Proposed Virginia Firearm Legislation HB1608
Legislation Overview
Title: Firearm industry members; standards of responsible conduct; civil liability.
Description: Firearm industry members; standards of responsible conduct; civil liability. Creates standards of responsible conduct for firearm industry members and requires such members to establish and implement reasonable controls regarding the manufacture, sale, distribution, use, and marketing of the firearm industry member's firearm-related products, as those terms are defined in the bill. Such reasonable controls include reasonable procedures, safeguards, and business practices that are designed to (i) prevent the sale or distribution of a firearm-related product to a straw purchaser, a firearm trafficker, a person prohibited from possessing a firearm under state or federal law, or a person who the firearm industry member has reasonable cause to believe is at substantial risk of using a firearm-related product to harm themselves or unlawfully harm another or of unlawfully possessing or using a firearm-related product; (ii) prevent the loss of a firearm-related product or theft of a firearm-related product from a firearm industry member; (iii) ensure that the firearm industry member complies with all provisions of state and federal law and does not otherwise promote the unlawful manufacture, sale, possession, marketing, or use of a firearm-related product; and (iv) ensure that the firearm industry member does not engage in an act or practice in violation of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. The bill also provides that a firearm industry member may not knowingly or recklessly create, maintain, or contribute to a public nuisance, as defined in the bill, through the sale, manufacturing, importing, or marketing of a firearm-related product. The bill creates a civil cause of action for the Attorney General or a local county or city attorney to enforce the provisions of the bill or for any person who has been injured as a result of a firearm industry member's violation to seek an injunction and to recover costs and damages.
Session: 2025 Regular Session
Last Action: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
Last Action Date: January 24, 2025
Sponsors
Note: the first sponsor listed is normally the primary sponsor. If a sponsor's name is a hyperlink you can click on it to 'follow the money'.
4 sponsors: Dan Helmer (D); Joshua Cole (D); Michael Feggans (D); Joshua Thomas (D);
Percentage of House Of Delegates sponsoring bill: 4% (4 of 100)
History
| Chamber | Date | Action |
| Senate | Jan 24, 2025 | Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice |
| Senate | Jan 24, 2025 | Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) |
| House | Jan 23, 2025 | Read third time and passed House (49-Y 47-N) |
| House | Jan 22, 2025 | Read second time and engrossed |
| House | Jan 21, 2025 | Read first time |
| House | Jan 17, 2025 | Reported from Public Safety (12-Y 10-N) |
| House | Jan 3, 2025 | Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-08-2025 25100327D |
| House | Jan 3, 2025 | Referred to Committee on Public Safety |
Texts
| Type | Date | State Link | Text |
| Introduced | Jan 3, 2025 | state link | bill text |
Amendments
| Title | Description | Date | State Link | Text | Adopted |
| There are no amendments to this bill at this time | |||||
Votes - Click on description to view vote roll call
| Description | Vote Date | Yea Votes | Nay Votes | No Votes | Absent | Passed |
| Reported from Public Safety (12-Y 10-N) | 01/17/2025 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 0 | Yes |
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| resort votes by: party yeas nays name | ||||||
| Read third time and passed House (49-Y 47-N) | 01/23/2025 | 49 | 47 | 0 | 4 | Yes |
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| resort votes by: party yeas nays name | ||||||
Link: link to state bill page
