HB 1046 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Virginia Public Procurement Act; additional public works contract requirements.

Summary

Virginia Public Procurement Act; additional public works contract requirements; report. Provides that public bodies shall require the contractor and its subcontractors for any construction contract, as defined in the bill, to complete certain safety training programs and maintain records of compliance with applicable laws. The bill requires written authorization from a state public body before any party to a construction contract provides remuneration to more than one independent contractor when such contract is valued at greater than $5 million. If a construction contract with a local public body is valued at greater than $5 million the prime contractor shall provide written notification to the local public body justifying remuneration to any independent contractor. The foregoing provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.Effective in due course, the bill requires the Secretary of Labor to conduct an 18-month evaluation regarding the feasibility of requiring public bodies to hire apprentices on public works contracts. The bill also directs the Department of General Services and the Department of Labor and Industry to develop guidelines to assist state public bodies in making the determinations required to issue an authorization allowing a contractor, subcontractor, or other party to a public works contract to provide remuneration to an independent contractor in connection with such contract. The Department of General Services shall publish such guidelines on its website no later than July 1, 2027. This bill is identical to SB 324.

Issues: ✓ Labor & Employment

Bill status vetoed 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Vetoed

Apr 2026

Introduced Jan 14, 2026 Vetoed Apr 11, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 6 comparisons

What changed between versions

Procurement/Open Government Subcommittee Substitute → General Government and Capital Outlay Subcommittee Substitute · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was transferred from the General Laws committee to the Appropriations committee and significantly expanded to include amendments to the Code of Virginia regarding higher education operational authority. The primary changes redefine the scope of public works contracts to include those over $5 million starting July 1, 2027, and mandate that public institutions of higher education comply with new apprentice hiring and tracking requirements as a condition for entering into operational memoranda of understanding.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from solely adding a new section on public procurement to also amending existing sections (§ 23.1-1003 and § 23.1-1006) to tie higher education operational authority to compliance with the new public works apprentice requirements.

DEFINITION

Renamed 'capital outlay project' to 'construction contract' and updated the threshold to contracts valued over $5 million initiated after July 1, 2027.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new requirement for public bodies to ensure at least one apprentice is hired on construction contracts and to create internal policies to track and increase apprentice labor hours.

Mandated that contractors collect and submit specific information about independent contractors (trade and contact info) to state departments within 30 days.

ELIGIBILITY

Established new conditions for public institutions of higher education to enter into memoranda of understanding for restructured operational authority, requiring them to post procurement notices online and agree to comply with the new apprentice requirements.

TIMELINE

Set the effective date for the new construction contract requirements and higher education compliance mandates to July 1, 2027.

ENFORCEMENT

Required the Department of General Services to conduct a five-year evaluation of apprentice hiring feasibility and report annually to the General Assembly starting November 1, 2028.

Introduced → Enrolled · 8 edits · Mar 31, 2026

MODERATE

The bill evolved from a broad proposal requiring apprenticeship usage on all public works projects to a more targeted law focusing on large contracts over $5 million. The final version removed specific apprenticeship mandates and safety training requirements, replacing them with stricter rules on using independent contractors and new definitions for 'construction contract'.

Scope change

The bill's scope narrowed significantly. It no longer applies to all capital outlay projects but only to construction contracts valued over $5 million, and it specifically targets the use of independent contractors rather than mandating apprentice labor hours.

DEFINITION

The definition of the project type changed from 'capital outlay project' to 'construction contract', which is now specifically defined as contracts initiated after July 1, 2027.

REQUIREMENT

Mandatory requirements for apprenticeship labor hours (15%) and specific safety training programs were removed from the final text.

New restrictions were added limiting contractors on large projects to using no more than one independent contractor without special approval from the public body.

The criteria for using independent contractors were tightened; contractors must now demonstrate a good faith effort to hire direct employees before being allowed to use independent contractors.

The list of legal violations used to screen contractors was shortened, removing references to the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Davis-Bacon Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

The notice required to independent contractors was updated to include instructions on how to file a complaint with the Department of Labor and Industry if misclassified.

The provision allowing public bodies to waive apprenticeship requirements due to a lack of available apprentices in specific geographic areas was removed.

ENFORCEMENT

A new clause was added stating that a public body's authorization to use an independent contractor does not protect the contractor from being held liable for violating the law.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 9, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 17, 2026

How they voted

39–0

Passed

Total votes 39

Mar 9, 2026

D Democratic20

20 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican19

19 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 11, 2026

Vetoed

Governor's recommendation received by House

executive

Mar 31, 2026

Lower · Passed

Signed by Speaker

lower

Mar 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by President

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1046ER)

lower

Mar 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference report agreed to by Senate (21-Y 18-N 0-A)

upper

Mar 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference report agreed to by House (62-Y 35-N 0-A)

lower

Mar 13, 2026

Legislature · Passed

Conference Report released

legislature

Mar 12, 2026

Committee

Senate requested conference committee

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed Senate with substitute (21-Y 19-N 0-A)

upper

Mar 9, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

upper

Mar 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Finance and Appropriations (10-Y 4-N)

upper

Feb 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from General Laws and Technology with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (9-Y 6-N)

upper

Feb 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate committee offered

upper

Feb 18, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology

upper

Feb 17, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time and passed House (61-Y 35-N 0-A)

lower

Feb 13, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Appropriations with substitute (15-Y 7-N)

lower

Jan 30, 2026

Committee

Assigned HAPP sub: General Government and Capital Outlay

lower

Jan 29, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from General Laws with substitute and referred to Appropriations (16-Y 5-N)

lower

Jan 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

House subcommittee offered

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Committee

Assigned HGL sub: Procurement/Open Government

lower

Jan 14, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on General Laws

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors