AI Frontier Institute

Virginia Human Rights Act; equal credit opportunities, Virginia Fair Housing Law, nondiscrimination.

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Virginia House Bill 999 (2026 Session) amends the Code of Virginia relating to equal credit opportunities by requiring human oversight when automated decision systems are used in adverse credit actions. The bill adds new section 6.2-503.1, which prohibits creditors from using an automated decision system to take an adverse action against a credit applicant unless a natural person has reviewed the application and approved the creditor's final action. That natural person must be authorized to approve, modify, or reject any output produced by the automated system. The bill defines 'automated decision system' and 'artificial intelligence system' in amended section 6.2-500, covering computational processes derived from AI or machine learning used to evaluate, recommend on, or act on credit applications. Creditors that rely on third-party automated systems remain responsible for compliance under section 6.2-503.1(B). Each creditor must also establish and maintain policies and procedures reasonably designed to ensure compliance (section 6.2-503.1(C)). Importantly, the new section does not create new liability bases, expand available remedies, alter existing liability allocation, or require disclosure of trade secrets or proprietary information (section 6.2-503.1(D)). Amended section 6.2-506 allows the State Corporation Commission to issue guidance on best practices for using automated decision systems in credit evaluations. The act takes effect January 1, 2027.

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