Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) signed hundreds of the bills passed by the Virginia General Assembly earlier this year. Most take effect July 1, as required by state law.

While Virginia’s divided legislature allowed Democrats and Republicans to keep the other party from passing key agenda items, several top proposals were approved and signed into law.

Starting in July, Virginia will have stricter restrictions on hemp-derived products, age verification rules for accessing adult websites, tougher penalties for “swatting” calls and allow police chiefs to set curfews.

There will be bans on foreign adversaries from buying farmland and new blue headlights — and even an official state pony.

Here are some of Virginia’s new laws taking effect on Saturday, July 1, 2023:

Cracking down on hemp products that get users high

A top priority for Youngkin was setting restrictions on intoxicating hemp-derived products, an effort meant to stop the sale of synthetically made hemp products containing delta-8 THC, which have been sold in gas stations, smoke shops and other businesses in Virginia without many regulations in place.

The legislation initially called for limiting the total amount of THC — the main psychoactive compound in cannabis that gives users a high — in products to two milligrams per package and capping the total THC concentration in each product at 0.3%.

Virginia delegate says Youngkin’s hemp bill changes ‘about money,’ not public safety

Youngkin proposed changes to allow products to have more than two milligrams of THC per package if they have a 25:1 ratio of CBD to THC that lawmakers approved. The changes came after concerns from consumers of certain therapeutic CBD items, specifically parents who use such products to help their epileptic children with seizures.

The law divided many in the legislature and industry over the impact on businesses, leading to concerns over layoffs and threats of potential legal challenges.

Universal license recognition law

This new law makes it easier for workers licensed in other states to come to Virginia for work.

It allows people that need licenses or certificates to work — such as barbers, electricians, tattooists and many more – to find a job in Virginia using their out-of-state license if they have had it for at least three years, it’s up to date, the person was required to pass an exam to get the license and other conditions.

Lawmakers – who, along with Gov. Youngkin, said it would bolster Virginia’s workforce — passed the bill unanimously.

Online age verification law

The law makes way for civil lawsuits against websites “that knowingly or intentionally publishes or distributes on the Internet material harmful to minors” and that don’t establish a way for age verification.

Once it takes effect, porn websites will have to establish systems to verify users in Virginia are at least 18 years old before they access the site’s content. Similar laws have faced challenges in court, including in Utah and Louisiana.

Notifying parents about school bullying

This new law will require Virginia public school principals to inform parents or guardians if their child is involved in an alleged bullying incident within a day.

Principals are currently required to notify parents “of the status of any investigation within five school days.”

Move over law expansion

Drivers will have to start moving over or slowing down — when possible — for vehicles on the side of a four-lane highway if they have their hazard lights on, displaying caution signs or marked with properly lit flames or torches. Violators would face a traffic infraction.

When the proposal was being discussed in the Virginia Senate, one Republican raised concerns that the law would not be enforceable.

This expands the existing law that requires drivers to move over or reduce speed for emergency personnel vehicles such as police cruisers, fire trucks or ambulances. In this case, violators could face a reckless driving charge.

Punishing false 911 calls

The new law will make “swatting” calls – fake emergency calls made to police, fire departments and other emergency personnel that lead to a response – a Class 1 misdemeanor in Virginia, which comes with up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.

If someone is seriously hurt during the emergency response, the violator could face a Class 6 felony (up to five years in prison). If someone is killed because of the fake 911 call, the violator could be charged with a Class 5 felony (up to 10 years in prison).

Police-ordered curfews

This new law empowers local law enforcement chiefs to impose curfews for up to 24 hours if there is “an imminent threat of any civil commotion or disturbance in the nature of a riot which constitutes a clear and present danger.” Read more here.

Drones over state prisons

Starting July 1, people operating any unmanned aircraft system, such as a drone, will be banned from dropping items within any state or local correctional facility or juvenile correctional center without consent.

The new law also prohibits people from using the devices to capture video or images of those incarcerated in those facilities. Violators could face a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Tougher penalties for abducting a child

This law will bring harsher penalties for abducting a child in Virginia as a stranger, changing it from a Class 5 felony (up to 10 years in prison) to a Class 2 felony (up to life but a minimum 20-year prison sentence).    

Removing election administrators

This new law allows a majority of the State Board of Elections and a local electoral board to remove a general registrar by signing a circuit court petition.

Under current law, a local board may remove a registrar with a majority vote, but the state board can only petition the court for a registrar’s removal after asking the local board to do so and if the local board fails to do so.

Solitary Confinement in Virginia

Virginia prisons will have to provide incarcerated people in solitary confinement at least four hours “of out-of-cell programmatic interventions or other congregate activities per day” starting in July.

The approved bill was criticized for not going far enough, particularly for its lack of a provision that would have limited solitary confinement in Virginia to 15 days.

Banning foreign adversaries from buying farmland

Foreign adversaries such as China and Iran will be banned from buying new farmland in Virginia starting in July after a Republican-led effort passed in February on bipartisan votes.

The upcoming ban applies to foreign governments or others the U.S. Secretary of Commerce has determined “to have engaged in a long-term pattern or serious instances of conduct significantly adverse to the national security of the United States or security and safety of United States persons.”

Subpoena power for Virginia Employment Commission head

The new law allows the commissioner of the Virginia Employment Commission to authorize any of the agency’s attorneys “to issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, papers, correspondence, memoranda, and other records deemed necessary as evidence in connection with the investigation or adjudication of any disputed claim or the administration of the Virginia Unemployment Compensation Act.”

Green Book historical sites

The law permits historic site signs to be placed at locations listed in the “Green Book,” which Black Americans used as a guide while traveling in the segregated South and across the country during the Jim Crow era.

The guide — written and updated by Victor Hugo Green — provided a list of safe places to stay, eat and more – including hotels, guest houses, restaurants, and service stations. The bill passed unanimously.

Ban on blue headlights

Virginians can’t have blue headlights on their cars, motorcycles, bicycles or mopeds starting Saturday.

A new state law taking effect July 1 will ban all “aftermarket modifications that cause the headlights to appear as a blue light.”

Stopping deceptive trade practices by ticket resellers

A new law will ban internet ticketing platforms and other resellers from using trademarked or other markings of an operator, rights holder or primary ticket provider without consent.

It will also prohibit “the use or display of text, images, website graphics, website display, or website addresses substantially similar to an operator’s website in a manner that could reasonably be expected to mislead a potential purchaser.”

Virginia’s official pony

Lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a bill to make the Chincoteague Pony – from the commonwealth’s Chincoteague Island — Virginia’s official pony. Youngkin signed it in March.  

Firearm safety device tax credit

This new law establishes a $300 tax credit to reimburse those who buy a gun safe or other lockable devices to store a firearm.