HB 229 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Weapons; possession prohibited in 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 that 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 such firearm, knife, explosive, or weapon shall be subject to seizure by a law-enforcement officer and forfeited to the Commonwealth and specifies certain exceptions to the prohibition. This bill is identical to SB 173.

Issues: ✓ Healthcare

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 8, 2026 Vetoed Apr 11, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

Firearms Subcommittee Substitute → Governor Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was changed from a House substitute to a Governor's substitute, which altered the exemptions for who can legally carry weapons in mental health and developmental service hospitals. The original version allowed police, sheriffs, and armed security guards to carry weapons, while the new version restricts these exemptions to law-enforcement officers, correctional officers, and jail officers, effectively removing the exemption for armed security guards.

Scope change

The scope of the bill's exemptions was narrowed to exclude armed security officers who were previously allowed to carry weapons in these facilities.

ELIGIBILITY

The exemption for possessing a weapon in a hospital was changed to remove armed security officers, limiting the exemption to law-enforcement officers and correctional/jail officers.

TECHNICAL

The bill's identification number was updated from 26106607D to 26110158D, and the proposal date was updated to April 11, 2026, reflecting the Governor's version.

Minor formatting changes were made to add spaces after section symbols in the legal text.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 5, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 5, 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 11, 2026

Vetoed

Governor's recommendation received by House

executive

Mar 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by President

upper

Mar 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

Signed by Speaker

lower

Mar 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB229ER)

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

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 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Finance and Appropriations (10-Y 5-N)

upper

Feb 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Courts of Justice and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (9-Y 4-N)

upper

Feb 6, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice

upper

Feb 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time and passed House (63-Y 34-N 0-A)

lower

Jan 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Public Safety with substitute (15-Y 6-N)

lower

Jan 29, 2026

Lower · Passed

House subcommittee offered

lower

Jan 16, 2026

Committee

Assigned HPS sub: Firearms

lower

Jan 8, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Public Safety

lower

1 primary · 22 co-sponsors