The General Assembly adjourned Saturday, having completed action on more than 3,000 bills, but not the state budget. The bills that passed now go to Gov. Abigail Spanberger; the legislature will return for a special session in April to take up the budget and address any vetoes or amendments the governor has.
You can look up all the bills on the General Assembly website. Below are some of the highlights.
Animals
Roadside zoos
SB 344, by Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax County
HB 112, by Del. Amy Laufer, D-Albemarle County
Bills aimed at roadside zoos and others that are trading captive wildlife would ban separating baby wild mammals from their mothers before 4 months of age, unless medically necessary, with exceptions including agricultural animals and noncommercial trades between accredited zoological facilities. Also prohibited would be so-called hybridization, or intentionally breeding wild mammals of different species.
Status: Passed House 74-25; passed Senate 26-14. Now goes to governor.
Artificial intelligence
AI in health insurance
SB 586, by Sen. Saddam Salim, D-Falls Church
This legislation would require that health insurance companies show how they use artificial intelligence to manage claims and to submit all information enabling AI decisions to the State Corporation Commission, upon request. It would prohibit health carriers from relying exclusively on artificial intelligence to make any adverse determination and require them to provide an expedited external review process for appealing any such determination. Violations could incur civil penalties of up to $50,000.
Status: Passed Senate 23-16; House continued to 2027.
AI in higher ed
HJ 32, by Del. Amy Laufer, D-Albemarle County
This measure would require the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission JLARC to study artificial intelligence use policies in place at the state’s colleges and universities and to develop a model policy for AI use, along with recommendations for AI tools, curricula and other resources for a statewide clearinghouse for teachers, students and others.
Status: Passed House 97-0; passed Senate by block voice vote. Now goes to governor.
AI in mental health services
SB 269, by Sen. Barbara Favola, D-Arlington County
The bill would permit mental health service providers to use artificial intelligence to assist in therapy or counseling services, as long as providers maintain full responsibility for all the systems’ interactions, outputs and data use and inform the patient that AI is in use. It prohibits using AI systems without a mental health service provider. All records would comply with health records privacy requirements. It creates an exception for religious counseling, peer support or self-help materials and educational resources. A civil penalty of up to $10,000 would apply to violations.
Status: Passed Senate 39-0; House continued to 2027.
AI safety advisory board
SB 384, by Sen. Angelia Graves, D-Norfolk
HB 797, by Del. Cliff Hayes Jr., D-Chesapeake
These measures would apply to anyone seeking an independent verification organization to assess AI models’ or applications’ adherence to standards for personal injury and property damage prevention. It would require an application for a license from the Virginia Information Technologies Agency. Under the bill, the agency’s chief information officer would establish an Artificial Intelligence Safety Advisory Board and appoint members to it.
Status: House passed 99-0 with substitute; Senate passed 40-0 with substitute, which House approved. Now goes to governor.
Fraud and abuse
HB 580, by Del. Jackie Hope Glass, D-Norfolk
This bill proposes expanding the Division of Consumer Counsel duties to include programs addressing artificial intelligence fraud and abuse, and to establish an alert system.
Status: Passed House 96-0; passed Senate 40-0. Now goes to governor.
Use by minors
SB 796, by Sen. Tara Durant, R-Fredericksburg
The Artificial Intelligence Chatbots and Minors Act would require verification to ensure that users are at least 18 years old and that operators notify emergency services or law enforcement upon knowledge that a user faces risk of death or serious injury — including suicide attempts or other self-harm. The bill would require chatbot operators to submit incident reports to the attorney general’s office. It authorizes the AG’s office to seek injunctions and civil penalties for violations and provides for civil actions from anyone harmed or the parent or guardian of a minor whom a violation harms.
Status: Passed Senate 39-1. House continued to 2027.
User data
SB 85, by Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico County
This consumer data protection act would require social media platforms and AI operators to give users more control over such information as the content they create and share there, and their connections among people and groups in the digital world. The law would take effect July 1, 2027.
Status: Passed Senate 40-0. House tabled in committee.
Cannabis
Legalized retail sales
SB 542, by Sen. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg
HB 642, by Del. Paul Krizek, D-Fairfax County
These bills would legalize the sale of cannabis and set the rules for a retail market. The differences in the two bills were rectified in conference committee Saturday. If signed by the governor, recreational marijuana sales to people 21 years of age or older are slated to start on January 1, 2027.
Status: Passed House 64-32 and passed Senate 21-18. Now goes to governor.
Data centers
Demand-response programs
SB 43, by Sen. Danica Roem, D-Prince William County
This measure would direct the Department of Energy to study and make recommendations on utilities’ demand-response programs, with a report due by Nov. 1.
Status: Passed Senate 21-17; passed House 71-28; now goes to governor.
Generator emissions
HB 507, by Del. John McAuliff, D-Loudoun County
Under this bill, the Department of Environmental Quality would not approve any data center application from July 1 onward unless its generator emission limits are equal to or less than the emissions achieved by a tier 4 equivalent generator.
Status: Passed House 61-34; Passed Senate 25-15; now goes to governor.
Generator pollution
HB 1502, by Del. Elizabeth Guzman, D-Prince William County
This measure would direct the Department of Environmental Quality to conduct a one-year study of all standby generators used by certain commercial facilities in the commonwealth, including data centers, and explore ways to address their pollution. A report would be due by July 1, 2027.
Status: Passed House 61-35. Continued to 2027 in Senate.
Generator use
SB 336, by Sen. Danica Roem, D-Prince William County
This bill would direct the State Corporation Commission to study the potential impact on data centers if they were required to use cleaner-burning generators.
Status: Passed Senate 38-0-1. Continued to 2027 in House.
Information sharing
HB 591, by Del. Shelly Simonds, D-Newport News
This catch-all bill is meant to promote coordination among data centers, state agencies and regional grid operators to “share information on energy usage, interconnection timelines, and barriers to rapid deployment of renewable and flexible energy resources.” It would require reporting on energy and water usage while emphasizing cybersecurity, physical security and supply chain security against “foreign adversary access or compromise.”
Status: Passed House 62-34. Continued to 2027 in House.
Land conveyance public hearing
SB 334, by Sen. Danica Roem, D-Prince William County
This bill would require a public hearing when any locality seeks a land transaction with a data center or any other facility using more than 69 kilovolts. Such hearings would be held before any vote could be taken and would disclose the intended use of the property in question, along with anticipated community and environmental impacts and alternative locations that have been considered.
Status: Passed Senate 26-14. Tabled in House.
Siting
SB 94, by Sen. Danica Roem, D-Prince William County, Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria
HB 153, by Del. Josh Thomas, D-Prince William County
These measures would require any high-energy-use data center developer — or any facility that requires 100 megawatts or more of electricity — to conduct a site assessment to examine the effect its noise would have on homes and schools within 500 feet of its property boundary. The bills also would allow localities to require site assessments to examine effects on ground and surface water, agricultural resources, parks, historic sites and forestland on the site or adjoining land. SB 94 would have required most data centers to be located on land already zoned for industrial uses.
Status: Passed House with substitute 80-14, which Senate rejected; sent to conference. Passed Senate with substitute 26-14, which House rejected, sent to conference. Conference report recommends House bill, which doesn’t include industrial zone clause. House, 91-4, and Senate, 29-10, each approve conference report. Now goes to governor.
Tax breaks
HB 897, by Del. Rip Sullivan, D-Fairfax County; Del. Jessica Anderson, D-Williamsburg; Del. Vivian Watts, D-Fairfax County
Virginia has a sales and use tax exemption for data centers’ equipment and software. This bill would require data center operators to restrict carbon dioxide emissions and move toward clean energy resources in order to qualify for it.
Status: Passed House 61-34. Passed by indefinitely in Senate.
Use of waste heat
HB 323, by Del. Rip Sullivan, D-Fairfax County
Under this measure, the Department of Energy would study how to use waste heat from data centers, with a Sept. 1 deadline to give the General Assembly a report on its findings and recommendations, including a strategic plan.
Status: Passed House 98-0. Passed Senate 39-0. Now goes to governor.
Water use
SB 553, by Sen. Kannan Srinivasan, D-Loudoun County
HB 496, by Del. Liz Guzman, D-Prince William County
These bills would require authorities that provide water to data centers to publicly disclose water usage. The Senate bill wants total volume of potable and repurposed water submitted to the State Water Control Board. The House bill would have consumption estimates submitted for rezoning and special use permit requests. A conference committee opted for the Senate version.
Status: House passed 81-18 with substitute. Senate passed 25-15 with substitute. Went to conference committee. Senate, 26-13, and House, 78-19, each agreed with committee report. Now goes to the governor.
Education
College board appointments
HB 1385, by Del. Lily Franklin, D-Montgomery County
This bill would change the appointment process to make it clear that gubernatorial appointees do not take office until they were confirmed by the General Assembly. Previously, they took office immediately.
Status: Passed House 62-35, different version passed Senate 20-20 with Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi casting tiebreaker. Conference report passed House 62-34 and Senate 21-18. Now goes to the governor.
VMI Board of Visitors
HB 1374, by Del. Michael Feggans, D-Virginia Beach
This bill limits how many alumni can serve on the VMI Board of Visitors. Initially, the bill dissolved the board and put the school under the control of Virginia State University, but that provision was removed, and VMI later endorsed the bill.
Status: Senate issued a voice vote to recommit the bill to committee Tuesday. It died upon adjournment of the 2026 session Saturday.
VMI study
HB 1377, by Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax County
This bill would initiate a study “to determine VMI’s responsiveness to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia’s 2021 report on the institution and to explore changes to be made to distance VMI from the Lost Cause.” Initially, the bill directed the task force to examine whether VMI should receive state funding, but that provision was removed, and VMI later endorsed the bill.
Status: The Senate issued an amendment, which was rejected by the House on Thursday, and the bill was sent to the conference committee. The conference committee report, which decreased the number of state senators on the task force from four to two, was passed on Saturday by the House, 66-29, and the Senate, 21-18. It will now go to the governor.
Electricity
Appalachian Power resource usage and weather impacts
HB 1075, by Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke
Originally introduced as a bipartisan package to rein in rising Appalachian Power bills, this bill later dropped measures related to the power company’s profit level and instead would have directed state regulators to examine how Appalachian’s use of its own power generation resources, along with the impacts of severe weather, affect customer bills.
Status: Continued to 2027.
Appalachian Power virtual power plant
HB 1467, by Del. Lily Franklin, D-Montgomery County
The bill requires Appalachian Power to seek state approval for a pilot program to evaluate methods to optimize electric demand through virtual power plants and other technologies. A virtual power plant aggregates customers’ distributed resources, such as battery storage and electric vehicle chargers, to provide services to the electric grid.
Status: Passed House 98-0. Passed Senate 31-9. Now goes to the governor.
Balcony solar
HB 395, by Del. Paul Krizek, D-Fairfax County
SB 250, by Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax County
These bills would allow Virginians to use small portable solar generation devices that plug into a standard electric outlet, potentially saving money on electric bills, without entering into a contract with an electric utility. The devices are commonly called “balcony solar” because, rather than requiring solar panels to be installed on a roof or mounted on the ground, their relatively small size allows them to be used in many locations, such as an apartment balcony.
Status: HB 395 passed the Senate with a substitute 30-8-1. That substitute from the Senate then passed the House 93-4. SB 250 bill passed the House 96-0. Now goes to the governor.
Battery energy storage systems on solar farms
HB 891, by Del. Irene Shin, D-Fairfax County
SB 443, by Sen. Jeremy McPike, D-Prince William County
These bills fast-track adding battery energy storage systems, which store excess energy to be deployed as needed, to existing utility-scale solar facilities by saying battery storage is allowed as an accessory use wherever solar farms already have been approved.
Status: Passed House 68-30. Passed Senate 21-19. Now goes to the governor.
Battery energy storage system targets for Virginia
HB 895, by Del. Rip Sullivan, D-Fairfax County
SB 448, by Sen. Lamont Bagby, D-Richmond
The bills increase the amount of battery energy storage for which Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power should strive to seek state approval by 2045. The bills make a distinction between short-duration storage, which holds energy up to 10 hours, and long-duration storage, which holds energy longer than 10 hours. Dominion’s target increases from 2,700 megawatts to 16,000 megawatts of short-duration storage and 3,840 megawatts of long-duration storage. Appalachian’s target increases from 400 megawatts to 780 megawatts of short-duration storage and 520 megawatts of long-duration storage.
Status: HB 895 passed the Senate with a substitute 21-19. The House then agreed to that substitute 68-30. SB 448 passed the House with a substitute 66-33. The Senate then agreed to that substitute 21-19. Now goes to the governor.
[Disclosure: Dominion is one of our donors, but donors have no say in news decisions; see our policy.]
Disconnections database
HB 828, by Del. Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria
SB 516, by Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville
These bills require electric utilities and cooperatives in Virginia to provide data to the State Corporation Commission about residential customers who have been disconnected for nonpayment and require the SCC to provide a public online dashboard aggregating such data.
Status: HB 828 passed the Senate with a substitute, 40-0. The House then agreed to that substitute, 98-0. After a conference to resolve some relatively minor differences, the House and Senate unanimously agreed to pass SB 516. Now goes to the governor.
Dominion Energy’s largest customers pay certain costs
SB 253, by Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth
HB 1393, by Del. Destiny LeVere Bolling, D-Henrico County
The bills would direct state regulators to decide whether Dominion Energy’s largest category of customers, most of which are data centers, should pay certain costs related to ensuring that power is available even during peak demand times and related to infrastructure needed to connect those customers to the electric grid. It also would expand Dominion’s and Appalachian Power’s energy assistance and weatherization programs and extend the timeline for a Dominion program that buries vulnerable overhead power lines. Critics had argued that the rising cost of the undergrounding program would eventually negate savings from the cost shift to data centers.
Status: After two conferences to resolve differences between the bills, the House and Senate agreed to a version that extends the undergrounding program to 2033 instead of 2038 as originally proposed. The House and Senate voted 61-35 and 21-18 on the version of the bill that came out of the second conference. Now goes to the governor.
Energy efficiency upgrades
HB 2, by Del. Mark Sickles, D-Fairfax County
SB 72, by Sen. Kannan Srinivasan, D-Loudoun County
The bills would require Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power to help some low-income residents who use oil and propane heat transition to energy-efficient electric heat pumps.
Status: Passed House 64-34. Passed Senate 24-16. Now goes to the governor.
Energy efficiency and weatherization task force
HB 3, by Del. Destiny LeVere Bolling, D-Henrico County
SB 5, by Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton
The bills would create a task force to study barriers to access for energy-efficiency and weatherization programs intended to help low-income residents.
Status: Passed House 72-24 with an amendment. That amended version then passed the Senate, 40-0. The Senate then passed the House bill 38-2. Now goes to the governor.
Integrated resource plans
HB 429, by Del. Destiny LeVere Bolling, D-Henrico County
SB 249, by Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax County
These bills center on utilities’ integrated resource plans, which are long-term roadmaps for how they intend to meet electricity demand forecasts. Among other aspects, the legislation would require Appalachian Power to file such a plan in 2028 for the first time since 2022.
Status: After a conference to resolve differences, the House and Senate agreed to pass the bills. The votes on the conference version of the House bill were 72-24 and 21-18, while the votes on the conference version of the Senate bill were 63-34 and 21-18. Now goes to the governor.
Performance-based regulation of electric utilities
HB 903, by Del. Rip Sullivan, D-Fairfax County
SB 251, by Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax County
The bills direct state regulators to examine whether a new framework for regulating Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power would be in the public interest by more closely aligning the utilities’ performance with Virginia’s regulatory goals.
Status: HB 903 passed the Senate with an amendment 23-17. The House then agreed to that amendment 84-13. SB 251 passed the House with an amendment 62-33. The Senate then agreed to that amendment 23-17. Now goes to the governor.
Recovery of fuel and purchased power costs
HB 1256, by Del. Irene Shin, D-Fairfax County
SB 505, by Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville
These bills direct state regulators to examine whether Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power are sufficiently managing their fuel costs that are passed on to customers.
Status: Passed House 96-0. Passed Senate 40-0. Now goes to the governor.
Shared solar
HB 807 and HB809, by Del. Rip Sullivan, D-Fairfax County
SB 254 and SB255, by Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax County
These bills expand the size of Dominion Energy’s and Appalachian Power’s shared solar programs and make some changes to billing and credits. Shared solar is when a customer subscribes to solar power produced by a third party and receives credit for it toward their electric bill; the goal is that the credit from solar covers the cost of the subscription and yields additional savings.
Status: Both House bills passed the Senate 22-18. HB 807 had an amendment that the Senate agreed to 90-8. SB 254 passed the House 83-13 and SB 255 passed the House 86-10. Now goes to the governor.
Solar “ban on bans,” siting standards
HB 711, by Del. Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria
SB 347, by Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico County
The bills would prevent local governments from banning utility-scale solar outright, instead requiring project proposals to be reviewed individually. It would create standardized guidelines for setbacks and other aspects of development that localities could use. It would require localities that reject solar proposals to explain why to the State Corporation Commission, which would create a database tracking such rejections.
Status: Passed House 65-25. Passed Senate 22-18. Now goes to the governor.
Surplus interconnection
HB 1065, by Del. Phil Hernandez, D-Norfolk
SB 508, by Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico County
The bills direct Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power to assess their available interconnection capacity — locations where new power generation resources could more easily be added to the grid because the grid can handle more electricity there than it’s already receiving — and propose pilot programs for adding solar power and battery storage at those locations.
Status: Passed House 64-32. Passed Senate 22-17-1.
Environment
Fungi
HB 1475, by Del. Charlie Schmidt, D-Richmond
This bill would create the Virginia Fungi Task Force to assess the state’s fungi for both economic and environmental implications.
Status: Continued to 2027.
Rejoining RGGI
HB 397, by Del. Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria
SB 802, by Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton
The bills would have Virginia rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a carbon cap-and-trade program that aims to reduce emissions and direct funding toward energy efficiency, flood mitigation and other efforts. Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin had withdrawn Virginia from the multistate program; he called it a “regressive tax imposed on the power bills of every family.”
Status: Passed House, 64-35, passed Senate 21-19. Now goes to the governor.
Gaming
Fairfax County casino
SB 756, by Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax County
This bill would add Fairfax County to the list of localities eligible to host a casino.
Status: Conference report agreed to by the Senate, 25-23, and the House, 55-41, on Saturday. It will now go to the governor.
Gaming commission
HB 271, by Del. Paul Krizek, D-Fairfax County
SB 195, by Sen. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg
These bills would create a state gaming commission to regulate gaming.
Status: House bill was continued to 2027. Senate bill was incorporated into SB 609, by Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, which regulates gaming proceeds. The House passed a substitute to SB 609, which was rejected by the Senate prompting the bill to be sent to conference committee, where it died upon adjournment of the 2026 session.
Internet gaming
HB 161, by Del. Marcus Simon, D-Fairfax County
SB 118, by Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton
These bills would legalize and regulate internet gaming.
Status: The Senate passed a substitute to HB161, which was rejected by the House prompting the bill to be sent to conference committee, where it died upon adjournment of the 2026 session. The House passed a substitute to SB 118, which was rejected by the Senate prompting the bill to be sent to conference committee, where it also died upon adjournment of the 2026 session.
“Skill” games
HB 1272, by Del. Cliff Hayes Jr., D-Chesapeake
SB 661, by Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach
These bills would legalize and regulate the so-called electronic skill games often found in convenience stores.
Status: The Senate passed a substitute to HB 1272, which was rejected by the House prompting the bill to be sent to conference committee, where it died upon adjournment of the 2026 session. The House passed a substitute to SB 661, which was rejected by the Senate prompting the bill to be sent to conference committee. The conference report was agreed to by the House, 57-38, and by the Senate, 23-25, and SB 661 will now go to the governor.
Guns
Assault weapons ban
HB 217, by Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax County
SB 749, by Sen. Saddam Salim, D-Falls Church
These bills would make it a misdemeanor to import, sell, manufacture, purchase or transfer an assault firearm.
Status: HB 217 was passed by the Senate with a substitute, 21-19, which was agreed to by the House, 60-35. The House passed SB 749 with a substitute, 59-35, which the Senate agreed to, 21-19. Both bills will go to the governor.
“Ghost gun” ban
HB 40, by Del. Marcus Simon, D-Fairfax County
SB 323, by Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria
These bills would prohibit plastic firearms and unfinished frames or receivers and unserialized firearms and create a class 5 felony for the manufacture or assembly, import, purchase, sale, transfer or possession of any firearm that is not detectable.
Status: HB 40 passed the Senate with a substitute, 21-19, and the House agreed to the substitute, 64-32. The House passed SB 323 with a substitute, which was rejected by the Senate, prompting the bill to go to conference committee. The conference report was agreed to by the House, 62-35, and Senate, 21-18. Both bills will go to the governor.
Standards of responsibility for firearm manufacturers
HB 21, by Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax County
SB 27, by Sen. Jennifer Carroll Foy, D-Petersburg
These bills would create standards of responsible conduct for firearm manufacturers and require them to implement controls regarding the manufacture, sale, distribution, use and marketing of firearm products.
Status: HB 21 passed the Senate with a substitute, 21-19, which was agreed to by the House, 62-36. SB 27 passed the House with a substitute, which was rejected by the Senate, prompting the bill to go to conference committee. The conference report was agreed to by the Senate, 20-19, and the House, 62-36. Both bills will now go to the governor.
Closing the “boyfriend loophole” in gun sales
HB 19, by Del. Adele McClure, D-Arlington County
SB 160, by Sen. Russet Perry, D-Loudon County
These bills would close a loophole that had previously allowed a person to purchase a firearm after being convicted within the previous 12 months of assault and battery of a family or household member or intimate partner.
Status: HB 19 passed the House 61-35. The Senate passed the bill with a substitute, 22-18. That substitute was rejected by the House and the Senate backed off of its substitute. The House passed SB 160 with a substitute, 64-34, and the Senate agreed to the substitute, 21-18. Both bills will go to the governor.
Health care
Contraceptives
HB 6 by Del. Cia Price, D-Newport News
SB 596 by Sen. Jennifer Carroll Foy, D-Petersburg
These bills would codify a person’s right to use and a doctor’s right to prescribe FDA-approved methods of contraception, including condoms, the pill, IUDs and emergency contraceptives.
Status: Passed House 65-32 and Senate 24-15 with slightly different versions. Conference committee report approved by House 64-34, by Senate 24-15. Now goes to governor.
Maternal health monitoring program
SB 721 by Sen. Jennifer Carroll Foy, D-Petersburg
This bill would create a pilot program, providing medical testing equipment for pregnant women with high blood pressure and gestational diabetes. It would direct the Department of Medical Assistance Services to select a managed care organization to contract with a technology vendor for remote patient monitoring.
Status: Continued to 2027.
Pharmacy benefit managers
HB 1109 by Del. Keith Hodges, R-Middlesex County
This bill would establish data collection and reporting requirements for pharmacy benefit managers, which are third-party entities that negotiate with drug manufacturers and pharmacies to manage prescription drug costs.
Status: Failed to advance out of Senate Health and Human Resources subcommittee, 5-2.
Prescription drug affordability board
SB 271 by Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville
HB 483, by Del. Karrie Delaney, D-Fairfax County
This bill would create a state-run prescription drug affordability board that would review the pricing of high-cost prescription drugs and, in some cases, set upper payment limits. This is the fourth attempt to create such a board; Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed similar legislation in 2024 and 2025.
Status: Passed House 61-33, passed Senate with substitute 31-8. House agreed to Senate substitute. Passed Senate 31-8, passed House 95-4 with substitute. Now goes to the governor.
Remote patient monitoring
HB 425, Del. Destiny LeVere Bolling, D-Henrico County
This bill would expand access to maternal health services by providing Medicaid coverage for remote patient monitoring during pregnancy and the postpartum period. High-risk patients and those 35 years or older would qualify. The bill also extends eligibility through 12 months postpartum.
Status: Passed House 95-1; passed Senate 40-0 but with different version. Conference report passed House 86-9 and Senate 38-0. Now goes to the governor.
Housing
EDAs and housing
HB 1058, by Del. Eric Phillips, R-Henry County
This bill would allow economic development authorities and industrial development authorities in the 48th and 49th Districts powers to build affordable housing. It would expand the abilities of local housing authorities where they exist and spearhead housing projects where they don’t.
Status: Continued to 2027.
Zoning by right in commercial areas
SB 454, by Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico County
This bill would require localities to allow residential construction on most land zoned business or commercial.
Status: Passed Senate 21-19. Rereferred to committee in the House, where it died upon adjournment Saturday.
Small lots
HB 1212, by Del. Briana Sewell, D-Prince William County
This bill would require localities of 50,000 or more to have zoning that allows housing construction on small lots.
Status: Passed the Senate with amendments 21-28, amendments agreed to by the House, 61-35. It will go to the governor.
Labor
Collective bargaining for public employees
HB 1263, by Del. Kathy Tran, D-Fairfax County
SB 378, by Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax County
These bills would allow public employees to unionize.
Status: HB 1263 was passed by the Senate with a substitute, but that substitute was rejected by the House prompting the bill to go to conference committee. The conference report was agreed to by the House, 62-39, and the Senate, 20-18, on Saturday. SB 378 was passed by the House with a substitute, but that substitute was rejected by the Senate, prompting the bill to go to conference committee. The conference report was agreed to by the House, 61-36, and the Senate, 20-18, on Saturday. Both bills will now go to the governor.
Minimum wage increase
HB 1, by Del. Jeion Ward, D-Hampton
SB 1, by Sen Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth
These bills would increase the commonwealth’s minimum wage to $12.77 per hour in January 2026, to $13.75 per hour in January 2027 and to $15 per hour in January 2028. The bills call for the minimum wage to be adjusted annually to reflect increases in the consumer price index after January 2029.
Status: HB 1 passed the Senate, 21-19, and SB 1 passed the House 62-34. Both bills will go to the governor.
Paid family medical leave
HB 1207, by Del. Briana Sewell, D-Prince William County
SB 2, by Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax County
These bills would create a paid family medical leave program, including a tax on employers and employees.
Status: HB 1207 passed the Senate with a substitute, which was rejected by the House. That prompted the bill to go to conference committee. The House accepted the conference report, 62-33, as did the Senate, 21-18. SB 2 passed the House with a substitute, which was rejected by the Senate. That prompted the bill to go to conference committee. The Senate accepted the conference report, 21-18, as did the House, 62-33. Both bills will go to the governor.
Right-to-work
SB 32, by Sen. Jennifer Carroll Foy, D-Prince William County
This bill would have repealed the state’s “right-to-work” law, which forbids compulsory payment of union dues.
Status: Died by being left in committee.
Law enforcement
Correctional officers
HB 295, by Del. Mitchell Cornett, R-Grayson County
This bill would have made the deliberate killing of a correctional officer an aggravated murder charge, similar to how killing of other law enforcement personnel are handled.
Status: Passed House 87-7; killed in Senate committee 8-7.
Face coverings
HB 1482, by Del. Charlie Schmidt, D-Richmond
SB 352, by Sen. Saddam Salim, D-Falls Church
The House bill would ban state and local police officers from wearing face coverings. The Senate bill applies to federal officers operating in Virginia.
Status: HB 1482 passed the Senate with a substitute that was rejected by the House. That prompted the bill to go to conference committee. The conference report was approved by the House, 62-35, and the Senate, 21-18. SB 352 passed the House with a substitute that was rejected by the Senate. That prompted the bill to go to conference committee. The conference report was approved by the Senate, 21-18 and the House, 62-35. Both bills will go to the governor.
Local government
Term limits in Rocky Mount
HB 732, by Del. Will Davis, R-Franklin County
This bill would have changed Rocky Mount’s charter to allow term limits for council members. A General Assembly lawyer advised that this violates the state constitution, citing a 1991 attorney general’s opinion.
Status: Tabled in committee, 17-2.
Manufacturing
Power Transformer Manufacturing Grant Fund
HB 799, Del. Luke Torian, D-Prince William County
SB 403, by Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth
These bills provide up to $29.4 million in grants over 10 years to the transformer manufacturer Hitachi Energy in connection with its Halifax County expansion, which is slated to represent a $457 million investment and create 825 new jobs there.
Status: Passed House 92-4, passed Senate 39-0. Now goes to the governor.
Taxes
Car tax repeal
HB 566, by Del. Joe McNamara, R-Roanoke County
SB 799, by Sen. Tara Durant, R-Fredericksburg
These bills were aimed at doing away with the so-called “car tax.”
Status: Both failed to advance out of committee.
Car tax study
HJ 34, by Del. Lily Franklin, D-Montgomery County
SR 6, by Sen. Dave Marsden, D-Fairfax County
These measures would direct the Department of Taxation to study ways to eliminate the car tax.
Status: Both bills continued until 2027.
Local option sales tax for schools
HB 334 by Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke
SB 66 by Sen. Jeremy McPike, D-Prince William County
SB 607, by Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth
These bills would allow localities to hold a referendum on whether to create a sales tax of 1% to be used for schools.
Status: House version continued to 2027. Senate versions merged but failed when left in committee. However, the Senate version of the budget also includes this provision.
Net investment income tax
HB 378, by Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, D-Alexandria
This bill would have created a net investment income tax on individuals, trusts and estates.
Status: Failed to advance out of committee.
New tax brackets
HB 188 by Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler, D-Virginia Beach
HB 979 by Del. Vivian Watts, D-Fairfax County
These bills would have created new tax brackets for those with higher incomes, more than $600,000 annually in the first bill, more than $1 million in the second bill.
Status: These bills were merged and continued until 2027.
Sales tax on services
HB 900, by Del. Rip Sullivan, D-Fairfax County
SB 730, by Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax County
These bills would have extended the sales tax to services, including digital services.
Status: Both continued until 2027.
Standard deduction
SB 7, by Sen. David Suetterlein, R-Roanoke County
HB 12, by Del. Joe McNamara, R-Roanoke County
These bills would make permanent the standard deduction amounts of $8,750 for single individuals and $17,500 for married individuals filing jointly.
Status: House bill failed to advance out of Senate committee, Senate bill continued to 2027.
Tax on firearms and ammunition
HB 919 by Del. Alfonso Lopez, D-Arlington County
SB 763 by Sen. Angelia Graves, D-Norfolk
Both bills would create an 11% tax on the gross receipts of the sale of firearms and ammunition.
Status: House version continued until 2027; Senate version continued to 2027 by House committee.