RICHMOND, Va. – Governor Spanberger on Monday signed HB167 into law, which will eliminate tax exemptions for Confederate organizations.
The move was a long time in the making for Democrats, as Governor Youngkin twice vetoed similar bills in 2025 and 2024.
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The bill passed in the House by a vote of 62-35 earlier this year and passed in the Senate by a vote of 21-17.
The bill specifically eliminates the exemption from state recordation taxes for the Virginia Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and eliminates the tax-exempt designation for real and personal property owned by the Virginia Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the General Organization of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Confederate Memorial Literacy Society, the Stonewall Jackson Memeorial, Incorporated, the Virginia Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans and the J.E.B. Stuart Birthplace Preservation Trust, inc.
In a February release, the United Daughters of the Confederacy issued the following statement that reads in part:
Passage of HB167 is viewpoint discrimination, considering the other organizations given protection under § 58.1-3607 of the Code of Virginia. The bill blatantly targets “Confederate” organizations.
United Daughters of the Confederacy
The UDC describes itself on its website as an organization that is:
“A non-racial, non-political, non-profit organization made up of women descended from those who served honorably in the Confederate military or provided material support to the cause.’
Governor Spanberger also signed HB1344, on April 6, which will end the renewal of special license plates commemorating Sons of Confederate Veterans and Robert E. Lee.
The House Bill states that special license plates already in circulation will remain valid until their expiration and shall not be renewed.
Both bills signed will go into effect on July 1.