Virginia 2027 Regular Session Status: In Committee

HB 720 — Material harmful to minors; creates tax on electronic distribution.

Last action — Continued from last session

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House of Delegates
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House of Delegates. Introduced January 13, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House of Delegates.

Prognosis

Stalled 14% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

In plain language

The bill imposes a tax on adult websites distributing harmful material to minors.

This bill creates a 10% tax on the gross receipts of adult websites that distribute material deemed harmful to minors. The tax revenue will support the Behavioral Health and Developmental Services Trust Fund.

Summary

Tax on electronic distribution of material harmful to minors. Creates a tax at the rate of 10 percent of the gross receipts of any commercial entity operating an adult website, defined in the bill, for all sales, distributions, memberships, and other content amounting to material harmful to minors, defined in the bill, that is produced, sold, filmed, generated, or otherwise based in the Commonwealth. The bill provides that the revenues generated by this tax shall be deposited into the Behavioral Health and Developmental Services Trust Fund.

Bill Text

How this bill changes current law

26 changes Share ↗

Compared against the Code of Virginia as published AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

This bill amends 1 section(s) of the Code of Virginia: 58.1-1749.

  • 58.1-1749

    A. For the purposes of this section:

    Inserts “A. For the purposes of this section:”.

  • 58.1-1749

    "Adult website" means a website, application, or digital or virtual platform that uses the

    Inserts “"Adult website" means a website, application, or digital or virtual platform that uses the”.

  • 58.1-1749

    i

    Inserts “i”.

  • 58.1-1749

    nternet to facilitate the dissemination of pictures, videos, or other content, a substantial portion of which is

    Inserts “nternet to facilitate the dissemination of pictures, videos, or other content, a substantial portion of which is”.

  • 58.1-1749

    material harmful to minors.

    Inserts “material harmful to minors.”.

  • 58.1-1749

    "Material harmful to minors" means the same as that term is defined in § 8.01-40.5.

    Inserts “"Material harmful to minors" means the same as that term is defined in § 8.01-40.5.”.

  • 58.1-1749

    "Subs

    Inserts “"Subs”.

  • 58.1-1749

    tantial portion" means the same as that term is defined in § 8.01-40.5.

    Inserts “tantial portion" means the same as that term is defined in § 8.01-40.5.”.

  • 58.1-1749

    B.

    Inserts “B.”.

  • 58.1-1749

    In addition to all other taxes now imposed by law,

    Inserts “In addition to all other taxes now imposed by law,”.

  • 58.1-1749

    there is hereby imposed a tax at the rate of 10 percent

    Inserts “there is hereby imposed a tax at the rate of 10 percent”.

  • 58.1-1749

    of the gross receipts of any commercial entity operating an adult website for all sales, distributions, memberships, subscriptions, performances, and other content amounting to material harmful to minors

    Inserts “of the gross receipts of any commercial entity operating an adult website for all sales, distributions, memberships, subscriptions, performances, and other content amounting to material harmful to minors”.

  • 58.1-1749

    that is produced, sold, filmed, generated, or otherwise based in th

    Inserts “that is produced, sold, filmed, generated, or otherwise based in th”.

  • 58.1-1749

    e Commonwealth

    Inserts “e Commonwealth”.

  • 58.1-1749

    .

    Inserts “.”.

  • 58.1-1749

    C. The revenues generated by the tax imposed under this

    Inserts “C. The revenues generated by the tax imposed under this”.

  • 58.1-1749

    article

    Inserts “article”.

  • 58.1-1749

    shall be deposited into the

    Inserts “shall be deposited into the”.

  • 58.1-1749

    Behavioral Health and Developmental Services Trust Fund establish

    Inserts “Behavioral Health and Developmental Services Trust Fund establish”.

  • 58.1-1749

    ed under § 37.2-318.

    Inserts “ed under § 37.2-318.”.

  • 58.1-1749

    D.

    Inserts “D.”.

  • 58.1-1749

    The Department shall collect, administer, and enforce this tax in the same manner that it collects, administers, and enforces the retail sales and use tax under Chapter 6 (§

    Inserts “The Department shall collect, administer, and enforce this tax in the same manner that it collects, administers, and enforces the retail sales and use tax under Chapter 6 (§”.

  • 58.1-1749

    58.1-600

    Inserts “58.1-600”.

  • 58.1-1749

    et seq.), mutatis mutandis.

    Inserts “et seq.), mutatis mutandis.”.

  • 58.1-1749

    E

    Inserts “E”.

  • 58.1-1749

    . The Tax Commissioner shall develop and make publicly available guidelines implementing the provisions of this article. Such guidelines shall be exempt from the provisions of the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.).

    Inserts “. The Tax Commissioner shall develop and make publicly available guidelines implementing the provisions of this article. Such guidelines shall be exempt from the provisions of the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.).”.

Action History

  1. Continued from last session

  2. Continued to next session in Finance (Voice Vote)

  3. Subcommittee recommends continuing to (Voice Vote)

  4. Fiscal Impact statement From TAX (2/7/2026 8:41 pm)

  5. Assigned HFIN sub: Subcommittee #1

  6. Referred to Committee on Finance

  7. Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103863D

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 147 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (147)

147 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 147 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety taxation
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB 720 do?
Tax on electronic distribution of material harmful to minors. Creates a tax at the rate of 10 percent of the gross receipts of any commercial entity operating an adult website, defined in the bill, for all sales, distributions, memberships, and other content amounting to material harmful to minors, defined in the bill, that is produced, sold, filmed, generated, or otherwise based in the Commonwealth. The bill provides that the revenues generated by this tax shall be deposited into the Behavioral Health and Developmental Services Trust Fund.
Who sponsors HB 720?
HB 720 is sponsored by Eric R. Zehr.
What is the current status of HB 720?
This bill is in committee in the House of Delegates. Introduced January 13, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB 720?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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