Del. Cliff Hayes

Purchase of firearms; waiting period; penalties. Provides that no person shall sell a firearm unless at least five days have elapsed from the time the prospective purchaser completes the written consent form to have a licensed dealer obtain criminal history record information, with exceptions enumerated in relevant law. The bill provides that any person who willfully and intentionally sells to another person or purchases from another person a firearm in violation of this prohibition is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. Additionally, the bill provides that any dealer who willfully and intentionally sells, rents, trades, or transfers a firearm in violation of such prohibition is guilty of a Class 6 felony.

Ticket resale limitations; requirements; review of event ticket marketplace by the Office of the Attorney General Consumer Protection Section. Requires each primary ticket provider, internet ticketing platform, or reseller operating in the Commonwealth, on the listing for a ticket and in each step of a transaction to purchase a ticket, to clearly and conspicuously disclose the total price of the ticket offered for sale, provide an itemized listing of charges that comprise the total price of the ticket, and identify the seat number and zone or section of the ticket to the extent applicable to the seat and venue. The bill includes limitations for the sale of speculative tickets and requires a full refund of the total amount paid for a ticket under certain circumstances. The bill also directs the Consumer Protection Section of the Office of the Attorney General to conduct a review of the event ticket market in the Commonwealth and submit a report to the General Assembly of its findings and recommendations by December 1, 2026.

Virginia Freedom of Information Act; exclusions of general application to public bodies; personnel contact information. Exempts personnel information such as the home address, personal email address, and home and personal phone numbers of any officer, official, or employee of a public body from the mandatory disclosure provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.

Restaurants; sodium warning label required; civil penalty. Requires restaurants with three or more locations in the Commonwealth to display on its menu a sodium warning label next to or beneath each menu item containing 2,300 milligrams or more of sodium. Restaurants that violate the provisions of this bill shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $500 per violation.

Health care providers; caller identification information; civil penalty. Requires a health care provider to ensure that the caller identification information associated with his practice readily identifies such practice to the recipient of his practice's telephone call. The bill further provides that any person who knowingly causes a telephone to ring and engages in conduct that results in the display of false caller identification information, as defined in the bill, on the called party's telephone shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $500 plus reasonable attorney fees, expenses, and court costs, as determined by the court.

Use of artificial intelligence system by mental health service providers; civil penalty. Permits the use of an artificial intelligence system by mental health service providers for administrative support and supplementary support, as those terms are defined in the bill, and prohibits the use of an artificial intelligence system to provide therapy or counseling services without a mental health service provider. The bill specifies that records kept by mental health service providers must comply with health records privacy requirements; creates an exception for religious counseling, peer support, or self-help materials and educational resources; and establishes a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for violations of the statute.

Zoning; special exceptions; City of Portsmouth. Adds the City of Portsmouth to those localities that have been granted authority to impose a condition upon any special exception relating to retail alcoholic beverage control licensees that provides that such special exception will automatically expire upon a change of ownership of the property, a change in possession, a change in the operation or management of a facility, or the passage of a specific period of time.

Maddy summarySJ 83 is a ceremonial resolution commending the Greater Washington Society for Clinical Social Work for its contributions to mental health services in the region. It has no policy provisions or direct impact on laws, regulations, or constituents - its purpose is solely to express legislative recognition. The bill passed unanimously in both the Senate and House via voice vote in February 2026 and was sent to the Governor. As a non-binding resolution, it does not alter any existing laws or create new obligations. This type of bill is common for honoring organizations but has no practical effect beyond symbolic acknowledgment.

Line of Duty Act; payments to beneficiaries. Provides that if a deceased person, as that term is defined in the Line of Duty Act, died as a result of certain cancers within 10 years from his date of retirement, his beneficiary shall be entitled to the payment of certain benefits. Under current law, such beneficiary shall be entitled to such payment if the deceased person's death (i) arose out of and in the course of his employment or (ii) was within five years from his date of retirement.

Artificial Intelligence Chatbots Act established; prohibited practices; penalties. Creates the Artificial Intelligence Chatbots Act, which prohibits an operator from making a companion chatbot, as those terms are defined in the bill, available to a user in the Commonwealth unless the companion chatbot is incapable of certain actions specified in the bill. The bill also requires an operator of a companion chatbot to include a disclaimer to users of all ages that a companion chatbot is not a human via a static, persistent disclosure and notify a user via a pop-up that he is not engaging with a human counterpart at specified intervals. The bill makes it unlawful for any operator of a companion chatbot to operate or provide a companion chatbot to a user unless such companion chatbot contains a protocol to take reasonable efforts for detecting and addressing expressions of suicidal ideation or self-harm by a user to the companion chatbot. The bill also includes certain data privacy and transparency requirements. The bill provides that a violation of its provisions constitutes a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.