# Virginia HB648: Nitrous oxide; sale, distribution, etc., prohibited, penalties.

Virginia HB648, Nitrous oxide; sale, distribution, etc., prohibited, penalties., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Hillary Pugh Kent (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-04-06 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0191)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB648-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB648
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Nitrous oxide; sale, distribution, etc., prohibited, penalties.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-04-06, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0191)
- Sponsor: Hillary Pugh Kent (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 9 (251 yes, 2 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

Distributing nitrous oxide prohibited; penalties. Prohibits the sale or distribution of (i) a device that is designed or intended to deliver a gas containing nitrous oxide through direct inhalation, with exceptions defined in the bill; (ii) nitrous oxide that has, or is marketed as having, the taste or smell of any food or beverage that is distinguishable by an ordinary consumer either prior to or during consumption or use of such nitrous oxide to any person not exempted in the bill; and (iii) a container of nitrous oxide that exceeds eight grams, with exceptions defined in the bill. A violation of such prohibitions is a Class 1 misdemeanor. This bill is identical to SB 360.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- New limits for nitrous oxide buyers: cost, low. Virginia bans selling, distributing, or offering nitrous oxide containers over eight grams to buyers without an exemption. Buyers without an exemption also cannot buy or try to buy these containers. The law also bans sales, distribution, and offers of direct-inhalation devices and flavored nitrous…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Hillary Pugh Kent (Republican), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-04 | Senate | Passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-03 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-03 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-02 | Senate | Reported from Courts of Justice | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-17 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 95 | 0 | 1 |
| 2026-02-12 | House | Reported from General Laws | pass | 20 | 1 |   |
| 2026-02-12 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 9 | 1 |   |
| 2026-02-11 | House | Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute and referred to General Laws | pass | 22 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-06 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute and referring to General Laws | pass | 10 | 0 |   |

## Actions (34)

- 2026-04-06: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0191) (Governor)
- 2026-04-06: Approved by Governor-Chapter 191 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-03-14: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-14: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 14, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-12: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-11: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB648) (House)
- 2026-03-11: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB648ER) (House)
- 2026-03-11: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-11: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Reported from Courts of Justice (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-17: Read third time and passed House (95-Y 0-N 1-A) (House)
- 2026-02-16: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House)
- 2026-02-16: committee substitute agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-16: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-15: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-12: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB648) (House)
- 2026-02-12: Subcommittee recommends reporting (9-Y 1-N) (House)
- 2026-02-12: Reported from General Laws (20-Y 1-N) (House)
- 2026-02-11: Committee substitute printed 26106990D-H1 (House)
- 2026-02-11: Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute and referred to General Laws (22-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-06: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute and referring to General Laws (10-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-06: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-02-02: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-01-29: Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal (House)
- 2026-01-17: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB648) (House)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (House)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102781D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216633.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216632.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-11: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1199739.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1199738.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-11: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142864.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142863.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133818.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133561.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133817.PDF), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133560.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-02: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1107925.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1107924.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1085353.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1085352.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/1216633.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216632.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1199739.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1199738.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142864.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142863.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133818.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133561.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133817.PDF)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133560.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1107925.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1107924.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1085353.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1085352.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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB648-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).