Every Session there are a number of bills introduced that may not generate headlines or lead to robust debate, but are simply “interesting”. Below is a quick snapshot of some of the legislation from this Session that meet the criteria of this august category. The deadline for submitting this article is midday Monday. Some of these bills are on the floor and will have additional actions by the time the article is posted online.
HB50 (Reid): Encourages the Virginia High School League to conduct a feasibility study of adding cricket as a sanctioned sport in Planning District 8, i.e. Northern Virginia. Status: Laid on the table with a letter.
HB65 (Helmer): Repeals the Apple Board. Created in the 1950s and composed on industry representatives. The board’s goal is to promote apples in the Commonwealth. Status: Passed the House unanimously.
HB86 (Laufer): Establishes a Mattress Stewardship Program to be administered by the Department of Environmental Quality. This program will allow for the collection and recycling of mattresses. Status: On the House Floor. Reported from committee 19-3.
HB152 (Seibold): Designates Little bluestem as the official state grass of the Commonwealth. Status: Continued to the 2027 Session.
HB219 (Feggans): Places limitations on where Kei vehicles may be operated and prohibits localities from placing additional restrictions. Kei vehicles are small, fuel-efficient vehicles from Japan typically designed for city use. Status: Continued to the 2027 Session
HB314 (Wachsmann): Directs the Board of Housing and Community Development to amend the Uniform Statewide Building Code to exempt any homeowner who lives off the electrical grid from complying with provisions of the Building Code regarding electrical systems. Status: Continued to the 2027 Session.
HB385 (Bennett-Parker): Allows VBC stores to conduct distilled spirit tasting events. Status: Passed the House 91-5.
HB407 (Reid): Designate the Department of Environmental Quality to serve as the lead agency for public education and outreach related to light pollution. It also allows the Department of Conservation and Recreation to designate certain areas in the Commonwealth as Dark Sky Preserves. Status: Laid on the table.
HB518 (Martinez): Prohibits a video streaming service from having commercial audio louder in volume than the general content. Status: Passed the House unanimously
HB602/SB722 (Hernandez/Williams-Graves): Require movie theaters with five or more screens to designate at least one screen for caption viewing upon request. Status: The House bill is on the floor after having passed committee 19-1-1. SB722 passed the Senate 27-13.
HB856 (Krizek): Designates shelter pets as the official state pet. Status: Continued to the 2027 Session.
SB155 (Peake): Designates the brown-belted bumblebee as the official native pollinator. It should be noted that the Honey Bee is currently designated as the Commonwealth’ s official pollinator. Status: Passed the Senate 36-2.
SB300(Jordan): Designates the peanut as Virginia official state snack. Status: Passed the Senate unanimously.
SB541 (Stuart): States that the Commonwealth shall observe Eastern Standard Time year-round upon the enactment by Congress of a law allowing states to observe Eastern Standard Time year-round. Status: On the Senate Floor. Passed Committee 11-4.
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