# Virginia HB346: Va. Freedom of Information Act; exclusion to application of chapter, public utility account numbers.

Virginia HB346, Va. Freedom of Information Act; exclusion to application of chapter, public utility account numbers., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Ellen H. McLaughlin (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-04-06 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0115)) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB346-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB346
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Va. Freedom of Information Act; exclusion to application of chapter, public utility account numbers.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-12
- Last action: 2026-04-06, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0115)
- Sponsor: Ellen H. McLaughlin (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 8 (316 yes, 3 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

Virginia Freedom of Information Act; exclusions to application of chapter; public utility account numbers. Excludes account numbers of any person or public body for an account with a public utility, as defined in the bill, from the mandatory disclosure provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. However, such information may be disclosed by the custodian in his discretion, except where such disclosure is prohibited by law.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- More privacy for utility account holders: benefit, low. Virginia public bodies do not have to release account numbers or routing details for a person's or public body's utility account. The records holder can still release this information unless another law bars disclosure. People retain access to their own information. Telephone service companies do n…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Ellen H. McLaughlin (Republican), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-02-23 | Senate | Passed Senate | pass | 37 | 1 |   |
| 2026-02-20 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-20 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-18 | Senate | Reported from General Laws and Technology | pass | 13 | 1 |   |
| 2026-02-04 | House | Passed House Block Vote | pass | 98 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-04 | House | Read third time and passed House Block Vote | pass | 97 | 1 |   |
| 2026-01-29 | House | Reported from General Laws | pass | 21 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-27 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 10 | 0 |   |

## Actions (28)

- 2026-04-06: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0115) (Governor)
- 2026-04-06: Approved by Governor-Chapter 115 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-03-10: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-10: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026 (House)
- 2026-02-25: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB346) (House)
- 2026-02-25: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB346ER) (House)
- 2026-02-25: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-02-25: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-02-23: Passed Senate (37-Y 1-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-23: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-02-20: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-20: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-20: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Reported from General Laws and Technology (13-Y 1-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-05: Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology (Senate)
- 2026-02-05: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-04: Passed House Block Vote (98-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-04: Reconsideration of passage agreed to by House (House)
- 2026-02-04: Read third time and passed House Block Vote (97-Y 1-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-03: Read second time and engrossed (House)
- 2026-02-02: Read first time (House)
- 2026-01-29: Reported from General Laws (21-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-27: Subcommittee recommends reporting (10-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-19: Assigned HGL sub: Procurement/Open Government (House)
- 2026-01-14: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB346) (House)
- 2026-01-12: Referred to Committee on General Laws (House)
- 2026-01-12: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102959D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216468.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216467.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-02-25: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177844.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177843.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-12: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083935.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083934.PDF)

## Related bills

- HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with rental agreement. (signed)
- HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed)
- HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, termination by landlord. (signed)
- HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil penalty. (signed)

## Sources
- [Chaptered (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216468.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216467.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177844.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177843.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083935.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083934.PDF)

## Related
- [HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB5-2026)
- [SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB199-2026)
- [HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB95-2026)
- [HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1393-2026)
- [HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, terminat…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB834-2026)
- [HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB675-2026)
- [Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia/bills)
- [Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB346-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).