From voter registration laws and sexual assault prevention to support for incarcerated veterans and dental care for pregnant women, the state delegation representing the Fredericksburg area kept busy during the recent General Assembly session. Here’s a rundown of the legislation sponsored by area lawmakers that passed both the House of Delegates and the Senate during the “short” session, which was held between Jan. 8 and Feb. 22 in Richmond.
State Senate
State Sen. Tara Durant, a Republican whose 27th District comprises Fredericksburg and parts of Stafford and Spotsylvania counties, had six of her 20 pieces of legislation approved by both the House of Delegates and Senate.
Those bills include:
- SB1438, which requires health regulatory boards under the Department of Health Professions to establish licensure by endorsement for qualified applicants.
- SB1439, which mandates patient privacy and data security protections in contracts for the acute psychiatric bed registry. It establishes the Bed Registry Advisory Council to oversee administration and data access and exempts registry information from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
- SB1251, which directs the Commissioner of Veterans Services to help identify incarcerated veterans using the VA’s Re-Entry Search Services system. It aims to support their re-entry, reduce recidivism and homelessness, and connect them with behavioral health resources and dockets.
“It is an incredible honor to represent our community and work on your behalf in the Virginia Senate,” Durant said in a newsletter to constituents last month.
Sen. Jeremy McPike, a Woodbridge Democrat whose 29th District includes parts of Stafford County, had 14 of his 22 pieces of legislation approved by both chambers.
Those bills include:
- SB1306, which ends Virginia’s current free tax filing program and requires the state to create a new free online tax filing system by 2028 that works with the IRS’ program. It ensures that individuals, especially those with limited financial resources, can file taxes without additional costs.
- SB1307, which allows localities to dedicate a 1 percent sales tax to the funding of school construction and renovation if voters approve it in a local referendum. It has the potential to help improve and expand schools that are in need of repair and/or updates.
- SB1313, which authorizes any locality in Virginia to provide for an affordable housing program by amending the locality’s zoning ordinance. It allows localities to create more affordable housing.
- SB1314, which updates health insurance rules to require better coverage for prostate cancer screenings, including tests and guidelines for men ages 50 and older, and high-risk men ages 40 and older, based on the American Cancer Society’s recommendations. It ensures the improvement of access to preventive health care, prioritizing early detection and treatment of the cancer.
- SB1319, which requires industries that release wastewater into public treatment plants to regularly test for harmful chemicals called PFAS, report the results and keep testing if any PFAS are found to help protect the environment and public health. It ensures the safety of drinking water and the well-being of communities, and ensures that industries are held accountable for their environmental impact.
Sen. Richard Stuart, a Westmoreland County Republican whose 25th District includes Caroline and King George counties, had eight of his 21 pieces of legislation passed by both the House and Senate. Although most of Stuart’s bills aimed at regulating the data center industry failed — including one that Caroline officials protested that would limit inter-basin transfers — there were other bills that either passed or are awaiting action from the governor.
Those bills include:
- SB845, which removes the sunset on elevated standard deduction amounts for single individuals and married persons that is scheduled to expire for taxable years beginning on and after Jan. 1, 2026.
- SB969, which amends the definition of “surface mineral mine” in the Mineral Mine Safety Act to exclude excavation or grading when conducted solely in aid of onsite farming or construction and under certain conditions enumerated in the bill. The bill amends the definition of “mining” in existing law, relating to the exemption from permits for a mining operation, to extend the required completion time from six months to one year for excavation or grading conducted to construct or expand a farm pond for agricultural irrigation or provision of water for livestock. The bill also amends the qualification requirements for mineral mine inspectors, removes references to the defunct Board of Mineral Mining Examiners, and prohibits the issuance of any permit for a mineral mining or processing operation that includes the use of cyanide or a cyanide compound.
- SB1000, increasing 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.
- SB1243, which prohibits the costs associated with the construction or extension of any electric distribution infrastructure that primarily serves the load of a data center from being recovered from any other customer.
- SB1392, increasing the time during which a person, as a condition of a restricted license, is prohibited from operating a motor vehicle that is not equipped with an ignition interlock system from not less than six consecutive months to not less than 12 consecutive months without alcohol-related violations of the interlock requirements. This bill was recommended by the Commission on the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program.
House of Delegates
Del. Joshua Cole, a Democrat whose 65th District is made up of Fredericksburg and parts of Stafford and Spotsylvania, had nine of his 16 pieces of legislation passed by both the House and Senate.
Those bills include:
- HB1611, which prohibits state agencies from requiring a bachelor’s degree for employment unless the position demands a degree-specific skillset. It expands access to state employment based on direct experience.
- HB1735, which reduces the voter registration closure period before elections from 21 days to 10 days. It expands voter access and streamlines the registration process.
- HB2165, which bans the personal use of campaign funds, closing a loophole that allowed misuse of donations. It establishes enforcement and penalties for violations.
- HB2520, which establishes the Sexual Offense Prevention and Response Program within the Department of Military Affairs. It implements new victim advocacy services and reporting structures for the Virginia National Guard.
- HB2590, which creates the Student Training Employment Pipeline for U.S. Procurement (STEP UP) Program. It provides career training and federal security clearance assistance for high school and community college students entering government contracting jobs.
Cole also secured $15 million in the state budget that would provide grants of up to $10,000 for first-time homebuyers. The lawmaker introduced a bill to do the same thing, but it failed. So the budget amendment essentially replaced it. The amendment will still need to be approved by the governor, however.
“While some legislative proposals, particularly in affordable housing and education reform, faced obstacles, budget victories ensured that funding was still secured to support major initiatives,” Eric Sundberg, Cole’s chief of staff, said in an email.
Del. Hilary Pugh Kent, a Republican from Warsaw who whose 67th District includes King George and part of Caroline, had four out of 12 pieces of legislation passed by both the House and Senate.
Those bills were:
- HB1593, which specifies that for the purposes of allowing a parent to access the academic or health records of such parent’s minor child such access includes any such records that are stored or accessible from a secure website.
- HB1910, prohibiting any public elementary or secondary school from offering or making available to any student any food served as a part of a school meal or any competitive food, as defined in applicable law, that contains any of the seven color additives listed in the bill. The bill directs the state board of education to amend its nutritional guidelines for competitive foods. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.
- HB2103, requiring the board of education to amend its regulations governing allowable credit for teaching experience for the purpose of salary placement credit to provide that teachers in the field of career and technical education, where the licensure requirement calls for occupational work experience beyond the apprenticeship level, may be allowed credit for one year of teaching experience for each one or two years of work experience.
- HB1792, which raises the assessment threshold at which a local treasurer or other officer responsible for collecting taxes has general authority to sell real property with more than three years of delinquent taxes from $10,000 or less to $15,000 or less. The bill also raises the assessment range at which such local treasurer or officer may sell parcels of real property with more than three years of delinquent taxes and that meet certain criteria from more than $10,000 but no more than $25,000 to more than $15,000 but no more than $30,000.
- HB2105, requiring the jail superintendent of a regional correctional facility to promptly report to the primary local law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction where such facility is located any act of violence that occurs within the facility. The bill also requires the jail superintendent to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the primary local law-enforcement agency setting forth certain procedures.
Del. Paul Milde, a Republican whose 64th District is made up of part of Stafford, had only one of his 15 pieces of legislation passed by both chambers.
That bill was:
- HB2659, which clarifies the use of buyer’s orders for leased vehicles and provides that such forms may be separate from the buyer’s order forms used for the sale of a motor vehicle.
Milde, however, emphasized two bills that he co-patroned that did pass the House and Senate:
- HB1729, which extends the sunset date for the sales and use tax exemption for parts, engines and supplies used for maintaining, repairing or reconditioning aircraft or any aircraft’s avionics system, engine, or component parts to July 1, 2028.
- HB2660, which shortens the timeframes for various local government approvals of subdivision plats and site plans.
Del. Candi Mundon King, a Democrat whose 23rd District is composed of parts of Stafford and Prince William counties, had 12 of her 15 pieces of legislation passed by both chambers.
Those bills include:
- HB2371, which requires health insurance carriers to provide coverage for contraceptive drugs and contraceptive devices, including those available over the counter.
- HB2446, which directs the Department of Health to establish a public awareness campaign and create an online resource hub focused on perinatal and postpartum depression.
- HB2539, which directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to amend the state plan for medical assistance services to include a provision for payment for comprehensive dental care services for pregnant women.
Del. Bobby Orrock, a Republican whose 66th District comprises parts of Spotsylvania and Caroline counties, had three out of 13 pieces of legislation passed by both the House and Senate.
Those bills were:
- HB1783 establishes an exception to the authority granted to each public middle school and high school to establish career and technical education student organizations, regardless of whether such school offers career and technical education courses, in the case of any such organization that is established as a federally chartered corporation pursuant to an act of Congress.
- HB1788 provides that in any case in which a student experiences an unexpected excused absence of any length of time based on extenuating circumstances, any such period of excused absence shall be excluded from the calculation of chronic absenteeism for the purpose of the readiness indicator in the board of education’s school accountability system known as the School Performance and Support Framework or any successor school accountability system.
- HB1792, raising the assessment threshold at which a local treasurer or other officer responsible for collecting taxes has general authority to sell real property with more than three years of delinquent taxes from $10,000 or less to $15,000 or less. The bill also raises the assessment range at which such local treasurer or officer may sell parcels of real property with more than three years of delinquent taxes and that meet certain criteria from more than $10,000 but no more than $25,000 to more than $15,000 but no more than $30,000.
Del. Phillip Scott, a Republican whose 63rd District comprises parts of Spotsylvania and Orange counties, had four out of 15 pieces of legislation passed by both the House and Senate.
Those bills were:
- HB2406, which specifies that the definition of law enforcement officer that currently applies for the crime of assault and battery of a law enforcement officer shall be used for the purposes of the crimes related to escaping from jail or custody of a law enforcement officer.
- HB2407, which requires owners of waterworks to report any operational anomaly that could affect water quality, public health, or service continuity to the Virginia Department of Health’s Office of Drinking Water within 24 hours of discovery. The bill requires any critical equipment failure, including a pump failure or any other malfunction that poses an immediate risk to public health or disrupts water service to be reported within six hours of discovery.
- HB2460, which requires the board of education to consider, during each regularly scheduled revision to the Standards of Learning and any associated curriculum framework, including the Digital Learning Integration Standards of Learning, incorporating media literacy and digital citizenship standards, as such terms are defined in the bill, at each grade level.
- HB2598, which requires — no later than the start of the 2025–26 school year — the superintendent of public instruction to include in a superintendent’s memo an explanation of each division superintendent’s obligations set forth in relevant law relating to the confidentiality of certain information relating to student’s who receive home instruction.
