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Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

2026-07-06 17:28:36 -04:00

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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

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Bill

Marijuana; definitions, possession and consumption, civil penalties, report.

Possession and consumption of marijuana; penalty. Decriminalizes simple marijuana possession and provides a civil penalty of no more than $25. Current law imposes a maximum fine of $500 and a maximum 30-day jail sentence for a first offense, and subsequent offenses are a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill provides that any violation of simple possession of marijuana shall be charged by a summons in form the same as the uniform summons for motor vehicle law violations and that no court costs shall be assessed for such violations. The bill also provides that a person's criminal history record information shall not include records of any charges or judgments for such violations and records of such charges or judgements shall not be reported to the Central Criminal Records Exchange. However, the bill states that if a violation occurs while an individual is operating a commercial motor vehicle, such violation shall be reported to the Department of Motor Vehicles and shall be included on such individual's driving record. Also, the bill states that the procedure for appeal and trial of any violation of simple possession of marijuana shall be the same as provided by law for misdemeanors. The bill also provides that if requested by either party on appeal to the circuit court, trial by jury shall be provided and the Commonwealth shall be required to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Additionally, the bill provides that the suspended sentence/substance abuse screening provisions apply only to criminal violations. The bill defines "marijuana" to include hashish oil and creates a rebuttable presumption that a person who possesses no more than one ounce of marijuana possesses it for personal use. The bill also (i) makes records relating to the arrest, criminal charge, or conviction of possession of marijuana not open to public inspection and disclosure, except in certain circumstances; (ii) prohibits employers and educational institutions from requiring an applicant for employment or admission to disclose information related to such arrest, criminal charge, or conviction; and (iii) prohibits agencies, officials, and employees of the state and local governments from requiring an applicant for a license, permit, registration, or governmental service to disclose information concerning such arrest, criminal charge, or conviction. Also, the bill allows a person charged with a civil offense who is acquitted, a nolle prosequi is taken, or the charge is otherwise dismissed to file a petition requesting expungement of the police records and court records related to the charge. Finally, the bill requires the Secretaries of Agriculture and Forestry, Finance, Health and Human Resources, and Public Safety and Homeland Security to convene a work group to study the impact on the Commonwealth of legalizing the sale and personal use of marijuana and report the recommendations of the work group to the General Assembly and the Governor by November 30, 2020. This bill incorporates HB 265, HB 301, and HB 481 and is identical to SB 2.

us/states/va

Virginia General Assembly

2020

HB 972

Virginia HB 972 (2020)

bill

enacted

Charniele L. Herring

2020-01-07

2020-05-21

openstates

ocd-bill/7328301b-9b11-4c2e-bc70-98f8c85d05e5

https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+HB972

93d318a30a2bfd4936480524d059c55cf106f41bbb7b672ca93d9ef393e643c4

2026-07-01

https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump

2026-07-06

reported

legislation

bill

us-va

Virginia HB 972 (2020) — Marijuana; definitions, possession and consumption, civil penalties, report.

Version chain

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

Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP1285) (committee substitute) — source
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB972ER) (committee substitute) — source
Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute HB972S2 (committee substitute) — source
HB972H2 (committee substitute) — source
HB972H3 (committee substitute) — source
Reenrolled bill text (HB972ER2) (committee substitute) — source

Votes

Reported from Judiciary with substitute (10-Y 4-N) — 10–4 (pass) · upper
Senate acceded to request for second conference committee (27-Y 12-N) — 27–12 (pass) · upper
VOTE: REJECTED (0-Y 93-N) — 0–92 (fail) · lower
VOTE: Adoption (57-Y 39-N) — 56–39 (pass) · lower
VOTE: Agree to (1-Y 90-N) — 1–89 (fail) · lower
Senate insisted on substitute (40-Y 0-N) — 40–0 (pass) · upper
Constitutional reading dispensed (38-Y 0-N) — 38–0 (pass) · upper
Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (14-Y 2-N) — 14–2 (pass) · upper
Senate concurred in Governor's recommendations #1-5 #7-16 (26-Y 14-N) — 26–14 (pass) · upper
Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (13-Y 8-N) — 13–8 (pass) · lower
Passed Senate with substitute (27-Y 13-N) — 27–13 (pass) · upper
VOTE: (59-Y 34-N) — 58–34 (pass) · lower
VOTE: Agree to (58-Y 35-N) — 57–35 (pass) · lower
Senate requested second conference committee (27-Y 13-N) — 27–13 (pass) · upper
Conference report rejected by Senate (2-Y 38-N) — 2–38 (fail) · upper
VOTE: Adoption (56-Y 36-N) — 55–36 (pass) · lower
Conference report agreed to by Senate (27-Y 12-N) — 27–12 (pass) · upper
Senate rejected Governor's recommendation #17 (5-Y 35-N) — 5–35 (fail) · upper
VOTE: Passage (64-Y 34-N) — 63–34 (pass) · lower

Timeline

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

2020-01-07 Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/20 20103384D introduction
2020-01-07 Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice referral-committee
2020-02-03 Impact statement from DPB (HB972)
2020-02-05 House committee, floor amendments and substitutes offered
2020-02-05 Committee substitute printed 20107729D-H1 substitution
2020-02-05 Incorporates HB265 (Heretick)
2020-02-05 Incorporates HB481 (Kory)
2020-02-05 Incorporates HB301 (Levine)
2020-02-05 Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (13-Y 8-N) committee-passage
2020-02-06 Read first time reading-1
2020-02-07 Read second time reading-2
2020-02-07 Committee substitute agreed to 20107729D-H1
2020-02-07 Engrossed by House - committee substitute HB972H1
2020-02-10 Read third time and passed House (64-Y 34-N) passage, reading-3
2020-02-10 VOTE: Passage (64-Y 34-N)
2020-02-11 Constitutional reading dispensed
2020-02-11 Referred to Committee on the Judiciary referral-committee
2020-02-14 Impact statement from DPB (HB972H1)
2020-02-19 Reported from Judiciary with substitute (10-Y 4-N) committee-passage
2020-02-19 Rereferred to Finance and Appropriations referral-committee
2020-02-19 Committee substitute printed 20108635D-S1 substitution
2020-02-25 Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (14-Y 2-N) committee-passage
2020-02-25 Impact statement from DPB (HB972S1)
2020-02-25 Committee substitute printed 20108924D-S2 substitution
2020-02-26 Constitutional reading dispensed (38-Y 0-N)
2020-02-26 Read third time reading-3
2020-02-26 Committee substitute rejected 20108635D-S1
2020-02-26 Reading of substitute waived
2020-02-26 Committee substitute agreed to 20108924D-S2
2020-02-26 Passed by temporarily
2020-02-26 Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute HB972S2
2020-02-26 Passed Senate with substitute (27-Y 13-N) passage
2020-02-26 Senate substitute rejected by House 20108924D-S2 (0-Y 93-N)
2020-02-26 VOTE: REJECTED (0-Y 93-N)
2020-02-26 Senate insisted on substitute (40-Y 0-N)
2020-02-26 Senate requested conference committee
2020-02-27 House acceded to request
2020-02-27 Conferees appointed by House
2020-02-27 Conferees appointed by Senate
2020-03-02 Impact statement from DPB (HB972S2)
2020-03-05 Amended by conference committee
2020-03-05 First Conference substitute printed 20109632D-H2
2020-03-07 Conference report agreed to by House (57-Y 39-N)
2020-03-07 VOTE: Adoption (57-Y 39-N)
2020-03-07 House requested second conference committee
2020-03-07 Conference report rejected by Senate (2-Y 38-N)
2020-03-07 Senate requested second conference committee (27-Y 13-N)
2020-03-07 Senate acceded to request for second conference committee (27-Y 12-N)
2020-03-07 Second conferees appointed by Senate
2020-03-07 Second conferees appointed by House
2020-03-08 Second Conference substitute printed 20109945D-H3
2020-03-08 Conference report agreed to by House (56-Y 36-N)
2020-03-08 VOTE: Adoption (56-Y 36-N)
2020-03-08 Conference report agreed to by Senate (27-Y 12-N)
2020-03-18 Enrolled
2020-03-18 Signed by President
2020-03-19 Signed by Speaker
2020-03-20 Impact statement from DPB (HB972ER)
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
2020-04-11 Governor's recommendation received by House
2020-04-22 Placed on Calendar
2020-04-22 House concurred in Governor's recommendation (59-Y 34-N)
2020-04-22 VOTE: (59-Y 34-N)
2020-04-22 Reconsideration of Governor's recommendation agreed to
2020-04-22 Passed by temporarily
2020-04-22 House concurred in Governor's recommendation #'s 1-5 and 7-17 (58-Y 35-N)
2020-04-22 VOTE: Agree to (58-Y 35-N)
2020-04-22 House rejected Governor's recommendation #6 (1-Y 90-N)
2020-04-22 VOTE: Agree to (1-Y 90-N)
2020-04-22 Senate rejected Governor's recommendation #17 (5-Y 35-N)
2020-04-22 Senate concurred in Governor's recommendations #1-5 #7-16 (26-Y 14-N)
2020-04-22 Governor's recommendation adopted in-part
2020-04-22 Reenrolled
2020-04-22 Reenrolled bill text (HB972ER2)
2020-04-22 Signed by Speaker as reenrolled
2020-04-22 Signed by President as reenrolled
2020-04-29 Reenrolled Bill communicated to Governor on April 29, 2020
2020-04-29 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., May 22, 2020
2020-05-21 Approved by Governor-Chapter 1285 (effective 7/1/20) executive-signature

Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot 2026-07-01; origin ocd-bill/7328301b-9b11-4c2e-bc70-98f8c85d05e5. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).

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