republic-os/legislation/us/states/va/2020/hb-812.md

type, title, description, jurisdiction, legislature, session, identifier, citation, classification, subjects, status, primary_sponsors, version_count, action_count, vote_count, first_action, last_action, source, source_identifier, source_url, source_hash, vintage, source_snapshot, retrieved_at, confidence, tags

type	title	description	jurisdiction	legislature	session	identifier	citation	classification	subjects	status	primary_sponsors	version_count	action_count	vote_count	first_action	last_action	source	source_identifier	source_url	source_hash	vintage	source_snapshot	retrieved_at	confidence	tags
Bill	Handguns; limitation on purchases, penalty.	Purchase of handguns; limitation on handgun purchases; penalty. Prohibits any person who is not a licensed firearms dealer from purchasing more than one handgun in a 30-day period and establishes such an offense as a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill exempts from this provision (i) persons who have been issued a certificate by the Department of State Police under certain circumstances and with an enhanced background check, (ii) law-enforcement agencies and officers, (iii) state and local correctional facilities, (iv) licensed private security companies, (v) persons who hold a valid Virginia concealed handgun permit, (vi) persons whose handgun has been stolen or irretrievably lost or who are trading in a handgun, (vii) purchases of handguns in a private sale, and (viii) purchases of antique firearms. This bill incorporates HB 1502. This bill is identical to SB 69.	us/states/va	Virginia General Assembly	2020	HB 812	Virginia HB 812 (2020)	bill		enacted	Jeion A. Ward	5	51	11	2020-01-07	2020-04-09	openstates	ocd-bill/a45ca2c3-4c60-42c7-8b45-2339155b76fd	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+HB812	ac578018c5852339f0a1b0a8f63f57f00eb7e3afcea5a6ccbfbc362670f5de42	2026-07-01	https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump	2026-07-06	reported	legislation bill us-va

Virginia HB 812 (2020) — Handguns; limitation on purchases, penalty.

Purchase of handguns; limitation on handgun purchases; penalty. Prohibits any person who is not a licensed firearms dealer from purchasing more than one handgun in a 30-day period and establishes such an offense as a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill exempts from this provision (i) persons who have been issued a certificate by the Department of State Police under certain circumstances and with an enhanced background check, (ii) law-enforcement agencies and officers, (iii) state and local correctional facilities, (iv) licensed private security companies, (v) persons who hold a valid Virginia concealed handgun permit, (vi) persons whose handgun has been stolen or irretrievably lost or who are trading in a handgun, (vii) purchases of handguns in a private sale, and (viii) purchases of antique firearms. This bill incorporates HB 1502. This bill is identical to SB 69.

Version chain

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

1. Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0991) (committee substitute) — source
2. Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB812ER) (committee substitute) — source
3. Impact statement from VCSC (HB812) (committee substitute) — source
4. Impact statement from VCSC (HB812H1) (committee substitute) — source
5. Impact statement from VCSC (HB812S1) (committee substitute) — source

Votes

• Senate insisted on substitute (23-Y 17-N) — 23–17 (pass) · upper
• Passed Senate with substitute (22-Y 18-N) — 22–18 (pass) · upper
• Passed Senate with substitute (21-Y 19-N) — 21–19 (pass) · upper
• VOTE: REJECTED (0-Y 97-N) — 0–96 (fail) · lower
• Conference report agreed to by Senate (21-Y 19-N) — 21–19 (pass) · upper
• VOTE: Adoption (51-Y 48-N) — 50–48 (pass) · lower
• Reported from Judiciary with substitute (9-Y 6-N) — 9–6 (pass) · upper
• Reconsideration of Senate passage agreed to by Senate (40-Y 0-N) — 40–0 (pass) · upper
• VOTE: Passage (53-Y 47-N) — 52–47 (pass) · lower
• Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N) — 39–0 (pass) · upper
• Reported from Public Safety with substitute (13-Y 9-N) — 13–9 (pass) · lower

Sponsors

• Jeion A. Ward — primary (person)
• Betsy B. Carr — cosponsor (person)
• Eileen Filler-Corn — cosponsor (person)
• Mark H. Levine — cosponsor (person)

Timeline

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

• 2020-01-07 Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/20 20103354D introduction
• 2020-01-07 Referred to Committee on Public Safety referral-committee
• 2020-01-08 Impact statement from VCSC (HB812)
• 2020-01-15 Impact statement from DPB (HB812)
• 2020-01-24 Reported from Public Safety with substitute (13-Y 9-N) committee-passage
• 2020-01-24 Committee substitute printed 20106618D-H1 substitution
• 2020-01-24 Incorporates HB1502 (Ward)
• 2020-01-27 Impact statement from VCSC (HB812H1)
• 2020-01-28 Read first time reading-1
• 2020-01-29 Impact statement from DPB (HB812H1)
• 2020-01-29 Read second time reading-2
• 2020-01-29 Passed by temporarily
• 2020-01-29 Committee substitute agreed to 20106618D-H1
• 2020-01-29 Engrossed by House - committee substitute HB812H1
• 2020-01-30 Read third time and passed House (53-Y 47-N) passage, reading-3
• 2020-01-30 VOTE: Passage (53-Y 47-N)
• 2020-01-31 Constitutional reading dispensed
• 2020-01-31 Referred to Committee on the Judiciary referral-committee
• 2020-02-24 Reported from Judiciary with substitute (9-Y 6-N) committee-passage
• 2020-02-24 Committee substitute printed 20108962D-S1 substitution
• 2020-02-25 Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N)
• 2020-02-26 Impact statement from VCSC (HB812S1)
• 2020-02-26 Read third time reading-3
• 2020-02-26 Reading of substitute waived
• 2020-02-26 Committee substitute agreed to 20108962D-S1
• 2020-02-26 Passed by for the day
• 2020-02-27 Read third time reading-3
• 2020-02-27 Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute HB812S1
• 2020-02-27 Passed Senate with substitute (22-Y 18-N) passage
• 2020-02-27 Reconsideration of Senate passage agreed to by Senate (40-Y 0-N)
• 2020-02-27 Passed Senate with substitute (21-Y 19-N) passage
• 2020-02-28 Impact statement from DPB (HB812S1)
• 2020-03-02 Placed on Calendar
• 2020-03-02 Senate substitute rejected by House 20108962D-S1 (0-Y 97-N)
• 2020-03-02 VOTE: REJECTED (0-Y 97-N)
• 2020-03-03 Senate insisted on substitute (23-Y 17-N)
• 2020-03-03 Senate requested conference committee
• 2020-03-04 House acceded to request
• 2020-03-04 Conferees appointed by House
• 2020-03-05 Conferees appointed by Senate
• 2020-03-05 Amended by conference committee
• 2020-03-05 Conference report agreed to by House (51-Y 48-N)
• 2020-03-05 VOTE: Adoption (51-Y 48-N)
• 2020-03-07 Conference report agreed to by Senate (21-Y 19-N)
• 2020-03-18 Enrolled
• 2020-03-18 Signed by President
• 2020-03-19 Signed by Speaker
• 2020-03-20 Impact statement from DPB (HB812ER)
• 2020-03-20 Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 20, 2020
• 2020-03-20 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 11, 2020
• 2020-04-09 Approved by Governor-Chapter 991 (effective 7/1/20) executive-signature

Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot 2026-07-01; origin ocd-bill/a45ca2c3-4c60-42c7-8b45-2339155b76fd. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).