New bills to support veterans

Governor Glenn Youngkin signed 20 bipartisan bills to support Virginia’s military and veteran community and their families. This package of bills improves access to early childhood education for military families, streamlines essential services, removes housing barriers, and strengthens protections and benefits for service members.

“Every day our military families make incredible sacrifices, and while we can never repay them, we remain committed to ensuring Virginia is the best state for military families and for veterans to retire,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “By improving access to childcare, streamlining vital resources, creating military centered community zones, and removing housing barriers, these bipartisan bills deliver for our military families, and I am grateful to the continued effort with our partners in the General Assembly to go to work for our military and veteran community.”

“I am proud that this package of bills will continue to improve the quality of life for our veterans, servicemembers, and their families and I appreciate the continued bipartisan effort to make Virginia the very best state for veterans,” said Secretary of Veteran and Defense Affairs Craig Crenshaw.

Bills Included:

HB 160 (Seibold) Veterans; workplace poster for benefits and services.

HB 194 (Martinez) Virginia Military Parents Equal Protection Act; members of Space Force.

HB 279 (Helmer) & SB 401 (Durant) Military leaves of absence for employees of the Commonwealth, etc.; includes professional firefighters.

HB 299 (Ballard) License tax; retired police or military dogs, exemption.

HB 322 (Glass) Cosmetology Compact; established.

HB 324 (Glass) PA Licensure Compact; authorizes Virginia to become a signatory to Compact.

HB 352 (Glass) & SB 213 (Perry) Virginia Residential Landlord & Tenant Act; early termination for military personnel, stop movement order.

HB 380 (Cherry) License plates, special; issuance to certain members, veterans, & retirees of U.S. Air Force.

HB 589 (Glass) Data Governance and Analytics, Office of; reciprocal data-sharing agreements, veteran-specific data.

HB 619 (Price) & SB 343 (Rouse) Military-centered community zones; localities may establish, by ordinance, one or more zones.

HB 649 (Coyner) & SB 325 (Roem) Vital records; birth certificates, adoption, members of the military.

HB 738 (Sewell) Space Force; extension of certain benefits and privileges for persons serving in Armed Forces.

HB 739 (Sewell) & SB 702 (Subramanyam) Early childhood care; military childcare exemptions.

HB 1401 (Clark) Virginia Law Officers’ Retirement System; adds firefighters employed by Department of Military Affairs.

HB 1513 (Fowler) Service members; active-duty status for any member injured while in the line of duty.