HB 242 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Public utilities; budget plan payment increases.

Summary

Public utilities; budget plan payment increases. Prohibits a public utility from, for any residential customer who is enrolled in a budget plan, increasing the amount of such customer's monthly payment more than once within any 12-month period or without notifying the customer in writing at least 60 days before such increase takes effect. The bill defines "budget plan" as a fixed billing option offered by a public utility to a customer whereby the total service for the succeeding 12-month period is estimated in advance and bills are rendered monthly on the basis of one-twelfth of the 12-month estimate. The provisions of the bill do not apply to any public utility engaged in the business of furnishing water or sewerage facilities.

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 8, 2026 Signed Apr 8, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Enrolled → Chaptered · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill was formally enacted into law as Chapter 373 of the 2026 Virginia Acts of Assembly. The substantive policy content regarding utility billing rules remained unchanged, but the text was reformatted to include official session headers, chapter numbering, and the approval date.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged; it continues to regulate budget plan payment increases for residential public utility customers while exempting water and sewerage providers.

TECHNICAL

The text was reformatted to include official legislative headers, chapter number (373), and the specific approval date (April 8, 2026), which were absent in the enrolled draft.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 4, 2026 · House of Delegates Jan 28, 2026

How they voted

38–0

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 39

Mar 4, 2026

D Democratic20

20 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican19

18 Yea 1

94% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 8, 2026

Signed into law

Approved by Governor-Chapter 373 (effective 7/1/2026)

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 (HB242ER)

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Senate amendment agreed to by House (93-Y 4-N 0-A)

lower

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed Senate with amendment (37-Y 2-N 0-A)

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Introduced

Engrossed by Senate as amended

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Commerce and Labor Amendment agreed to

upper

Mar 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day (Voice Vote)

upper

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Commerce and Labor with amendment (12-Y 1-N)

upper

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate committee offered

upper

Jan 29, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor

upper

Jan 28, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time and passed House (97-Y 0-N 0-A)

lower

Jan 27, 2026

Introduced

Engrossed by House as amended

lower

Jan 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

committee amendments agreed to

lower

Jan 22, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Labor and Commerce with amendment(s) (22-Y 0-N)

lower

Jan 20, 2026

Lower · Passed

Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (8-Y 1-N)

lower

Jan 20, 2026

Lower · Passed

House subcommittee offered

lower

Jan 15, 2026

Committee

Assigned HCL sub: Subcommittee #3

lower

Jan 8, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce

lower

1 primary · 10 co-sponsors