VA HB 868
Status unknownPolitical campaign advertisements; synthetic media, penalty.
Virginia · 2026 Regular Session · lower
Quick answers
Did VA HB 868 pass?
The current status of VA HB 868 is not known from the official record. Latest recorded action (2026-02-06): Continued to next session in Privileges and Elections (Voice Vote)
What is VA HB 868 about?
Elections; political campaign advertisements; synthetic media; penalty. Prohibits electioneering communications containing synthetic media, as those terms are defined in the bill, from being published or broadcast without containing the following conspicuously displayed statement: "This message contains synthetic media that has been altered from its original source or artificially generated and may present conduct or speech that did not occur." The bill creates a civil penalty not to exceed $25,000 for a violation of such prohibition and a Class 1 misdemeanor for a willful violation. The bill permits any registered voter who receives an electioneering communication in violation of this requirement to institute an action for preventative relief to prohibit the publication or dissemination of such electioneering communication, including an application for a permanent or temporary injunction.
Who sponsors VA HB 868?
Rae Cousins is the primary sponsor of VA HB 868.
Description
Elections; political campaign advertisements; synthetic media; penalty. Prohibits electioneering communications containing synthetic media, as those terms are defined in the bill, from being published or broadcast without containing the following conspicuously displayed statement: "This message contains synthetic media that has been altered from its original source or artificially generated and may present conduct or speech that did not occur." The bill creates a civil penalty not to exceed $25,000 for a violation of such prohibition and a Class 1 misdemeanor for a willful violation. The bill permits any registered voter who receives an electioneering communication in violation of this requirement to institute an action for preventative relief to prohibit the publication or dissemination of such electioneering communication, including an application for a permanent or temporary injunction.
- Introduced
- 2026-01-13
- Latest action
- 2026-02-06 — Continued to next session in Privileges and Elections (Voice Vote)
- Bill type
- bill
- Last updated
- —
Sponsors
- Rae Cousinsprimary
Committees
Not provided by source.
Action timeline
2026-01-13
Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103803D
filing,introduction
2026-01-13
Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections
referral-committee
2026-01-25
Assigned HPE sub: Campaigns and Candidates
referral-committee
2026-01-28
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB868)
2026-02-03
Subcommittee recommends reporting (6-Y 2-N)
2026-02-06
Continued to next session in Privileges and Elections (Voice Vote)
Versions
Documents
Votes
Subcommittee recommends reporting
2026-02-03 · pass · 6-2
Member-level votes (8)
- Rozia A. Henson, Jr.: yes
- Joshua G. Cole: yes
- Destiny LeVere Bolling: yes
- JJ Singh: yes
- Katrina Callsen: yes
- Karen R. "Kacey" Carnegie: yes
- Phillip A. Scott: no
- H. Otto Wachsmann, Jr.: no
Related bills
No related bills recorded for this bill.
Official source
Attribution
Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T05:35:59.552682Z
Inspect retained evidence for changes recorded after evidence tracking began:
Use this data
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Known limitations
- Sponsor party and chamber affiliation are not yet captured by this API.
- Committee referrals are not yet captured.
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