Here’s an update on some of the bills we’ve been following. Those that were signed by the governor will generally become law July 1. The legislature returns April 2 to deal with vetoes and proposed amendments. For a full list of bills, see the General Assembly website.
Agriculture
Compensation for livestock killed by dogs
SB 1000 by Sen. Richard Stuart, R-Westmoreland County
Increases the fair market value compensation amounts for livestock and poultry killed or injured by dogs from $750 to $1,000 per animal and from $10 to $25 per fowl.
Status: Signed into law.
Invasive plants
HB 1941 by Del. Holly Seibold, D-Fairfax County
SB 1166 by Sen. Saddam Salim, D-Falls Church
This requires retailers who sell 39 different kinds of invasive plants to post signs “in a conspicuous manner” that warn about how bad those particular species are and encourage consumers “to ask about alternatives.”
Status: Signed into law.
Lab animals
SB 907 by Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County
This bill would require that non-human primates be released to sanctuaries instead of being euthanized by testing facilities managed by the state after they’re no longer needed.
Status: Signed into law.
Large-animal veterinarian grants
SB 921 by Sen. Travis Hackworth, R-Tazewell County
HB 2303 by Del. Alfonso Lopez, D-Arlington County
These bills create a grant program to incentivize veterinarians to practice large-animal medicine, working on cows, sheep, goats and other farm animals. The profession is considered to be important for the food supply chain, yet large-animal veterinarians are in short supply.
Status: Signed into law.
Cannabis
Retail sales
HB 2485 by Del. Paul Krizek, D-Fairfax County
SB 970 by Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach
Virginia is the only state that allows personal possession of cannabis (marijuana) but bans retail sales outside of medical dispensaries. These bills would legalize, and regulate, retail sales. A similar measure passed in 2024 but was vetoed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who has said he hasn’t changed his mind.
Status: Vetoed.
Data centers
Site assessments
SB 1449 by Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria
HB 1601 by Del. Josh Thomas, D-Prince William County
These measures require developers of data centers and other high-energy-use facilities (100 megawatts or more) to conduct site assessments examining sound profiles on residences and schools within 500 feet. They would have localities require that the assessments examine potential effects on ground and surface water resources, agriculture resources, parks, registered historic sites and forest land on or around such facilities.
Status: Returned with amendment.
Electrical demand response programs
SB 1047 by Sen. Danica Roem, D-Prince William County
As originally written, it would have required entities with an annual energy demand of at least 25 megawatts to work with large electric utilities to conserve or shift electricity use in response to demands on the power grid. The State Corporation Commission would have approved the so-called demand response programs by the beginning of next year, but the bill was amended. The version going to the governor would have the Department of Energy and the SCC study the best way forward for demand response programs, with a report due Nov. 1.
Status: Vetoed.
Economic development
Microporous incentive package
HB 2540 by Del. Danny Marshall, R-Danville
SB 1207 by Sen. Tammy Mulchi, R-Mecklenburg County
These bills would create a fund of roughly $60 million that would be paid out in multiple installments between 2026 and 2045 as part of the incentive package to lure the Microporous battery plant to Pittsylvania County.
Status: Signed into law.
Site investment grants
SB 1275 by Sen. Emily Jordan, R-Isle of Wight County
This bill gives small localities access to site investment grants to attract businesses.
Status: Signed into law.
Sports tourism grants
HB 1901 by Del. Rodney Willett, D-Henrico County
SB 927 by Sen. Chris Head, R-Botetourt County
This creates a grant program through the Virginia Tourism Authority to encourage sports tourism.
Status: Signed into law.
Education
Autism training
SB 1293 by Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County
This directs school boards to offer optional training to all school employees whose duties involve “regular contact” with students with autism. Taking such a class would count toward any instructor’s license renewal.
Status: Signed into law.
Career and technical education teachers
HB 2018 by Del. Bonita Anthony, D-Norfolk
SB 879 by Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria
This would expand the pool of people qualified to teach career and technical education. Specifically, it allows those with a high school diploma (or its equivalent) and an industry-recognized credential, certification or license to be approved for a provisional license to teach the relevant career and technical education subject.
Status: Returned with amendment.
Cellphone policies
HB 1961 by Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke
SB 738 by Sen. Stella Pekarsky, D-Fairfax County
The governor has issued an executive order directing the Department of Education and other state agencies to develop model cellphone policies for schools. Executive orders, though, can come and go with administrations. This would would write into law a directive for each school board to develop cellphone policies. It also prohibits schools from suspending or expelling a student simply for a violation of the cellphone policy.
Status: Returned with amendment.
Cyberbullying
SB 908 by Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County
This directs local school boards to adopt some sort of policy against cyberbullying. It also requires schools to “address instances that occur outside of school property between students enrolled in the school division.
Status: Signed into law.
Driver’s ed
SB 1124 by Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax County
This would allow the classroom portion to be taught online.
Status: Vetoed.
Livestreaming meetings of college Boards of Visitors
HB 2452 by Del. Keith Hodges, R-Middlesex County
This sets up a process to livestream meetings of the governing bodies of colleges and archive those videos.
Status: Signed into law.
Unpaid lunch debts
SB 1017 by Sen. Danica Roem, D-Prince William County
This would direct school boards to pay those out of certain funds (as opposed to having individual schools cover them).
Status: Vetoed.
Elections
Local election boards
HB 2277 by Del. Cia Price, D-Newport News
Last fall, two of the three members of the Waynesboro Electoral Board went to court, saying they would refuse to certify the city’s election results unless they were allowed to hand-count ballots, something state law doesn’t provide for. A judge later ordered them to certify the results. This bill would avoid that by declaring the role of local election officials is “ministerial,” meaning they’re just there to administer the law, not make policy choices.
Status: Vetoed.
Voter roll purges
SB 813 by Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach
This bill would ban changes to voter registration lists within 90 days of Election Day.
Status: Vetoed.
Energy
Appalachian Power integrated resource plan
SB 1021 by Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax County
HB 2413 by Del. Candi Mundon King, D-Prince William County
These bills require Appalachian Power to once again file integrated resource plans, which are long-term forecasts of a utility’s energy demand and how it plans to meet that demand, including how it would address electricity transmission needs. Appalachian and Dominion Energy, which already files IRPs, would submit such plans to the state every three years, and they would provide a forecast 20 years out. After some work that included the legislation going to a conference committee, both chambers agreed to an updated version with some minor changes, including requiring Appalachian Power to file its first IRP in 2026 instead of this year.
Status: Vetoed.
Appalachian Power rate reduction
SB 1076 by Sens. Mark Peake, R-Lynchburg, and Todd Pillion, R-Washington County
HB 2621 by Dels. Jason Ballard, R-Giles County; Terry Kilgore, R-Scott County; Irene Shin, D-Fairfax County; and Wren Williams, R-Patrick County
While both the House and Senate passed versions of what some lawmakers dubbed the “Apco Rate Reduction Act,” they differed in the details. After the bills went to conference, lawmakers agreed to prohibit Appalachian Power’s rate increases from taking effect from November through February each year; prohibit Appalachian from charging interest or late fees from July 1 through Dec. 31; prohibit the utility from charging reconnection fees from July 1 through March 1, 2026; require Appalachian to consider residential seasonal rates and alternatives to budget billing; set the utility’s next biennial review of rates to begin on May 31, 2026; require state regulators to consider public input during rate cases; and allow Appalachian to package certain large expenses and assets into bonds for sale to investors, a process known as securitization. A previous effort to prohibit residential disconnections for 18 months was not included in the final legislation.
Status: Signed into law.
Increasing energy storage targets
SB 1394 by Sen. Lamont Bagby, D-Richmond
HB 2537 by Del. Rip Sullivan Jr., D-Fairfax County
The legislation would increase the targets for new energy storage that Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power should strive to build, acquire or procure. Energy storage facilities store electricity during off-peak hours when it’s cheaper to generate and deploy it during high-demand periods when it would be more expensive to generate otherwise; supporters say such facilities can help smooth out the highs and lows of electricity demand and could potentially reduce the need for new power plants.
Status: Youngkin proposed a sweeping substitute that would entirely remove the electric utilities’ legal mandates to develop solar, wind and energy storage resources in order to have carbon-free electricity portfolios by 2050. The proposal heads back to the General Assembly for a vote.
[Disclosure: Dominion is one of our donors, but donors have no say in news decisions; see our policy.]
Solar canopies on parking lots
HB 2037 by Del. David Bulova, R-Fairfax County
This would allow localities to require developers of commercial property to put solar canopies of solar panels over parking lots of a certain size.
Status: Vetoed.
Health care
Compound drugs
SB 1366 by Sen. Todd Pillion, R-Washington County
This allows compound drugs to be distributed in health systems under common ownership.
Status: Signed into law.
Contraception
HB 1716 by Del. Cia Price, D-Newport News
SB 1105 by Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield County
These bills establish a right to obtain and use contraceptives.
Status: Returned with amendment wth adds a conscientious objection clause.
Insurance for breast exams
HB 1828 by Del. Shelly Simonds, D-Newport News
This bans insurance companies from making women pay a co-pay, deductible or other cost sharing for diagnostic breast examinations and supplemental breast examinations.
Status: Signed into law.
Medical deserts
HB 2119 by Del. Wendell Walker, R-Lynchburg
SB 1203 by Sen. Chris Head, R-Botetourt County
These bills establish an expedited review process for health care projects in medically underserved areas.
Status: Signed into law.
Midwives
HB 1904 by Del. Rodney Willett, D-Henrico County
This bill directs the Department of Health to amend its regulations on coverage for nursery services to allow certified nurse midwives, licensed certified midwives or nurse practitioners with pediatric privileges to be on the 24-hour on-call duty roster.
Status: Signed into law.
Pharmacy benefit manager
HB 2610 by Del. Katrina Callsen, D-Charlottesville
SB 875 by Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach
These bills would centralize Virginia’s Medicaid pharmacy benefits under a single state-contracted pharmacy benefit manager. Only Medicaid would be affected because it’s a state-run program, giving Virginia the authority to implement changes.
Status: Returned with amendment.
Prescription Drug Affordability Board
HB 1724 by Del. Karrie Delaney, D-Fairfax County
This would have set up a board to regulate drug prices.
Status: Vetoed.
Women’s Health Commission
HB 2617 by Del. Candi Mundon King, D-Prince William County
SB 1120 by Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth
This would create a standing Women’s Health Commission to make regular recommendations on women’s health.
Status: Signed into law.
Local issues
Bristol’s blighted property
SB 1476 by Sen. Todd Pillion, R-Washington County
Bristol officials asked for help in dealing with the vacant former campus of Virginia Intermont College through bills that would allow it to sell blighted properties while having more control over who buys them and how quickly they’re developed. The city would be able to petition the circuit court to appoint a commissioner to convey property to the city or the city’s entity.
Status: Signed into law.
Explore Park
HB 2321 by Del. Will Davis, R-Franklin County
SB 796 by Sen. Chris Head, R-Botetourt County
These bills would allow the Virginia Recreational Facilities Authority, which was created to own the Explore Park in the Roanoke Valley, to transfer the property to Roanoke County.
Status: Signed into law.
Fireworks
SB 1248 by Sen. Travis Hackworth, R-Tazewell County
This bill exempts small localities from certain state fees related to fireworks permits
Status: Signed into law.
Roanoke charter
SB 1176 by Sen. David Suetterlein, R-Roanoke County
This amends the Roanoke charter to allow the city council to appoint the director of real estate evaluation rather than the city manager.
Status: Signed into law.
Public safety
Driver’s licenses
HB 2116 by Del. Karen Keys-Gamarra, D-Fairfax County
Virginia drivers are currently allowed to list on their driver’s licenses whether they are hearing impaired, have a traumatic brain injury, are an insulin-dependent diabetic, are autistic or have an intellectual disability. This would allow drivers to add one more option: a “non-apparent disability” that might make it difficult to communicate with a law enforcement officer if they’re stopped. The bill describes these as “a physical, sensory, mental, or emotional impairment that substantially limits one or more activities of daily living and that may not be visible or otherwise apparent.”
Status: Signed into law.
Handcuffs on juveniles in court
SB 1255 by Sen. Lamont Bagby, D-Richmond
HB 2222 by Del. Rae Cousins, D-Richmond
This would prohibit minors appearing as defendants during a delinquency hearing from being handcuffed or restrained in any other way unless there’s a finding that such measures are necessary to protect people from harm.
Status: Signed into law.
Probation reform
HB 2252 by Del. Wren Williams, R-Patrick County
SB 936 by Sen. Christie New Craig, R-Chesapeake
This bill revises how courts can reduce a defendant’s supervised probationary period if they meet certain criteria, among them, completing an education program, getting a job, obtaining housing, qualifying for health insurance and being in compliance with mental health or substance abuse treatment programs.
Status: Returned with amendment.
Sexual extortion, or sextortion
HB 1998 by Del. Wendell Walker, R-Lynchburg
This bill would make it a Class 5 felony for any person to threaten eviction unless the tenant engages in sexual activity.
Status: Signed into law.
Swatiskas
HB 2783 by Del. Marcus Simon, D-Fairfax County
This will would make it a felony to use a Nazi swastika to intimidate people.
Status: Returned with amendment dealing with some technical language.
Social media
Restricting minors’ access to social media
SB 854 by Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico County
This would require social media apps to set up a system to limit the access of children under 16 to one hour per day per app, unless their parents approve.
Status: Returned with amendment.
Surveillance
Automated license plate readers
HB 2724 by House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria
This will approve automatic license plate readers and regulate how they’re used.
Status: Returned with amendment.
Report of surveillance technology
HB 2725 by Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke
This requires law enforcement agencies to report annually what surveillance technologies they’re using.
Status: Signed into law.
Taxes
Local sales tax
SB 1307 by Sen. Jeremy McPike, D-Prince William County
This bill would grant all localities the power to hold a referendum on whether to raise the local sales tax for schools. Presently, nine localities have that power.
Status: Vetoed.
Transportation
EV charging stations
HB 1791 by Del. Rip Sullivan Jr., D-Fairfax County
This is Sullivan’s third attempt at creating an Electric Vehicle Rural Infrastructure Program Fund, which would incentivize investment in farther-flung areas of the commonwealth. Both the House and Senate passed it last year, but there was no money in the budget to fund it. This year, the House and Senate budget conference agreed to include $1.5 million from the general fund for it.
Status: Vetoed.
Utility-owned charging stations
HB 2087 by Del. Irene Shin, D-Fairfax County
Shin’s bill would permit Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power Co. to build and operate their own public fast-charging stations. The State Corporation Commission would determine their distance from privately owned stations.
Status: Returned with amendment.
Workplace
Minimum wage
HB 1928 by Del. Jeion Ward, D-Hampton
Increases the minimum wage incrementally through 2027. The bill codifies the adjusted state hourly minimum wage of $12.41 per hour that was effective Jan. 1, 2025, and increases the minimum wage to $13.50 per hour effective Jan. 1, 2026, and to $15 per hour effective Jan. 1, 2027.
Status: Vetoed.
Public employee unions
SB 917 by Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax County
HB 2764 by Del. Kathy Tran, D-Fairfax County
These bills would give public service workers — including teachers, firefighters, home care workers and employees of public universities — the right to unionize.
Status: Vetoed.
