary history of a prospective employee in considering the prospective employee for employment; (iv) refusing to interview, hire, employ, or promote a prospective employee or otherwise retaliating against a prospective employee for not providing wage or salary history; and (v) failing or refusing to disclose in each public and internal posting for each job, promotion, transfer, or other employment opportunity the wage, salary, or wage or salary range. The bill establishes a cause of action for an aggrieved prospective employee or employee and provides that an employer that violates such prohibitions is liable to the aggrieved prospective employee or employee for statutory damages between $1,000 and $10,000 or actual damages, whichever is greater, reasonable attorney fees and costs, and any other legal and equitable relief as may be appropriate.

Photo speed monitoring devices; private vendors; calibration; civil penalty. Reduces from 12 months to six months the validity of a calibration or testing of a photo speed monitoring device and requires any state or local law-enforcement agency that places and operates such a device to conduct an additional daily test of the accuracy of the device. The bill also requires any such law-enforcement agency to include in its annual report of certain information to the Department of State Police the operating costs of the use of such device. The bill requires any private vendor that has entered into an agreement with a law-enforcement agency to provide a photo speed monitoring device and is also compensated for the calibration of such device to calibrate such device in the same manner and to the same specifications as all other devices determining speed, to the extent that such devices utilize the same method of speed detection as such photo speed monitoring device, used by such law-enforcement agency. The bill also (i) requires such a private vendor to provide, within 10 days of a request by a person receiving a summons by mail for a vehicle speed violation recorded by a photo speed monitoring device provided by such private vendor, for proof of calibration for such photo speed monitoring device; (ii) requires such a summons to provide notice of such right to request such proof of calibration; and (iii) imposes a civil penalty on any private vendor who fails to provides such proof of calibration within such time.

Contraception; right to contraception; applicability; enforcement. Establishes a right to obtain contraceptives and engage in contraception, as such terms are defined in the bill. The bill clarifies that none of its provisions shall be construed to permit or sanction the performance of any sterilization procedure without a patient's voluntary and informed consent. The bill creates a cause of action that may be instituted against anyone who infringes on such right. This bill is identical to HB 1716.

Lithium-ion Battery Separator Manufacturing Grant Fund. Establishes the Lithium-ion Battery Separator Manufacturing Grant Fund to, subject to appropriation, fund 20 annual grant award installments, in an aggregate amount not to exceed $60.597 million, to a qualified company that engages in the manufacture of lithium-ion battery separators and that executes a memorandum of understanding with the Commonwealth and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority, and that on and after July 1, 2024, but before July 1, 2045, is expected to (i) make a capital investment, defined in the bill, of at least $1.3506 billion and (ii) create and maintain at least 2,015 new full-time jobs in Pittsylvania County. This bill is identical to HB 2540.

Sex offenses prohibiting proximity to children; state parks; penalty. Provides that every adult who is convicted of an offense prohibiting proximity to children, when the offense occurred on or after July 1, 2025, shall as part of his sentence be forever prohibited from going, for the purpose of having any contact whatsoever with children who are not in his custody, within 100 feet of the premises of any area of a state park that he knows or has reason to know is a playground, athletic field or facility, or gymnasium. A violation is a Class 6 felony.

Noise abatement monitoring systems; local authority; civil penalties. Authorizes counties and cities in Planning Districts 8 (Northern Virginia Regional Commission) and 16 (George Washington Regional Commission) to place and operate noise abatement monitoring systems, defined in the bill, for the purpose of recording and enforcing exhaust system violations, also defined in the bill. The bill provides that the operator of a vehicle is liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $100, but the violation shall not be reported on the driver's operating record or to the driver's insurance agency. Under the bill, the civil penalty will be paid to the locality in which the violation occurred to be used for the cost of administering the noise abatement monitoring system program and for transportation safety initiatives. The bill contains the same data privacy and storage requirements as are in current law for photo speed monitoring devices. The bill requires any locality that places and operates such a noise abatement monitoring system to report on its public website by January 15 of each year on the number of traffic violations prosecuted, the number of successful prosecutions, and the total amount of monetary civil penalties collected. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2027.

Public school teachers; written notice of noncontinuation of continuing contract. Provides that written notice of noncontinuation of a continuing teacher contract by the teacher must be given by June 15 of each year; otherwise, the contract continues in effect for the ensuing year in conformity with local salary stipulations, including increments. Current law provides that written notice of noncontinuation of a continuing teacher contract by either the teacher or the school board must be given by June 15 of each year; otherwise, the contract continues in effect for the ensuing year in conformity with local salary stipulations, including increments. This bill is identical to HB 1915.

Action for civil trespass; GPS; private road or driveway. Provides that a person operating a motor vehicle is liable for trespass if such person enters a private road or driveway along which the owner of such private road or driveway has posted signs that may be reasonably seen that such road is a private driveway. The bill also provides that when such defendant relied upon a global positioning system (GPS) and such reliance resulted in the trespass, any corporation, company, or other entity responsible for the mapping function of the GPS may be added as a party to such action. The bill allows such corporation, company, or entity to provide in writing in advance of any proceeding in the action that such private road or driveway has been removed from the GPS and requires the court, upon receiving such evidence, to dismiss the action against such corporation, company, or entity.

Maintenance of vegetative growth on certain property. Authorizes a locality to require an owner of property that (i) was formerly used as a golf course but where such use has been discontinued and (ii) abuts an area zoned for residential purposes to cut or maintain the vegetative growth in a manner that (a) is consistent with the character of the former golf course property and compatible with the surrounding residential area and (b) prevents such property from becoming a detriment to the health, safety, or welfare of the residents of the abutting residential area. The bill allows the locality to have its agents or employees cut or maintain the vegetative growth on such property, as the locality deems necessary, at the owner's expense after providing reasonable notice to the owner of record of such property. The costs for cutting or maintaining the vegetative growth on such property may be collected by the locality as taxes are collected. The bill states that its provisions are declarative of existing law.

Board for Barbers and Cosmetology; employment prohibition exceptions; children 16 years of age or older. Allows children 16 years of age or older to serve in a licensed barbershop or cosmetology salon, provided that (i) the child is an apprentice, (ii) the child is employed in a work-training program as provided by relevant law and in accordance with relevant regulations, or (iii) the child has obtained a cosmetology or barber license from the Board for Barbers and Cosmetology. This bill is identical to HB 1667.

Data centers; noise abatement. Provides that any local government land use application required for the siting of a data center shall be approved only in accordance with certain notice and noise abatement requirements. The bill provides that residents within a half-mile radius of the parcel shall receive notice of the proposed data center and that the data center operator shall hold two neighborhood meetings. The bill requires a data center operator to design and build the data center to incorporate sound mitigation methods sufficient to prevent the sound levels emanating from the data center from exceeding the ambient noise levels that were observed in a baseline study, as determined by a third-party acoustic engineer. The bill also provides that upon issuance of a certificate of occupancy, and for five years thereafter, the data center operator shall conduct a noise study performed by a third-party acoustical engineer to document noise levels emanating from the data center measured at the property line of the nearest property to the data center property that is planned or zoned for residential land uses, or other noise-sensitive use as reasonably determined by the locality, during peak operation of the data center mechanical equipment. The bill also provides that if the data center operator intends to use backup power generators on the parcel, the operator shall maintain a public website announcing the times when the generators will be in operation. Finally, the bill provides that any noise ordinance adopted by a locality shall set maximum allowable sound levels for data centers, including by (i) using alternative low frequency noise metrics and (ii) setting noise rules and enforcement mechanisms in its zoning ordinance, separate from existing noise ordinances.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; terms and conditions of rental agreement; renewal notice. Provides that a landlord who owns more than four rental dwelling units or more than a 10 percent interest in more than four rental dwelling units, whether individually or through a business entity, in the Commonwealth shall be required to provide written notice of nonrenewal to any tenant. This bill is identical to HB 1867.

Compensating victims of crime. Extends, for the purpose of compensating victims of crime, the time for filing a claim by the claimant to not later than three years after the occurrence of the crime upon which such claim is based or not later than three years after the death of the victim. Under current law, such time frame is not later than one year after either instance.The bill removes the prohibition on the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission (the Commission) making an award where the police records show that a crime was reported more than 120 hours after the occurrence of the crime unless the Commission, for good cause shown, finds the delay to have been justified. Also, the bill requires the Commission, in determining if a report was promptly reported to the proper authorities, to consider (i) any police records; (ii) the victim's physical, emotional, mental, and family situation; and (iii) the existence of a permanent protective order, issued pursuant to relevant law, for the victim or other persons eligible for awards from the person responsible for the qualifying crime.The bill also removes the ability of the Commission to deny, reduce, or withdraw any award upon finding that any claimant or award recipient has not fully cooperated with all law-enforcement agencies unless the law-enforcement agency certifies that the claimant or award recipient was willing but unable to cooperate due to a good faith belief that such cooperation would have endangered such claimant or award recipient and such claimant or award recipient was not provided with any victim or witness protection services when such protection services were requested by a law-enforcement agency. This bill is identical to HB 1968.

Department of Social Services; Restaurant Meals Program of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; report. Directs the Department of Social Services to report to the Governor and the General Assembly on the implementation of the Restaurant Meals Program of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The report shall include data on the number of restaurants that have applied to participate and that have been approved to participate and identified barriers to program expansion. The report shall be due no later than December 1, 2025.