Labor and Commerce Subcommittee #2

Thursday, January 29, 2026·1h 55m·▶ Watch / Listen

Virginia's Labor and Commerce Subcommittee #2 advanced a sweeping slate of worker-protection bills — including paid family leave, healthcare non-competes, prevailing wage for utilities, and bans on stay-or-pay contracts — with most contested measures passing 4-2 or 5-2 along apparent party lines, while several bills were deferred or carried over for further refinement.

Key Actions

·HB1207 – Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance ProgramNo Vote

+ 10 more actions

Controversies

HB627 – Whether to narrow or broaden the healthcare non-compete prohibition

After an amendment narrowed the bill to licensed professionals earning under $500,000, Dan I. Helmer asked whether the patron would regard it as 'friendly' to reconsider the amendment and return to the original bill posture, citing opposition testimony suggesting the narrowing was unnecessary. Jason S. Ballard took the opposite position, preferring the narrowed version and stating he would vote no even as amended.

+ 3 more controversies

Notable Quotes

“The United States is one of only a handful of countries in the world with no national paid maternity leave, and one of just 11 that offers no paid family medical leave for serious health conditions, even unpaid leave under the federal FMLA is inaccessible to 61% of Virginians, many who call my district home.”
Briana D. Sewell — Sewell made this statement while presenting HB1207, her paid family and medical leave insurance bill, to explain why Virginia needs a state-level program.

+ 3 more quotes

Votes

Report HB670 (labor protections / teacher wage compensation) with amendment to AppropriationsPassed

Report HB627 (healthcare non-competes) with amendmentsPassed

Report HB260 (prevailing wage for underground infrastructure) with amendments to AppropriationsPassed

Report HB547 (transit employee protections) as reportedPassed

Report HB1207 (paid family and medical leave) with substitute to AppropriationsPassed

Report HB923 (stay or pay contracts) as amendedPassed

No (1)Jason S. Ballard

Report HB338 (displaced worker / building service employees) with substitutePassed

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TranscriptPreview

Good afternoon, everybody. We have several bills on the docket today that we want to try to get through as expeditiously as possible. To begin with, however, we'd like to take. Do a couple of administrative things. We'd like to take HB121, the keys Gamarra Bill on surveillance pricing. Like to make a motion to take that. Bye for the day. Moved and seconded. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All right. That bill is by for the day. And then also we'd like to incorporate the voice vote, the Patrick Hopes bill, delegate hopes Bill 715, into delegate trans. Bill 1263. And we. That's a voice vote. Well, is there a second? Second. Moved and seconded. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed? All right, that has happened. And I'd like to take HB 1263. Delegate trans. Bill. Bye for the day as well. Motion second. All right. All backwards, but okay. All those opposed? All those. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed? Great. All right, so that bill is taken by for the day as well. With that, like to begin with Delegate Maldonado, who asked to go first because she has…

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