Virginia Commerce and Labor (S02) Committee Docket — 2026-03-09

Summary

Docket for the Virginia Senate Commerce and Labor Committee (S02) meeting dated March 9, 2026, in the 2026 Regular Session, chaired by R. Creigh Deeds (D). It lists House bills in committee with their patrons and summaries, from HB69 through HB1529. The bills include HB69 on retail franchise agreements, HB483 establishing a Prescription Drug Affordability Board, HB591 on data centers, HB923 prohibiting stay or pay contracts and HB944 on workplace violence policies. Others cover workers' compensation, electric utilities, water utilities and health insurance coverage.

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TITLE: Virginia Commerce and Labor (S02) Committee Docket — 2026-03-09
DATE: 2026-03-09T16:30:00
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. HB69 - Retail franchise agreements; governing law, competition restrictions.
       Patron(s): Helmer
       Summary: Retail franchise agreements; governing law; competition restrictions. Provides that retail franchise agreements shall be governed by the laws of the Commonwealth and prohibits any person from offering or entering into a franchise agreement that includes competition restrictions that extend beyond termination or expiration of the franchise agreement, except as a term of sale in the event that a franchisee sells a franchise to a third party or back to the franchisor. This bill is identical to SB 240.
  2. HB293 - Corporations; limited liability decentralized autonomous orgs. (LLDs), delayed effective date.
       Patron(s): Helmer
       Summary: Corporations; limited liability decentralized autonomous organizations (LLDs). Creates the Limited Liability Decentralized Autonomous Organization (LLD) Act, which establishes requirements for an LLD, defined as a distinct legal entity that operates through decentralized governance using blockchain technology and smart contracts that execute decentralized decision-making mechanisms. The bill permits the formation of an LLD by filing articles of organization with the State Corporation Commission (the Commission), and, if certain requirements are met, the Commission may issue a certificate of or
  3. HB316 - Virginia Stock Corporation Act; changes to Act.
       Patron(s): Hope
       Summary: Virginia Stock Corporation Act. Makes various changes to the Virginia Stock Corporation Act, many of which conform the Act to recent changes to the Model Business Corporation Act produced by the Corporate Laws Committee of the American Bar Association's Business Law Section. Among other things, the bill (i) addresses the authority of a board of directors to delegate authority with respect to the issuance of shares to a committee of the board and one or more of the corporation's officers, (ii) removes the requirement for the cessation of shareholder agreements when a corporation becomes a publi
  4. HB339 - Employee protections; wage and hour, health and safety, and mining safety provisions.
       Patron(s): Lopez
       Summary: Employee protections; wage and hour, health and safety, and mining safety provisions; federal rules. Requires that, if a federal wage or hour law, federal occupational health and safety law, or federal mine safety law is repealed, revoked, amended, or reinterpreted in any manner that results in the federal protections becoming less stringent or effective, the Commissioner, the Safety and Health Codes Board, or the Department of Energy, respectively, shall promulgate regulations that incorporate the federal law as it existed prior to being repealed, revoked, amended, or newly interpreted.
  5. HB416 - School buses; use for public purposes by local governing bodies, insurance reimbursement.
       Patron(s): Guzman
       Summary: Use of school buses for public purposes by local governing bodies; insurance reimbursement. Permits any local governing body that use school buses for certain public purposes pursuant to an agreement with a school board to reimburse the school board for the proportionate share of any insurance costs, both fixed and variable, of such buses incurred by such school board that are attributable to the use of such buses pursuant to such agreement in lieu of the existing statutory requirement for such a local governing body to supply sufficient insurance for such school buses.
  6. HB422 - Water utilities; prohibition of multiple rate increases within 3-year period for water utilities.
       Patron(s): Cole, N.T.
       Summary: Water utilities; prohibition of multiple rate increases within three-year period for water utilities. Prohibits a public utility authorized to furnish water or water and sewer service from filing an application for a rate increase more frequently than once in any three-year period. The bill provides exceptions to such prohibition for the utility to file an application (i) for a decrease in rates; (ii) limited to a rate adjustment clause, rider, or surcharge; (iii) for a temporary emergency increase in rates; or (iv) for an increase upon a finding by the State Corporation Commission that extrao
  7. HB426 - Workers' compensation; employer's offset in event of recovery.
       Patron(s): LeVere Bolling
       Summary: Workers' compensation; employer's offset in event of recovery. Amends provisions related to an employer's offset for recovery in certain actions brought under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act. The bill requires that lifetime medical award benefits and ongoing indemnity award benefits shall remain in full force and effect if the claimant is under such an award at the time that recovery is effected, subject to the employer offset provisions. Under the bill, an employer's credit shall be applied as a continuing, pro rata reduction to benefits otherwise payable under an existing award until
  7. HB426 - Workers' compensation; employer's offset in event of recovery.
       Patron(s): LeVere Bolling
       Summary: Workers' compensation; employer's offset in event of recovery. Amends provisions related to an employer's offset for recovery in certain actions brought under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act. The bill requires that lifetime medical award benefits and ongoing indemnity award benefits shall remain in full force and effect if the claimant is under such an award at the time that recovery is effected, subject to the employer offset provisions. Under the bill, an employer's credit shall be applied as a continuing, pro rata reduction to benefits otherwise payable under an existing award until
  7. HB426 - Workers' compensation; employer's offset in event of recovery.
       Patron(s): LeVere Bolling
       Summary: Workers' compensation; employer's offset in event of recovery. Amends provisions related to an employer's offset for recovery in certain actions brought under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act. The bill requires that lifetime medical award benefits and ongoing indemnity award benefits shall remain in full force and effect if the claimant is under such an award at the time that recovery is effected, subject to the employer offset provisions. Under the bill, an employer's credit shall be applied as a continuing, pro rata reduction to benefits otherwise payable under an existing award until
  8. HB439 - Virginia Nonstock Corporation Act; numerous revisions to Act, delayed effective date.
       Patron(s): Hope
       Summary: Virginia Nonstock Corporation Act. Provides for numerous revisions to the Virginia Nonstock Corporation Act. Among other revisions, the bill (i) authorizes certain actions to derive from its bylaws in addition to its articles of incorporation, (ii) makes changes to the process of amending articles of incorporation and bylaws, (iii) authorizes inclusion of an exclusive forum provision in the bylaws, (iv) permits transfer of membership interests, (v) authorizes members to bring derivative proceedings, (vi) permits a court to remove a director in certain circumstances, (vii) provides for abandonm
  9. HB483 - Prescription Drug Affordability Board; established.
       Patron(s): Delaney
       Summary: Prescription Drug Affordability Advisory Panel established; maximum fair price; annual reports; civil penalties. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to establish the Prescription Drug Affordability Advisory Panel to conduct data analyses, develop policy recommendations, and identify implementation barriers related to strategies to improve prescription drug affordability, enhance price transparency, and strengthen data collection practices for prescription drugs across public and private payers. The bill requires the Panel to (i) report annually on prescription drug pricing tren
  10. HB591 - Data centers; policy of the Commonwealth.
       Patron(s): Simonds
       Summary: Policy of the Commonwealth; data centers. Provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to encourage the responsible operation of data centers in the Commonwealth while supporting grid reliability, affordability, and the deployment of renewable resources. The bill provides that in furtherance of this policy, the Commonwealth shall (i) promote coordination between data centers, state agencies, and regional grid operators to share information on energy usage, interconnection timelines, and barriers to rapid deployment of renewable and flexible energy resources; (ii) incentivize data centers
  11. HB670 - Labor & employment provisions; application of law, protection of employees, definition of employer.
       Patron(s): Maldonado
       Summary: Labor and employment provisions; application of law; protection of employees; definition of employer. Provides that the exemption for the Commonwealth, any of its agencies, institutions, or political subdivisions, or any public body under Title 40.1 does not apply when expressly provided otherwise. The bill defines "public body" as the term relates to labor and employment and provides that for the purposes of various requirements related to the protection of employees, the definition of "employer" includes the Commonwealth and its agencies, institutions, and political subdivisions, and any pub
  12. HB701 - Health and insurance; notice of adverse determination.
       Patron(s): Maldonado
       Summary: Health insurance; notice of adverse determination. Requires health carriers to send in writing to a covered person the notice of an adverse determination or final adverse determination and the covered person's right to request an external review, as required by current law, within five business days after the adverse determination or final adverse determination has been made. The bill also requires such notice to include certain information related to the person who made the adverse determination or final adverse determination.
  13. HB765 - Rental home marketplace guarantees; transactions involving advertisement, sale, etc., penalty.
       Patron(s): Hayes
       Summary: Rental home marketplace guarantees; penalty. Provides for the regulation of rental home marketplace guarantees, defined in the bill, by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The bill establishes requirements for the registration of rental home marketplace guarantee providers, authorizes the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services to prescribe regulations, and authorizes the Commissioner to investigate violations. The bill includes requirements for the production of records, insurance, and consumer disclosures. The bill provides that rental home marketplace guarantees are no
  14. HB795 - Health insurance; requirements for certain opioid antagonists.
       Patron(s): Reaser
       Summary: Health insurance; requirements for certain opioid antagonists. Requires each health insurer, corporation providing health care subscription plans, and health maintenance organization whose policy, contract, or plan includes coverage for prescription drugs to include coverage for at least one other opioid antagonist used for overdose reversal dispensed pursuant to an oral, written, or standing order of a prescriber and ensure that cost-sharing for at least one opioid antagonist used for overdose reversal is included on the lowest cost tier of the insurer's, corporation's, or health maintenance
  15. HB808 - Insurance; unfair claim settlement practices, modification of loss estimate.
       Patron(s): Helmer
       Summary: Insurance; unfair claim settlement practices; modification of loss estimate. Prohibits an insurer, when reducing a loss estimate of $3,000 or more, from altering or amending an insurance adjuster's estimate of damages, photographic report data, or narrative report without meeting certain requirements including providing the policyholder with a detailed explanation as to why any change that has the effect of reducing the loss estimate was made.
  16. HB884 - Electric utilities; Percentage of Income Payment Program, eligibility, delayed effective date.
       Patron(s): Herring
       Summary: Electric utilities; Percentage of Income Payment Program; eligibility. Amends the objectives of the Percentage of Income Payment Program, which provides electric bill payment assistance to eligible customers, to include (i) reducing the energy burden of eligible participants by limiting electric bill payments directly to no more than three percent of the eligible participant's annual household income if the household's heating source is anything other than electricity and to no more than five percent of an eligible participant's annual household income on electricity costs if the household's p
  17. HB898 - Electric utilities, certain; SCC to determine maximum amount of fees for disconnection, etc.
       Patron(s): Herring
       Summary: State Corporation Commission to determine maximum fees for disconnection of utility service for nonpayment. Directs the State Corporation Commission (the Commission) to determine, in the next relevant cost recovery proceeding for certain utilities, the maximum allowable amount of fees for disconnection and reconnection such utilities may charge to residential customers disconnected from service due to nonpayment of bills or fees. The bill defines "utility" as an electric company, natural gas supplier, or water supplier or wastewater service provider subject to the Commission's regulation.
  18. HB923 - Protection of employees; stay or pay contracts prohibited, civil penalty.
       Patron(s): Lopez
       Summary: Protection of employees; stay or pay contracts prohibited; civil penalty. Prohibits an employer from entering into, enforcing, or threatening to enforce a stay or pay contract, as defined in the bill, with any employee, with certain exceptions described. An employer that violates the bill's provisions is subject to a civil penalty of $1,000. The bill allows an employee to bring a civil action against an employer or other person that attempts to enforce a stay or pay contract and to seek appropriate relief, including enjoining the conduct of any person or employer, ordering payment of liquidate
  19. HB944 - Workplace violence; policy required for certain employers, civil penalty, delayed effective date.
       Patron(s): Clark
       Summary: Workplace violence policy required for certain employers; civil penalty. Requires any employer of 100 or more employees to develop, implement, and maintain a workplace violence policy no later than January 1, 2027. The bill includes requirements for such a policy, such as procedures and methods for employee reporting of incidents and post-incident investigations. Employers subject to the bill are required to maintain documentation of workplace violence incidents for not less than five years. An employer that violates the provisions of the bill shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more th
  20. HB1127 - Toll rate; increases State Corporation Commission duration and timeline for review.
       Patron(s): Reid
       Summary: State Corporation Commission; duration and timeline for review of toll rate increases. Increases from one year to two years the maximum length of time the State Corporation Commission is authorized to approve toll rate increases under the Virginia Highway Corporation Act of 1988. The bill also requires the Commission to issue a final order regarding any application for approval of one year or two years of such toll rate increases to be entered within nine months or 12 months, respectively, after the date of the filing of such application.
  21. HB1166 - Financial institutions; check cashers, expiration of registration, delayed effective date.
       Patron(s): Carroll
       Summary: Financial institutions; check cashers; expiration of registration. Provides that for check cashers registered with the State Corporation Commission, such registration shall automatically expire if a registrant fails to pay the annual registration fee by July 1 of each year. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.
  22. HB1182 - Health insurance; coverage for contraceptive drugs & devices, including over-the-counter.
       Patron(s): Thomas
       Summary: Health insurance; coverage for contraceptive drugs and devices. Requires health insurance carriers to provide coverage, under any health insurance contract, policy, or plan that includes coverage for prescription drugs on an outpatient basis, for contraceptive drugs and contraceptive devices approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, including those available over-the-counter. The bill prohibits a health insurance carrier from imposing upon any person receiving prescription contraceptive benefits pursuant to the provisions of the bill any copayment, coinsurance payment, or fee, except
  23. HB1214 - Health insurance; cost-sharing payments for insulin and diabetes equipment and supplies, limit.
       Patron(s): Delaney
       Summary: Health insurance; cost-sharing payments for insulin and diabetes equipment and supplies; limit. Decreases the cap on the cost-sharing payment that a covered person is required to pay for a covered prescription insulin drug from $50 to $35 for a 30-day supply of the prescription insulin drug and provides such cap is an aggregate cap that applies in situations where the covered person is prescribed more than one insulin drug. The bill also establishes such an aggregate cap of $35 for a 30-day supply of diabetes equipment and supplies.
  24. HB1255 - Net energy metering; standby charge, facility capacity.
       Patron(s): Shin
       Summary: Net energy metering; standby charge; facility capacity. Increases the minimum capacity from 15 kilowatts to an aggregate nameplate capacity of 20 kilowatts of alternating current for an electrical generating facility for which certain electric utility customers are required to pay a monthly standby charge as part of the net energy metering program.
  25. 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.
  26. HB1276 - Health care providers; required estimate for nonemergency health care services.
       Patron(s): Watts
       Summary: Health care providers; required estimate for nonemergency health care services. Requires health care providers to provide a good faith estimate of the payment amount for which the patient will be responsible for such nonemergency health care service, including any fees or other charges for an item or service the patient may reasonably be expected to receive in connection with the nonemergency health care service. The bill requires the good faith estimate to include (i) description of the scheduled nonemergency health care service, (ii) the provider's standard charge for the service and any rel
  27. HB1400 - Health insurance; coverage for maternal mental health screenings.
       Patron(s): Franklin, M.A.
       Summary: Health insurance; coverage for maternal mental health screenings. Requires health insurance carriers to provide coverage for maternal mental health screenings. The bill requires such coverage to include at least one maternal mental health screening to be conducted during pregnancy, at least one additional screening to be conducted during the first six weeks of the postpartum period, and additional medically necessary postpartum screenings. Additionally, the bill provides that coverage for a prescription drug for the treatment of a maternal mental health condition shall not be subject to prior
  28. HB1450 - Health insurance; claims experience information, effective clause.
       Patron(s): Hodges
       Summary: Health insurance; claims experience information. Provides that provisions requiring insurers to provide policyholders with certain claims experience information apply to all employee welfare benefit plans and include pharmacy benefits claims. The bill does not become effective unless reenacted by the 2027 Session of the General Assembly.
  29. HB1467 - Electric utilities; virtual power plant pilot program, Phase I Utilities.
       Patron(s): Franklin, L.V.
       Summary: Electric utilities; virtual power plant pilot program; Phase I Utilities. Requires Appalachian Power to petition the State Corporation Commission for approval to conduct a pilot program to evaluate methods to optimize demand through various technology applications, including the establishment of virtual power plants, by July 1, 2027. The bill requires the pilot program to evaluate electric grid capacity needs and the ability of such virtual power plants to provide grid services, including peak-shaving, during times of peak electric demand.
  30. HB1481 - Employment discrimination; employee notification of federal and state statute of limitations.
       Patron(s): Keys-Gamarra
       Summary: Employment discrimination; employee notification of federal and state statute of limitations. Requires an employer that employs 10 or more employees and that receives an employee complaint alleging sexual assault, harassment, or any other form of discrimination for which the employee may seek enforcement by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the Office of the Attorney General to notify such employee that a charge may be filed with the EEOC or the Office of the Attorney General within 300 days after the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice occurred. The bill also req
  31. HB1491 - Electric utilities; construction of new overhead transmission lines, siting requirements.
       Patron(s): Singh
       Summary: Electric utilities; construction of certain electrical transmission lines; siting requirements. Requires the State Corporation Commission, in order to approve the construction of an electrical transmission line of 138 kilovolts or more, to determine that the corridor or route chosen for the line will avoid or reasonably minimize adverse impact to the greatest extent reasonably practicable on dwelling houses. For overhead transmission lines of 500 kilovolts or more constructed by Dominion Energy Virginia, the bill directs the Commission to prioritize approving corridors or routes for constructi
  32. HB1529 - Tax Commissioner; information sharing, eligibility for medical assistance.
       Patron(s): McGuire
       Summary: Tax Commissioner; information sharing; eligibility for medical assistance. Authorizes the Tax Commissioner to provide to the Virginia Health Benefit Exchange information voluntarily provided by taxpayers for the purposes of identifying persons who meet the income eligibility requirements for medical assistance and would like to newly enroll in medical assistance. The bill authorizes the Virginia Health Benefit Exchange to divulge to the Department of Medical Assistance Services and the Department of Social Services, upon entering into a written agreement, such information to facilitate such en

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