July 1 was the date when most laws passed by the Virginia General Assembly — and signed by the Governor — go into effect in the Commonwealth. This includes my HB 2621, the APCo Rate Reduction Act, which will soon begin working towards lowering your electric bill. In addition, my HB 1583, which updates the penalties for those who threaten to discharge a firearm within or at buildings or means of transportation, has also officially become law in Virginia. With a General Assembly that is controlled by Democrats and a Governor’s mansion that is currently occupied by a Republican, most legislation passed by the General Assembly in 2025 needed to garner strong bipartisan support to have any chance at becoming law. Some additional legislation that recently became law in Virginia – and that I supported – are:
SB 738: Public elementary and secondary schools; student cell phone possession and use policies; development and implementation. The law directs each school board to develop and each public elementary and secondary school to implement policies relating to the possession and use of cell phones and smart devices by students on school property from bell to bell.
HB 1595: Virginia National Guard State Tuition Assistance Program, changes to eligibility criteria. Makes several changes to the Virginia National Guard State Tuition Assistance Program in order to simplify the process for application and ensure maximum participation.
HB 1815: Line of Duty Act; campus police officers; private police officers. The law provides employees of contributing nonprofit private institutions of higher education and contributing private police departments with the benefits granted to employees of participating employers under the Line of Duty Act.
HB 2036: Reckless driving; exhibition driving; penalties; emergency. The law, which actually became effective on April 2, 2025 due to an emergency clause, expands reckless driving to include exhibition driving, defined in the law. The law prohibits (i) slowing or stopping traffic for a race or exhibition driving, (ii) riding as a passenger on the hood or roof of a motor vehicle during a race or exhibition driving, or (iii) aiding or abetting exhibition driving.
HB 2441: SW Va. Higher Ed. Ctr. Bd. of Trustees; authority to permit campus officers to carry firearms. As the title of the legislation succinctly says, this legislation allows for increased protection of students at the SWVA Higher Education Center. As a member of the Board of Trustees, I was happy to see this legislation pass.
HB2657: Involuntary manslaughter; certain drug offenses. Provides that any person who knowingly, intentionally, and feloniously manufactures, sells, or distributes a controlled substance knowing that such controlled substance contains a detectable amount of fentanyl, and unintentionally causes the death of another person, is guilty of involuntary manslaughter. This legislation is important in Virginia’s ongoing battle against fentanyl and opioid abuse.
These are but a few pieces of legislation that recently became law in the Commonwealth. To learn more about legislation and new laws that may be of interest to you, I would encourage you to visit LIS.virginia.gov, where all legislation from the Virginia General Assembly may be found. You can also find a selection of legislation most likely to impact your day to day life, called “In Due Course” and published by the Virginia Division of Legislative Services, at https://dls.virginia.gov/pubs/idc/idc25.pdf.
As the Delegate representing the 42nd House District in the Virginia General Assembly, your concerns are my greatest priority. If ever I may be of assistance to you and your family, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at DelJBallard@House.Virginia.Gov. You can also follow me on Twitter @JasonBallardVA or like my Facebook page, Jason Ballard for Delegate, to keep up to date with what I am doing in Richmond and in our community on your behalf.
