# Virginia SB240: Retail franchise agreements; governing law, competition restrictions.

Virginia SB240, Retail franchise agreements; governing law, competition restrictions., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Christopher T. Head (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-04-13 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0554)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB240-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia SB240
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Retail franchise agreements; governing law, competition restrictions.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-12
- Last action: 2026-04-13, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0554)
- Sponsor: Christopher T. Head (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 9 (258 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

Retail franchise agreements; governing law; competition restrictions. Provides that retail franchise agreements shall be governed by the laws of the Commonwealth and prohibits any person from offering or entering into a franchise agreement that includes competition restrictions that extend beyond termination or expiration of the franchise agreement, except as a term of sale in the event that a franchisee sells a franchise to a third party or back to the franchisor. This bill is identical to HB 69.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- New contract protections for Virginia franchisees: benefit, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, covered franchise contracts offered or entered into are governed by Virginia law. This applies when the agreement expects or requires the franchisee to establish or keep a business location in Virginia. Agreements offered or entered into beginning that date cannot block fran…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Christopher T. Head (Republican), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | House substitute agreed to by Senate | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-06 | House | Passed House with substitute Block Vote | pass | 97 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-03 | House | Reported from Labor and Commerce with substitute | pass | 22 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-26 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | 7 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-06 | Senate | Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-05 | Senate | Engrossed by Senate Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-04 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-04 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-02 | Senate | Reported from Commerce and Labor | pass | 12 | 0 |   |

## Actions (34)

- 2026-04-13: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0554) (Governor)
- 2026-04-13: Approved by Governor-Chapter 554 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-04-06: Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (SB240) (Senate)
- 2026-03-31: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-31: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026 (Senate)
- 2026-03-31: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-30: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB240ER) (Senate)
- 2026-03-30: Enrolled (Senate)
- 2026-03-30: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (SB240) (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: House substitute agreed to by Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Passed House with substitute Block Vote (97-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-03-06: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House)
- 2026-03-06: committee substitute agreed to (House)
- 2026-03-06: Read third time (House)
- 2026-03-05: Read second time (House)
- 2026-03-03: Committee substitute printed 26108684D-H1 (House)
- 2026-03-03: Reported from Labor and Commerce with substitute (22-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-26: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-02-26: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (7-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-24: Assigned HCL sub: Subcommittee #2 (House)
- 2026-02-12: Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce (House)
- 2026-02-12: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-12: Placed on Calendar (House)
- 2026-02-06: Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-05: Engrossed by Senate Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-05: Read second time (Senate)
- 2026-02-04: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-04: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-04: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-02: Reported from Commerce and Labor (12-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-01-25: Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (SB240) (Senate)
- 2026-01-12: Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor (Senate)
- 2026-01-12: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26100824D (Senate)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218738.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218737.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209917.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209916.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-03-03: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1191634.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1191633.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-27: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1185586.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1185585.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-26: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1184822.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1184821.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-12: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086949.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086948.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/1218738.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218737.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209917.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209916.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1191634.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1191633.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1185586.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1185585.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1184822.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1184821.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086949.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086948.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-SB240-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).