Weapons; possession prohibited in a hospital that provides mental health or developmental services.
Summary
Weapons; possession prohibited in a hospital that provides mental health services or developmental services; penalty. Makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person to knowingly and intentionally possess in the building of any hospital that provides mental health services or developmental services in the Commonwealth, including an emergency department or other facility rendering emergency medical care, a (i) firearm, (ii) knife with a blade over three and one-half inches, or (iii) other dangerous weapon, including explosives and stun weapons. The bill also provides that notice of such prohibitions shall be posted conspicuously at each public entrance of any hospital and no person shall be convicted of the offense if such notice is not posted, unless such person had actual notice of the prohibitions. The bill provides that any such firearm, knife, explosive, or weapon shall be subject to seizure by a law-enforcement officer and forfeited to the Commonwealth and specifies exceptions to the prohibition. This bill is identical to SB 1110.
Bill status
vetoed
4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Feb 2025
House of Delegates Passage
Feb 2025
Senate Passage
Feb 2025
Vetoed
Apr 2025
Introduced Jan 7, 2025
Vetoed Apr 2, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons
What changed between versions
Public Safety Substitute
→
Enrolled
·
2 edits
·
Feb 22, 2025
MINOR
The bill's status changed from a draft substitute offered for consideration to an enrolled act, meaning it has been officially approved and signed into law. The substantive text of the legislation, which prohibits weapons in specific hospitals, appears to remain unchanged in this version.
Scope change
The bill's scope and applicability are unchanged; only the procedural status of the document was updated to reflect its enactment.
TECHNICAL
The document header was updated to reflect the bill is now an 'Enrolled' act of the 2025 Session, indicating it has passed all legislative stages and received final approval.
Drafting metadata, including the 'Offered for Consideration' date and the 'Public Safety Substitute' label, was removed as the bill is no longer in committee consideration.
Floor votes · Senate Feb 13, 2025 · House of Delegates Feb 4, 2025
How they voted
40–0
Passed
Total votes 40
Feb 13, 2025
D
Democratic21
100% Yea
R
Republican19
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
32
Key actions
9
Committee
6
Apr 2, 2025
Vetoed
Requires 64 affirmative votes to override Governor's veto
lower
Apr 2, 2025
Vetoed
House sustained Governor's veto (50-Y 46-N)
lower
Mar 24, 2025
Vetoed
Vetoed by Governor
executive
Feb 22, 2025
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Feb 19, 2025
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Feb 19, 2025
Lower · Passed
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1977ER)
lower
Feb 14, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (21-Y 15-N)
upper
Feb 13, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day
upper
Feb 12, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported from Finance and Appropriations (10-Y 5-N)
upper
Feb 10, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (9-Y 4-N)
upper
Feb 5, 2025
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
upper
Feb 4, 2025
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (52-Y 46-N)
lower
Jan 31, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported from Public Safety with substitute (12-Y 9-N)
lower
Jan 17, 2025
Committee
Referred from Courts of Justice and referred to Public Safety (Voice Vote)
lower
Jan 7, 2025
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
lower
1 primary · 23 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Phil Hernandez
DDemocratic
Co
Alex Askew
DDemocratic
Co
Amy Laufer
DDemocratic
Co
Atoosa Reaser
DDemocratic
Co
Bonita Anthony
DDemocratic
Co
Cia Price
DDemocratic
Co
Debra Gardner
DDemocratic
Co
Destiny LeVere Bolling
DDemocratic
Co
Elizabeth Bennett-Parker
DDemocratic
Co
Irene Shin
DDemocratic
Co
J.R. Henson
DDemocratic
Ask Maddy
·
AI policy assistant
Ask Maddy about HB 1977
Scope: VA
Hi! I can help you understand HB 1977. What would you like to know?
Try one of these
i
Maddy answers using official bill text and legislative records. Always verify before sharing.
Sources cited inline