HB 1262 VA

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Became Law

Notaries; prohibition on certain advertising; investigation by Attorney General; civil penalties. Provides that the Attorney General may issue a civil investigative demand whenever he has reasonable cause to believe that any notary public has, in violation of law, (i) offered or provided legal advice on immigration or other legal matters or represented any person in immigration proceedings or (ii) has assumed, used, or advertised the title "notario," "notario publico," or "licenciado," or other term in a language other than English that indicates that such notary is authorized or licensed to practice law. The bill increases the civil penalties for a violation of clause (ii) from up to $500 to up to $2,500 for a first violation and from up to $1,000 to up to $5,000 for a second or subsequent violation. The bill also provides that the Attorney General may seek to enjoin any such violation and may recover restitution, reasonable expenses, and reasonable attorney fees.

• Jackie H. Glass Democratic · primary

1. Jan 14, 2026 Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103340D · lower
2. Jan 14, 2026 Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce · lower
3. Jan 29, 2026 Referred from Labor and Commerce and referred to Public Safety (Voice Vote) · lower
4. Feb 3, 2026 Assigned HMPPS sub: Subcommittee #3 · lower
5. Feb 6, 2026 House subcommittee offered · lower
6. Feb 6, 2026 Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (5-Y 0-N) · lower
7. Feb 6, 2026 Reported from Public Safety with substitute (21-Y 1-N) · lower
8. Feb 9, 2026 Committee substitute printed 26107391D-H1 · lower
9. Feb 10, 2026 Read first time · lower
10. Feb 11, 2026 Read second time · lower
11. Feb 11, 2026 committee substitute agreed to · lower
12. Feb 11, 2026 Engrossed by House - committee substitute · lower
13. Feb 12, 2026 Read third time and passed House (94-Y 3-N 0-A) · lower
14. Feb 13, 2026 Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) · upper
15. Feb 13, 2026 Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor · upper
16. Feb 23, 2026 Rereferred from Commerce and Labor to Courts of Justice (12-Y 0-N) · upper
17. Feb 25, 2026 Reported from Courts of Justice (15-Y 0-N) · upper
18. Feb 27, 2026 Rules suspended · upper
19. Feb 27, 2026 Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (37-Y 0-N 0-A) · upper
20. Feb 27, 2026 Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) · upper
21. Mar 2, 2026 Read third time · upper
22. Mar 2, 2026 Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A) · upper
23. Mar 3, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1262) · lower
24. Mar 9, 2026 Enrolled · lower
25. Mar 9, 2026 Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1262ER) · lower
26. Mar 9, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1262) · lower
27. Mar 9, 2026 Signed by Speaker · lower
28. Mar 9, 2026 Signed by President · upper
29. Mar 10, 2026 Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026 · lower
30. Mar 10, 2026 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 · executive
31. Apr 13, 2026 Approved by Governor-Chapter 763 (effective 7/1/2026) · executive

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.

• Enrolled · PDF
• Enrolled · HTML
• Public Safety Substitute · PDF
• Public Safety Substitute · HTML
• Public Safety Substitute · PDF
• Public Safety Substitute · HTML
• Subcommittee #3 Subcommittee Substitute · PDF
• Subcommittee #3 Subcommittee Substitute · HTML
• Introduced · PDF
• Introduced · HTML