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

Quick answers

Did VA HB 1238 pass?

No. VA HB 1238 did not pass — it was defeated or died in the legislative process (2026-02-24). 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

  1. 2026-01-14

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

    filing,introduction

  2. 2026-01-14

    Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources

    referral-committee

  3. 2026-01-30

    Assigned HACNR sub: Agriculture

    referral-committee

  4. 2026-02-11

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

    referral-committee

  5. 2026-02-13

    House committee offered

  6. 2026-02-13

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

    committee-passage

  7. 2026-02-15

    Read first time

    reading-1

  8. 2026-02-16

    Read second time

    reading-2

  9. 2026-02-16

    committee amendments agreed to

    amendment-passage

  10. 2026-02-16

    Engrossed by House as amended

  11. 2026-02-17

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

    passage,reading-3

  12. 2026-02-18

    Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)

  13. 2026-02-18

    Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources

    referral-committee

  14. 2026-02-24

    Assigned HACNR sub: Companion Animals

    referral-committee

  15. 2026-02-24

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

    committee-failure

  16. 2026-02-24

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

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

Inspect retained evidence for changes recorded after evidence tracking began:

Source and document changesStatus and relationship changes

Use this data

Every field on this page is available from the free public API — no key or licence required. Fetch this bill as JSON: GET /api/v1/bills?jurisdiction=VA&identifier=HB 1238. See the API docs or the MCP server for AI assistants.

Known limitations

  • Sponsor party and chamber affiliation are not yet captured by this API.
  • Committee referrals are not yet captured.

See the methodology page for data sources and limitations.