A new bill championed by State Del. Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker seeks to define protocols for identifying the deceased and notifying their families, while introducing regulations on organ retention after autopsy, according to the Virginia State House.
HB381, filed on Jan. 14, 2026, in the 2026 regular session, bears the formal description: “Investigation or autopsy of dead bodies; notification of retention of whole organ.”
What follows is our summary based on the available text of the bill, including clarifications for main provisions.
This measure lays out how decedents should be identified, next of kin notified, and unclaimed bodies handled. Notably, it calls for written notification to funeral homes or licensees when the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner retains a whole organ and obligates those providers to notify a decedent’s next of kin or another authorized party. Civil immunity protections already in law would still apply to those complying, except in cases of bad faith or willful misconduct.
Rep. Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker (Democrat-5th District) and Rep. Marcia S. “Cia” Price (Democrat-85th District) are listed as the bill’s chief patrons.
Since the session’s start, Bennett-Parker has put forth 12 other proposals.
Bennett-Parker holds a 2007 BA from Cornell University.
A member of the Democratic Party, Bennett-Parker was elected to represent Virginia’s 39th House District in the State Senate in 2026, succeeding one-time state senator Adam Ebbin.
In Virginia, the legislative process requires that bills be filed in either the House of Delegates or Senate, referred to relevant committees for evaluation and any alterations, and, if advanced from committee, debated and voted on by both legislative chambers. With passage from both, legislation is sent to the governor, who can approve, veto, or permit it to become law without a signature. The General Assembly meets in regular session beginning the second Monday of January each year. Several hundred bills are introduced each session in Virginia, with only a fraction eventually becoming statute.
| Legislative Session | Patron(s) | Bill Number | Date Introduced | Short Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker and Marcia S. “Cia” Price | HB381 | 01/14/2026 | Investigation or autopsy of dead bodies; notification of retention of whole organ. |
| 2026 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Adele Y. McClure, Atoosa R. Reaser, Briana D. Sewell, Debra D. Gardner, Destiny LeVere Bolling, Elizabeth R. Guzman, Garrett McGuire, Gretchen M Bulova, Jackie H. Glass, Karen Keys-Gamarra, Karen R. “Kacey” Carnegie, Kathy K.L. Tran, Katrina Callsen, Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler, Kimberly Pope Adams, Laura Jane Cohen, Leslie Chambers Mehta, Lily V. Franklin, Marcia S. “Cia” Price, Margaret A. Franklin, Mark C. Downey, Marty Martinez, May Nivar, Michael B. Feggans, Michelle Lopes Maldonado, Nadarius E. Clark, Rae Cousins, Richard C. “Rip” Sullivan, Jr., and Rozia A. Henson, Jr. | HB4 | 01/14/2026 | Affordable housing; preservation, definitions, civil penalty. |
| 2026 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Barbara A. Favola, Dan I. Helmer, Holly M. Seibold, Irene Shin, Jessica L. Anderson, Kathy K.L. Tran, Marcia S. “Cia” Price, Marty Martinez, Michelle Lopes Maldonado, Rae Cousins, and Rozia A. Henson, Jr. | HB93 | 01/14/2026 | Firearms; transfers to another person from a prohibited person. |
| 2026 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker | HB94 | 01/14/2026 | Vehicle registration fees; disabled veterans. |
| 2026 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Adele Y. McClure, Amy J. Laufer, Atoosa R. Reaser, Charlie Schmidt, Debra D. Gardner, Destiny LeVere Bolling, Elizabeth R. Guzman, Garrett McGuire, Gretchen M Bulova, Jackie H. Glass, Jessica L. Anderson, Joshua G. Cole, Karen Keys-Gamarra, Karen R. “Kacey” Carnegie, Kathy K.L. Tran, Katrina Callsen, Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler, Kimberly Pope Adams, Laura Jane Cohen, Leslie Chambers Mehta, Marcia S. “Cia” Price, Margaret A. Franklin, Mark C. Downey, Marty Martinez, May Nivar, Michael B. Feggans, Michelle Lopes Maldonado, Nadarius E. Clark, Rae Cousins, Richard C. “Rip” Sullivan, Jr., Rozia A. Henson, Jr., Stacey Annie Carroll, and Virgil Thornton | HB95 | 01/14/2026 | Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with rental agreement. |
| 2026 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Irene Shin, Laura Jane Cohen, Marcia S. “Cia” Price, Shelly A. Simonds, Adele Y. McClure, Amy J. Laufer, Atoosa R. Reaser, Debra D. Gardner, Destiny LeVere Bolling, Garrett McGuire, Gretchen M Bulova, Jackie H. Glass, Jessica L. Anderson, Joshua E. Thomas, Karen Keys-Gamarra, Karen R. “Kacey” Carnegie, Kathy K.L. Tran, Katrina Callsen, Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler, Leslie Chambers Mehta, Lily V. Franklin, Margaret A. Franklin, Mark C. Downey, Marty Martinez, May Nivar, Michael B. Feggans, Michelle Lopes Maldonado, Nadarius E. Clark, Rae Cousins, Richard C. “Rip” Sullivan, Jr., Rozia A. Henson, Jr., Stacey Annie Carroll, Virgil Thornton, and Vivian E. Watts | HB96 | 01/14/2026 | School breakfast; availability at no cost to students. |
| 2026 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Betsy B. Carr, Alfonso H. Lopez, Elizabeth R. Guzman, and Paul E. Krizek | HB377 | 01/14/2026 | Uniform Statewide Building Code; amendments, energy efficiency and conservation. |
| 2026 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker | HB379 | 01/14/2026 | Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; application, notice, deposit, fee. |
| 2026 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Delores L. McQuinn, and Jeion A. Ward | HB380 | 01/14/2026 | Celiac disease; training materials for restaurant personnel. |
| 2026 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker | HB382 | 01/14/2026 | School board chairmen and vice-chairmen; additional annual salary. |
| 2026 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker | HB383 | 01/14/2026 | SCHEV; exemption of certain courses and programs of instruction from certification requirement. |
| 2026 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker | HB385 | 01/14/2026 | Alcoholic beverage control; operation of government stores, tastings. |
| 2026 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Alfonso H. Lopez, and Jackie H. Glass | HB975 | 01/14/2026 | Alcoholic beverage control; food-to-beverage ratio, report. |
| 2025 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker | HB2653 | 01/14/2025 | Qualified equity and subordinated debt investments tax credit; sunset. |
| 2025 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Shelly A. Simonds, Adele Y. McClure, Alex Q. Askew, Alfonso H. Lopez, Atoosa R. Reaser, Betsy B. Carr, Bonita G. Anthony, C.E. Cliff Hayes, Jr., Candi Mundon King, Charniele L. Herring, Dan I. Helmer, Debra D. Gardner, Delores L. McQuinn, Destiny LeVere Bolling, Holly M. Seibold, Irene Shin, Jackie H. Glass, Kathy K.L. Tran, Katrina Callsen, Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler, Laura Jane Cohen, Marcia S. “Cia” Price, Mark D. Sickles, Marty Martinez, Michael B. Feggans, Michelle Lopes Maldonado, Patrick A. Hope, Paul E. Krizek, Rae Cousins, Richard C. “Rip” Sullivan, Jr., and Vivian E. Watts | HB1973 | 01/13/2025 | Affordable housing; preservation, definitions, civil penalty. |
| 2025 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker | HB1993 | 01/13/2025 | Public school buses; display of advertising, hiring of school bus drivers. |
| 2025 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker | HB1994 | 01/13/2025 | Alcoholic beverage control; requirements for restaurant retail licensees. |
| 2025 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker | HB1995 | 01/13/2025 | SCHEV; evaluating certain activities/programs of private & out-of-state postsecondary institutions. |
| 2025 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker | HB1996 | 01/13/2025 | Planning and zoning; second public hearing notice. |
| 2025 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker and Irene Shin | HB2104 | 01/13/2025 | Seizure rescue meds.; administration by certain school employees, possession by certain students. |
| 2025 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Irene Shin, Marcia S. “Cia” Price, Michelle Lopes Maldonado, and Nadarius E. Clark | HB1960 | 01/08/2025 | Firearm transfers to another person from a prohibited person. |
