WPBN: New legislation will be enacted for Virginians in the coming year. The Senate and House of Delegates passed the measures during the 2024 General Assembly session, and Governor Glenn Youngkin signed them into law.
Legislators designated a few legislation to take effect later, but most of the laws passed during the 2024 General Assembly went into effect on July 1, 2024.
These are a few of the new Virginia laws that will go into effect on January 1, 2025.
In 2025, Virginia’s minimum wage is expected to rise
The minimum wage will rise in 2025 even though Gov. Glenn Youngkin rejected a bill earlier this year that would have raised it to $15 in 2026.
Beginning this year, the state minimum wage will be adjusted annually in accordance with the Consumer Price Index, a figure from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that considers the cost of housing, food, clothing, transportation, healthcare, and other goods and services in urban areas, due to a law known as the Virginia Minimum Wage Act.
Gary G. Pan, commissioner of the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry, announced a 3.4% rise in the minimum wage from January 1, 2025, to January 1, 2026, on August 7, 2024.
Minimum wage workers currently receive $12 per hour. They will earn $12.41 an hour in 2025. Nonetheless, tipped workers will continue to get a minimum wage of $2.13 per hour.
Minimums for auto insurance will rise
Starting in January, Virginia’s minimum coverage amounts for auto insurance will rise to $25,000 for property damage coverage, $100,000 for bodily injury coverage per accident, and $50,000 for bodily injury coverage per person.
From $30,000, $60,000, and $20,000, respectively, that is an increase.
VDOT will keep an open database of home utility projects
The Virginia Department of Transportation is required under HB 143 to establish and keep an open database of all the utility projects that are authorized and scheduled for a residential neighborhood’s highway.
A map, the work’s location, the start and anticipated completion dates, and the business managing the project must all be included.
Virginia removes its requirement for electric vehicles
In June, Governor Glenn Youngkin declared Virginia will not comply with California’s rules, which would have required all new vehicles and light trucks sold in the state to have zero emissions. The date of that change is January 1, 2025.
Locations of waterfowl blinds must be recorded
The Department of Wildlife Resources must be informed of the blind’s location at the time of license acquisition by anyone wishing to get a waterfowl blind license (for hunting purposes). It is required that the location be given in “standardized latitude and longitude coordinates, using the decimal degrees format with a minimum of five-digit precision.”
By November 1 of each year, the DWR must also provide a list of blind areas on its website in a way that is visible, searchable, and open to the public.
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Health insurance must pay for colorectal cancer screening
Health insurance companies are required by HB238 to pay for follow-up colonoscopies as well as examinations and laboratory tests for colorectal cancer screenings. The measure forbids any deductible, coinsurance, or other cost-sharing requirements from applying to such coverage.
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Candidates’ adjustments for the primary elections
This regulation only comes into play if, on or after the forty-fourth day of the race but before the Tuesday before the election, a candidate seeking party nomination in a primary election withdraws from the race, leaving their opponent uncontested.
The remaining contender will be named the party’s nominee for the desired office, and the election will be canceled.
Putting foster children with family members first
The Parental Child Safety Placement Program was established when Governor Glenn Youngkin signed Senate Bill 39 and House Bill 27 on May 21.
Executive director of Embrace Treatment Foster Care Ronnie Gehring explained, “It’s an effort by the state of Virginia to have kids who are either in foster care or at risk of foster care be placed with a family member.”
The actions are part of the Commonwealth’s efforts to give kinship care top priority. The percentage of foster children placed with family in Virginia is just 16%, far lower than the 35% national average.
Standardized, limited pay for attorneys in matters involving child dependency
Compensation for attorneys hired to represent parents, guardians, or other adults in child dependency matters is standardized by the modifications authorized for implementation on January 1.
With the exception of situations where the court records the termination of residual parental rights, the maximum award in all child dependence proceedings is $330. In some situations, the highest amount of money that can be paid to an appointed attorney is $680.
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According to the change, judges are not allowed to waive fee limitations
This statute increases the maximum amount of money that public defenders, sometimes known as court-appointed attorneys, can be paid to represent clients in district and circuit courts for a variety of offenses.
New limitations on the collection of children’s data by data controllers
The Consumer Data Protection Act was amended by the General Assembly, which tightened the guidelines for data controllers handling children’s personal information.
According to the rules, controllers are not allowed to handle children’s data for profiling, targeted advertising, or data sales. They are also prohibited from collecting exact geolocation data from children unless it is required to provide a service.
The Virginia Memory Project was established
The Virginia Center on Aging’s Virginia Memory Project is created by this new law. The goal is to “collect and analyze data on Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and other neurodegenerative disorders in the Commonwealth.”
By putting them in touch with care providers and assisting in the creation of public policies pertaining to these conditions, the project also aims to help those who suffer from them. According to the amendment, the experiment would be kept totally private, and any published research will maintain patient anonymity.
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