HB 982 VA

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Introduced

Elections; political campaign advertisements; synthetic media; penalty. Prohibits electioneering communications containing synthetic media, as those terms are defined in the bill, from being published or broadcast without containing the following conspicuously displayed statement: "This message contains synthetic media that has been altered from its original source or artificially generated and may present conduct or speech that did not occur." The bill creates a civil penalty not to exceed $25,000 for a violation of such prohibition and a Class 1 misdemeanor for a willful violation. The bill permits any registered voter who receives an electioneering communication in violation of this requirement to institute an action for preventative relief to prohibit the publication or dissemination of such electioneering communication, including an application for a permanent or temporary injunction.

• Thomas A. Garrett, Jr. Republican · primary

1. Jan 13, 2026 Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104210D · lower
2. Jan 13, 2026 Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections · lower
3. Jan 28, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB982) · lower
4. Jan 30, 2026 Assigned HPE sub: Campaigns and Candidates · lower
5. Feb 3, 2026 Subcommittee recommends laying on the table (7-Y 1-N) · lower
6. Feb 18, 2026 Left in Committee Privileges and Elections · lower

The published texts of this bill as it moves through the legislature. Each links to the official document on the state legislature site. Data from OpenStates.

• Introduced · PDF
• Introduced · HTML