Bill Commons

VA HB 1238

dead

Local ordinances; locality may regulate or prohibit sale of animals in a pet shop, effective clause.

Virginia · 2026 Regular Session · lower

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Quick answers

Did VA HB 1238 pass?

No. VA HB 1238 did not pass — it was defeated or died in the legislative process. Latest recorded action (2026-02-24): Continued to next session in Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources (11-Y 3-N)

What is VA HB 1238 about?

Local ordinances; regulation of pet shops. Authorizes the governing body of any locality to, by ordinance, regulate or prohibit the sale of animals in a pet shop. Such ordinance may distinguish between certain types of pet shops and include provisions for special licensing, inspections, reporting, restrictions, or prohibitions on the sale of certain types of animals. The bill also includes certain existing statewide provisions related to pet shops in the list of sections for which a locality may adopt parallel or more stringent ordinances. The provisions of the bill do not become effective unless reenacted by the 2027 Session of the General Assembly.

Who sponsors VA HB 1238?

Irene Shin is the primary sponsor of VA HB 1238, joined by 1 cosponsor.

Description

Local ordinances; regulation of pet shops. Authorizes the governing body of any locality to, by ordinance, regulate or prohibit the sale of animals in a pet shop. Such ordinance may distinguish between certain types of pet shops and include provisions for special licensing, inspections, reporting, restrictions, or prohibitions on the sale of certain types of animals. The bill also includes certain existing statewide provisions related to pet shops in the list of sections for which a locality may adopt parallel or more stringent ordinances. The provisions of the bill do not become effective unless reenacted by the 2027 Session of the General Assembly.

Introduced
2026-01-14
Latest action
2026-02-24 — Continued to next session in Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources (11-Y 3-N)
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Sponsors

  • Irene Shinprimary
  • Scott A. Surovellcosponsor

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2026-02-24

    Continued to next session in Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources (11-Y 3-N)

  2. 2026-02-24

    Failed to report (defeated) in Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources (6-Y 8-N)

    committee-failure

  3. 2026-02-24

    Assigned HACNR sub: Companion Animals

    referral-committee

  4. 2026-02-18

    Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources

    referral-committee

  5. 2026-02-18

    Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)

  6. 2026-02-17

    Read third time and passed House (58-Y 36-N 0-A)

    passage,reading-3

  7. 2026-02-16

    Engrossed by House as amended

  8. 2026-02-16

    committee amendments agreed to

    amendment-passage

  9. 2026-02-16

    Read second time

    reading-2

  10. 2026-02-15

    Read first time

    reading-1

  11. 2026-02-13

    Reported from Counties, Cities and Towns with amendment(s) (12-Y 8-N)

    committee-passage

  12. 2026-02-13

    House committee offered

  13. 2026-02-11

    Referred from Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and referred to Counties, Cities and Towns (Voice Vote)

    referral-committee

  14. 2026-01-30

    Assigned HACNR sub: Agriculture

    referral-committee

  15. 2026-01-14

    Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources

    referral-committee

  16. 2026-01-14

    Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103643D

    filing,introduction

Versions

Documents

Votes

  • Reported from Counties, Cities and Towns with amendment(s)

    2026-02-13 · pass · 12-8

    Member-level votes (22)
    • Dan I. Helmer: not voting
    • Briana D. Sewell: yes
    • Irene Shin: yes
    • Shelly A. Simonds: yes
    • Alex Q. Askew: yes
    • Laura Jane Cohen: no
    • Marty Martinez: yes
    • Karen Keys-Gamarra: yes
    • Mark C. Downey: yes
    • May Nivar: yes
    • Virgil Thornton: no
    • Jessica L. Anderson: yes
    • Nicole Cole: yes
    • Margaret A. Franklin: yes
    • Garrett McGuire: yes
    • Barry D. Knight: not voting
    • James W. Morefield: no
    • M. Keith Hodges: no
    • Joseph P. McNamara: no
    • Scott A. Wyatt: no
    • Anne Ferrell Tata: no
    • Ellen H. McLaughlin: no

  • H VOTE:

    2026-02-17 · pass · 57-36

    Member-level votes (99)
    • Jessica L. Anderson: yes
    • Bonita G. Anthony: yes
    • Alex Q. Askew: yes
    • Terry L. Austin: no
    • Jason S. Ballard: no
    • Robert S. Bloxom, Jr.: no
    • Gretchen M. Bulova: yes
    • Katrina Callsen: yes
    • Karen R. "Kacey" Carnegie: yes
    • Betsy B. Carr: yes
    • Stacey Annie Carroll: yes
    • Mike A. Cherry: no
    • Nadarius E. Clark: not voting
    • Laura Jane Cohen: no
    • Joshua G. Cole: yes
    • Nicole Cole: yes
    • Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler: yes
    • Mitchell Cornett: no
    • Rae Cousins: yes
    • Will Davis: no
    • Karrie K. Delaney: yes
    • Lindsey Dougherty: yes
    • Mark C. Downey: yes
    • Michael B. Feggans: yes
    • Hyland F. "Buddy" Fowler, Jr.: no
    • Lily V. Franklin: yes
    • Margaret A. Franklin: yes
    • Debra D. Gardner: yes
    • Thomas A. Garrett, Jr.: no
    • Jackie H. Glass: not voting
    • Timothy P. Griffin: no
    • Elizabeth R. Guzman: yes
    • Karen Hamilton: no
    • C.E. Cliff Hayes, Jr.: yes
    • Dan I. Helmer: yes
    • Rozia A. Henson, Jr.: yes
    • Phil M. Hernandez: yes
    • Charniele L. Herring: yes
    • M. Keith Hodges: no
    • Patrick A. Hope: yes
    • Hillary Pugh Kent: no
    • Karen Keys-Gamarra: yes
    • Terry G. Kilgore: no
    • Barry D. Knight: not voting
    • Paul E. Krizek: yes
    • Amy J. Laufer: yes
    • James A. "Jay" Leftwich: no
    • Destiny LeVere Bolling: yes
    • Alfonso H. Lopez: yes
    • Michelle Lopes Maldonado: yes
    • Marty Martinez: yes
    • John Chilton McAuliff: not voting
    • Adele Y. McClure: yes
    • Garrett McGuire: yes
    • Ellen H. McLaughlin: no
    • Joseph P. McNamara: no
    • Delores L. McQuinn: yes
    • Leslie Chambers Mehta: yes
    • James W. Morefield: no
    • May Nivar: yes
    • Delores Oates: no
    • Israel D. O'Quinn: no
    • Justin Pence: no
    • Eric Phillips: no
    • Kimberly Pope Adams: yes
    • Marcia S. "Cia" Price: yes
    • Sam Rasoul: not voting
    • Atoosa R. Reaser: yes
    • David A. Reid: yes
    • Chris S. Runion: no
    • Charlie Schmidt: yes
    • Don Scott: yes
    • Phillip A. Scott: no
    • Holly M. Seibold: yes
    • Briana D. Sewell: yes
    • Irene Shin: yes
    • Marcus B. Simon: yes
    • Shelly A. Simonds: yes
    • JJ Singh: yes
    • Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan, Jr.: yes
    • Anne Ferrell Tata: no
    • Joshua E. Thomas: yes
    • Virgil Thornton: yes
    • Luke E. Torian: not voting
    • Kathy K.L. Tran: yes
    • H. Otto Wachsmann, Jr.: no
    • Wendell S. Walker: no
    • Jeion A. Ward: yes
    • R. Lee Ware: no
    • Vivian E. Watts: yes
    • Michael J. Webert: no
    • Madison Whittle: no
    • Bill Wiley: no
    • Rodney T. Willett: yes
    • Wren M. Williams: no
    • Tony O. Wilt: no
    • Thomas C. Wright, Jr.: no
    • Scott A. Wyatt: no
    • Eric R. Zehr: no

  • Continued to next session in Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources

    2026-02-24 · pass · 11-3

    Member-level votes (15)
    • David W. Marsden: yes
    • Mark D. Obenshain: yes
    • Richard H. Stuart: not voting
    • William M. Stanley, Jr.: no
    • David R. Suetterlein: yes
    • T. Travis Hackworth: yes
    • Angelia Williams Graves: yes
    • Russet Perry: no
    • Stella G. Pekarsky: yes
    • Timmy French: yes
    • Saddam Azlan Salim: yes
    • Tammy Brankley Mulchi: yes
    • Danica A. Roem: no
    • Kannan Srinivasan: yes
    • Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker: yes

  • Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources

    2026-02-24 · fail · 6-8

    Member-level votes (15)
    • David W. Marsden: no
    • Mark D. Obenshain: no
    • Richard H. Stuart: not voting
    • William M. Stanley, Jr.: yes
    • David R. Suetterlein: no
    • T. Travis Hackworth: no
    • Angelia Williams Graves: yes
    • Russet Perry: yes
    • Stella G. Pekarsky: no
    • Timmy French: no
    • Saddam Azlan Salim: no
    • Tammy Brankley Mulchi: no
    • Danica A. Roem: yes
    • Kannan Srinivasan: yes
    • Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker: yes

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB1238

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T05:35:59.552682Z

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