# Virginia HB790: Hotel policies; denial of guests residing within certain distance prohibited in certain instances.

Virginia HB790, Hotel policies; denial of guests residing within certain distance prohibited in certain instances., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Terry L. Austin (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-04-13 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0666)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB790-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB790
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Hotel policies; denial of guests residing within certain distance prohibited in certain instances.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-04-13, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0666)
- Sponsor: Terry L. Austin (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 7 (219 yes, 1 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

Hotel policies; denial of guests residing within certain distance prohibited in certain instances. Prohibits a hotel from enforcing a policy denying the ability of a guest to stay at such hotel solely on the grounds that such guest's primary residence is located within a certain distance of such hotel if such guest is seeking to stay for his health or safety.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Hotels can't refuse nearby residents for health or safety: mixed, low. Hotels cannot deny you a room only because you live nearby when you seek a stay for your health or safety. Hotels can still set health, safety, or business rules that follow the Virginia Human Rights Act.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Terry L. Austin (Republican), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-09 | Senate | Passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-06 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-06 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-04 | Senate | Reported from General Laws and Technology | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-17 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 95 | 1 |   |
| 2026-02-12 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 9 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-12 | House | Reported from General Laws | pass | 21 | 0 |   |

## Actions (27)

- 2026-04-13: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0666) (Governor)
- 2026-04-13: Approved by Governor-Chapter 666 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-03-25: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-25: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 25, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-16: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB790) (House)
- 2026-03-14: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB790ER) (House)
- 2026-03-14: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-14: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-14: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-09: Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Reported from General Laws and Technology (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB790) (House)
- 2026-02-18: Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-17: Read third time and passed House (95-Y 1-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-16: Read second time and engrossed (House)
- 2026-02-16: Moved from Uncontested Calendar to Regular Calendar (House)
- 2026-02-15: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-12: Subcommittee recommends reporting (9-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-12: Reported from General Laws (21-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-26: Assigned HGL sub: Housing/Consumer Protection (House)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee on General Laws (House)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101687D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1221777.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1221776.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1208837.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1208836.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1085917.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1085916.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/1221777.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1221776.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1208837.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1208836.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1085917.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1085916.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-HB790-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).