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Straight-ahead summaries built from the official bill text. We keep the source links front and center and leave the decision up to you.

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HB926 • 2026

Outdoor shooting of firearm on property without reasonable care; prohibition, penalty.

<p class=ldtitle>A BILL to amend and reenact § 15.2-1209 of the Code of Virginia, relating to prohibition on outdoor shooting of firearm on property without reasonable care; penalty.</p>

Firearms
Enacted

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

Sponsor
Lopez
Last action
2026-01-30
Official status
Continued
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide details on the penalties beyond specifying they cannot exceed a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Rules for Outdoor Gun Shooting

This law allows local areas to make rules about outdoor gun shooting if it's done safely and with reasonable care.

What This Bill Does

  • Allows local governments to create rules that prohibit outdoor shooting of firearms unless the discharge is conducted on land of at least five acres and with reasonable care.
  • Requires these rules to include a presumption that discharging firearms across or over property boundaries without written permission from the owner was not done with reasonable care.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Local governments who can make new laws about outdoor gun shooting.
  • People who own or use property where guns might be shot outdoors.

Terms To Know

reasonable care
Doing what a careful person would do to avoid causing harm.
rebuttable presumption
A rule that says something is true unless someone can prove it's not true.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if a locality decides not to make these rules.
  • It doesn't explain how much land must be used for safe shooting areas beyond the requirement of at least five acres.

Amendments

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

HB926AHC1

2026-01-29

Counties, Cities and Towns Amendment

Plain English: The amendment changes the term 'county' to 'locality' in several places within the bill.

  • Changes 'county' to 'locality' at line 21 of the bill text.
  • Changes 'county' to 'locality' at line 22 of the bill text.
  • Changes 'county' to 'locality' at line 28 of the bill text.
  • Changes 'county' to 'locality' at line 33 of the bill text.
  • The full impact and meaning of changing from 'county' to 'locality' is not explained in the amendment text, so it's unclear how this change will affect the overall scope or application of the bill.
HB926AHC2

2026-01-29 • Committee

Subcommittee #3 Subcommittee Amendment

Plain English: The amendment changes the term 'county' to 'locality' in several places within the bill.

  • Replaces 'county' with 'locality' at line 21 of the bill text.
  • Replaces 'county' with 'locality' at line 22 of the bill text.
  • Replaces 'county' with 'locality' at line 28 of the bill text.
  • Replaces 'county' with 'locality' at line 33 of the bill text.
  • The amendment does not provide additional context on how this change affects the overall meaning or enforcement of the bill.

Bill History

  1. 2026-01-30 Counties, Cities and Towns

    Continued to 2027 in Counties, Cities and Towns (Voice Vote)

  2. 2026-01-29 Subcommittee #3

    Subcommittee recommends continuing to 2027 (Voice Vote)

  3. 2026-01-29 Subcommittee #3

    House subcommittee offered

  4. 2026-01-28 Subcommittee #3

    Assigned HCCT sub: Subcommittee #3

  5. 2026-01-22 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB926)

  6. 2026-01-22 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB926)

  7. 2026-01-13 House

    Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102187D

  8. 2026-01-13 Counties, Cities and Towns

    Referred to Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns

Official Summary Text

Prohibition on outdoor shooting of firearm on property without reasonable care; penalty.
Permits localities to adopt an ordinance prohibiting outdoor shooting of a firearm unless the discharge of such firearm is conducted (i) on land of at least five acres and (ii) with reasonable care, described in the bill, to prevent a projectile from crossing the bounds of the land. The bill permits such an ordinance to create a rebuttable presumption that the discharge of firearms across or over the bounds of a property without written permission of that property owner was without reasonable care. The bill requires that a violation of such an ordinance not exceed a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HB 926

COUNTIES, CITIES AND TOWNS

1. Line 21, introduced, after
B.
Any

strike

county

insert

locality

COUNTIES, CITIES AND TOWNS

2. Line 22, introduced, after areas of the

strike

county

insert

locality

COUNTIES, CITIES AND TOWNS

3. Line 28, introduced, after Any

strike

county

insert

locality

COUNTIES, CITIES AND TOWNS

4. Line 33, introduced, after
Any

strike

county

insert

locality