A BILL to amend and reenact § 2.2-3300 of the Code of Virginia, relating to legal holidays; Indigenous Peoples' Day.
HB858 amends Virginia’s legal holidays statute to rename the October state holiday from “Columbus Day” to “Columbus Day Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Yorktown Victory Day.” The bill keeps the existing October holiday date—the second Monday in October—but changes the wording of the holiday to explicitly recognize Indigenous Peoples in addition to Christopher Columbus and Yorktown Victory Day. The rest of the legal holidays listed in § 2.2-3300 remain unchanged, including New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Labor Day, Election Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
The bill’s practical effect is limited to the state’s holiday designation language in the Code of Virginia. It would not create a new day off or alter the holiday calendar date; rather, it revises the statutory description of an existing legal holiday and the public purposes stated for it. Because the measure amends § 2.2-3300, it would affect how state law references and describes legal holidays for government and business purposes, including official calendars and holiday observances.
HB858 would amend § 2.2-3300 of the Code of Virginia, the statute that lists Virginia’s legal holidays, by changing the October holiday designation to include Indigenous Peoples’ Day alongside Columbus Day and Yorktown Victory Day. The bill does not change the number of legal holidays or the date on which the holiday is observed; it changes only the statutory naming and commemorative language. Its impact is therefore primarily symbolic and administrative, affecting state holiday terminology and official recognition rather than work schedules or entitlement to time off.
The available context suggests the bill was introduced with support from a sizable group of House patrons, indicating interest in the proposal among its sponsors. However, the bill was not advanced and was continued to the next session in the Rules Committee by voice vote, which suggests it did not receive enough momentum for immediate consideration. With no committee transcript or recorded votes available, the overall sentiment can be described as cautiously supportive among sponsors but procedurally stalled in committee.
The central point of contention is the holiday’s name and historical framing. Supporters appear to favor adding Indigenous Peoples’ Day to recognize American Indians in Virginia and broaden the holiday’s commemorative focus, while the existing Columbus Day reference remains in the text, reflecting an attempt to balance competing historical and cultural perspectives. The fact that the bill was continued in Rules rather than advanced suggests unresolved disagreement or a lack of consensus about whether the statutory holiday should be renamed, recharacterized, or left unchanged.