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A project of the Virginia Coalition for Boys and Men September 18, 2026 ยท Virginia General Assembly, Richmond Contact
Convened by Virginia Boys and Men Advisory Commission Virginia Coalition for Boys and Men
The Commission

The nation's first permanent commission for boys and men.

Written into Virginia state code and independent of any governor, the Virginia Boys and Men Advisory Commission passed with rare bipartisan margins and was signed by Governor Spanberger. It is the first body of its kind in the United States.

How it became law

From an idea to state code in under a year.

A rare bipartisan path, start to finish.

October 2025

Announced

Legislators move to create the nation's first commission for boys and men.

January 2026

Introduced

HB1188 and its Senate companion SB447 are filed in the General Assembly.

February 2026

Senate passes, 36-0

SB447 clears the Senate unanimously and heads to the House.

March 2026

Both chambers pass

HB1188 clears the House of Delegates 91-6.

May 2026

Signed into law

Governor Spanberger signs the Commission into Virginia code.

The vote

The tallies are the message. Both parties, both chambers.

House · HB1188

91–6

passed the House of Delegates

Senate · SB447

36–0

passed the Senate

Sponsors

The lawmakers who carried it.

A bipartisan group of delegates and senators sponsored the legislation which was ps signed it into law.

Chief patron

Del. Josh Thomas and Sen. Lamont Bagby

Co-patrons & Senate

Dels. Michael Feggans, Nicole Cole, Michael Webert, Jason Ballard, and Jackie Glass and Sen. Lashrecse Aird. Signed by Governor Abigail Spanberger.

Scope

A mandate that spans a boy's whole life.

The Commission is charged with studying and advising across six areas:

K-12 literacy Higher-education access Workforce & economic opportunity Health, including mental health & suicide prevention Family dynamics Social media impact

The first report is due October 2026.

Follow the Commission's work and the wins along the way.