# Virginia HB635: Artificial Intelligence Chatbots Act; established, prohibited practices, penalties.

Virginia HB635, Artificial Intelligence Chatbots Act; established, prohibited practices, penalties., is a 2027 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Michelle Lopes Maldonado (Democratic); status in committee, last action 2026-07-21 (Continued from last session) (as of 2026-10-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB635-2027
- As of: 2026-10-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB635
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2027 Regular Session
- Title: Artificial Intelligence Chatbots Act; established, prohibited practices, penalties.
- Status: in committee
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-07-21, Continued from last session
- Sponsor: Michelle Lopes Maldonado (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Technology and Innovation
- Touches household money: no
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Artificial Intelligence Chatbots Act established; prohibited practices; penalties. Creates the Artificial Intelligence Chatbots Act, which prohibits an operator from making a companion chatbot, as those terms are defined in the bill, available to a user in the Commonwealth unless the companion chatbot is incapable of certain actions specified in the bill. The bill also requires an operator of a companion chatbot to include a disclaimer to users of all ages that a companion chatbot is not a human via a static, persistent disclosure and notify a user via a pop-up that he is not engaging with a human counterpart at specified intervals. The bill makes it unlawful for any operator of a companion chatbot to operate or provide a companion chatbot to a user unless such companion chatbot contains a protocol to take reasonable efforts for detecting and addressing expressions of suicidal ideation or self-harm by a user to the companion chatbot. The bill also includes certain data privacy and transparency requirements. The bill provides that a violation of its provisions constitutes a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Michelle Lopes Maldonado (Democratic), House

## Actions (7)

- 2026-07-21: Continued from last session (House)
- 2026-02-09: Continued to 2027 in Communications, Technology and Innovation (Voice Vote) (House)
- 2026-02-04: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-02-04: Subcommittee recommends continuing to 2028 (Voice Vote) (House)
- 2026-01-29: Assigned HST sub: Technology and Innovation (House)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee on Communications, Technology and Innovation (House)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26105121D (House)

## Bill text

- Substitute, 2026-02-04: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1231545.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1231544.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1229264.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1229263.PDF)

## Related bills

- SB844: Licensed clinical psychologists; prescriptive authority; report. (in committee)
- HB1535: Individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities; admissibility of statements. (introduced)
- HB1534: School service providers; deletion of student and family personal information. (introduced)
- SB843: Data centers; state permitting, local approval, moratorium, sunset. (in committee)
- SB842: High school student athletes; eligibility, enrollment. (in committee)
- SB840: Corrections, Director of the Department of; placement of inmates, Red Onion State Prison. (in committee)

## Sources
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1231545.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1231544.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1229264.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1229263.PDF)

## Related
- [SB844: Licensed clinical psychologists; prescriptive authority; report.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB844-2027)
- [HB1535: Individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities; admissibility of s…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1535-2027)
- [HB1534: School service providers; deletion of student and family personal information.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1534-2027)
- [SB843: Data centers; state permitting, local approval, moratorium, sunset.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB843-2027)
- [SB842: High school student athletes; eligibility, enrollment.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB842-2027)
- [SB840: Corrections, Director of the Department of; placement of inmates, Red Onion Sta…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB840-2027)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB635-2027 (as of 2026-10-11).