These Bills from Fredericksburg Area Reps Have "Crossed Over"
February 17 marks the midpoint of the 2026 General Assembly Session.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
Email Adele
Tuesday, February 17 was “Crossover” in the General Assembly—the last day for bills, other than budget bills, to be acted upon in their chambers of origin, and the midpoint of the state legislature’s 2026 session. Bills must “cross over” to the opposite chamber by Wednesday, February 18 in order to continue on through the legislative process.
Here’s a look at where legislation introduced by Fredericksburg-area representatives stands at crossover.
Josh Cole (D—House District 65)
Cole introduced 19 bills this session and at least 10 are moving forward. Four of them passed the House unanimously.
House Bill 34, which would establish a Sexual Offense Prevention and Response Program within the state Department of Military Affairs, and a Sexual Offense Prevention and Response Officer to perform victim advocacy services. This bill passed the House of Delegates by a vote of 64-33 earlier this month, and is now being considered in the Senate’s General Laws committee.
HB35, which prohibits the use of isolated confinement in state correctional facilities with except exceptions. The bill passed the House by a 66-31 vote last week and is in the Senate committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services.
HB73, which allows the custodian of a child—in addition to the parent of a child—to file a petition for relief of the care and custody. The bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Commission on Youth. It passed the House unanimously earlier this month and is in the Senate committee on Courts of Justice.
HB242, which prohibits a public utility from increasing the monthly payment for any residential customer enrolled in a budget plan more than once within a 12-month period, or without 30-days advance notice in writing, passed the House unanimously and is in the Senate’s Commerce and Labor committee.
HB320, which prohibits initiating, viewing, or participating in a live stream while driving a motor vehicle, passed the House unanimously on Tuesday.
HB360, prohibiting the sale of kratom products to anyone younger than age 21, was engrossed by the House Committee on General Laws on Monday.
HB702, directing local law-enforcement agencies to implement either a firearm give-back program or a firearm buy-back program by January 1, 2028, passed the House by a 62-34 vote and is now in the Senate committee on Courts of Justice.
HB1279, allowing for the administrative approval of residential housing development on land owned by property tax-exempt religious organizations or certain property tax-exempt nonprofit organizations, passed the House by a 60-36 vote and is in the Senate committee on Local Government.
HB1280, which expands the programs available to prisoners confined in state facilities and the requirements for a prisoner's reentry plan, to include “an assessment, if necessary, of a prisoner's readiness to take a high school equivalency test and any modifications needed for the prisoner to take or improve upon such test, and making available peer and group educational programs developed and led by qualified prisoners.” This bill passed the House by a vote of 91-5 on Tuesday.
HB1282, which provides a pathway to licensure by endorsement for certified substance abuse counselors, passed the House unanimously on Tuesday.
Two of Cole’s bills, HB 243 and HB1394, have been continued to the 2027 session.
Nicole Cole (D—House District 66)
Three of the 13 bills introduced by freshman delegate Nicole Cole are progressing:
HB422, which prohibits a public water or sewer service from filing an application for a rate increase more frequently than once in any three-year period, passed the House by a 69-29 vote and is in the Senate committee on Commerce and Labor.
HB1168, which requires the Board of Education to amend its regulations establishing the qualifications for school division superintendents, passed by a 61-35 vote and is in the Senate committee on Education. The bill requires that candidates for the licensure as a superintendent attest to “good character and demonstrated ability as an educational administrator” and that candidates who apply for licensure under Option IV must be recommended for hire by a school board with less than 2,000 enrolled students and must have completed “five years of successful educational experience in a public school or an accredited nonpublic school, two years of which shall have been full-time teaching experience at the preK-12 level and two years of which shall have been in administration and supervision.”
HB1176, which lowers the quorum requirements for the Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects; and the Board for Professional Soil Scientists, Wetland Professionals, and Geologists, passed the House unanimously and is in the Senate committee on General Laws and Technology.
Four of Cole’s bills, HB419, HB420, HB421, and HB1436, were continued to next year’s session.
Philip A. Scott (R—House District 63)
One of the 15 bills introduced by Scott this session is continuing on the Senate.
HB1299, which requires the Department of Education to provide local school boards with a copy of its regulations governing the use of seclusion and restraint and to submit a report to the General Assembly summarizing its procedures for enforcing these regulations, passed the House unanimously on Tuesday.
Four of Scott’s bills—HB1193, HB1195, HB1196, and HB1315—were continued to next year’s session.
Stacey Annie Carroll (D—House District 64)
Three of freshman delegate Stacey Carroll’s seven bills are progressing:
HB870, which directs the Board of Accountancy to establish "Inactive" and "Emeritus" CPA license statuses, passed the House by a vote of 95-1 and is in the Senate committee on General Laws.
HB1166, which 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,” passed by a vote of 91-6 and is in the Senate Commerce committee.
HB1373, which requires the Office of Children’s Services to determine the feasibility of establishing a regional public day school for students with disabilities in Planning District 16, was engrossed by the House Appropriations Committee.
Tara Durant (R—Senate District 27)
Durant introduced seven bills this session. Four—SB114, SB604, SB617, SB746—have been continued to next year, and three are progressing:
Senate Bill 602, clarifying that an individual's information may continue to appear on a voluntary Marcus alert system external database that cannot be modified by a locality after such individual reaches 18 years of age, passed the Senate unanimously on Monday.
SB656, which permits any ensemble music class offered in grade six to have a maximum of 45 students, instead of 35, passed the Senate unanimously and is in the House Education committee.
SB796, establishing the Artificial Intelligence Chatbots and Minors Act to require that operators confirm users are at least 18 prior to accessing a companion chatbot, among other requirements, was engrossed by the Senate on Tuesday.
Bryce Reeves (R—Senate District 28)
Reeves introduced 13 bills this session. Three were continued to next session (SB578, SB579, and SB601) and nine are progressing:
SB559, amending the venue provisions for prosecution of forgery, passed the Senate 39-0 on Monday.
SB573, authorizing Department of Military Affairs emergency vehicles to be equipped with flashing, blinking, or alternating red or red and white combination warning lights, passed the Senate by a vote of 40-0 and is in the House Transportation committee.
SB574, clarifying that no citizen member appointed to the Auctioneers Board shall have training or experience as an auctioneer; be the spouse, parent, child, or sibling of an auctioneer; or have any direct or indirect financial interest in auctioneering, passed the Senate unanimously on Monday.
SB575, excluding certain inter intergovernmental support agreements pursuant to federal law from provisions of the Virginia Public Procurement Act, passed the Senate unanimously earlier this month.
SB577, which adds a property's proximity to any military ground installation to the residential property disclosure statement provided by the Real Estate Board, passed the Senate and was assigned to a House subcommittee this week.
SB600, which removes the restriction preventing reduction in rank for members with more than 10 years of service who are in the rank of E-5 or above, was engrossed by the Senate this week.
SB603, which permits school boards to adopt a policies permitting certain individuals or groups to provide volunteer student life counseling or support services on school property after regular school hours, passed the Senate unanimously on Monday.
SB683, which allows Commissioner of Health to petition the circuit court for the jurisdiction in which any public or private waterworks is located for the appointment of a receiver for such waterworks, passed the Senate unanimously and is a House subcommittee.
Richard Stuart (R—Senate District 25)
All of the bills introduced by Stuart this session either passed the Senate or were continued to next session.
SB360, which prohibits the sale or distribution of a device that is designed or intended to deliver a gas containing nitrous oxide, to any person, regardless of age, passed the Senate unanimously in January and is in the House committee on Courts of Justice.
SB386, which prohibits any person that with a valid Virginia Pollutant Abatement permit from distributing or land applying sewage sludge that contains any trace of PFAS, passed the Senate by a vote of 27-13 on Tuesday.
SB391, which restructures the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program and expands its oversight over local alcohol safety action programs, passed the Senate unanimously on Tuesday.
SB453, establishing a maximum civil penalty of $50,000 per violation for any person found to have intentionally discharged untreated sewage onto land or state waters, passed the Senate unanimously last week.
SB459, which requires a liquefied petroleum gas fitter to offer in writing to remove any remaining gas from a customer’s storage tank and reimburse for the cost within 14 days after receiving a customer's request to discontinue service, passed the Senate unanimously and was assigned on Tuesday to a House subcommittee.
SB461, directing the Marine Resources Commission to temporarily prohibit commercial electrofishing in the Rappahannock River north of the Downing Bridge in Tappahannock until January 1, 2027, passed by a vote of 32-8 and has been assigned to a House subcommittee.
SB464, amending the definition of foreign adversary, as it relates to the prohibition on ownership of agricultural land by foreign adversaries, to include any business entity that is substantially funded by a foreign government or nongovernment person determined by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to have engaged in a long-term pattern or serious instances of conduct significantly adverse to the national security of the United States or security and safety of United States persons. This bill passed the Senate unanimously last week.
SB486, requiring anyone who manufactures or sells a dietary supplement to label the supplement with a list of active and inactive ingredients and include a separate disclaimer if the product contains gluten, passed the Senate unanimously earlier this month and has been assigned to a House subcommittee.
SB532, related to banquet licenses provided to municipalities or nonprofit organizations, passed the Senate unanimously and has been assigned to a House subcommittee.
SB541, providing that Virginia will observe Eastern Standard Time year-round if Congress enacts a law allowing states to do so, passed the Senate by a vote of 24-16 on Tuesday.
SB784, prohibiting bioslurry injections in any well that has been drilled through any portion of a groundwater management area prior to January 1, 2020, passed unanimously and has been assigned to a House committee.
SB807, prohibiting hunting in Monroe Bay, passed by a 23-17 vote on Tuesday.
SB414, SB417, SB422, SB456, SB466, SB525, SB639, SB708, SB709, and SB814 were continued to the 2027 session.
Local Obituaries
