Over 1,100 bills made it out of the latest General Assembly session, and many will take effect Wednesday (July 1).
As Democrats gained a trifecta with the election of Gov. Abigail Spanberger and control of the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates, legislators’ bills focused on priorities like immigration enforcement, gun control, housing and tenant protections, reproductive rights and more. Democrats also passed Virginia’s first-ever paid sick leave, paid family and medical leave, and child care assistance programs for workers.
Additional changes will happen on Jan. 1, 2027, including the next minimum wage increase and the Faith in Housing bill that requires localities to allow by-right affordable housing based on faith-based organizations’ property.
Although Spanberger vetoed marijuana retail market legislation, the state budget compromise approved by the House and Senate included an agreement to start recreational marijuana sales in Virginia on July 1, 2027.
Along with the bills passed this session, Democrats will send three constitutional amendments to voter referendums. On Nov. 3, voters will decide the outcome of amendments on codifying abortion rights and same-sex marriage as well as restoring voting rights to felons after their sentences.
Here’s a look at major laws that will become effective this week:
Gun bills: Alexandria state Sen. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker’s HB 93 and companion bill SB 38 seek to close a loophole in gun transfers from a person facing a protective order or convicted of assault and battery of a family or household member. The new laws stipulate that when a person is banned from possessing a gun, it cannot be transferred to a person under 21 or a person living with the prohibited person. The legislation creates a form to inform courts and law enforcement about who is intended to receive the gun and allows for a follow-up if the transfer has not happened.
Another bill (HB 1525) will restore universal background checks for gun sales by prohibiting sales to people under 21. Spanberger had signed the bill with an emergency clause to enact it early, but a court injunction in Lynchburg halted plans to bring back background checks under the new state law. After the court ended the injunction, background checks are expected to return on July 1.
The most controversial gun-related bills set to take effect on July 1 — a ban on assault-style guns (SB 749 and HB 217) — are on pause as a court decides their outcome. The bills would not criminalize possessing assault-style weapons obtained before the effective date. However, any future import, sale, manufacturing, purchase or transfer of an assault-style gun would lead to a Class 1 misdemeanor. Exemptions would be provided for inoperable, manually operated or antique guns, as well as for law enforcement and government duty.
Other bills include SB 496, which would make it a Class 4 misdemeanor to inadequately secure a gun left in an unattended vehicle, and HB 1524, which would prohibit the open carry of assault-style weapons in public areas.
A bill from former Alexandria state Sen. Adam Ebbin (SB 323) to ban untraceable “ghost guns” without serial numbers won’t take effect until July 1, 2027.
Sealing criminal records: House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, who represents part of Alexandria, introduced HB 2723 in 2025 — known as the “Clean Slate” law. When the law takes effect on July 1, it will automatically seal over 100,000 criminal records of people previously convicted of misdemeanors such as shoplifting, trespassing, and possession and distribution of marijuana, but who haven’t reoffended in the past seven years. It will also apply to misdemeanor and felony non-convictions when cases conclude.
The new law will make housing providers and many employers unable to access such records via criminal background checks. Advocates believe the change will open housing and employment opportunities to help people move on after an offense, while critics say it will create risks for people unknowingly living near or working with people previously convicted of crimes.
Paid family and medical leave program: Virginia’s first paid family and medical leave program (SB 2 and HB 1207) will take effect on July 1, although contributions from employers and employees won’t begin until April 1, 2028 and benefits won’t launch until Dec. 1, 2028.
Currently, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act allows employees to get up to 12 weeks of leave and maintain insurance for qualifying family or medical events, but it does not require pay during the leave. The new Virginia program will allow employees to take leave for a covered reason and receive 80% of the employee’s average weekly earnings — not exceeding the state’s average weekly net earnings. The limit for leave will be 12 weeks for family and medical leave and four weeks for recovery services, mental health treatment or domestic violence.
The legislation is one of two employee paid leave programs passed last session. The second — a paid sick leave program (SB 199 and HB 5) — will take effect on July 1, 2027.
Child Care Assistance Program: HB 18 and SB 3 create the Employee Child Care Assistance Program with matching state funds to incentivize employers to provide contributions for their employees’ childcare costs. The intent of the program is to address high child care costs and employee retention. The approved state budget allocates $25 million for the program in fiscal year 2027, and the program is being administered by the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation.
Right to contraception: Another pair of bills taking effect July 1 (HB 6 and SB 596) will guarantee the right for women to access birth control, including over-the-counter medications. Democrats see the legislation as a way to strengthen reproductive rights after the overturning of Roe v. Wade while most other Southern states have weakened protections.
Federal immigration agreements: Alexandria Del. Alfonso Lopez’s bill restricting local and state law enforcement agreements with federal immigration enforcement agencies (HB 1441) will become effective on July 1. The bill also bans law enforcement officers from cooperating with operations involving civil immigration violations.
Exceptions are provided for when a valid judicial warrant or subpoena is presented and when a federal immigration detainer is presented for inmate transfers.
Several bills responding to backlash against the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement approach had been proposed in the last General Assembly session. Spanberger signed a ban on law enforcement officers wearing face masks (SB 352), while vetoing SB 351, which would’ve restricted federal immigration agents from conducting civil arrests in certain public places, including courthouses, schools and health care facilities.
The U.S. Justice Department is challenging the face mask ban and federal immigration agreements bills.
Foam container ban: A state law passed in 2021 requires restaurants and other food service establishments to stop using polystyrene foam containers. Food vendors with 20 or more locations had to phase out the products by July 1, 2025, and remaining vendors have to stop using them on July 1, 2026.
