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More than 1,100 bills emerged from this year’s Virginia General Assembly session, with major changes involving paid leave, firearms, immigration enforcement, criminal records and vehicle noise taking effect July 1.

The legislation reflects priorities pursued after Democrats secured control of the governor’s office, Senate and House of Delegates. Other measures will arrive later, including paid sick leave and restrictions on openly carrying assault-style firearms in 2027, followed by paid family and medical leave benefits in 2028.

Paid leave and child care programs move forward

SB 2, sponsored by Fairfax County Sen. Jennifer Boysko, begins the rollout of Virginia’s first paid family and medical leave program.

Employer and employee contributions will start April 1, 2028, and benefits will become available Dec. 1, 2028. Eligible workers will be able to receive 80% of their average weekly earnings, capped at Virginia’s average weekly net earnings.

The program will provide up to 12 weeks for qualifying family and medical leave. Workers may receive up to four weeks for recovery services, mental health treatment or matters involving domestic violence.

Unlike the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, which protects eligible employees’ jobs and insurance for as long as 12 weeks but does not require paid leave, Virginia’s program will replace part of a worker’s income.

A separate paid sick leave program created by SB 199 and HB 5 is scheduled to take effect July 1, 2027.

Virginia is also establishing an Employee Child Care Assistance Program through HB 18 and SB 3. The initiative will use matching state money to encourage employers to help cover workers’ child care expenses, with the goals of easing costs and improving employee retention.

The state budget provides $25 million for the program in fiscal 2027. The Virginia Early Childhood Foundation will administer it.

New firearm restrictions face legal uncertainty

HB 93 and SB 38 tighten the rules for transferring guns owned by people subject to protective orders or convicted of assault and battery against a family or household member.

Someone prohibited from possessing a firearm will not be allowed to transfer it to a person younger than 21 or to anyone living in the same home. The person must also tell courts and law enforcement who will receive the weapon, allowing authorities to follow up if the transfer is not completed.

SB 496, sponsored by Fairfax County Sen. Dave Marsden, makes inadequately securing a firearm in an unattended vehicle a Class 4 misdemeanor.

HB 1525, sponsored by Del. Garrett McGuire, prohibits gun sales to people younger than 21 as part of an effort to restore universal background checks. Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed it with an emergency clause, but a Lynchburg court injunction temporarily prevented early implementation. After that injunction ended, background checks were expected to return July 1.

A separate McGuire measure, HB 1524, prohibits openly carrying assault-style weapons in public places. Although Spanberger signed the bill, a budget amendment accepted by lawmakers June 29 postponed its effective date until July 1, 2027.

A proposed ban on future imports, sales, manufacturing, purchases and transfers of assault-style firearms is on hold while a court considers the legislation. SB 749 and HB 217, introduced by Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim and Del. Dan Helmer, would make violations a Class 1 misdemeanor.

The legislation would not criminalize possession of covered weapons acquired before its effective date. It also contains exceptions for inoperable, manually operated and antique firearms, along with weapons used in government and law enforcement duties.

Beginning July 1, 2027, SB 323 and HB 40 will prohibit manufacturing, importing, buying, selling, transferring or possessing untraceable “ghost guns” without serial numbers.

Immigration enforcement limits draw a federal challenge

Salim’s SB 783 restricts agreements between state or local police agencies and federal immigration authorities. It also bars law enforcement officers from assisting operations involving civil immigration violations.

Exceptions apply when authorities present a valid judicial warrant or subpoena or when a federal immigration detainer is used for an inmate transfer.

Spanberger also signed SB 352, which bans law enforcement officers from wearing face coverings, but the U.S. Justice Department challenged that law and SB 783. A federal judge in Richmond issued a preliminary injunction June 30 blocking the mask ban hours before it was due to take effect.

Spanberger vetoed another Salim proposal, SB 351, that would have limited federal immigration agents’ ability to make civil arrests in public locations including schools, courthouses and health care facilities.

Clean Slate law seals thousands of records

Virginia’s delayed “Clean Slate” law will automatically seal more than 100,000 criminal records beginning July 1.

SB 1466, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, and HB 2723, sponsored by House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, cover certain misdemeanor convictions, including shoplifting, trespassing and marijuana possession or distribution. Eligibility generally requires the person to have avoided another offense for seven years.

People may also petition to seal records from certain misdemeanor and felony cases that did not result in conviction. Felony charges require at least 10 years without another offense.

Once records are sealed, many employers and housing providers will no longer be able to see them through criminal background checks. Supporters say the change will reduce barriers to jobs and housing, while critics argue that employers and residents could be left unaware of prior offenses.

Noise cameras and foam-container ban arrive

HB 55, sponsored by Fairfax County Del. Rip Sullivan, permits Northern Virginia localities to use monitoring equipment to identify excessively noisy vehicles.

Owners can face civil penalties of up to $100, but violations will not affect a driver’s license or automobile insurance. The two-year pilot is scheduled to end July 1, 2028.

A polystyrene foam container phaseout also expands July 1. Under a law enacted in 2021, food vendors with at least 20 locations had to stop using the containers by July 1, 2025. The requirement now extends to remaining restaurants and food-service businesses.

More statewide changes are coming

Virginia’s minimum wage will rise again Jan. 1, 2027. The Faith in Housing law will also take effect that day, requiring localities to allow qualifying affordable housing by right on property owned by faith-based organizations.

Recreational marijuana sales are slated to begin July 1, 2027, under an agreement included in the state budget compromise approved June 29. The deal followed Spanberger’s veto of separate legislation creating a retail marijuana market.

Three proposed constitutional amendments will go before Virginia voters Nov. 3. The referendums concern abortion rights, same-sex marriage and restoring voting rights to people convicted of felonies after they complete their sentences.

One issue that will not reach Fairfax County voters is a proposed casino. Spanberger vetoed Surovell’s legislation authorizing a local referendum after the plan encountered opposition from numerous residents and local officials.