House Bill 1519 ("HB 1519") was introduced in 2024 and enacted by the General Assembly as Chapter 838 of the 2024 Acts of Assembly. The first enactment amends §§ 55.1-1208, 59.1-199, and 59.1-200 of the Code of Virginia ("Code"), but the second enactment provides that the provisions of the first enactment shall not become effective unless reenacted by the 2025 session of the General Assembly. Accordingly, these amendments will be inoperative unless the General Assembly reenacts them in its upcoming session. The third enactment directs the State Corporation Commission ("Commission") to assess the amendments to the Code proposed by the first enactment and report its findings to the Chairmen of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology no later than December 1, 2024.

HB 1519 proposes to prohibit convenience fees that landlords and sellers of goods or services may charge tenants or consumers for making payments using electronic fund transfers ("EFT"). Although the term "electronic fund transfer" is defined in a manner that employs banking terminology, the Commission's Bureau of Financial Institutions ("Bureau") concludes that HB 1519 would likely not impose any new restrictions on banks or other providers of financial services that operate under Title 6.2 of the Code. On the other hand, HB 1519 may increase operating costs for certain landlords and sellers of goods or services and/or result in fewer available payment options for consumers because of its proposal to prohibit EFT fees in the Commonwealth.