Virginia Commerce and Labor (S02) Committee Docket — 2026-03-02

Summary

This is the Virginia Commerce and Labor (S02) Committee docket dated 2026-03-02, for the 2026 Regular session (20261), listing R. Creigh Deeds (D) as Chair. The agenda is headed Senate Bill in Committee and lists bills with their patrons, including HB238 on minimum wage and overtime wages, HB242 on budget plan payment increases by public utilities, HB481 on prior authorization, and HB1444 on the Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank. Each entry carries a summary of the bill.

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TITLE: Virginia Commerce and Labor (S02) Committee Docket — 2026-03-02
DATE: 2026-03-02T16:30:00
SESSION: 2026 Regular (20261)
CHAMBER: Senate

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
  - R. Creigh Deeds (D) Chair

STAFF: Lehman, Hobie                 , Bricourt, Kat, Thomas Stevens, Kinzer, Sarah                 , Ali, Marvi

DOCKET / AGENDA:

[Senate Bill in Committee]
  1. HB238 - Minimum wage and overtime wages; payment, of wages, misclassification of workers, civil actions.
       Patron(s): Lopez
       Summary: Labor and employment; payment of wages; minimum wage and overtime wages; misclassification of workers; prevailing wage rate; civil actions. Provides that an employer that violates provisions relating to minimum wage, overtime wages provisions, the misclassification of workers, or the prevailing wage rate is subject to civil actions for the applicable remedies, damages, or other relief available in an action brought pursuant to the civil action provisions currently available for the nonpayment of wages. Such provisions currently available provide that an employee may bring an action in a court
  2. HB242 - Public utilities; budget plan payment increases.
       Patron(s): Cole, J.G.
       Summary: Public utilities; budget plan payment increases. Prohibits a public utility from, for any residential customer who is enrolled in a budget plan, increasing the amount of such customer's monthly payment more than once within any 12-month period or without notifying the customer in writing at least 60 days before such increase takes effect. The bill defines "budget plan" as a fixed billing option offered by a public utility to a customer whereby the total service for the succeeding 12-month period is estimated in advance and bills are rendered monthly on the basis of one-twelfth of the 12-month
  3. HB260 - Public service companies; prevailing wage rate for underground infrastructure work.
       Patron(s): Simonds
       Summary: Prevailing wage rate for underground infrastructure work by public service companies. Directs the Department of Labor and Industry to determine and make available the prevailing wage rate for underground infrastructure work, as defined in the bill. Under the bill, each public service company shall ensure that its bid specifications or other contracts applicable to underground infrastructure work require payment at the prevailing wage rate. The bill requires contractors and subcontractors to post the prevailing wage rate in a prominent and accessible place at the work site. The bill also requir
  4. HB323 - Data centers; Department of Energy shall lead efforts to accelerate use of waste heat, report.
       Patron(s): Sullivan
       Summary: Department of Energy; use of waste heat from data centers; findings and recommendations; work group; report. Directs the Department of Energy to lead efforts to accelerate the use of waste heat from data centers in the Commonwealth by making certain findings and recommendations and convening a work group to provide expertise, assistance, and feedback on the Department's efforts. The bill requires the Department to submit a report of its efforts, findings, legislative proposals, and recommendations no later than September 1, 2026.
  5. HB328 - Health insurance; essential health benefits benchmark plan selection.
       Patron(s): Sullivan
       Summary: Health insurance; essential health benefits benchmark plan. Requires the Bureau of Insurance to select a new essential health benefits benchmark plan for the 2028 plan year, or the soonest plan year thereafter as permitted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, that includes, in addition to the essential health benefits package included in the existing benchmark plan, coverage for (i) doula care services; (ii) the treatment of iatrogenic infertility; (iii) fertility treatment and diagnosis, including a maximum of three cycles per lifetime of assisted reproductive technology; (iv) h
  6. HB358 - Medicare supplement policies; regulations establishing minimum standards, report.
       Patron(s): Helmer
       Summary: Medicare supplement policies; regulations establishing minimum standards; work group; report. Amends provisions related to the State Corporation Commission's issuance of regulations to establish minimum standards regarding Medicare supplement policies to include minimum standards for the disclosure of methodology used in coverage decisions. The bill directs the Bureau of Insurance to convene a work group to review and make recommendations related to minimum standards regarding Medicare supplement policies, implementation of risk adjustment mechanisms, ways to eliminate waste and abuse from ove
  7. HB395 - Electric utilities; small portable solar generation devices, local regulation.
       Patron(s): Krizek
       Summary: Electric utilities; small portable solar generation devices; local regulation; installation by tenants; consumer protection. Prevents a locality from prohibiting the use of a small portable solar generation device, as defined in the bill, on a residential structure, provided that certain requirements are met. The bill includes provisions related to the installation of small portable solar generation devices by tenants and prevents landlords from prohibiting such installation in certain circumstances. Under the bill, small portable solar generation devices are excluded from the provisions of ne
  8. HB429 - Electric utilities; definitions, integrated resource plans, report.
       Patron(s): LeVere Bolling
       Summary: Electric utilities; integrated resource plans. Makes various changes related to the content and process for an integrated resource plan (IRP) developed by an electric utility that provides a forecast of its load obligations and a plan to meet those obligations. The bill (i) extends the planning timeframe from 15 to 20 years; (ii) requires Appalachian Power to file an IRP by removing an exception from the definition of "electric utility"; (iii) changes the frequency with which a utility is required to file an IRP from biennially to triennially; (iv) requires utilities to consider the use of gri
  9. HB479 - Securities Act; investment advisor advertising.
       Patron(s): Helmer
       Summary: Securities Act; investment advisor advertising. Permits an investment advisor to solicit, disseminate, or otherwise use advertisements, including client testimonials and endorsements, provided such advertisements comply with the requirements for an advertisement solicited, disseminated, or used by a federally registered investment advisor under federal law.
  10. HB481 - Prior authorization; requiring physician review for denial.
       Patron(s): Hope
       Summary: Prior authorization; requiring physician review for denial. Prohibits a health insurance carrier from making an adverse determination of a prior authorization request (i) for prescription drugs unless such denial has been reviewed and approved by a licensed physician or, if a licensed physician is not available, by a licensed pharmacist or (ii) for health care services unless such adverse determination has been reviewed and approved by (a) a licensed physician; (b) in the case of mental health services, a licensed mental health provider if a licensed physician is unavailable; or (c) in the cas
  11. HB490 - Health insurance; coverage for early refills of prescription eye drops.
       Patron(s): Hope
       Summary: Health insurance; coverage for early refills of prescription eye drops. Prohibits a health carrier from denying coverage to a covered person of an early refill of prescription eye drops if (i) the prescription eye drops are a covered benefit, (ii) the amount of time that has elapsed from the previous dispensing of such prescription would result in at least 85 percent of such prescription eye drops being used if taken consistently with the prescriber's directions, and (iii) the prescriber has indicated that additional quantities are medically necessary and the refill requested does not exceed s
  12. HB569 - Public works contracts; prevailing wage rate, definitions, civil penalty.
       Patron(s): Feggans
       Summary: Prevailing wage rate for public works contracts; localities. Requires each state agency or locality, when procuring services or letting contracts for public works paid for in whole or in part by state or local funds, or when overseeing or administering such contracts for public works, to ensure that its bid specifications or other public contracts applicable to the public works require bidders, offerors, contractors, and subcontractors to pay wages, salaries, benefits, and other remuneration to any mechanic, laborer, or worker employed, retained, or otherwise hired to perform services in conne
  13. HB590 - Smart Solar Permitting Platform; established, residential solar energy systems.
       Patron(s): Hernandez
       Summary: Smart Solar Permitting Platform established; residential solar energy systems; work group; report. Creates the Smart Solar Permitting Platform (the Platform) to serve as a tool for (i) contractors to obtain permits for the construction of streamline-eligible residential solar energy systems and (ii) localities to process applications for such permits. The bill requires the Department of Energy to establish, launch, and administer the Platform by July 1, 2027, as an internet-based platform that automates plan review and instantly releases a permit or a permit revision to construct certain resid
  14. HB636 - Prospective employer; prohibited from seeking wage or salary history of prospective employees.
       Patron(s): Maldonado
       Summary: Prohibiting employer seeking wage or salary history of prospective employees; wage or salary range transparency; cause of action. Prohibits a prospective employer from (i) seeking the wage or salary history of a prospective employee; (ii) relying on the wage or salary history of a prospective employee in considering the prospective employee for employment; (iii) relying on the wage or salary history of a prospective employee in determining the wages or salary the prospective employee is to be paid upon hire; (iv) refusing to interview, hire, employ, or promote or otherwise retaliating against
  15. HB672 - Appliance minimum energy and water conservation standards; requirement of manufacturers.
       Patron(s): Maldonado
       Summary: Minimum energy and water conservation standards; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning facilities and home appliances; Department of Energy; prohibited practices; penalty. Provides that if any product or product categories under the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (the EPCA) are removed by the U.S. Secretary of Energy or the federal government, the Department of Energy shall adopt energy or water conservation standards that shall be equivalent to the last applicable federal standards with a product compliance date of on or before December 31, 2025. The bill prohibits an
  16. HB736 - Health insurance; required provisions regarding prior authorization for prescription drugs.
       Patron(s): Maldonado
       Summary: Health insurance; carrier contracts; required provisions regarding prior authorization for prescription drugs. Amends existing required provisions for health carrier contracts related to prior authorizations for prescription drugs. Current law requires that if prior authorization is approved for prescription drugs and such prescription drugs have been scheduled, provided, or delivered to the patient consistent with the authorization, health carriers may not revoke, limit, condition, modify, or restrict that authorization except in certain circumstances. The bill requires this limitation on car
  17. HB826 - Health Insurance Reform Commission; powers and duties.
       Patron(s): Sullivan
       Summary: Health Insurance Reform Commission; powers and duties. Provides that it is a power and duty of the Health Insurance Reform Commission, upon request of the Chairman of the House Committee on Labor and Commerce or Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor, to assess proposed legislation affecting the cost of health insurance through changes to plan design or cost sharing impacting consumers, employers, unions, and employee welfare benefit plans.
  18. HB830 - Pharmacy benefits managers; requirements, application of law, report, delayed effective date.
       Patron(s): Callsen
       Summary: Pharmacy benefits managers; requirements; scope; report. Requires all health insurance carriers to use the pass-through pricing model and may limit a pharmacy benefits manager from deriving income from pharmacy benefits management services provided to a carrier except for income derived from a pharmacy benefits management fee. The bill prohibits a pharmacy benefits manager from (i) reversing and or resubmitting the claim of a pharmacist or pharmacy without meeting certain requirements, (ii) reducing any payment to a pharmacist or pharmacy to an effective rate of reimbursement, or (iii) retroac
  19. HB892 - Electric utilities; integrated resource plans; SCC to investigate electric load forecasts.
       Patron(s): Shin
       Summary: Electric utilities; integrated resource plans; State Corporation Commission to investigate electric load forecasting practices. Requires Dominion Energy to provide information related to forecasting its compliance with renewable energy portfolio standards in its integrated resource plan submitted to the State Corporation Commission, excluding information related to accelerated renewable energy buyers or customers purchasing electricity from a licensed supplier. The bill also directs the Commission to initiate a proceeding no later than March 1, 2027, to investigate electric load forecasting pr
  20. HB893 - Electric utility integrated resource planning; energy storage resources.
       Patron(s): Sullivan
       Summary: Electric utility integrated resource planning; energy storage resources. Requires Dominion Energy, as part of its integrated resource plan, to assess the use of energy storage resources through appropriate modeling that accounts for economic charge and discharge times and represents various economic scenarios. The bill also requires systematic evaluation of and permits proposing investments in energy storage resources in the integrated resource plan.
  21. HB895 - Electric utilities; energy storage requirements, Department of Energy to develop model ordinance.
       Patron(s): Sullivan
       Summary: Electric utilities; energy storage resources; Department of Energy to develop model ordinances; State Corporation Commission to conduct technology demonstration program . Increases the targets for energy storage capacity that Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy Virginia are required to petition the State Corporation Commission (the Commission) for approval to construct, acquire, or procure and extends the time frame by which such capacity must be met. Under the bill, (i) Appalachian Power shall petition the Commission for approval to construct, acquire, or procure at least 780 megawatts of s
  22. HB930 - Protection of employees; retaliatory action against employee prohibited.
       Patron(s): Simon
       Summary: Protection of employees; retaliatory action against employee prohibited. Prohibits an employer from taking certain retaliatory actions against an employee because the employee or a person acting on the employee's behalf reports any information or allegation in good faith that, if true, amounts to a violation of any federal or state law or regulation to a supervisor, manager, officer, or other employee, or to any governmental body or law-enforcement official, including a report made in the ordinary course of the employee's employment, regardless of whether such report refers to a particular law
  23. HB1002 - Utilities, certain; notice procedures for nonpayment.
       Patron(s): Tran
       Summary: Electric, natural gas, and water or wastewater utilities; disconnection procedures for nonpayment. Requires certain utilities, for the purposes of required notices related to disconnections for nonpayment, to provide such notices in an additional language for customers residing in a locality that is required to provide voting or election materials in such additional language. The bill prohibits certain utilities from disconnecting a residential customer without making reasonable efforts to offer bill payment assistance, arrange a payment plan, or provide information to the customer for other b
  24. HB1022 - Consumer protection; automatic renewal or continuous service offers, disclosure and cancellation.
       Patron(s): Reaser
       Summary: Consumer protection; automatic renewal or continuous service offers; disclosure and cancellation. Amends certain definitions related to automatic renewal or continuous service offers, including the definition of "clear and conspicuous" as it relates to seller disclosures and requirements to provide a simple cancellation mechanism. The bill replaces the term "supplier" in current provisions with "seller" and provides a definition for such term. The bill requires sellers to provide a cancellation mechanism that is at least as easy to use as the mechanism used to initiate the automatic renewal or
  25. HB1073 - Advanced leak detection technologies; SCC shall establish standards for use by certain facilities.
       Patron(s): Rasoul
       Summary: State Corporation Commission; pipeline leak detection and repair standards. Directs the State Corporation Commission to promulgate regulations establishing standards for the use of pipeline leak detection technologies for intrastate natural gas distribution facilities operated by certain utilities, as informed by a federal rulemaking on gas pipeline safety. The provisions of the bill and any such regulations shall expire upon the effective date of any final rule under the federal rulemaking on gas pipeline safety.
  26. HB1075 - State Corporation Commission; Phase I Utility biennial rate review, reports.
       Patron(s): Rasoul
       Summary: State Corporation Commission; Phase I Utility; 2026 biennial rate review; report. Directs the State Corporation Commission to consider certain requirements in the 2026 review of the rates, terms, and conditions for the provision of generation and distribution services by Appalachian Power. The bill directs the Commission to review the decision by Appalachian Power to satisfy its capacity obligations with the regional transmission entity through a fixed resource requirement alternative. The bill also directs the Commission to conduct a review of Appalachian Power's efforts to improve system eff
  27. HB1092 - Protection of employees; standards for heat illness prevention, report.
       Patron(s): Hernandez
       Summary: Protection of employees; standards for heat illness prevention; Safety and Health Codes Board. Requires the Safety and Health Codes Board (the Board) to adopt regulations designed to protect workers from heat illness, as defined in the bill, during indoor and outdoor work. The bill provides that such regulations shall be enforced by the Board's existing authority. The bill directs the Board, in consultation with the Department of Labor and Industry, to develop and adopt regulations that require employers to implement heat illness prevention plans and to convene an advisory panel to assist in d
  28. HB1151 - Electric utilities; duty to furnish adequate service, high-demand customers.
       Patron(s): Willett
       Summary: Electric utilities; delay in provision of service permitted. Provides that a distributor of electric energy may delay the provision of service if such delay is necessary to maintain electric grid reliability, to avoid exceeding available generation or transmission capacity constraints, or to ensure compliance with load interconnection policies or rules issued by the State Corporation Commission or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027. This bill is identical to SB 423.
  29. HB1173 - Virginia Human Rights Act; reasonable accommodation for known limitations related to menopause.
       Patron(s): Tran
       Summary: Virginia Human Rights Act; menopause or perimenopause; discrimination prohibited; report. Prohibits discrimination under the Virginia Human Rights Act on the basis of menopause or perimenopause for purposes of nondiscrimination in government programs, public accommodation, employment hiring, and reasonable employer accommodation. The bill also directs the Commissioner of Labor and Industry, in consultation with the Commissioner of Health, to conduct a study on menopause and perimenopause in the workforce, menopause and perimenopause accommodations in employment environments, and the scope of e
  30. HB1207 - Paid family & med. leave insurance program; definitions, notice requirements, civil action, report.
       Patron(s): Sewell
       Summary: Paid family and medical leave insurance program; notice requirements; civil action. Requires the Virginia Employment Commission to establish and administer a paid family and medical leave insurance program with benefits beginning April 1, 2028. Under the program, benefits are paid to covered individuals, as defined in the bill, for family and medical leave. Funding for the program is provided through premiums assessed to employers and employees beginning April 1, 2028. The bill provides that the amount of a benefit is 80 percent of the employee's average weekly net earnings, not to exceed 100
  31. HB1218 - Summer camps; employment of children.
       Patron(s): Delaney
       Summary: Employment of children; summer camps. Permits children 14 years of age or older to be employed by a summer camp operated by a religious, service, or scouting organization and provides that such children may participate in all activities related to providing services to campers, provided that the summer camp is accredited and follows safety guidelines published by a recognized youth services organization.
  32. HB1256 - Electric utilities, certain; purchased power cost risk mitigation practices.
       Patron(s): Shin
       Summary: State Corporation Commission; electric utilities; fuel and purchased power cost risk mitigation practices. Directs the State Corporation Commission, in certain cost recovery proceedings and other annual filings as determined by the Commission, to examine the efficacy and sufficiency of fuel and purchased power cost risk mitigation practices by Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power. Under the bill, the Commission is required to include legislative recommendations related to effectively regulating fuel and purchased power cost risk in an existing report. This bill is identical to SB 505.
  33. HB1263 - Public employees; repeals existing prohibition on collective bargaining, etc.
       Patron(s): Tran
       Summary: Collective bargaining by public employees; individual home care providers; Virginia Home Care Council established; Public Employee Relations Board established; exclusive bargaining representatives. Repeals the existing prohibition on collective bargaining by public employees. The bill creates the Public Employee Relations Board, which shall determine appropriate bargaining units and provide for certification and decertification elections for exclusive bargaining representatives of state employees and local government employees. The bill requires public employers and employee organizations that
  34. HB1307 - Mortgage lenders and brokers; criminal history records check.
       Patron(s): Helmer
       Summary: Mortgage lenders and brokers; criminal history records check. Replaces the option for an applicant submitting the required criminal history records check for licensure as a mortgage lender or mortgage broker, or an applicant to acquire control of a licensee, to submit fingerprints and other information to the Commissioner of Financial Institutions to forward such information to the Central Criminal Records Exchange with the option to submit such information to an FBI-approved channeler to forward such information to the FBI for the purposes of obtaining national criminal history record informa
  35. HB1309 - Consumer finance companies; additional charges.
       Patron(s): Ballard
       Summary: Consumer finance companies; additional charges. Provides that, for the purposes of the prohibition on additional charges by consumer finance companies, exceptions to such prohibition include (i) charges for guaranteed asset protection waivers for the protection and benefit of the borrower in connection with any loan and (ii) charges for guaranteed asset protection insurance for the protection and benefit of the borrower in connection with any loan.
  36. HB1313 - Workers' compensation; law-enforcement officers and firefighters, post-traumatic stress disorder.
       Patron(s): Callsen
       Summary: Workers' compensation. Provides that, for the purposes of workers' compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder incurred by a law-enforcement officer or firefighter, an incident or exposure without any accompanying physical injury occurring in the line of duty on or after January 1, 2027, is a qualifying event, as defined in the bill. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.
  37. HB1320 - Unemployment benefits; increase weekly benefit amount.
       Patron(s): Martinez
       Summary: Unemployment benefits; increase weekly benefit amount. Provides that, for unemployment compensation claims effective on or after July 1, 2026, an eligible individual's weekly benefit amount shall be $48 higher than the current weekly benefit amount, as denoted in the table in the printed bill. This bill is identical to SB 759.
  38. HB1360 - Investor-owned electric utilities; requirements in fuel factor proceedings conducted with SCC.
       Patron(s): Shin
       Summary: Investor-owned electric utilities; fuel factor proceedings; requirements. Requires that in any fuel factor proceeding conducted with the State Corporation Commission under current law, each investor-owned electric utility shall provide specific information regarding coal-fueled or oil-fueled electric generating units and requires the Commission to make determinations about reasonableness and prudence for the purposes of cost recovery based on such specific information.
  39. HB1393 - Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals.
       Patron(s): LeVere Bolling
       Summary: Electric utilities; pilot programs for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. Amends annual funding commitments for the purposes of the annual pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for low-income, elderly, and disabled individuals conducted by Dominion Energy Virginia and Appalachian Power Company. Under the bill, Appalachian Power Company is required to continue its pilot program at no less than $1 million and no greater than $1.5 million annually. Dominion Energy Virginia is required to continue its pilot program at no less than $156 million and no gre
  40. HB1439 - Contractors; regulation, solar installation companies, sale, lease, etc., of solar energy systems.
       Patron(s): Shin
       Summary: Regulation of contractors; solar installation companies; sale, lease, or power purchase of solar energy systems; civil penalty. Authorizes the Board for Contractors (the Board) to require specific contract provisions and disclosures relating to the sale, lease, or power purchase agreement for a residential solar energy system, as defined in the bill. The bill requires a sale, lease, or power purchase agreement for a residential solar energy system to have a written contract that includes specific provisions related to the solar installation company, system design and performance or production
  41. HB1444 - Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank; created, report, membership.
       Patron(s): Lopez
       Summary: Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank; established; report. Creates the Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank to finance clean energy projects, greenhouse gas emissions reduction projects, and other qualified projects through the strategic deployment of public funds in the form of grants, loans, credit enhancements, and other financing mechanisms. An advisory board consisting of nonlegislative citizen members and ex officio members shall oversee the Bank and provide recommendations related to the Bank and its effectiveness. The bill contains provisions for (i) the powers and duties of the Bank

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