Here are Some of the New State Laws Going Into Effect July 1

New legislation covers seat belts, roadkill, landlord-tenant relations, pedestrians in crosswalks, and more.

By Hank Silverberg
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"Virginia General Assembly" by Waldo Jaquith is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

More than 80 new laws will take effect across Virginia on July 1, and several of them are designed to protect consumers and make driving safer.

Among the new laws is a requirement that all adult passengers in the back seat of vehicles must wear seat belts. Previously, adults in the back seat were exempt from the seat belt rule.

Local governments will also have new tools at their disposal to control traffic. Starting July 1, localities will have more power to reduce speed limits in a business or residential district to as low as 15 miles per hour, even on roads in the state highway system. Another new law allows local police to install photo speed monitoring devices at high-risk intersections where at least one traffic fatality has occurred since January of 2014.

Drivers should be aware that starting July 1, motorized vehicles used for agricultural purposed may be operated without tail lights or brake lights on local roads between sunrise and sunset, but they are restricted to the right lane. They are still prohibited on interstates and must include two or more reflectors approved by the state police.

Drivers also must now stop for pedestrians at crosswalks under all circumstances, and the new law makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor if a motorist’s failure to stop results in the injury or death of a pedestrian who is legally crossing a highway.

Another new law restricts drone use. When July 1 arrives, it will be a Class 4 felony to use a drone to obtain video or still images over private property, and the law exempts any defense contractor or military facility from being sued for stopping, interrupting, or shooting down a drone, unless someone is injured.

For consumers, as of July 1, merchants will have to display the total price of a product, including any mandatory fees or surcharges, on all displays and in all advertising. That includes the price of automobiles and food along with fees charged by the electric, gas, or telephone companies.

Another new law prohibits those who sell gift certificates from charging a hidden service fee for non-use or inactivity.

In education, there is a new provision requiring all school boards to develop policy for the use of cell phones in elementary and secondary schools, and there will be a law requiring all public or private school principals to notify parents of enrolled students within 24 hours of any confirmed or suspected school-connected drug overdose.

Another new law says that public schools must adopt anti-cyber-bullying polices that include how to handle such incidents that happen outside the school.

One new law attempts to deal with misinformation or fake stories. The Virginia Attorney General must convene a study group and make recommendations on how to enforce current laws on the use of AI digital content and specifically, the use of such material for fraud.

For tenants, a new law requires a written non-renewal notice from the landlord.

There is also an attempt to cut down on hate speech. A new law makes it a felony for any person to use a Nazi swastika for intimidation, whether it be on private property without permission or on a highway or public place where it may create fear or apprehension of death or bodily injury.

A number of suggested laws on gun ownership did not make it through the General Assembly, but one new law does makes it a felony for gun owners to allow a child who poses a potential risk to have access to a firearm.

It will also now be illegal for anyone under 18 to get married in Virginia, even with parental consent.

And it will be legal for anyone to claim animal roadkill to eat or as a trophy. In the past, only the person who hit the animal could make that claim during hunting season.

The state Department of Legislative Services has posted a list of all the new laws going into effect next month:

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