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HB1300 • 2026

State Police, Department of; purchase of handguns or other weapons of certain officers.

An Act to amend and reenact § 59.1-148.3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to purchase of handguns or other weapons of certain officers; Department of State Police.

Children Firearms
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Cornett
Last action
2026-04-06
Official status
Acts of Assembly Chapter
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill does not specify what happens if the original weapon is no longer available.

State Police Handgun Purchase for Survivors

This act allows immediate survivors of state police officers who served at least ten years and died while receiving long-term disability payments to purchase the officer's service handgun for one dollar.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the law so that the Department of State Police can allow certain people to buy a former officer's service handgun for $1.
  • Requires approval from the Superintendent of State Police before a survivor can make this purchase.
  • Applies only to survivors of officers who served at least ten years and died while receiving long-term disability payments.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Survivors of state police officers with at least ten years of service who died while on long-term disability.
  • The Department of State Police and its Superintendent.

Terms To Know

Immediate survivor
A person directly related to the deceased officer, such as a spouse or child.
Long-term disability payments
Payments made to an officer who is unable to work due to a disability and has been receiving these payments for a long time.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill only applies to survivors of state police officers, not other types of law enforcement.
  • It does not specify what happens if the original weapon is no longer available.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-06 Governor

    Approved by Governor-Chapter 285 (effective 7/1/2026)

  2. 2026-04-06 Governor

    Approved by Governor-Chapter 285 (effective 7/1/2026)

  3. 2026-04-06 Governor

    Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0285)

  4. 2026-03-10 House

    Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026

  5. 2026-03-10 Governor

    Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026

  6. 2026-03-02 House

    Signed by Speaker

  7. 2026-03-02 Senate

    Signed by President

  8. 2026-03-02 House

    Enrolled

  9. 2026-03-02 House

    Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1300ER)

  10. 2026-03-02 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1300)

  11. 2026-02-25 Senate

    Read third time

  12. 2026-02-25 Senate

    Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A)

  13. 2026-02-24 Senate

    Rules suspended

  14. 2026-02-24 Senate

    Passed by for the day

  15. 2026-02-24 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A)

  16. 2026-02-24 Senate

    Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

  17. 2026-02-23 Courts of Justice

    Reported from Courts of Justice (11-Y 0-N)

  18. 2026-02-13 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)

  19. 2026-02-13 Courts of Justice

    Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice

  20. 2026-02-12 House

    Read third time and passed House Block Vote (98-Y 0-N 0-A)

  21. 2026-02-11 House

    Read second time and engrossed

  22. 2026-02-10 House

    Read first time

  23. 2026-02-06 Public Safety

    Reported from Public Safety (22-Y 0-N)

  24. 2026-02-05 House

    Motion to rerefer to committee agreed to (63-Y 34-N 0-A)

  25. 2026-02-05 Public Safety

    Rereferred to Public Safety

  26. 2026-02-04 House

    Moved from Uncontested Calendar to Regular Calendar

  27. 2026-02-04 House

    Read second time and engrossed

  28. 2026-02-03 House

    Read first time

  29. 2026-01-30 Public Safety

    Reported from Public Safety (21-Y 0-N)

  30. 2026-01-29 Firearms

    Subcommittee recommends reporting (10-Y 0-N)

  31. 2026-01-27 Firearms

    Assigned HMPPS sub: Firearms

  32. 2026-01-20 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1300)

  33. 2026-01-15 House

    Presented and ordered printed 26105506D

  34. 2026-01-15 Public Safety

    Referred to Committee on Public Safety

Official Summary Text

Purchase of handguns or other weapons of certain officers; Department of State Police.
Provides that the Department of State Police may allow the immediate survivor of any law-enforcement officer formerly employed by the Department who had at least 10 years of service with the Department and who died while receiving long-term disability payments to purchase his service handgun, with the approval of the Superintendent of State Police, at a price of $1. This bill is identical to SB 86.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
An Act to amend and reenact §
59.1-148.3
of the Code of Virginia, relating to purchase of handguns or other weapons of certain officers; Department of State Police.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §
59.1-148.3
of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§
59.1-148.3
. Purchase of handguns or other weapons of certain officers.
A. The Department of State Police, the Department of Wildlife Resources, the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, the Virginia Lottery, the Marine Resources Commission, the Capitol Police, the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Department of Forestry, any sheriff, any regional jail board or authority, and any local police department may allow any sworn law-enforcement officer, deputy, or regional jail officer, a local fire department may allow any full-time sworn fire marshal, the Department of Motor Vehicles may allow any law-enforcement officer, any institution of higher education named in §
23.1-1100
may allow any campus police officer appointed pursuant to Article 3 (§
23.1-809
et seq.) of Chapter 8 of Title 23.1, retiring on or after July 1, 1991, and the Department of Corrections may allow any employee with internal investigations authority designated by the Department of Corrections pursuant to subdivision 11 of §
53.1-10
who retires (i) after at least 10 years of service, (ii) at 70 years of age or older, or (iii) as a result of a service-incurred disability or who is receiving long-term disability payments for a service-incurred disability with no expectation of returning to the employment where he incurred the disability to purchase the service handgun issued or previously issued to him by the agency or institution at a price of $1. If the previously issued weapon is no longer available, a weapon of like kind may be substituted for that weapon. This privilege shall also extend to any former Superintendent of State Police who leaves service after a minimum of five years. This privilege shall also extend to any person listed in this subsection who is eligible for retirement with at least 10 years of service who resigns on or after July 1, 1991, in good standing from one of the agencies listed in this section to accept a position covered by the Virginia Retirement System. Other weapons issued by the agencies listed in this subsection for personal duty use of an officer may, with approval of the agency head, be sold to the officer subject to the qualifications of this section at a fair market price determined as in subsection B, so long as the weapon is a type and configuration that can be purchased at a regular hardware or sporting goods store by a private citizen without restrictions other than the instant background check.
B. The agencies listed in subsection A may allow any sworn law-enforcement officer who retires with five or more years of service, but less than 10, to purchase the service handgun issued to him by the agency at a price equivalent to the weapon's fair market value on the date of the officer's retirement. Any sworn law-enforcement officer employed by any of the agencies listed in subsection A who is retired for disability as a result of a nonservice-incurred disability may purchase the service handgun issued to him by the agency at a price equivalent to the weapon's fair market value on the date of the officer's retirement. Determinations of fair market value may be made by reference to a recognized pricing guide.
C. The agencies listed in subsection A may allow the immediate survivor of any sworn law-enforcement officer (i) who is killed in the line of duty or (ii) who dies in service and has at least 10 years of service to purchase the service handgun issued to the officer by the agency at a price of $1.
D. The governing board of any institution of higher learning named in §
23.1-1100
may allow any campus police officer appointed pursuant to Article 3 (§
23.1-809
et seq.) of Chapter 8 of Title 23.1 who retires on or after July 1, 1991, to purchase the service handgun issued to him at a price equivalent to the weapon's fair market value on the date of the officer's retirement. Determinations of fair market value may be made by reference to a recognized pricing guide.
E. Any officer who at the time of his retirement is a sworn law-enforcement officer with a state agency listed in subsection A, when the agency allows purchases of service handguns, and who retires after 10 years of state service, even if a portion of his service was with another state agency, may purchase the service handgun issued to him by the agency from which he retires at a price of $1.
F. The sheriff of Hanover County may allow any auxiliary or volunteer deputy sheriff with a minimum of 10 years of service, upon leaving office, to purchase for $1 the service handgun issued to him.
G. Any sheriff or local police department may allow any auxiliary law-enforcement officer with more than 10 years of service to purchase the service handgun issued to him by the agency at a price that is equivalent to or less than the weapon's fair market value on the date of purchase by the officer.
H. The agencies listed in subsection A may allow any full-time sworn law-enforcement officer currently employed by the agency to purchase his service handgun, with the approval of the chief law-enforcement officer of the agency, at a fair market price. This subsection shall only apply when the agency has purchased new service handguns for its officers, and the handgun subject to the sale is no longer used by the agency or officer in the course of duty.
I. The Department of State Police may allow any law-enforcement officer formerly employed by the Department who had at least 10 years of service with the Department and has been elected to a constitutional office to purchase his service handgun, with the approval of the Superintendent of State Police, at a fair market price
.
J. The Department of State Police may allow the immediate survivor of any law-enforcement officer who had at least 10 years of service with the Department and who died while receiving long-term disability payments to purchase the service handgun previously issued to the officer, with the approval of the Superintendent of State Police, at a price of $1
.