HB 1365 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Fishing license requirements; free fishing days.

Summary

Fishing license requirements; exemptions; free fishing days. Increases from three to six days the maximum number of free fishing days, during which a person is allowed to fish without a fishing license, that the Board of Wildlife Resources may designate for inland waters in the Commonwealth and the Commissioner of Marine Resources may designate for saltwater recreational fishing in the Commonwealth.

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 20, 2026 Signed Apr 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Enrolled · 3 edits · Apr 13, 2026

MINOR

This bill converts a draft legislative proposal into its final, enacted form. The substantive policy content regarding fishing license exemptions remains identical to the introduced version, with no changes to eligibility criteria, fees, or rules. The only differences are the removal of committee referral text and the addition of official formatting, approval dates, and page numbers required for a law to be officially recorded.

TECHNICAL

Removed introductory text regarding committee referral and sponsors, as these are no longer relevant once the bill is enacted.

Added official headers, approval stamps, and page numbering to comply with state formatting standards for enrolled laws.

Inserted the official bill identifier 'HB1365ER' to mark the document as the enrolled version.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 5, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 17, 2026

How they voted

38–0

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 39

Mar 5, 2026

D Democratic20

19 Yea 1

95% 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 13, 2026

Signed into law

Approved by Governor-Chapter 834 (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 (HB1365ER)

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed Senate (39-Y 1-N 0-A)

upper

Mar 9, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day

upper

Mar 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

upper

Mar 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources (14-Y 1-N)

upper

Feb 18, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources

upper

Feb 17, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time and passed House (92-Y 4-N 0-A)

lower

Feb 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources (19-Y 3-N)

lower

Feb 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Subcommittee recommends reporting (10-Y 0-N)

lower

Jan 30, 2026

Committee

Assigned HACNR sub: Agriculture

lower

Jan 20, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources

lower

Jan 20, 2026

Introduced

Presented and ordered printed 26104570D

lower

1 primary · 7 co-sponsors