Legislators have filed the first bills for General Assembly 2026

The Virginia General Assembly will reconvene on January 14, 2026, for a session following an election where Democrats picked up 13 additional seats in the House of Delegates. Many bills will have an easier time becoming law with Democrat Abigail Spanberger serving as Virginia’s 75th governor.

The first bills have been filed and are available for review in the Virginia State Legislative Information System.

Delegate Jeion A. Ward (D-87) filed the first piece of legislation (HB1) for the House. This bill with one that would increase the minimum wage to $15 by January 1, 2028. Ward filed a similar bill in 2025 that passed the House with 50 votes for and 46 votes against. The Senate passed the bill 21 to 19 but Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed the bill in late March.

The first bill in the Senate (SB1) calls for the same thing and was filed by Senator Louise Lucas (D-18).

HB4 from Delegate Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-5) would establish a way for localities to preserve affordable housing stock by allowing a right of first refusal on any properties that have been subsidized through public means.

There will likely be several bills related to energy usage. Here are two:

HB2 from Delegate Mark Sickles (D-17) would require Dominion Power and Appalachian Power to make “best, reasonable efforts” to make energy efficiency improvements for low-income households by 2031.

HB3 from Delegate Destiny LeVere Bolling (D-80) would require creation of a Income-Qualified Energy Efficiency and Weatherization Task Force to seek to accomplish the same goal as HB2.

Other bills:

• HB5 would require paid sick leave for home health workers and make other changes
• HB6 would establish the right to obtain contraception
• HB7 would prohibit law enforcement officers at any level from wearing masks or other facial coverings

There are four Constitutional amendments filed in the House of Delegates. These must pass the General Assembly twice and go before the voters in a Constitutional question.

• HJ1 would be the second reference to the establishment of a right of to reproductive freedom
• HJ2 would be the second reference to the establishment of a right to vote for those eligible
• HJ3 would be the second reference to a repeal of a previous Constitutional amendment that established that marriage is between a man and a woman, an amendment no longer with any force due to the U.S. Supreme Court case of Obergefell v. Hodges.
• HJ4 would be the second reference to a provision passed in a special session in late October to allow a redistricting of Congressional districts if other states take that step. For more background, here’s a story I wrote earlier this month.

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