---
type: "Bill"
title: "Restaurants; exempts certain facilities or programs."
description: "Restaurants; certain facilities or programs; exemptions. Exempts certain facilities that provide custodial care to 12 or fewer adults or children in a home from regulations applicable to restaurants. This bill is identical to SB 677."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2026"
identifier: "HB 840"
citation: "Virginia HB 840 (2026)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Shelly A. Simonds"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 27
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2026-01-13"
last_action: "2026-04-06"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/2093e68d-6157-44a7-984f-ac6c80a9305b"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB840"
source_hash: "997159bf32ecb579e8b7eb3a533b80d3ddf6c5606853751fc423d49e400ecf6f"
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 840 (2026) — Restaurants; exempts certain facilities or programs.

Restaurants; certain facilities or programs; exemptions. Exempts certain facilities that provide custodial care to 12 or fewer adults or children in a home from regulations applicable to restaurants. This bill is identical to SB 677.

## 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/1086119.PDF)
2. **Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216885.PDF)
3. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1194279.PDF)

## Votes

- Constitutional reading dispensed (on 2nd reading) — **37–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported from Education and Health — **15–0** (pass) · upper
- H VOTE: — **96–0** (pass) · lower
- Passage R — **40–0** (pass) · upper
- Subcommittee recommends reporting — **7–0** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Health and Human Services — **21–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Shelly A. Simonds — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2026-01-13** Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101823D `filing, introduction`
- **2026-01-13** Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice `referral-committee`
- **2026-01-20** Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB840)
- **2026-01-28** Referred from Courts of Justice and referred to Health and Human Services (Voice Vote) `referral-committee`
- **2026-01-30** Assigned sub: Behavioral Health `referral-committee`
- **2026-02-12** Subcommittee recommends reporting (7-Y 0-N)
- **2026-02-12** Reported from Health and Human Services (21-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2026-02-15** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2026-02-16** Read second time and engrossed `reading-2`
- **2026-02-17** Read third time and passed House (97-Y 0-N 0-A) `passage, reading-3`
- **2026-02-18** Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)
- **2026-02-18** Referred to Committee on Education and Health `referral-committee`
- **2026-02-26** Reported from Education and Health (15-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2026-02-27** Rules suspended
- **2026-02-27** Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (37-Y 0-N 0-A)
- **2026-02-27** Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
- **2026-03-02** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2026-03-02** Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A) `passage`
- **2026-03-06** Enrolled `enrolled`
- **2026-03-06** Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB840ER) `passage`
- **2026-03-06** Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB840)
- **2026-03-06** Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2026-03-06** Signed by President `passage`
- **2026-03-10** Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026 `enrolled, executive-receipt`
- **2026-03-10** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 `executive-receipt`
- **2026-04-06** Approved by Governor-Chapter 231 (effective 7/1/2026) `executive-signature`
- **2026-04-06** Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0231)

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/2093e68d-6157-44a7-984f-ac6c80a9305b`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).