Car Club Council of Central Virginia

The Latest News on State Legislation

This is a listing of the auto-related bills in the 2026 General Assembly session. Please click on any bill to see its status and to learn more about that bill. If there is any legislation that will affect the car hobby in a negative way an alert will be posted here and if you are a council member you may get an email alert. If you wish to see all the legislation go to this page https://lis.virginia.gov

HB 55 Noise abatement monitoring systems; local authority; civil penalties. Authorizes counties and cities in Planning Districts 8 (Northern Virginia Regional Commission) and 16 (George Washington Regional Commission) to place and operate noise abatement monitoring systems, defined in the bill, on any highway located in the locality for the purpose of recording and enforcing exhaust system violations, also defined in the bill. The bill provides that the operator of a vehicle is liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $100, but the violation shall not be reported on the driver's operating record or to the driver's insurance agency. Under the bill, the civil penalty will be paid to the locality in which the violation occurred to be used for the cost of administering the noise abatement monitoring system program and for transportation safety initiatives. The bill contains the same data privacy and storage requirements as are in current law for photo speed monitoring devices. The bill requires any locality that places and operates such a noise abatement monitoring system to report on its public website by January 15 of each year on the number of traffic violations prosecuted, the number of successful prosecutions, and the total amount of monetary civil penalties collected. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2028.
HB 57 Fees for vehicles designed and used for transportation of passengers; funds returned to a locality; permitted uses. Expands the permitted use of funds returned to a locality from certain vehicle fees to include the purchase or maintenance of necessary equipment, supplies, facilities, and vehicles permitted by the Office of Emergency Medical Services and other operating expenses deemed necessary by the locality to ensure the provision of emergency medical services in such locality by nonprofit emergency medical services agencies. Under current law, such funds may be used for the purchase of necessary equipment and supplies for use in the locality for emergency medical services provided by nonprofit emergency medical services agencies.
HB 88 Highway rights-of-way; invasive species. Requires the Commonwealth Transportation Board (Board) to establish and implement a policy for identifying and removing or controlling any invasive plant on the list of invasive plants created by the Department of Conservation and Recreation on any state highway right-of-way and prohibits the Commonwealth Transportation Board and Commissioner of Highways from planting or causing or suffering to be planted any such invasive plant on the right-of-way of any state highway. Current law prohibits the planting of three listed plants if the governing body of the locality declares such weeds or plants to be injurious and requires the Board to remove such plants.
HB 94 Vehicle registration fees; disabled veterans. Extends the current exemption from annual vehicle registration fees for disabled veterans or their unremarried surviving spouse to eligible vehicles displaying standard license plates. Current law applies such exemption to a vehicle displaying disabled veteran special license plates.
HB 99 Felony eluding; mandatory minimum. Imposes a one year mandatory minimum term of confinement in a state correctional facility for any person convicted of felony eluding if evidence is presented at sentencing that (i) the law-enforcement officer or responding law-enforcement agency used equipment, including spike strips or a law-enforcement vehicle, to forcibly stop such person's motor vehicle or (ii) such person's motor vehicle was used to intentionally damage a law-enforcement vehicle.
HB 107 Underinsured motorist benefits; actions against released defendant. Provides that any action brought by an injured person to recover underinsured motorist benefits after payment of the liability insurer's available limits is required to be brought against the released defendant by name and that the complaint is required to be served on any insurer providing underinsured motorist benefits but is not required to be served on the released defendant. Additionally, the bill provides that an underinsured motorist is presumed to have failed to reasonably cooperate in the defense of any lawsuit brought against him if he fails or refuses to meet with defense counsel for a reasonable period of time after reasonable notice after the underinsured motorist benefits insurer is served with any lawsuit and again prior to his deposition and trial. Under current law, such presumption is based on such underinsured motorist's failure or refusal to meet with defense counsel for a reasonable period of time after reasonable notice within 21 days of being served with any lawsuit and again prior to deposition or trial.
HB 110 Firearm in unattended motor vehicle; civil penalty. Provides that no person shall leave, place, or store a handgun in an unattended motor vehicle, as defined in the bill, when such handgun is visible to any person who is outside such unattended motor vehicle. The bill provides that any person violating such prohibition is subject to a civil penalty of no more than $500 and that such unattended motor vehicle may be subject to removal for safekeeping.
HB 179 Virginia Fleet Modernization Advisory Council; established; report. Establishes the Virginia Fleet Modernization Advisory Council to coordinate cost-effective, resilient, and decarbonization-aligned strategies for public and private fleet modernization in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the Council to report annually by the first day of each regular session of the General Assembly to the Governor and the General Assembly regarding its activities and recommendations. The Council has a sunset date of July 1, 2031.
HB 192 General district courts; jurisdictional limits; motor vehicle accidents. Provides that general district courts of the Commonwealth shall have jurisdiction over actions for bodily injury to or death of a person caused by a motor vehicle accident for an amount in controversy not to exceed $50,000, exclusive of interest, costs, and any prior settlement made pursuant to a motor vehicle owner's insurance policy.
HB 219 Kei vehicles; operation and requirements. Prohibits kei vehicles, as defined in the bill, from being operated on any limited access highway, interstate highway, or highway with a posted speed limit of 55 miles per hour or more. The bill provides for the licensing and registration of kei vehicles by the Department of Motor Vehicles. The bill prohibits localities from placing certain restrictions on kei vehicles and prohibits the imposition of liability for motor vehicle dealers for any damages that are directly or indirectly attributable to the sale of a kei vehicle that was not manufactured in accordance with federal safety standards. The bill directs the State Air Pollution Control Board to develop and adopt emissions inspection standards for kei vehicles and directs the Superintendent of State Police to promulgate any regulations necessary for conducting safety inspections of kei vehicles.
HJ 14 Constitutional amendment (first reference); personal property tax; exemption for motor vehicles owned for personal, noncommercial use. Exempts one motor vehicle used for personal, noncommercial purposes from state and local taxes. The amendment specifies that such exemption is only applicable (i) for automobiles, motorcycles, and pickup trucks and (ii) on and after the date the motor vehicle is acquired or the effective date of the amendment, whichever is later, and is not applicable for any period of time prior to the effective date of the amendment.
SB 12 Issuing citations; certain traffic offenses and odor of marijuana; exclusion of evidence.
Removes provisions prohibiting a law-enforcement officer from stopping a motor vehicle for operating (i) with an expired registration sticker prior to the first day of the fourth month after the original expiration date; (ii) with defective and unsafe equipment; (iii) without tail lights, brake lights, or a supplemental high mount stop light; (iv) without lighted headlights displayed when so required; (v) with certain tinting films, signs, posters, stickers, or decals; (vi) with objects or other equipment suspended so as to obstruct the driver's view; or (vii) with an expired inspection prior to the first day of the fourth month after the original expiration date, as well as the accompanying exclusionary provisions. The bill also authorizes a law-enforcement officer to lawfully stop, search, or seize a person, place, or thing or a search warrant to be issued based solely on the odor of marijuana if such odor creates a reasonable suspicion of a violation of the law prohibiting driving while intoxicated.
SB 13 Display of license plate; only rear plate required; exception.
Permits every registered motor vehicle to display a single license plate issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles on the rear of the vehicle, except for tractor trucks, which shall display such license plate on the front of the vehicle. Current law requires license plates displayed on the front and rear of most such vehicles. Note: Both SB 12 and SB 13 were introduced by Senator Bill DeSteph who sponsered our antique vehicle exhaust bill.
SB 15 Driver improvement clinics; motorcycle driver improvement clinics; Motorcycle Driver Improvement Clinic Fund; created.
Creates motorcycle driver improvement clinics, defined in the bill, as a subset of existing driver improvement clinics and provides requirements and parameters for the instruction and administration of the motorcycle driver improvement clinics. The bill authorizes courts to direct defendants who have committed violations while operating a motorcycle to attend a motorcycle driver improvement clinic and satisfy the requirements thereof. The bill also creates the Motorcycle Driver Improvement Clinic Fund for the operation and administration of motorcycle driver improvement clinics. The bill specifies that priority be given to the creation of motorcycle driver improvement clinics that operate as computer-based clinics.
SB 17 Enforcement of vehicle liens; property value.
Increases from $12,500 to $17,000 the maximum value of property that may be sold at public auction to satisfy a lien on a motor vehicle without petitioning for a court order for the sale of such property.
SB 26 Land development; solar canopies in parking areas. Provides that any locality may include in its land development ordinances a provision that requires that an applicant must install a solar canopy over designated surface parking areas. Such provisions shall apply only to nonresidential parking areas with 100 parking spaces or more and may require coverage of up to 50 percent of the surface parking area. The bill provides that localities shall allow for deviations, in whole or in part, from the requirements of the ordinance when its strict application would prevent the development of uses and densities otherwise allowed by the locality's zoning or development ordinance. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.
SB 41 Voluntary contributions during electronic Department of Motor Vehicles transactions. Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to provide a method by which an individual conducting an electronic Department transaction may make a voluntary contribution to the Virginia Highway Safety Improvement Program. Under current law, the Department is only required to provide a method by which voluntary contributions may be made to the Virginia Donor Registry and Public Awareness Fund.
SB 45 Display of license plate; only rear plate required; exception. Permits every registered motor vehicle to display a single license plate issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles on the rear of the vehicle, except for tractor trucks, which shall display such license plate on the front of the vehicle. Current law requires license plates displayed on the front and rear of most such vehicles.
SB 53 Lighted vehicle headlights; lawful stop by law-enforcement officer. Clarifies that any evidence discovered or obtained following the lawful stop by a law-enforcement officer of a vehicle displaying no lighted headlights may be offered as evidence in any trial, hearing, or other proceeding if such evidence is otherwise admissible.
SB 59 Photo speed monitoring devices; photo-monitoring system for traffic signals; proof of violation; certain persons swearing to or affirming certificates; training. Authorizes retired sworn law-enforcement officers or registered special conservators of the peace to swear or to affirm certificates for the purposes of enforcement of violations recorded by traffic light signal violation monitoring systems or traffic control device violation monitoring systems or photo speed monitoring devices upon completion of a training course developed and approved by the Department of Criminal Justice Services. The bill requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to develop, approve, and make available such training course no later than July 1, 2027. The bill also requires law-enforcement officers swearing to or affirming such certificates to complete such training course.
SB 67 Parking enforcement; high tourism localities. Expands the localities authorized to, by ordinance, authorize law-enforcement officers, other uniformed employees of the locality, and uniformed personnel serving under contract with the locality to issue a summons or parking ticket for a violation of an ordinance regulating the parking, stopping, and standing of vehicles to include any locality in which tourist visitation exceeds two million people per year. Existing law grants such authority to localities having a population of at least 40,000.
SB 81 Enforcement of federal traffic infractions by state and local law-enforcement officers; photo speed monitoring devices; Planning District 8. Provides that state and local law-enforcement officers may enforce federal traffic infractions on any highway within Planning District 8. The bill also provides that a state or local law-enforcement agency may place and operate a photo speed monitoring device on a National Park highway, as defined in the bill, for the purpose of recording vehicle speed violations, provided that such law-enforcement agency has been authorized by the federal government or the National Park Service to place such photo speed monitoring device on such National Park highway.
SB 84 Speed safety cameras, pedestrian crossing violation monitoring systems, and stop sign violation monitoring systems; placement and operation; violation enforcement; civil penalties. Authorizes state and local law-enforcement agencies to place and operate pedestrian crossing violation and stop sign violation monitoring systems in school crossing zones, highway work zones, and high-risk speed corridors for purposes of recording pedestrian crossing and stop sign violations, as those terms are defined in the bill. The bill changes the terms "photo speed monitoring device" to "speed safety camera" and "high-risk intersection segment" to "high-risk speed corridor" in provisions related to vehicle speed violations. The bill makes various changes to the requirements for the use of speed safety cameras and extends most of those requirements to the use of pedestrian crossing violation and stop sign violation monitoring systems. The bill requires local law-enforcement agencies implementing or expanding the use of pedestrian crossing violation and stop sign violation monitoring systems, prior to the implementation or expansion of such systems, to conduct a public awareness program for such implementation or expansion.
SB124 Towing, impoundment, immobilization, and storage costs; payments or reimbursements by the Commonwealth. Clarifies that the payments or reimbursements owed by the Commonwealth to the owner or lienholder of a vehicle under existing law for the cost of towing, impounding, immobilizing, or storing certain vehicles involved in criminal offenses shall be paid through the state treasury from the appropriation for criminal charges. The bill requires such requests to be on a form developed specifically for such purpose by the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court.
SB135 Department of Motor Vehicles; motor vehicle title databases. Authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles to enter into agreements with nationally recognized motor vehicle title databases to share and receive motor vehicle owner and lienholder information between governmental entities.

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