The House of Delegates’ General Laws Committee advanced a slate of bills touching housing, consumer protections, occupational licensing and cannabis regulation during a lengthy session, voting to report many measures to full committees and sending several to the Appropriations Committee for funding review.

The most contested measure was House Bill 1879, a rental-assistance pilot proposed by Delegate Sewell that would establish a Department of Housing and Community Development pilot to provide monthly rental assistance to qualifying households and require annual reporting to the General Assembly. The bill includes a sunset date of July 1, 2028, and was reported with amendments and re-referred to Appropriations by a vote of 13 to 9.

Why it matters: HB 1879 would create a short-term rental assistance program at the state level and obliges the department to track and report outcomes, which would inform future policy and appropriations decisions.

The committee also considered several landlord-tenant bills. A substitute to House Bill 1867 (Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act changes) that would adjust notice requirements and other rental terms reported out after roll call (substitute reported 16 to 5). House Bill 21 22, a bill by Delegate Dahlia Tran that would require landlords to accept commonly available forms of payment and to make at least one no-fee payment option available (with an exemption for landlords with four or fewer rental units or up to a 10% interest in four or fewer units), was reported with substitute by a vote of 12 to 10. On the substitute, Delegate Dahlia Tran said that the change “add[s] an exemption for landlords with 4 or fewer rental dwelling units or up to a 10% interest in 4 or fewer rental dwelling units exempting them from requiring the requirement to accept credit card payments for rent.”

The panel addressed housing production and surplus property for affordable housing. House Bill 21 49 would create a Zoning for Housing Production Pilot Program administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development; the bill was reported with amendments and referred to Appropriations on a vote of 20 to 2. When asked about funding, the committee heard that the requested appropriation for the pilot was $500,000, as noted by Delegate Carr during the meeting.

The committee also moved forward a bill that would require localities and the Department of General Services to inventory surplus property suitable for affordable housing and, if suitable, offer it exclusively to eligible organizations for at least 180 days with a recorded covenant requiring affordable housing for at least 40 years; that measure reported with substitute (15 to 7).

Cannabis and public-safety items drew discussion. House Bill 1989, which expands labeling requirements for edible, topical and inhalable medical cannabis products and permits certain deliveries by processors or dispensing facilities, was reported with substitute (19 to 3). House Bill 24 85, the committee sponsor’s measure to create a regulatory framework for a retail adult-use marijuana market administered by the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority, would allow the authority to begin issuing licenses on Sept. 1, 2025, but bars retail sales before May 1, 2026; it was reported with substitute and sent to Appropriations by a vote of 14 to 8.

Licensing and workforce measures earned unanimous or near-unanimous support to move forward. House Bill 1940 (regarding issuance of licensure or certification to applicants holding comparable international credentials) reported with substitute 20 to 2; HB 1963 (guidance for the Virginia Military Community Infrastructure Grant Program) and several workforce and professional licensing technical bills were reported and referred to Appropriations or otherwise recommended for further consideration by largely unanimous votes.

The committee also removed one bill from the docket: House Bill 2526, at the patron’s request, was stricken on a vote of 22 to 0.

Votes at a glance (selected bills mentioned on the record):
- HB2522 (referred as a block) — re-referred to Public Safety (voice vote; re-refer recorded by the clerk).
- HB2645 (referred as a block) — re-referred to Education (voice vote).
- HB2526 — stricken from docket, 22–0.
- HB1867 (substitute reported) — reports with substitute, 16–5.
- HB2065 — adopted amendments in committee; recommended for reporting (subcommittee unanimous earlier).
- HB2110 — recommended for reporting (subcommittee vote recorded; no amendments).
- HB2122 (payment-methods / manufactured-home disclosures and related changes) — substitute reported, 19–3 (subcommittee substitute earlier); final substitute reported 12–10.
- HB2134 (definitions for American Indian / tribal terms) — reported (8–0 subcommittee).
- HB2203 (report consolidation for DHCD) — reported (8–0 subcommittee).
- HB2396 (work group on deed fraud; substitute creates work group) — subcommittee substitute recommended reporting 8–0.
- HB2430 (security deposit/fee disclosure requirements) — substitute reported, 22–2.
- HB1879 (rental-assistance pilot) — reports with amendments, re-referred to Appropriations, 13–9.
- HB1932 (task force on appraisal and valuation equity) — reports with amendments, re-referred to Appropriations, 12–10.
- HB2149 (Zoning for Housing Production pilot) — reports with amendments, re-referred to Appropriations, 20–2; reported requested appropriation cited as $500,000.
- HB1719 (waiting period after nonpayment notice increased) — reported (roll call result stated in transcript; recorded as 12–10).
- HB2151 (community land trust definition change) — reported 21–1.
- HB1940 (international credential licensure substitute) — reports with substitute, 20–2.
- HB1963 (Virginia Military Community Infrastructure Grant Program guidance) — reports and referred to Appropriations, 22–0.
- HB2125 (state internship coordinator) — reports with amendments and referred to Appropriations, 22–0.
- HB1758 (surplus property / affordable housing rules) — reports with substitute, 15–7.
- HB2397 (regional council grant eligibility expansion) — reports with substitute, 13–9.
- HB2042, HB2091, HB2154 (professional licensure/workforce items) — reported as a block, 22–0.
- HB1989 (medical cannabis labeling and delivery) — reports with substitute, 19–3.
- HB2485 (retail adult-use marijuana regulatory framework) — reports with substitute and re-referred to Appropriations, 14–8.

What the committee did not do: The panel did not adopt final floor language on appropriations; several bills were explicitly referred to the Appropriations Committee for funding decisions. The docket also included incorporations and substitutes; where a substitute was adopted the committee recorded the substitute vote and then reported the bill as substituted.

Members and observers who spoke on the record included committee chair and subcommittee chairs, bill patrons and other Delegates; specific quoted explanations in this article are drawn from the official transcript.

Looking ahead: Several of the bills the committee reported — notably the rental-assistance pilot, the zoning-for-housing pilot and the adult-use marijuana framework — now advance to appropriations or further floor consideration, where funding, implementation timelines and technical language will be resolved.