---
type: "Bill"
title: "Public utilities; budget plan payment increases."
description: "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."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2026"
identifier: "HB 242"
citation: "Virginia HB 242 (2026)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Joshua G. Cole"]
version_count: 8
action_count: 33
vote_count: 7
first_action: "2026-01-08"
last_action: "2026-04-08"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/ecf982d1-44e0-4795-9601-9cd32ce85a88"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB242"
source_hash: "55cc4f95bfd916ceeda18564696d11074ffe6d56128dcee7a2c8bd51b87570d2"
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 HB 242 (2026) — Public utilities; budget plan payment increases.

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.

## Version chain

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

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083242.PDF)
2. **Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217758.PDF)
3. **Commerce and Labor Amendment** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1190937.HTML)
4. **Engrossed** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1095649.PDF)
5. **Labor and Commerce Amendment** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1094642.HTML)
6. **Senate Amendment** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1196684.HTML)
7. **Subcommittee #3 Subcommittee Amendment** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1092421.HTML)
8. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1208783.PDF)

## Votes

- Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) — **8–1** (pass) · lower
- H VOTE: — **93–4** (pass) · lower
- Passage R — **37–2** (pass) · upper
- Reported from Labor and Commerce with amendment(s) — **22–0** (pass) · lower
- H VOTE: — **97–0** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Commerce and Labor with amendment — **12–1** (pass) · upper
- Constitutional reading dispensed (on 2nd reading) — **39–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Joshua G. Cole — primary (person)
- Adele Y. McClure — cosponsor (person)
- Amy J. Laufer — cosponsor (person)
- Charlie Schmidt — cosponsor (person)
- Elizabeth R. Guzman — cosponsor (person)
- Jackie H. Glass — cosponsor (person)
- Jessica L. Anderson — cosponsor (person)
- Michelle Lopes Maldonado — cosponsor (person)
- Nadarius E. Clark — cosponsor (person)
- Nicole Cole — cosponsor (person)
- Rozia A. Henson, Jr. — cosponsor (person)
- Saddam Azlan Salim — cosponsor (person)
- Sam Rasoul — cosponsor (person)
- Stacey Annie Carroll — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2026-01-08** Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103219D `filing, introduction`
- **2026-01-08** Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce `referral-committee`
- **2026-01-15** Assigned HCL sub: Subcommittee #3 `referral-committee`
- **2026-01-20** House subcommittee offered
- **2026-01-20** Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (8-Y 1-N)
- **2026-01-22** Reported from Labor and Commerce with amendment(s) (22-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2026-01-26** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2026-01-27** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2026-01-27** committee amendments agreed to `amendment-passage`
- **2026-01-27** Engrossed by House as amended
- **2026-01-27** Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (HB242)
- **2026-01-28** Read third time and passed House (97-Y 0-N 0-A) `passage, reading-3`
- **2026-01-29** Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)
- **2026-01-29** Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-02** Senate committee offered
- **2026-03-02** Reported from Commerce and Labor with amendment (12-Y 1-N) `committee-passage`
- **2026-03-04** Rules suspended
- **2026-03-04** Constitutional reading dispensed (on 2nd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A)
- **2026-03-04** Passed by for the day (Voice Vote)
- **2026-03-05** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2026-03-05** Commerce and Labor Amendment agreed to `amendment-passage`
- **2026-03-05** Engrossed by Senate as amended
- **2026-03-05** Passed Senate with amendment (37-Y 2-N 0-A) `passage`
- **2026-03-09** Senate amendment agreed to by House (93-Y 4-N 0-A) `amendment-passage`
- **2026-03-14** Enrolled `enrolled`
- **2026-03-14** Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB242ER) `passage`
- **2026-03-14** Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2026-03-14** Signed by President `passage`
- **2026-03-25** Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 25, 2026 `enrolled, executive-receipt`
- **2026-03-25** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 `executive-receipt`
- **2026-03-25** Fiscal Impact statement From DPB (3/25/2026 2:39 pm)
- **2026-04-08** Approved by Governor-Chapter 373 (effective 7/1/2026) `executive-signature`
- **2026-04-08** Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0373)

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/ecf982d1-44e0-4795-9601-9cd32ce85a88`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).