Technology

failed · Virginia · Senate Mar 14, 2026

SB 141: Political campaign advertisements; synthetic media, penalty.

Elections; political campaign advertisements; synthetic media; penalty. Prohibits electioneering communications containing synthetic media, as those terms are defined in the bill, from being published or broadcast without containing the following conspicuously displayed statement: "This message contains synthetic media that has been altered from its original source or artificially generated and may present conduct or speech that did not occur." The bill creates a civil penalty not to exceed $25,000 for a violation of such prohibition and a Class 1 misdemeanor for a willful violation. The bill permits any registered voter who receives an electioneering communication in violation of this requirement to institute an action for preventative relief to prohibit the publication or dissemination of such electioneering communication, including an application for a permanent or temporary injunction.

Topics ✓ TechnologySupports TechnologyRequires disclaimers for synthetic media in political ads to prevent deception, regulating tech use for consumer protection90% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✗ Opposes Technology

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passed · Virginia · Senate Mar 10, 2026

SB 819: Lottery, casino gaming, etc.; Va. Lottery shall study responsibility of gaming, age verification.

Virginia Lottery; powers of the Virginia Lottery Board; advertising restrictions; age verification. Directs the Virginia Lottery to study the feasibility of furthering responsible gaming as it relates to the lottery, casino gaming, and sports betting, and to develop an implementation plan to require all lottery terminals to possess proper age verification software to ensure that a consumer is 18 years of age or older. The Director of the Virginia Lottery shall report any findings to the Chairs of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology by October 1, 2026.

Topics ✓ TechnologySupports TechnologyRestricts use of personal data for targeted digital ads and marketing, directly advancing data privacy protections per bill's advertising restrictions.90% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Technology

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passed · Virginia · Senate Mar 10, 2026

SB 39: Public schools; best practice of tech. tools to assist w/identifying students at risk of self-harm.

Department of Education; best practices for implementation in public schools of technology tools to assist with the identification of students at risk of engaging in self-harm or intending to inflict harm on others; report. Directs the Department of Education to convene a work group consisting of representatives set forth in the bill, as determined by the Department in consultation with and based on consideration of suggestions from statewide education organizations and appropriate technology industries, for the purpose of identifying and making recommendations to the chairs of the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Education on best practices for the procurement, implementation, and use in public schools of technology tools designed to assist with the identification of students at risk of engaging in self-harm or intending to inflict harm on others. The bill directs the work group to submit a report on its findings and recommendations to the chairs of the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Education by November 15, 2026.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationBill directs Department of Education to implement tech tools for identifying at-risk students, enhancing school safety and student support within K-12 education framework.95% confidence ✓ TechnologySupports TechnologyBill mandates best practices for implementing technology tools in schools to identify at-risk students, advancing technology use for safety without restricting it.90% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Technology

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passed · Virginia · Senate Mar 9, 2026

SB 85: Consumer Data Protection Act; social media platforms & model operators, interoperability interfaces.

Consumer Data Protection Act; social media platforms and operators; interoperability interfaces. Requires social media platforms and operators, defined in the bill, to implement third-party interoperability interfaces to allow users to share social graph data, defined in the bill, and contextual data associated with artificial intelligence systems, defined in the bill, as the user designates. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.

Topics ✓ TechnologySupports TechnologyMandates data portability for user privacy, requiring platforms to implement interoperability interfaces per consumer data protection standards.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Technology

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passed · Virginia · House of Delegates Mar 6, 2026

HB 363: Regional Innovation Fund and Commonwealth Commercialization Fund; matching funds.

Commonwealth of Virginia Innovation Partnership Act; Regional Innovation Fund; Commonwealth Commercialization Fund; matching funds. Provides that, for purposes of the Regional Innovation Fund and the Commonwealth Commercialization Fund, any awards from such funds of $100,000 or less shall not require matching funds.

Topics ✓ TechnologySupports TechnologyBill provides funding for innovation/commercialization with reduced barriers for smaller awards, advancing tech development through accessible grant programs.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Technology

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passed · Virginia · Senate Mar 2, 2026

SB 796: Artificial Intelligence Companion Chatbots and Minors Act; established, enforcement, civil penalty.

Artificial Intelligence Chatbots and Minors Act established; enforcement; civil penalties; individual action. Creates the Artificial Intelligence Chatbots and Minors Act to require a covered entity, defined in the bill, to (i) implement certain reasonable systems and processes, (ii) make reasonable efforts to notify appropriate emergency services or law enforcement if it obtains knowledge that a user faces an imminent risk of death or serious physical injury, and (iii) submit a report to the Attorney General after obtaining knowledge of certain covered incidents, defined in the bill, connected to one or more of its chatbots. The bill also requires an operator, defined in the bill, to disclose the non-human nature of the chatbot to users at certain intervals. The bill authorizes the Attorney General to initiate an action to seek an injunction and civil penalties for violations and also provides an individual civil action for any person harmed by a violation or the parent or legal guardian of a minor harmed by a violation.

Topics ✗ TechnologyOpposes TechnologyBill mandates age verification to restrict minors' access to AI chatbots, imposing a direct limitation on technology use for a specific group.90% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✗ Opposes Technology

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passed · Virginia · Senate Mar 2, 2026

SB 269: Mental health service providers; definitions, use of artificial intelligence system, civil penalty.

Use of artificial intelligence system by mental health service providers; civil penalty. Permits the use of an artificial intelligence system by mental health service providers to assist in providing therapy or counseling services if such mental health service provider maintains full responsibility for all interactions, outputs, and data use associated with the system. The bill prohibits the use of an artificial intelligence system to provide therapy or counseling services without a mental health service provider. The bill specifies that records kept by mental health service providers must comply with health records privacy requirements; creates an exception for religious counseling, peer support, or self-help materials and educational resources; and establishes a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for violations of the statute.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareBill permits AI for administrative support in mental health services while prohibiting AI from replacing human therapy, protecting patient safety and ensuring provider oversight in mental health care.90% confidence ✗ TechnologyOpposes TechnologyRestricts AI use in therapy provision, prohibiting AI from replacing human providers in counseling services, aligning with tech limitation stance.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✗ Opposes Technology

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passed · Virginia · Senate Feb 23, 2026

SB 586: Health carriers; use of artificial intelligence, disclosures.

Health carriers; use of artificial intelligence; disclosures. Requires health carriers to disclose to the State Corporation Commission's Bureau of Insurance how artificial intelligence is used to manage claims coverage and to submit all information enabling decisions made by artificial intelligence to the Bureau upon request. The bill also requires health carriers to provide notice to enrollees and health care providers when artificial intelligence has been used to issue an adverse determination and to provide a clear and timely process for appeal of such determination.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareRequires health carriers to disclose AI use in coverage decisions and prevents AI-only adverse determinations, protecting patient rights in healthcare access.95% confidence ✓ TechnologySupports TechnologyRequires health carriers to disclose AI use in claims, prevent exclusive AI decisions, and submit data to SC Commission - regulates AI for consumer protection in healthcare tech.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Technology

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died · Virginia · Senate Feb 4, 2026

SB 201: Consumer Data Protection Act; protections for children, definitions.

Consumer Data Protection Act; protections for children; definitions. Requires a controller or processor, as such terms are defined in relevant law, to obtain verifiable parental consent, defined in the bill, prior to registering any child younger than 18 years of age with the controller's or processor's product or service or before collecting, using, or disclosing such child's personal data.

Topics ✓ TechnologySupports TechnologyRequires verifiable parental consent for children's data collection, strengthening privacy protections under data privacy regulations for minors.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✗ Opposes Technology

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in committee · Virginia · Senate Feb 4, 2026

SB 237: App Store Accountability Act; civil penalties, civil action.

App Store Accountability Act; civil penalties; civil action. Requires an app store provider, defined in the bill, to verify the age category of an account holder, obtain verifiable parental consent for a minor account holder, and share such age category and consent information with the developer of an app, defined in the bill. The bill requires a developer to verify the age category of an account holder with a developer's app and notify app store providers of any significant change to a developer's app. The bill also requires a developer to provide a parental consent disclosure for each of its apps to each app store provider that makes the developer's app available on its app store, and such provider shall provide such disclosure on its app store. The bill allows the Attorney General and any minor or parent of a minor who suffers harm by reason of a violation of this bill to initiate an action. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.

Topics ✓ TechnologySupports TechnologyRequires age verification and parental consent for minors' app usage, aligning with data privacy protections for minors as per bill's age category and consent mandates.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Technology

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