---
type: "Bill"
title: "Legal notices and publications; online-only news publications, requirements."
description: "Legal notices and publications; online-only news publications; requirements. Provides that, where any ordinance, resolution, notice, or advertisement is required by law to be published in a newspaper, such ordinance, resolution, notice, or advertisement instead may be published in an online-only news publication subject to certain requirements specified in the bill. The bill sets out a process by which an online-only news publication shall petition the circuit court of the appropriate jurisdiction to publish such ordinances, resolutions, notices, or advertisements and authorizes the court to grant such online-only news publication the authority to publish such ordinances, resolutions, notices, or advertisements for a period of one year. The bill also describes the process by which an online-only news publication may continue renewing such authority to publish in each successive year. This bill is identical to HB 264."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2024"
identifier: "SB 157"
citation: "Virginia SB 157 (2024)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Jennifer B. Boysko"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 23
vote_count: 5
first_action: "2024-01-05"
last_action: "2024-04-02"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/de50eda9-c469-4b16-a510-d4c893be9d9b"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+sum+SB157"
source_hash: "4dd150e8ff3b70095e7dbdba206d2c78fb1f1e3b97b4541cb26b166185044b82"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-va"]
---

# Virginia SB 157 (2024) — Legal notices and publications; online-only news publications, requirements.

Legal notices and publications; online-only news publications; requirements. Provides that, where any ordinance, resolution, notice, or advertisement is required by law to be published in a newspaper, such ordinance, resolution, notice, or advertisement instead may be published in an online-only news publication subject to certain requirements specified in the bill. The bill sets out a process by which an online-only news publication shall petition the circuit court of the appropriate jurisdiction to publish such ordinances, resolutions, notices, or advertisements and authorizes the court to grant such online-only news publication the authority to publish such ordinances, resolutions, notices, or advertisements for a period of one year. The bill also describes the process by which an online-only news publication may continue renewing such authority to publish in each successive year. This bill is identical to HB 264.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **CHAP0341** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+ful+CHAP0341)
2. **Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/10/24 24104298D** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+ful+SB157)
3. **SB157ER** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+ful+SB157ER)

## Votes

- Constitutional reading dispensed (37-Y 0-N) — **37–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported from Courts of Justice (15-Y 0-N) — **15–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported from Courts of Justice (22-Y 0-N) — **22–0** (pass) · lower
- VOTE: Block Vote Passage (100-Y 0-N) — **99–0** (pass) · lower
- Read third time and passed Senate (36-Y 3-N) — **36–3** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Jennifer B. Boysko — primary (person)
- Mark D. Obenshain — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2024-01-05** Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/10/24 24104298D `filing, introduction`
- **2024-01-05** Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice `referral-committee`
- **2024-01-10** Moved from Judiciary to Courts of Justice due to a change of the committee name
- **2024-01-17** Reported from Courts of Justice (15-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2024-01-19** Constitutional reading dispensed (37-Y 0-N)
- **2024-01-22** Read second time and engrossed `reading-2`
- **2024-01-23** Read third time and passed Senate (36-Y 3-N) `passage, reading-3`
- **2024-02-13** Placed on Calendar
- **2024-02-13** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2024-02-13** Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice `referral-committee`
- **2024-02-16** Reported from Courts of Justice (22-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2024-02-20** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2024-02-21** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2024-02-21** Passed House BLOCK VOTE (100-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2024-02-21** VOTE: Block Vote Passage (100-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2024-02-26** Enrolled `enrolled`
- **2024-02-26** Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB157ER) `passage`
- **2024-02-26** Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2024-02-28** Signed by President `passage`
- **2024-03-11** Enrolled Bill Communicated to Governor on March 11, 2024 `enrolled`
- **2024-03-11** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 8, 2024 `executive-receipt`
- **2024-04-02** Approved by Governor-Chapter 341 (effective 7/1/24) `executive-signature`
- **2024-04-02** Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0341)

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/de50eda9-c469-4b16-a510-d4c893be9d9b`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).