HB177 • 2026

Fee for passing bad checks to localities; payment order not paid by recipient.

An Act to amend and reenact § 15.2-106 of the Code of Virginia, relating to fee for passing bad checks to localities; payment order not paid by recipient.

Taxes

Enacted

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

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

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not specify the exact circumstances under which fees are imposed for reasons other than insufficient funds or non-existent accounts.

Fee for Bad Checks to Localities

This act changes and clarifies rules about fees local governments can charge when people write bad checks or electronic payments that fail due to non-existent accounts.

What This Bill Does

Allows local areas to set a fee of up to $50 for bad checks or drafts used to pay taxes or other money owed to the area.
Includes electronic payment orders in the rules about fees for bad checks.
Says no fee will be charged if an electronic payment order fails because there is no matching account, as long as the person hasn't had another failed payment within 12 months.

Who It Names or Affects

Local governments that set fees for bad checks or drafts.
People who write bad checks or have failed electronic payments to local areas.

Terms To Know

Electronic Payment Order: A digital request to transfer money from one account to another, similar to a check but done electronically.
Drawer: The person who writes or issues a check or draft.

Limits and Unknowns

Does not specify what happens if the bad payment is due to reasons other than insufficient funds, non-existent accounts, closed accounts, or stop-payment orders placed in bad faith.
Doesn't explain how local governments will enforce these rules.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HB177AHC1

2026-01-29

Counties, Cities and Towns Amendment

Plain English: The amendment removes certain phrases from the bill text related to fees for bad checks passed to localities.

Removes 'without payment' from the bill text.
Removes 'or incorrectly specified account information' from the bill text.
Removes 'of the order for any reason, including' from the bill text.
Removes 'the remainder of line 21 and through information on line 22' from the bill text.

The exact impact of these changes is not clear without seeing the full context of the original bill text.

HB177AHC2

2026-01-29 • Committee

Subcommittee #3 Subcommittee Amendment

Plain English: The amendment removes certain phrases related to reasons for non-payment or incorrect account information from the bill text.

Removes 'without payment' from the bill text.
Removes 'or incorrectly specified account information' from the bill text.
Removes 'for any reason, including' from the bill text.
Removes a portion of the sentence that discusses reasons for non-payment.

The exact impact and context of these changes are not fully explained in the amendment text provided.

HB177AH1

2026-01-30 • Committee

Counties, Cities and Towns Amendment

Plain English: The amendment removes certain phrases related to bad checks from a Virginia law.

Removes the phrase 'without payment' from the text.
Removes the phrase 'or incorrectly specified account information' from the text.
Removes the phrase 'for any reason, including' after 'recipient' in the text.
Removes the rest of line 21 and part of line 22 starting with 'information'.

The exact impact of these changes on how localities handle bad checks is not clear from this amendment alone.

HB177ASC1

2026-03-02 • Committee

Local Government Amendment

Plain English: The amendment changes how localities handle fees for bad checks and adds rules about electronic payments.

Removes language related to insufficient funds and other specific details from existing sections.
Adds new text that excludes certain types of electronic payment orders from being charged a fee if the account information is incorrect or does not exist.

The amendment's technical nature makes it hard to fully explain without context about current laws and practices.

HB177AS1

2026-03-02 • Committee

Local Government Amendment

Plain English: The amendment modifies a Virginia law to include specific rules for handling unpaid electronic payment orders when someone tries to pay with bad checks.

Adds language to clarify that an electronic payment order is included if it's not paid by the recipient.
Removes references to insufficient funds and related information in the context of non-payment.
Inserts new rules about fees for unpaid electronic payment orders, stating no fee will be charged under certain conditions.

The exact impact on localities and taxpayers is not fully explained by the amendment text alone.

HB177EDOC

2026-03-04 • Senate

Senate Amendments

Plain English: The amendment modifies a Virginia law to adjust fees for bad checks and introduces new rules about electronic payment orders.

Removes specific language related to insufficient funds from the bill text.
Adds provisions that prevent localities from charging fees when an electronic payment order is not honored due to incorrect account information, if no other such incidents occurred in the past year.

The exact impact of removing certain phrases about insufficient funds is unclear without seeing the original context.
Some parts of the amendment text are technical and may require further explanation for full understanding.

Bill History

2026-04-06 Governor
Approved by Governor-Chapter 86 (effective 7/1/2026)
2026-04-06 Governor
Approved by Governor-Chapter 86 (effective 7/1/2026)
2026-04-06 Governor
Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0086)
2026-03-14 House
Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 14, 2026
2026-03-14 Governor
Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026
2026-03-13 House
Signed by Speaker
2026-03-13 Senate
Signed by President
2026-03-13 House
Enrolled
2026-03-13 House
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB177ER)
2026-03-06 House
Senate amendments agreed to by House (94-Y 2-N 0-A)
2026-03-04 Senate
Read third time
2026-03-04 Senate
Engrossed by Senate as amended
2026-03-04 Local Government
Local Government Amendments agreed to
2026-03-04 Senate
Passed Senate with amendments Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-03-03 Senate
Rules suspended
2026-03-03 Senate
Passed by for the day
2026-03-03 Senate
Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-03-03 Senate
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
2026-03-02 Local Government
Reported from Local Government with amendments (14-Y 0-N)
2026-03-02 Senate
Senate committee offered
2026-02-06 Senate
Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)
2026-02-06 Local Government
Referred to Committee on Local Government
2026-02-05 House
Read third time and passed House (94-Y 4-N 0-A)
2026-02-04 House
Moved from Uncontested Calendar to Regular Calendar
2026-02-04 House
Read second time
2026-02-04 House
committee amendments agreed to
2026-02-04 House
Engrossed by House as amended
2026-02-03 House
Read first time
2026-01-30 Counties, Cities and Towns
Reported from Counties, Cities and Towns with amendment(s) (21-Y 0-N)
2026-01-29 Subcommittee #3
Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (6-Y 0-N 1-A)
2026-01-29 Subcommittee #3
House subcommittee offered
2026-01-28 Subcommittee #3
Assigned HCCT sub: Subcommittee #3
2026-01-06 House
Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102386D
2026-01-06 Counties, Cities and Towns
Referred to Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns

Official Summary Text

Fee for passing bad checks to localities.
Makes clarifying amendments to existing provisions related to the imposition of a fee by a locality for the passing of a bad check and adds a reference to electronic payment orders to such provisions. The bill also provides that no fee shall be imposed as the result of an electronic payment order that is not honored as the result of the nonexistence of any account matching the account information provided by the taxpayer, provided that the taxpayer has not tendered any other electronic payment order that was not honored during the 12 months preceding the tender of the payment order in question.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

An Act to amend and reenact §
15.2-106
of the Code of Virginia, relating to fee for passing bad checks to localities; payment order not paid by recipient.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §
15.2-106
of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§
15.2-106
. Ordinances providing fee for passing bad checks to localities; payment order not paid by recipient.
Any locality may by ordinance provide for a fee, not exceeding $50, for the uttering, publishing or passing of any check, draft, or order
, including an electronic payment order,
for payment
of
tendered for
taxes or any other sums due
to the locality
, which is subsequently returned
without payment
for insufficient funds

or

because there is no account

or

the account has been closed, or because such check, draft, or order was returned because of a stop-payment order placed in bad faith on the check, draft, or order by the drawer

by the receiving bank, depository institution, or other recipient of the order. No fee shall be imposed under this section as the result of an electronic payment order that is not honored as the result of the nonexistence of any account matching the account information provided by the taxpayer, provided that the taxpayer has not tendered any other electronic payment order that was not honored during the 12 months preceding the tender of the payment order in question.