Virginia Senate approves package of bills on third reading, including appraiser and medical training requirements, school safe-storage notice and lottery winner

RICHMOND, Va. — The Senate of Virginia on Monday approved a block of House bills on third reading and separately passed several measures addressing housing screening policy, professional training, school safety notices and privacy protections for lottery winners.

The measures won final passage after floor explanations and recorded roll-call votes. The senator from Alexandria spoke for several of the bills, describing the criminal-record-screening and appraiser-training bills; the senator from Richmond spoke for bills on medical training and school notification; and the senator from Eastern Fairfax County explained changes to court-cost treatment in deferred dispositions.

The most detailed measures considered included:

- A bill to require the director of the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) to develop a model criminal-record screening policy for housing with stakeholder input and to conform with federal law; the bill was given a delayed effective date of Jan. 1, 2026. The senator from Alexandria described the measure as “requiring a criminal record screening model policy that the director of the Department of Housing and Community Development will get input from stakeholders and conform to federal law to develop such a policy.” The bill passed on a roll call of Ayes 23, Noes 15.

- A bill requiring applicants for licensure as real estate appraisers to complete two hours of education on fair housing and appraisal bias approved by the real estate appraiser board prior to licensure. The senator from Alexandria said the requirement was for “2 hours of education on fair housing and appraisal bias administered or approved by the real estate appraiser board prior to licensure.” The bill passed on a roll call of Ayes 31, Noes 5.

- A bill directing the Virginia Board of Medicine to require unconscious-bias and cultural-competency training as part of continuing education/competency requirements; the senator from Richmond said the bill addresses “the critical need” to include unconscious-bias and cultural-competency training for medical professionals. The bill passed on a roll call of Ayes 24, Noes 14.

- A bill asking school boards to notify families about the importance of securely storing firearms and prescription drugs at home; the senator from Richmond said the measure mirrors a Senate bill and would require school boards to notify families about safe storage. The bill passed on a roll call of Ayes 21, Noes 18.

- A bill to shield identifying information for Virginia Lottery winners who win $1 million or more, brought at the request of a constituent who experienced impersonation and harassment after a $1 million win. The senator from Alexandria said the winner’s name, photo and hometown had been published and led to impersonation accounts. The measure passed on a roll call of Ayes 35, Noes 4.

- A bill clarifying payment of costs when a criminal proceeding is deferred and later dismissed or reduced: the sponsor explained the bill was revised to address whether unpaid court costs remain outstanding after dismissal and noted that unpaid costs are often ultimately paid through forfeiture or the Department of Taxation. The bill passed on a roll call of Ayes 21, Noes 18.

Additionally, the Senate placed a large set of House bills on final passage as a block; the clerk read the bill numbers and committees of reference before senators voted to advance the block. Several bills were removed from the block for separate consideration at senators’ requests.

Votes at a glance (selected bills discussed on the floor)

- HB 16-38 (criminal-record screening model, DHCD) — Passed; Ayes 23, Noes 15; delayed effective date 2026-01-01. - HB 16-93 (appraiser fair-housing training) — Passed; Ayes 31, Noes 5. - HB 16-49 (Board of Medicine unconscious-bias training) — Passed; Ayes 24, Noes 14. - HB 16-78 (school-board notices on safe storage of firearms and prescription drugs) — Passed; Ayes 21, Noes 18. - HB 17-99 (Virginia Lottery winner privacy for prizes $1,000,000+) — Passed; Ayes 35, Noes 4. - HB 18-86 (payment of costs when proceedings deferred) — Passed; Ayes 21, Noes 18.

What happened and why it matters

Lawmakers said the bills respond to constituent concerns and aims such as reducing housing barriers tied to criminal records, addressing appraisal and health-care bias through required training, increasing family awareness of safe-storage practices for firearms and medications, and protecting the safety and privacy of large lottery winners. The court-cost clarification was described as addressing inconsistent local practices and ensuring that unpaid costs may still be recovered through existing tax or forfeiture mechanisms.

What’s next

Most measures approved on third reading now proceed toward enrollment or final enactment steps specified in statute and may have delayed effective dates noted in the floor explanations. The DHCD policy bill includes a Jan. 1, 2026, effective date; other bills carry no floor-stated delayed dates. Several other bills were advanced in the uncontested block; senators may continue work in committees and caucuses in the coming days.

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