Legislation tracker

Legislation

Every jurisdiction in this catalog has entries whose figures move when a bill passes, whose act takes effect on a later date, or whose program is repealed while its agency keeps advertising it. This page watches each jurisdiction's law, follows a bill through its own jurisdiction's process where its stages are recorded, and names the catalog entries each instrument touches.

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Choosing a jurisdiction overrides the level. Stage is where the bill stands in its own jurisdiction's process. Direction is whether it expands or restricts benefits, recorded only where the reason can be read from the bill. Outcome is whether the instrument became law; catalog status is whether this catalog has been reconciled against it. None of this is legal advice, and a tracked item is a pointer to the official record rather than a substitute for reading it.

3 instruments in Virginia. Tracked across 51 jurisdictions. Every other jurisdiction on the board is still watched by hand.

A bill that died is listed only where a guide, an agency, or a news story has described it as current law. That is the failure that puts a number in front of a veteran which no assessor, registrar, or school will honor.

VirginiaState

2026-2028 Appropriation Act (HB 30, 2026 Special Session I), Item 131 E Funded the VMSDEP stipend at up to $2,200 a year, as an estimate that moves with enrollment

Catalog reconciledEnactedFigure moved

Signed 2026-06-29Takes effect 2026-07-01

Introduced Done, 2025-12-17, step 1 of 6
In committee Done, 2025-12-17, step 2 of 6
Passed one chamber Done, 2026-02-26, step 3 of 6
Passed both chambers Done, 2026-06-22, step 4 of 6
Signed by the governor Done, 2026-06-29, step 5 of 6
In effect Done, 2026-07-01, step 6 of 6

Expands benefits Funds the VMSDEP stipend at up to $2,200 a year, above the $2,000 in the Code.

Designates $16,780,000 in fiscal 2027 and $19,250,000 in fiscal 2028 for up to a $2,200 annual stipend for room, board, books and supplies under the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program, above the $2,000 in Code of Virginia 23.1-608.1, which lets the appropriation act set the figure. The amount is an estimate SCHEV may raise or lower with the number of eligible students, so the stipend exists only as funded. Item 131 K adds annual VMSDEP reporting by eligibility category and an audit by the Auditor of Public Accounts.

Sponsor

Touches Code of Virginia § 23.1-608 · Code of Virginia § 23.1-608.1

Catalog entry

Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program

Official record

VirginiaState

2026 Acts of Assembly, chapters 602 and 603 (HB 398, SB 315) Safeguarding American Veteran Empowerment Act: limits on paid help with veterans benefits claims

Catalog reconciledEnactedProgram created

Signed 2026-04-13Takes effect 2026-07-01

Introduced Done, 2026-01-12, step 1 of 6
In committee Done, 2026-01-12, step 2 of 6
Passed one chamber Done, 2026-02-17, step 3 of 6
Passed both chambers Done, 2026-03-02, step 4 of 6
Signed by the governor Done, 2026-04-13, step 5 of 6
In effect Done, 2026-07-01, step 6 of 6

Expands benefits Bars referral and upfront fees for help with VA claims and caps any fee at five times the monthly increase.

Added Code of Virginia 59.1-614 to 59.1-616. No one may be paid for referring a veteran to claims help or charge an initial or nonrefundable fee; paid help needs a signed agreement, is contingent on an increase actually awarded and is capped at five times the monthly increase; no one may be paid for a claim filed within a year of release from active duty without the veteran’s signed waiver of free help; outcomes may not be guaranteed; and a written notice of free help from the Department of Veterans Services and veterans service organizations is required. Enforced as a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. Effective July 1, 2026.

Sponsor

Touches Code of Virginia § 59.1-614 · Code of Virginia § 59.1-615

Catalog entry

Virginia Benefits Services Claims Help

Official record

VirginiaState

2026 Acts of Assembly, chapter 39 (HB 94) Extended the disabled veteran registration fee waiver to a vehicle with standard passenger plates

Catalog reconciledEnactedScope changed

Signed 2026-03-31Takes effect 2026-07-01

Introduced Done, 2026-01-02, step 1 of 6
In committee Done, 2026-01-02, step 2 of 6
Passed one chamber Done, 2026-02-04, step 3 of 6
Passed both chambers Done, 2026-03-02, step 4 of 6
Signed by the governor Done, 2026-03-31, step 5 of 6
In effect Done, 2026-07-01, step 6 of 6

Expands benefits Extends the disabled veteran registration fee waiver to a vehicle with standard passenger plates.

Amended Code of Virginia 46.2-739(C) so the one-vehicle waiver of the annual registration fee and the annual special plate fee, for a veteran with limb loss, blindness or a permanent and total VA certification and for the unremarried surviving spouse, applies to a vehicle displaying the standard passenger plate as well as one displaying Disabled Veteran plates. Effective July 1, 2026. The DMV plate page already describes the standard plate route.

Sponsor

Touches Code of Virginia § 46.2-739

Catalog entry

Virginia Disabled Veteran License Plates and Registration Fee

Official record

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A bill moves when the people who vote on it hear from the people it affects. Enter your address to see who represents you in Congress and in your state legislature, and where to get free, accredited help with a VA claim: your county veterans service officer or town veterans’ agent, and your state’s service offices.