House adopts dozens of measures on March 6; SB386, SB128 and multiple conference reports pass

The Virginia House of Delegates spent the bulk of its March 6 session taking up a lengthy calendar of Senate third‑reading bills and House bills with Senate amendments, adopting committee substitutes and recording roll-call votes on numerous measures.

Uncontested and third‑reading Senate bills: The House considered an uncontested third‑reading block and a sequence of Senate bills that were moved with committee substitutes and passed. Several roll-call tallies recorded in the transcript include: a block of bills recorded as "Eyes 97, no 0" after passage of the uncontested calendar; SB386 (sewage/POS sampling) passed on a recorded vote, Eyes 86, Nos 12; SB128 (covenants not to compete for health-care professionals) passed, Eyes 92, Nos 6; SB258 (Virginia Human Rights Act — menopause discrimination) passed, Eyes 63, Nos 35; SB294 (landlord-tenant protections) passed, Eyes 75, Nos 23; SB433 (unemployment/lockout exception) passed, Eyes 64, Nos 34; SB543 (marijuana and hemp enforcement changes) passed, Eyes 66, Nos 32; SB574 (auctioneers board conflict-of-interest clarification) passed, Eyes 91, Nos 6; SB827 (pilot program for underground transmission lines) passed, Eyes 62, Nos 36.

House bills with Senate amendments: The chamber also moved through dozens of House bills that the Senate amended. Members regularly explained whether they planned to agree to Senate substitutes, reject them (to send bills to conference), or accept technical conforming language. A set of governor-recommendation changes (including emergency clauses for local charter amendments) were adopted for HB168 and HB187 to provide certainty to ongoing local elections filings.

Conference reports and final actions: The House adopted the conference report for HB125 (public elementary and secondary school teacher employment/notice technical conforming changes) and later adopted a conference report for Senate Bill 28 (overtime protections affecting certain domestic workers) after conference-level fixes addressing fiscal concerns. Votes on conference reports were recorded in the transcript and the conference reports were adopted.

Why it matters: The measures cover a wide range of policy areas — environment and wastewater monitoring, employment and labor protections, consumer protection, housing and zoning, election administration, and public health — and several items include procedural or conforming language that will shape implementation at the agency or locality level.

What happens next: Bills that were passed will be enrolled and sent to the governor where applicable; items that the House rejected the Senate substitute on will proceed to conference or further negotiation as noted on the record. The House reconvened on Monday at 12:00 p.m. for the final stretch of the session.