As the legislative session continues, I am pleased to share an overview of the bills on which I am serving as Chief Patron or Chief Co-Patron. This legislation reflects the priorities I hear from our community and my continued focus on delivering meaningful results.
Voting Rights
HB 71
Passed out of subcommittee 6-2 and is headed to full committee. Allows localities the option to respond to community needs in setting early-vote hours for satellite locations.
Economy and Affordability
HB 557
Creates a tax incentive for electric lawn equipment as a clean alternative to gas-powered equipment.
HB 1021
Gives localities the authority they need to include affordable units in assisted living facilities.
HB 1022
Protect Virginians from recurring payments for services they no longer want.
HB 594
Allows localities to adopt expedited, administrative zoning approvals for qualifying all-affordable housing developments that increase density and prioritizes such localities for state housing grants and loans.
Education
HB 125
Ensures year-round protection of teachers' due process rights.
HB 203
Establishes the Middle Eastern and North African Advisory Board for the purpose of advising the Governor on ways to further develop economic, professional, cultural, educational, and governmental links between the Commonwealth and the MENA community in Virginia.
HB 814
Established a board to advise and report to the General Assembly and the Governor on the current ways that history is taught in the classroom and for the relevant Standards of Learning (“SOLs” as relating to African American, Asian American Pacific Islander, Latino, and Indigenous people, before the next SOL reviews are completed).
HB 1278
This bill ensures schools develop and share their translation and language assistance plans so parents can be meaningfully included in the education of their children.
HB 1367
Requires schools to report on spending for English language learners to ensure proper funding is allocated to cover the actual cost of education for English language learner students.
HB 1323
Directs the Department of Education to update the state’s school accountability and performance framework, giving families clear explanations and tools to understand how student growth and performance are measured.
HJ 77
Recognizes the cultural significance of Nowruz by designating the spring equinox each year, beginning in 2026, as Nowruz in Virginia, honoring themes of renewal, community, and the contributions of Iranian, Kurdish, Afghan, and other communities across the Commonwealth.
HB 31
Establishes a statewide program beginning in the 2026–27 school year to provide a $10,000 annual salary supplement to professionally licensed teachers working in Virginia’s highest-vacancy public schools to improve recruitment and retention.
HB 201
Requires school boards to notify parents annually about the safe storage of prescription drugs and firearms in the home and reinforces parental notification and consent policies for student surveys and related school activities.
HB 288
Requires the Virginia Department of Education to prominently post on its website instructional resources on the Indigenous peoples of the Commonwealth developed by the Virginia Tribal Education Consortium.
Community Safety
HB 123
Passed out of committee unanimously and is headed to the House floor. Changes mandatory license denials for school truancy with judicial discretion, aligning consequences with rehabilitation rather than automatic punishment.
HB 124
Ensures retired district court judges recalled to duty have the same protections as active judges.
HB 556
Amends the requirement to provide a Social Security number when filing for divorce if one is not available.
HB 1020
Passed Subcommittee unanimously and is now headed to full committee. Ensures survivors of child sexual abuse can pursue civil causes of action when new evidence emerges, strengthening accountability and public safety.
HB 46
Increase the maximum number of circuit court judges in Loudoun, subject to Judicial Council review, to better meet caseload and judicial staffing needs.
Health
HB 794
Passed out of Subcommittee unanimously and is now headed to appropriations. Designate the Virginia Department of Health to lead the coordination of a statewide plan in response to the opioid and fentanyl crisis.
HB 795
Requires health insurers to cover overdose reversal medication, expanding access to life-saving overdose treatment.
HB 1019
Ensures outpatient patient-level reporting so doctors can coordinate care more effectively.
Veterans
HB 1018
This bill creates a Veterans Work Group to develop a holistic, strategic plan to better serve veterans and address their needs across the Commonwealth.
HB 137
Expands and phases in Virginia income tax subtractions for military benefits, ultimately exempting all qualifying military retirement and survivor benefits from state income tax.
HB 175
Expands Virginia’s real property tax exemption for surviving spouses of service members who died in the line of duty, allowing localities to provide a full exemption regardless of home value beginning in 2026.
