# Virginia SB816: Employees of state government; personal interest in certain contracts prohibited. Virginia SB816, Employees of state government; personal interest in certain contracts prohibited., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Christopher T. Head (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-04-06 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0293)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB816-2026 - As of: 2026-10-12 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Virginia SB816 - State: Virginia - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: Employees of state government; personal interest in certain contracts prohibited. - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2026-01-23 - Last action: 2026-04-06, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0293) - Sponsor: Christopher T. Head (Republican) - Cosponsors: 0 - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 8 (245 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 6 ## Summary Employees of state government; personal interest in certain contracts prohibited; certain exception for certain employees of the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind. Excludes from the prohibition against any officer or employee of any governmental agency of state government having a personal interest in a contract with the governmental agency of which he is an officer or employee, other than his own contract of employment, the personal interest of an employee of the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind in a contract between the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind and a publisher or wholesaler of textbooks or other educational materials for students that accrues to him solely because he has authored or otherwise created such textbooks or materials. This bill is identical to HB 1311. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Faculty can earn from books and collections: benefit, low. If you wrote textbooks or other course materials, you can receive royalties when your school contracts with a publisher or wholesaler. Your public college may also buy your manuscripts, art, or other scholarly works when the president approves the purchase as serving the school’s teaching, research… - Family hires allowed with guardrails: benefit, low. The law lets you have a personal interest in extra employment that comes from an immediate family member working at your agency, but only if you do not control or influence their job. At public colleges, this is allowed when both of you work in teaching, research, or support, the board finds it is… - Jobs at other agencies, public-price sales allowed: benefit, low. You may have a personal interest in a job with another Virginia state agency. Contracts for sales by a government agency at prices offered to everyone are also allowed, even if an employee has a personal interest. This keeps routine employment and public-price sales in place. - Medical schools: patient-care deals with safeguards: benefit, low. If you work at a medical or dental school, you can have a personal interest in certain contracts tied to patient care. For goods or services needed for quality patient care (including related education or research), you must disclose the interest before the deal, file a conflict form each year by F… - Research and IP deals with oversight: benefit, low. You may have a personal interest in research, development, or intellectual property deals with your public college if the school approves it before signing. You must file a conflict-of-interest disclosure and update it each year by February 1. The school must have a policy approved by the State Cou… - Stricter contract conflicts for state employees: cost, low. If you work for a Virginia state agency, you cannot have a personal financial stake in a contract with your own agency. Your own job contract is still allowed. You also cannot have a personal interest in contracts with other state agencies unless the deal is won through competitive sealed bidding o… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Christopher T. Head (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-02-27 | House | Passed House Block Vote | pass | 96 | 0 | | | 2026-02-24 | House | Reported from General Laws | pass | 20 | 0 | | | 2026-02-16 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 3rd reading) | pass | 39 | 0 | | | 2026-02-16 | Senate | Engrossed by Senate Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-16 | Senate | Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 39 | 0 | | | 2026-02-13 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-13 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) | pass | 36 | 0 | | | 2026-02-11 | Senate | Reported from General Laws and Technology | pass | 15 | 0 | | ## Actions (28) - 2026-04-06: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0293) (Governor) - 2026-04-06: Approved by Governor-Chapter 293 (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 (Senate) - 2026-03-09: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB816) (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB816ER) (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Enrolled (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Signed by President (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2026-02-27: Passed House Block Vote (96-Y 0-N 0-A) (House) - 2026-02-27: Read third time (House) - 2026-02-26: Read second time (House) - 2026-02-24: Reported from General Laws (20-Y 0-N) (House) - 2026-02-20: Read first time (House) - 2026-02-20: Referred to Committee on General Laws (House) - 2026-02-20: Placed on Calendar (House) - 2026-02-16: Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-02-16: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 3rd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-02-16: Engrossed by Senate Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate) - 2026-02-16: Blank Action (Senate) - 2026-02-16: Rules suspended (Senate) - 2026-02-16: Read second time (Senate) - 2026-02-13: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate) - 2026-02-13: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (36-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-02-13: Rules suspended (Senate) - 2026-02-11: Reported from General Laws and Technology (15-Y 0-N) (Senate) - 2026-01-23: Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology (Senate) - 2026-01-23: Presented and ordered printed 26106111D (Senate) ## Bill text - Chaptered, 2026-04-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217315.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217314.PDF) - Enrolled, 2026-03-04: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1188773.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1188772.PDF) - Introduced, 2026-01-23: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1095773.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1095772.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/1217315.HTML) - [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217314.PDF) - [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1188773.HTML) - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1188772.PDF) - [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1095773.HTML) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1095772.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-SB816-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).