HB 1103 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Medetomidine; manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing, or possessing, penalties.

Summary
Manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing, or possessing medetomidine; penalties. Provides that any person who knowingly manufactures, sells, gives, distributes, or possesses with the intent to manufacture, sell, give, or distribute the substance medetomidine, when intended for human consumption, is guilty of a Class 5 felony. Under the bill, any person who knowingly possesses medetomidine, when intended for human consumption, is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. Under the bill, it is not an offense to (i) manufacture medetomidine for legitimate veterinary use; (ii) distribute or sell medetomidine for authorized veterinary use; (iii) possess, administer, prescribe, or dispense medetomidine in good faith for use by animals within the course of legitimate veterinary practice; or (iv) possess or administer medetomidine pursuant to a valid prescription from a licensed veterinarian.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Jan 14, 2026 Signed Apr 8, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Enrolled Chaptered · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill was formally enacted into law as Chapter 447 of the 2026 Virginia Acts of Assembly. The substantive legal text regarding penalties for medetomidine and xylazine remains identical to the enrolled version, with no changes to the crimes, penalties, or exemptions. The only changes are technical formatting updates, including the addition of a specific approval date (April 8, 2026) and the removal of the placeholder '2026 SESSION' header in favor of the official chapter designation.
TECHNICAL

Replaced the generic '2026 SESSION' header with the specific official chapter title 'CHAPTER 447' and added the approval date of April 8, 2026.

Removed the placeholder text '[H 1103]' from the header section, as the bill is now officially enacted.

Adjusted line breaks and spacing to match the standard formatting of enacted Virginia laws, while keeping all legal content unchanged.

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

How they voted

390
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
28
Key actions
11
Committee
7
Apr 8, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 447 (effective 7/1/2026)
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 (HB1103ER)
lower
Mar 10, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (40-Y 0-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 (15-Y 0-N)
upper
Mar 2, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N)
upper
Feb 18, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
upper
Feb 17, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (97-Y 0-N 0-A)
lower
Feb 13, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice (21-Y 0-N)
lower
Feb 11, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting (9-Y 0-N)
lower
Feb 10, 2026
Committee
Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal
lower
Jan 14, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Keith Hodges
Keith Hodges
RRepublican
VA
68