Bills & Legislation

Celebrating the life of Jayson Shane Hudson.

Celebrating the life of Jayson Shane Hudson.

T. Travis HackworthRepublican

Celebrating the life of Jimmy Douglas Brown.

Celebrating the life of Jimmy Douglas Brown.

T. Travis HackworthRepublican

Celebrating the life of Walter Samuel Crockett.

Celebrating the life of Walter Samuel Crockett.

T. Travis HackworthRepublican

Celebrating the life of Billy Charles Patton.

Celebrating the life of Billy Charles Patton.

T. Travis HackworthRepublican

Virginia Clean Energy & Community Flood Preparedness Act; repeal; electric utility customer credit.

Virginia Clean Energy and Community Flood Preparedness Act; repeal; electric utility customer credit. Directs the Department of Environmental Quality to suspend the Commonwealth's participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The bill requires the Commonwealth to remit all revenue collected pursuant to a market-based trading program consistent with RGGI to each electric utility that has a rate adjustment clause approved or pending approval for recovery of the costs of emissions allowances or that has otherwise increased customer bills to recover such costs. The bill directs each such utility to subsequently distribute such funds as a credit to its customers in the Commonwealth.

Bill DeStephRepublican

Sales and use tax, food for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products, emergency.

Sales and use tax; food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products; emergency. Eliminates the remaining one percent local sales and use tax that is imposed on food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products on and after October 27, 2026. Under current law, no other sales and use tax is applied to such products. The bill requires an equivalent amount of revenue to be distributed to cities and counties on a monthly basis in compensation for the lost tax revenue. The bill contains an emergency clause.

Bill DeStephRepublican

Suspension of statewide fuel taxes; emergency.

Suspension of statewide fuel taxes; emergency. Temporarily suspends the statewide motor fuel tax and the tax on alternative fuel from October 27, 2026, through July 1, 2027. The bill contains an emergency clause.

Bill DeStephRepublican

RGGI., grocery and gas tax; encouraging the Governor to take measures to alleviate financial strain.

Encouraging the Governor to take measures to alleviate financial strain on citizens of the Commonwealth. Encourages the Governor to take measures to alleviate financial strain on citizens of the Commonwealth by eliminating the grocery tax, suspending the gas tax until July 1, 2027, and withdrawing the Commonwealth from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

Bill DeStephRepublican

Minimum wage; farm laborers or farm employees, temporary foreign workers.

Minimum wage; farm laborers or farm employees. Eliminates the exemption from Virginia's minimum wage requirements for persons employed as farm laborers or farm employees. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027, and is identical to SB 121.

Adele Y. McClureDemocrat

Licensed clinical psychologists; prescriptive authority, report.

Licensed clinical psychologists; prescriptive authority; report. Authorizes licensed clinical psychologists who meet specified requirements and obtain a license from the Board of Psychology to prescribe certain medications pursuant to a collaborative practice agreement with a qualified prescribing provider. The bill establishes education, training, and practice requirements and limits prescribing for certain patient populations. The bill requires the Board to adopt implementing regulations by July 1, 2028, and directs the Joint Commission on Health Care to evaluate the implementation of such prescriptive authority and report its findings.

Barbara A. FavolaDemocrat

Pregnant & postpartum inmates; reporting requirements of state, regional, & local correctional fac.

Reporting requirements of state, regional, and local correctional facilities; pregnant and postpartum inmates. Requires additional data on pregnant and postpartum prisoners to be collected and reported, including (i) the method of pregnancy identification for each pregnant prisoner; (ii) the gestational age at the time of pregnancy identification for each pregnant prisoner; (iii) each pregnant prisoner's access to prenatal care and the total number of prenatal care encounters for each pregnant prisoner; (iv) any pregnancy-related complaints and the nature of such complaints; (v) the amount of time elapsed between any pregnancy-related complaint and any clinical evaluation in response to such complaint; (vi) the treatment provided or recommended in response to any pregnancy-related complaint; (vii) any instance in which no clinical action was taken in response to any pregnancy-related complaint; (viii) labor and delivery conditions; (ix) pregnancy outcome and any associated complications; and (x) postpartum care and follow-up during custody for each applicable prisoner. The bill also provides that any such data collected shall not be used for criminal investigations, prosecution, immigration enforcement, or disciplinary action related to pregnancy outcomes. Further, the bill exempts such data from disclosure under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.

Mamie E. LockeDemocrat

Hampton University; recognition and restoration of status as a land-grant university, report.

Educational and cultural institutions; recognition and restoration of status of Hampton University as a land-grant university; requirements; task force established; report. Recognizes and restores the status of Hampton University as an 1862 and 1890 land-grant university of the Commonwealth, in accordance with the provisions of applicable federal law, and enumerates the funding and programs Hampton University shall be eligible for as a land-grant university. The bill also provides for the establishment, upon federal recognition of Hampton University as an institution eligible to receive federal funding and participate in federal and state programs established under applicable law relating to land-grant universities, of an evaluation task force by the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations and the House Committee on for the purpose of evaluating the feasibility of recognizing Hampton University as a land-grant university of the Commonwealth in accordance with the provisions of the bill.

Mamie E. LockeDemocrat

Human trafficking and ongoing domestic violence; issuance of writs of vacatur for victims, sealing.

Issuance of vacatur for victims of human trafficking or ongoing domestic violence; sealing. Expands the current process for the issuance of writs of vacatur for victims of human trafficking to include victims of ongoing domestic violence, defined in the bill, and any charge or arrest related to a qualifying offense as defined in current law. The bill also permits sealing of such writ and the record of the proceedings.

Mamie E. LockeDemocrat

Newport News & Hampton, Cities of; pilot prog. for compensation of private court-appointed counsel.

Pilot program for the compensation of private court-appointed counsel in the Cities of Newport News and Hampton; hourly rate; felony fee caps; report; sunset. Creates a two-year pilot program for the compensation of private court-appointed counsel in the Cities of Newport News and Hampton. The bill provides guidelines for the pilot program and requires the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia to report on the pilot program on or before December 1, 2028. The bill provides that the pilot program sunsets on June 30, 2029.

Mamie E. LockeDemocrat

Income tax, state; establishes a new bracket on income above $1 million.

Individual income tax; rates and distribution. Establishes a new individual income tax bracket on income above $1 million at a rate of 10 percent beginning in taxable year 2027. Under current law, all income in excess of $17,000 is taxed at the rate of 5.75 percent. The bill provides that 40 percent of revenues generated by the new tax bracket will be dedicated to providing additional basic aid funding for public schools, 35 percent to the Child Care Subsidy Program, and 25 percent to the Virginia Housing Trust Fund. This bill also contains technical amendments.

Mamie E. LockeDemocrat

Seeking the expulsion of Senator L. Louise Lucas.

Seeking the expulsion of Senator L. Louise Lucas. Seeks the expulsion of Senator L. Louise Lucas in accordance with Article IV, Section 7 of the Constitution of Virginia and the Rules of the Senate and the process prescribed therein. Such process includes referral of the matter to the Committee on Privileges and Elections, hearings conducted by the Committee, and a report of the Committee's determination including recommendations for disciplinary action. The resolution calls for the Committee on Privileges and Elections to, among other things, consider whether violations of the General Assembly Conflicts of Interests Act occurred.

Bryce E. ReevesRepublican

School service providers; deletion of student and family personal information.

School service providers; deletion of student and family personal information. Requires, unless otherwise required by state or federal law or regulation, each school service provider, defined in the bill as a provider, pursuant to a contract with a school division or a private elementary or secondary school in the Commonwealth, of software or a website, mobile application, or online service that (i) is designed and marketed primarily for use in elementary or secondary schools; (ii) is used (a) at the direction of teachers or other employees at elementary or secondary schools or (b) by any school-affiliated entity; and (iii) collects and maintains, uses, or shares student personal information or family personal information, to delete all student personal information and family personal information within six months of the termination of the contract between the school service provider and the school or school division and to delete all relevant student personal information and family personal information within six months of a student's graduation from high school.

Timothy P. GriffinRepublican

Individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities; admissibility of statements.

Admissibility of statements by individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities in certain cases. Prohibits admission of any evidence from an individual with developmental disabilities or intellectual disabilities, as defined in relevant law, in certain criminal prosecutions unless the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that such individual's decision to speak to law enforcement did not have a direct and substantial relationship to such individual's disability. The bill requires notice be given to the attorney for the Commonwealth if a defendant intends to introduce expert testimony regarding his disability. The bill prohibits any statements made by a defendant during an examination by an expert witness from being used against him except for impeachment or perjury.

Katrina CallsenDemocrat

Suspension of statewide fuel taxes; emergency.

Suspension of statewide fuel taxes; emergency. Temporarily suspends the statewide motor fuel tax and the tax on alternative fuel from October 27, 2026, through January 31, 2027. The bill contains an emergency clause.

Ryan T. McDougleRepublican

Commending the Delta Zeta Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

Commending the Delta Zeta Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

Angelia Williams GravesDemocrat

Budget Bill.

Budget Bill. Provides for all appropriations of the Budget submitted by the Governor of Virginia in accordance with the provisions of § 2.2-1509 of the Code of Virginia, and provides a portion of revenues for the two years ending respectively on the thirtieth day of June 2027 and the thirtieth day of June 2028.

Luke E. TorianDemocrat

Data centers; state permitting, local approval, moratorium, sunset.

Data centers; state permitting; local approval; moratorium; sunset. Prohibits a locality from granting final approval on or after July 1, 2027, of any application for a rezoning, special exception, special use permit, site plan, or plan of development for the siting of a data center. The bill also prohibits any agency of the Commonwealth from (i) issuing any permit, certificate, registration, license, or other form of approval in connection with the development or siting of a data center or (ii) authorizing the construction of any facilities designed to provide electric distribution service, interconnection, on-site electric generation, or related services for a data center on or after July 1, 2027. The bill sunsets on July 1, 2030.

Russet PerryDemocrat

High school student athletes; eligibility, enrollment.

High school student athletes; eligibility; enrollment. Requires any nonprofit corporation founded in Virginia in 1913 that currently organizes and governs interscholastic activities among the public high schools to develop, implement, and enforce rules requiring that a student who is a member of a high school athletic team be deemed to satisfy any residency requirements established by such corporation in order to be eligible for participation on such team if the student is duly enrolled in the high school at which he is a member of such team.

Michael J. JonesDemocrat

Local governing bodies; member nondisclosure agreements prohibited.

Members of local governing bodies; nondisclosure agreements prohibited. Prohibits members of local governing bodies from signing or executing a nondisclosure agreement that prohibits them from discussing matters of public concern related to the performance of their official duties. The bill provides that any such agreement is against public policy, void, and unenforceable. The bill exempts any such member from the prohibition if such nondisclosure agreement is necessary to prevent disclosure of (i) factual circumstances relating to the member's performance of official duties that reasonably implicate privacy interests held by the member, if the member elects to restrict such disclosure; (ii) matters required by law to be kept confidential; or (iii) information related to active civil or criminal investigations. Finally, the bill exempts from its provisions any contracts, covenants, or agreements entered into or renewed prior to July 1, 2027.

Michael J. JonesDemocrat

Corrections, Director of the Department of; placement of inmates, Red Onion State Prison.

Director of the Department of Corrections; placement of inmates; Red Onion State Prison. Directs the Director of the Department of Corrections to continue accepting and reviewing applications for the confinement of inmates from a state that is a party to the Interstate Corrections Compact entered into pursuant to relevant law but prohibits any placement of any such inmate at the Red Onion State Prison until such time as the General Assembly reauthorizes such placement by an act of assembly. The bill also requires the Director to allow for any inmate who is (i) a citizen of the Commonwealth and (ii) incarcerated in any state that is a party to the Interstate Corrections Compact to be placed in a Department facility.

Michael J. JonesDemocrat

Data centers; public hearing and notice requirements.

Data centers; public hearing and notice requirements. Provides additional requirements for local land use decisions regarding zoning changes for data center development. The bill requires, in addition to existing requirements for public advertisements, that the published advertisement providing notice for a public hearing regarding any proposed amendment to a zoning ordinance or application for a special exception for a change in use to permit the by-right development of a data center contain (i) the applicant or developer's name; (ii) the anticipated owner or end user of the development, if known; (iii) the street address, tax map parcel numbers of the parcel or parcels, or a description of the boundaries of the area subject to the changes and a link to a map of the subject area; (iv) the approximate acreage subject to the action; and (v) the expected utility infrastructure to be constructed in connection with the development, including electric, sewer, stormwater, and fuel lines, if known. The bill also requires the local governing body, before approving and adopting any zoning ordinance or amendment, and the board of zoning appeals, before authorizing a special exception or variance, to hold at least two public hearings whenever the subject of a land use decision is a data center development. Under current law, the local governing body and the board of zoning appeals are only required to hold one public hearing.

Michael J. JonesDemocrat

Surveillance pricing practices; consumer transactions, civil penalties.

Surveillance pricing practices; civil penalties. Prohibits an entity or a service provider, as those terms are defined in the bill, from using certain surveillance pricing practices, defined in the bill, in connection with a consumer transaction. The bill provides that the Office of the Attorney General shall enforce the provisions of the bill.

Russet PerryDemocrat

Safety and Health Codes Board; THC impairment standard for certain work sites.

Safety and Health Codes Board; THC impairment standard for certain work sites. Directs the Safety and Health Codes Board to promulgate regulations to establish a THC impairment standard and testing protocol to be used exclusively on manufacturing and utility work sites and to commence the rulemaking process no later than October 1, 2025.

William M. Stanley, Jr.Republican

Minimum wage and overtime pay; warehouse distribution center employees and employers.

Minimum wage and overtime pay; warehouse distribution center employees and employers; civil action; civil penalty. Provides that (i) an employer that violates requirements in existing law relating to the minimum wage, payment of wages and salaries, or overtime pay or (ii) a warehouse employer, as defined in the bill, that violates the bill's provisions shall be liable to an impacted employee for certain remedies, damages, and other relief as specified in the bill. The bill requires a warehouse employer to provide each warehouse employee, as defined in the bill, a written description of each performance standard to which such employee is subject and of any potential adverse employment action that may result from such employee's failure to meet such performance standard. The bill prohibits a warehouse employer from taking an adverse action against a warehouse employee for such employee's use of a bathroom facility. The bill provides that a warehouse employer that violates the bill's provisions relating to warehouse employers is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 for each violation.

Jennifer D. Carroll FoyDemocrat

Electric utilities; renewable portfolio standard program, deficiency payments.

Electric utilities; renewable portfolio standard program; deficiency payments. Removes provisions requiring deficiency payments by certain electric utilities if such utilities are unable to meet the compliance obligation of the renewable portfolio standard (RPS) program requirements or if the cost of renewable energy certificates necessary to comply with RPS program requirements exceeds $45 per megawatt hour.

William M. Stanley, Jr.Republican

Nominating a person to be elected as the Auditor of Public Accounts.

Nominating a person to be elected as the Auditor of Public Accounts.

Aaron R. RouseDemocrat

Aerial pesticide application; Virginia Pollinator Protection Strategy, civil penalty.

Aerial pesticide application; Virginia Pollinator Protection Strategy; civil penalty. Requires any commercial or private pesticide applicator performing an aerial pesticide application, as defined in the bill, to submit certain relevant information to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and to certain beekeepers located within a five-mile radius no less than five days prior to such application. The bill provides that any commercial applicator or private applicator who violates the provisions of the bill is subject to a civil penalty of $500 for a first offense and $2,500 for each additional offense. The bill requires the Department to post and maintain on its website certain information related to aerial pesticide applications and allows any aggrieved person to institute a proceeding for injunction or mandamus against any person or agency that has engaged, is engaged, or is about to engage in any acts or practices in violation of the provisions of the bill. The bill also requires the Virginia Pollinator Protection Strategy plan to support awareness among beekeepers and the general public of proposed aerial pesticide applications submitted to the Department and posted on its website.

William M. Stanley, Jr.Republican

Undesignated sex or gender designation option.

Undesignated sex or gender designation option. Requires all forms, reports, applications, or other documents used by state agencies to offer the option of "male," "female," or "X" when designating sex or gender. The bill contains technical amendments.

Laura Jane CohenDemocrat

Nominating persons to be elected to general district court judgeships.

Nominating persons to be elected to general district court judgeships.

Scott A. SurovellDemocrat

Fire Programs Fund; aid to localities, requirement for emergency incidents reporting.

Fire Programs Fund; aid to localities; requirement for emergency incidents reporting. Requires that, in order to remain eligible for funding from the Fire Programs Fund, a locality must report all emergency incidents through the National Fire Response Information System while sharing such emergency incident data with the Department of Fire Programs. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.

Christie New CraigRepublican

Nominating persons to be elected to juvenile and domestic relations district court judgeships.

Nominating persons to be elected to juvenile and domestic relations district court judgeships.

Scott A. SurovellDemocrat

Nominating persons to be elected to circuit court judgeships.

Nominating persons to be elected to circuit court judgeships.

Scott A. SurovellDemocrat

Nominating persons to be elected as members of the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission.

Nominating persons to be elected as members of the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission.

Scott A. SurovellDemocrat

Firearms-related offenses; mandatory minimum sentences, penalty.

Firearms-related offenses; mandatory minimum sentences; penalty. Increases from five to 10 years for a second or subsequent offense the mandatory minimum sentences for use or display of a firearm during the commission of certain felonies.

J.D. "Danny" DiggsRepublican

Fleeing from a law-enforcement officer; penalty.

Fleeing from a law-enforcement officer; penalty. Removes the requirement that a law-enforcement officer have the immediate physical ability to place a person under arrest in order for a person who flees from a law-enforcement officer to be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill instead requires that the officer be within 30 feet of the person when such person knows or has reason to know that the officer is a law-enforcement officer.

Bill DeStephRepublican

Local sales and use tax; Pulaski County authorized to levy additional taxes for school projects.

Local sales and use tax; capital projects for schools; Pulaski County. Adds Pulaski County to the list of localities that are authorized to levy an additional general retail sales and use tax at a rate not to exceed one percent to provide revenue solely for capital projects for the construction or renovation of schools within such locality. This bill was incorporated into SB 1307.

T. Travis HackworthRepublican

Reckless, aggressive, and improper driving; prohibited altered suspension system, penalties.

Reckless, aggressive, and improper driving; prohibited altered suspension system; penalties. Creates additional penalties for causing serious bodily injury to or the death of another person while recklessly, aggressively, or improperly driving a motor vehicle with certain prohibited alterations made to the vehicle's suspension system. The bill directs the court, in addition to penalties imposed under current law, to suspend the driver's license of such offender for 90 days and order the completion of 150 hours of community service for a first conviction and suspend the driver's license of such offender for one year and impose a penalty of $1,500 for any second or subsequent conviction.

Tammy Brankley MulchiRepublican

Senate; 2025 operating resolution.

2025 Senate operating resolution.

Mamie E. LockeDemocrat

Assault and battery; adds officers of Va. Marine Police to definition of law-enforcement officer.

Assault and battery; Virginia Marine Police officers; penalty. Adds Virginia Marine Police officers to the definition of "law-enforcement officer" as such definition relates to the Class 6 felony for any person who commits an assault or assault and battery against another knowing or having reason to know that such other person is a law-enforcement officer.

Bill DeStephRepublican

Certificate of public need program; phased elimination.

Certificate of public need program; phased elimination. Creates a three-phase process to eliminate the certificate of public need requirements for many categories of medical care facilities and projects, with elimination of the requirement for a certificate of public need (i) for all medical care facilities other than nursing homes or specialized centers or clinics or that portion of a physician's office developed for the provision of outpatient or ambulatory surgery, cardiac catheterization, computed tomographic (CT) scanning, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomographic (PET) scanning, radiation therapy, certain stereotactic radiotherapy, or proton beam therapy effective July 1, 2025; (ii) for all such services as described in clause (i) at any existing medical care facility other than nursing homes or specialized centers or clinics or that portion of a physician's office developed for the provision of outpatient or ambulatory surgery, cardiac catheterization, computed tomographic (CT) scanning, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomographic (PET) scanning, radiation therapy, certain stereotactic radiotherapy, or proton beam therapy located outside of a metropolitan statistical area or in a rural census tract within a metropolitan statistical area effective July 1, 2026; and (iii) for all medical care facilities effective July 1, 2027.

William M. Stanley, Jr.Republican

Commending Lawrence Douglas Wilder.

Commending Lawrence Douglas Wilder.

Ryan T. McDougleRepublican

Wills, trusts, and fiduciaries; Consumer Price Index adjustments.

Wills, trusts, and fiduciaries; Consumer Price Index adjustments. Increases various dollar amounts relating to wills, estates, trusts, fiduciaries, guardianships of minors, and guardianships of incapacitated persons to reflect the change in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers (CPI-U) as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. This bill was incorporated into HB 1912.

Patrick A. HopeDemocrat