Technology
HB2479
Chief Patron:
Mark Sickles
(D)
Current Status: Vetoed
Summary as Introduced:
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 makes it a civil penalty not to exceed $25,000 to violate such prohibition and for a willful violation, a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Drafting
Long before the session started, Delegate Sickles worked with Virginia's Division of Legislative Services (DLS) to put this bill in proper legal form. During this phase, legislators describe their policy goals, and DLS provides nonpartisan legal and research support. This is called the "prefiling period," and typically begins in late fall and ends shortly before the session starts in January.
Jan. 8
Prefiling
Delegate Sickles submitted this bill for pre-filing with the Virginia Division of Legislative Services (DLS) on Jan. 8, 2025.
It was given a title, assigned a unique number and became House Bill 2479 (HB2479) of the 2025 Regular Session.
At this point its text was entered into the official public record. This allows anyone interested in the bill, including citizens and interest groups, to review the proposed legislation in advance.
Official Description: "Political campaign advertisements; synthetic media, penalty."
Assigned to Committee
HB2479 was referred to a House committee:
Privileges & Elections.
In the House of Delegates, the Speaker of the House (Don Scott) assigns bills to committees based on the subject matter of the bill and the jurisdiction of the committees. The House Rules provide guidelines for which topics go to which committees (Download House Rules). The Speaker has considerable decision-making power in determining which committee is most appropriate.
In the U.S. Congress, committee jurisdictions — where bills should go — is more strictly defined, so leadership in Congress has more power to decide where bills should be assigned. Another difference is that bills in the GA are generally assigned to a single committee in each chamber, where in Congress bills are frequently referred to multiple committees in the House and sometimes in the Senate.
Jan. 30
Impact Statement
A fiscal impact statement reports on the bill's potential financial effects: costs or savings to the state budget or local governments (e.g., hiring new staff, implementing programs).
Legislators requested a fiscal impact statement from the Department of Planning and Budget.
Impact statements provide legislators with factual, nonpartisan data, helping them weigh the benefits and drawbacks of a bill.
Jan. 31
Approved by Committee
HB2479 has "reported" from committee, where lawmakers have voted to send it on for consideration by the full body. It now goes to the floor of the full chamber for debate, possible further amendments, and votes.
The official record reads: "Reported from Privileges and Elections (19-Y 2-N)"
Feb. 2
First Reading
An official reading of the bill in the House as required by the Virginia Constitution.
In the First Reading, the bill is read by title only, with no debate or votes.
Feb. 3
Finalized for a Vote
The Virginia House has completed its work on HB2479, including any debate and voting. The bill is now "engrossed" and prepared in its official format, with any amendments or changes made in the House.
The official record reads: "Read second time and engrossed"
Feb. 4
Tuesday, February 4 was "Crossover Day": the last day for each house to act on its own legislation (except Budget Bills).
Won Vote in the House
HB2479 got a floor vote in the House: lawmakers of the full chamber weighed in on whether or not it should proceed.
HB2479 won that vote and will now proceed
to "conference," where the House and Senate work together to reconcile any differences in the version of the bills they passed.
If the vote had been a tie, the motion would have failed. Unlike the Senate, the House has no tiebreaking procedure.
The official record reads: "Read third time and passed House (80-Y 18-N)"
Feb. 5
Reading Skipped
The Senate voted to dispense with the
First
Reading.
The Virginia Constitution requires that bills need to be formally read three times in each chamber before they can be passed. To streamline the process, legislators can vote to dispense with the reading on one or more of the required days.
The official record reads: "Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)"
Assigned to Committee
HB2479 was referred to a Senate committee:
Privileges & Elections.
In the Senate, the Clerk of the Senate refers bills to a standing committee based on the subject matter of the bill and the jurisdiction of the committees. The Virginia Senate Rules provide guidelines for which topics go to which committees.
The Senate President (usually the Lieutenant Governor) and majority party leadership often play an informal role in these decisions.
In the U.S. Congress, committee jurisdictions — where bills should go — is more strictly defined, so leadership in Congress has more power to decide where bills should be assigned. Another difference is that bills in the GA are generally assigned to a single committee in each chamber, where in Congress bills are frequently referred to multiple committees in the House and sometimes in the Senate.
Feb. 11
Approved by Committee
HB2479 has "reported" from committee, where lawmakers have voted to send it on for consideration by the full body. It now goes to the floor of the full chamber for debate, possible further amendments, and votes.
The official record reads: "Reported from Privileges and Elections with substitute (8-Y 7-N)"
Feb. 12
Reprinted
HB2479 was "substitute printed," meaning that enough changes were made to the original bill that a new ("substitute") version was called for.
Feb. 13
Rules Suspended
Legislators voted to temporarily set aside or bypass standard rules of procedure. This may be to allow a bill to be considered, or voted on without following the usual steps, such as waiting for the required number of days or readings.
Reading Skipped
The Senate voted to dispense with the
Second
Reading.
The Virginia Constitution requires that bills need to be formally read three times in each chamber before they can be passed. To streamline the process, legislators can vote to dispense with the reading on one or more of the required days.
The official record reads: "Constitutional reading dispensed (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N)"
Passed by for the Day
HB2479 was temporarily set aside in the Senate. Legislators may need more time to review the bill or gather information, there may be ongoing discussions or negotiations, or there may not have been enough time to work on all the bills on the day's agenda.
Feb. 14
Third Reading
An official reading of the bill in the Senate as required by the Virginia Constitution.
In the Third Reading, the bill is read a third and final time.
No further amendments can be made on the floor.
A recorded final vote is taken to decide whether the bill will move forward.
Reading Skipped
The Senate has chosen not to formally read aloud the full text of the new ("substitute") version of the text of the bill before debate or voting.
The official record reads: "Reading of substitute waived"
New Version Approved
Legislators voted to approve the new ("substitute") version of the text of the bill.
The official record reads: "Privileges and Elections Substitute agreed to "
Finalized for a Vote
The Virginia House has completed its work on HB2479, including any debate and voting. The bill is now "engrossed" and prepared in its official format, with any amendments or changes made in the House.
The version of the bill that was engrossed is the "committee substitute," the version created and adopted by the committee that reviewed the bill.
The official record reads: "Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute"
Won Vote in the Senate
HB2479 got a floor vote in the Senate: lawmakers of the full chamber weighed in on whether or not it should proceed.
HB2479 won that vote and will now proceed
to "conference," where the House and Senate work together to reconcile any differences in the version of the bills they passed.
If the vote had been a tie and Lieutenant Governor Winsome-Sears were present, she would have been able to cast the deciding vote. The Lieutenant Governor is the President of the Senate and acts as a tiebreaker the same way a vice president does in the U.S. Senate. If the Lieutenant Governor is not present for a tie vote, the motion fails, the same way it does in the House.
The official record reads: "Passed Senate with substitute (23-Y 13-N)"
Feb. 18
Impact Statement
A fiscal impact statement reports on the bill's potential financial effects: costs or savings to the state budget or local governments (e.g., hiring new staff, implementing programs).
Legislators requested a fiscal impact statement from the Department of Planning and Budget.
Impact statements provide legislators with factual, nonpartisan data, helping them weigh the benefits and drawbacks of a bill.
New Version Rejected
Legislators voted to reject the new ("substitute") version of the text of the bill.
The official record reads: "Senate substitute rejected by House (0-Y 96-N)"
Feb. 19
"Insist and Request" by Senate
The bill has passed both chambers but in different forms. Those differences need to be resolved for the bill to move forward.
An "Insist and Request" is a
procedural motion
used when one chamber refuses to accept changes made by the other chamber. In this case the Senate is not willing to accept changes made by the House.
Conference Committee Requested
The Senate has formally requested a conference committee to resolve the differences.
This allows further negotiation rather than forcing one chamber to accept the other's version. Each chamber appoints three members (conferees) to negotiate a compromise. The conferees meet privately to discuss the bill and agree on a final version, which will go back to both chambers for approval.
Feb. 20
Thursday, February 20 was the last day to act on remaining bills and appoint conferees.
House Agreed to Conference
The official record reads: "House acceded to request"
Conferees Appointed by Senate
The official record reads: "Conferees appointed by Senate"
Conferees Appointed by Senate
The official record reads: "Senators: Surovell, VanValkenburg, Suetterlein"
Conferees Appointed by House
The official record reads: "Conferees appointed by House"
Conferees Appointed by House
The official record reads: "Delegates: Sickles, Simon, Ballard"
Feb. 22
New Version from Conference Committee
The conference committee made changes to the bill to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions.
Reprinted
HB2479 was "substitute printed," meaning that enough changes were made to the original bill that a new ("substitute") version was called for.
Passed by temporarily
The official record reads: "Passed by temporarily"
Won Vote in the Senate
The Senate voted to
adopt
the "conference report," the final compromise version that was negotiated.
The official record reads: "Conference report agreed to by Senate (23-Y 17-N)"
Won Vote in the House
The House voted to
adopt
the "conference report," the final compromise version that was negotiated.
The official record reads: "Conference report agreed to by House (76-Y 22-N)"
Feb. 24
Impact Statement
A fiscal impact statement reports on the bill's potential financial effects: costs or savings to the state budget or local governments (e.g., hiring new staff, implementing programs).
Legislators requested a fiscal impact statement from the Department of Planning and Budget.
Impact statements provide legislators with factual, nonpartisan data, helping them weigh the benefits and drawbacks of a bill.
Mar. 7
Enrolled
HB2479 was "enrolled": it has passed both chambers in its final form. Legislative staff will prepare a clean final copy of the bill, incorporating any amendments, and it will be signed by presiding officers (Speaker of the House, Senate President, or clerks) before being presented to the Governor Youngkin to sign. This is the same process at the federal level, where the U.S. Congress and Senate pass a bill in identical form and present it to the President.
Reprinted
HB2479 was "substitute printed," meaning that enough changes were made to the original bill that a new ("substitute") version was called for.
Signed by Speaker
HB2479 was certified by a presiding officer for the House:
the Speaker of the House, Don Scott.
Mar. 10
Signed by President
HB2479 was certified by a presiding officer for the Senate:
Senate President Winsome Earle-Sears.
Impact Statement
A fiscal impact statement reports on the bill's potential financial effects: costs or savings to the state budget or local governments (e.g., hiring new staff, implementing programs).
Legislators requested a fiscal impact statement from the Department of Planning and Budget.
Impact statements provide legislators with factual, nonpartisan data, helping them weigh the benefits and drawbacks of a bill.
Mar. 11
Sent to Governor
The final form of HB2479 was formally presented to the Governor for approval.
Deadline
The official record reads: "Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., March 24, 2025"
Mar. 24
Vetoed
Governor Youngkin has vetoed this bill. It can only become law if the General Assembly decides to override the veto with a two-thirds vote in both chambers.
Apr. 2
House sustained Governor's veto
The House decided not to override the veto. The Governor’s veto stands; the bill fails and will not become law.