Virginia

Summary

Virginia has no enacted AI-specific behavior statute governing private-sector automated decisions, crawlers, or bot disclosure as of mid-2026. The centerpiece bill — HB 2094 (2025), a high-risk AI accountability act modeled on Colorado's framework — was vetoed by Governor Youngkin in March 2025 and the veto was sustained. A companion synthetic-digital-content act (HB 2124, 2025) was signed but included a reenactment clause requiring the 2026 General Assembly to reaffirm it; the 2026 session tabled most AI bills and the reenactment did not occur, leaving HB 2124's substantive provisions without effect. The 2026 session's most significant enacted item is HB 797/SB 384 (signed April 2026), which commissions a study of an independent-verification-organization framework but imposes no compliance duties today. General-law coverage comes from two sources: the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (effective January 1, 2023) gives consumers opt-out rights over automated profiling that produces legal or significant effects, and Virginia Code § 18.2-386.2 (amended 2019) already criminalizes nonconsensual synthetic intimate images under the state's existing revenge-pornography law. For state agencies, Executive Order 30 (January 2024) requires mandatory AI standards, a risk-management approval process, and public disclaimers on AI-generated outputs.