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Greetings, friends!
It's been quite a week! On Wednesday, January 14th, we officially kicked off the 2026 Legislative Session. I also took part in all of the 75th Inaugural Ceremonies and Festivities. I’m excited about working with our new Attorney General Jay Jones, Lieutenant Governor Ghazala Hashmi, and our new Governor Abigail Spanberger! I'm honored to represent you as Senator and I look forward to helping to move Virginia forward and getting things done. Finally, today was Martin Luther King Jr. Day--I hope everyone had a meaningful day of reflection and service.
This weekly newsletter will provide you with updates on my legislative work and what’s happening in the Capitol that will impact the 16th district. For additional announcements and updates, please follow me on Facebook [[link removed]] , Instagram [[link removed]] , X/twitter [[link removed]] , and Bluesky [[link removed]] .
First Week of Session + Inauguration
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Love our Henrico row in the Virginia Senate! Couldn’t ask for better folks to work with than Senators Lashrecse Aird and Lamont Bagby!
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On Day 1 of Session, Virginia Democrats and I kept our promise to protect Virginians’ rights! We are protecting a a woman’s right to choose, taking the gay marriage ban out of the Constitution, and protecting the right to vote and rights restoratio n . These amendments are going to the voters!
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Congrats to our new AG Jay Jones, Lt. Gov Ghazala Hashmi, and Governor Abigail Spanberger! What an incredible Inaugural Weekend!
My Legislative Updates
This session [[link removed]] , I am pleased to be assigned to the following committees: Education & Health, General Laws & Technology, Local Government, Rehabilitation & Social Services, and Rules. I am also grateful for the opportunity to serve as Chair of Rehabilitation and Social Services and to continue as Chair of the Public Education Sub-Committee.
I am carrying MANY bills in 2026! I’ll be focusing on legislation that will expand access to affordable housing and increase our energy capacity, especially clean energy. However, I also have some education bills, some bills to enact consumer protections, and some bills to help working people and those in recovery. And, I look forward to working with my colleagues this session to support legislation meant to improve the lives of all Virginians and to make life in the Commonwealth more affordable.
Below is the loooong list of all the bills I'm carrying, what they're about, and their status (please note that some bills are not yet up on the LIS site [[link removed]] ).
Housing Bills:
- SB 77 [[link removed]] (Zero Lot Lines): Makes it easier for individuals who own older homes to make repairs to the exterior of their house when it hits their neighbors' property lines. Status: Reported from the Senate Committee on Courts of Justice--it's headed to the Senate floor.
- SB 346 [[link removed]] (Manufactured Housing): Prohibits localities from discriminating against manufactured homes, allowing them to be built in areas that allow site-built housing like regular single family homes. Status: Assigned to Senate Committee on Local Government.
- SB 349 [[link removed]] (Pre-lease Rent Fees): Regulates and restricts the fees landlords can charge to tenants prior to and during lease signing, and upon lease renewal. It adds additional transparency measures so applicants know what fees they have to pay before applying. Status: Assigned to Senate Committee on General Laws & Technology
- SB 454 [[link removed]] (Housing Near Jobs): Requires localities to allow for the by-right development of multifamily housing on at least 75% of all commercial or business zones in their district. Status: Assigned to Senate Committee on Local Government
- SB 490 [[link removed]] (Construction Loan Fund): Allows the Department of Housing & Community Development to dedicate up to 5% of the Virginia Housing Trust Fund to providing lower-interest loans for the construction of mixed-income housing developments. Status: Assigned to Senate Committee on General Laws & Technology
Energy Bills:
- SB 175 [[link removed]] (Distributed Solar Generation): Amends certain renewable energy portfolio standard program requirements for Dominion Energy Virginia, including the annual percentage of program requirements to be met with behind-the-meter solar, wind, or anaerobic digestion resources of three megawatts or less located in the Commonwealth. The bill also removes the requirement for a solar-powered or wind-powered generation facility to have a capacity of no less than 50 kilowatts to qualify for a third-party power purchase agreement under a pilot program. It also provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to encourage development on previously developed project sites to reduce the land use impacts of solar development. Status : Assigned to Senate Committee on Commerce & Labor
- SB 223 [[link removed]] (Virginia Distributed Energy Resources Task Force): Establishes the Distributed Energy Resources Task Force as an advisory commission within the Executive Branch to develop a comprehensive strategy to advance the Commonwealth's transition toward integrated distributed energy resource markets and to support the Commonwealth's compliance with certain regulations. Status: Assigned to Senate Committee on Rules
- SB 267 [[link removed]] (Virginia Energy Infrastructure Inventory Study): Directs the Department of Energy, in consultation with the State Corporation Commission, to analyze existing electric utility infrastructure to identify cost-saving opportunities that improve electric system reliability. Status : Assigned to Senate Committee on Commerce & Labor
- SB 327 [[link removed]] (Virginia Energy Savers Act): Directs the State Corporation Commission to establish rules for the program and directs Virginia’s IOUs to spend over $1B over the program’s first three years for clean energy projects (residential solar, storage, and energy efficiency upgrades). Status : Assigned to Senate Committee on Commerce & Labor
- SB 347 [[link removed]] (Solar Siting): Establishes clear, reasonable criteria for local solar ordinances while still leaving the ultimate decision-making authority on individual projects to local governments. Status: Assigned to Senate Committee on Local Government
- SB 508 [[link removed]] (FAST ACT - Facilitating Access to Surplus Transition Act): Allows clean energy and battery storage where existing power plants are not meeting their maximum capacity. Status : Assigned to Senate Committee on Commerce & Labor
- SB 509 [[link removed]] (Retail Energy Choice): Permits mid-level energy users such as retail and fast food chains to aggregate their total power demand at their various locations across the state, remove the SCC petition requirement, and go directly to the market to purchase energy. Status : Assigned to Senate Committee on Commerce & Labor
- SB 510 [[link removed]] (University Consortium Energy): Supports a consortium of Virginia public universities to help implement the Virginia Energy Plan, and help delegate tasks such as electric utilities, program and project development, interconnection, infrastructure, and any other technical assistance for state agencies, planning district commissions, localities or other public bodies. Status: Assigned to the Senate Committee on Rules
Voting & Elections Bills:
- SB 57 [[link removed]] (ERIC): Virginia would re-join the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) to improve the accuracy of voter rolls, expand access to voter registration for all eligible Virginians, reduce election costs, and streamline the election process. Status: Assigned to Senate Committee on Privileges & Elections
- SB 65 [[link removed]] (ELECT Deputy Roles): Makes the two deputies of the State Commissioner of Elections regular civil service positions, and not political appointees . Status :
Assigned to Senate Committee on General Laws & Technology
- SB 76 [[link removed]] (Presidential Year Primaries): Would require all primaries in a presidential election year be on the same day, on Super Tuesday in March. Status: Assigned to Senate Committee on Privileges & Elections
- SB 176 [[link removed]] (Ranked Choice Voting): Expands the option to use ranked choice voting from only county board of supervisors and city council elections to any local governing body. The State Board of Elections will be required to provide standards and to approve vote tabulating software for use with existing voting systems in elections conducted by ranked choice voting. Status: Assigned to Senate Committee on Privileges & Elections
Education Bills:
- SB 167 [[link removed]] (Higher Ed Fin Aid Reform): Consolidates Virginia's two higher education financial aid programs, the Virginia Guaranteed Assistance Program (VGAP) and Fund with the Virginia Commonwealth Award to establish the Virginia Commonwealth Award in the Code of Virginia. The VGAP would be phased out and the fund would maintain the eligibility criteria of the Commonwealth Award. Status:
Recommended for advancement from the Senate Higher Education Subcommittee to Senate Committee on Education & Health
- SB 200 [[link removed]] (K12 Assessment Updates): Modifies some of the provisions set forth in HB 1957 from 2025 to overhaul K12 end-of-course assessment practices. Status:
Assigned to Senate Committee on Education & Health
Other Bills:
- SB 85 [[link removed]] (Digital Choice Act): Require the social media platforms and model operators to allow users to delete, download and/or share social graph data and contextual data associated with artificial intelligence models, as the user designates . Status : Assigned to Senate Committee on General Laws & Technology
- SB 128 [[link removed]] (Ban Healthcare Non-competes): Adds healthcare professionals as a category of employee with or upon whom no employer shall enter into, enforce, or threaten to enforce a covenant not to compete. The bill defines "health care professional" as any person licensed, registered, or certified by the Board of Medicine, Nursing, Counseling, Optometry, Psychology, or Social Work . Status:
Assigned to Senate Committee on Commerce & Labor
- SB 270 [[link removed]] (Recovery Residences: Certification & Oversight): Directs the Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Services to establish minimum certification standards for recovery residences, and will create greater transparency and accountability in the recovery homes space. Status: Assigned to Rehabilitation & Social Services
- SB 301 [[link removed]] (Bank Account Garnishment Exemptions): Requires certain financial institutions to automatically exempt from garnishment (i) a minimum protected account balance, defined in the bill as the combined total of not more than $1,000 in a judgment debtor's account or across multiple accounts in the same financial institution, and (ii) a protected amount of certain benefit payments that have been deposited into the account via direct deposit or electronic deposit within the two months immediately preceding the day before a financial institution commences an account review. Status: Assigned to Senate Committee on Commerce & Labor
- SB 718 (Deployment of the National Guard: Oversight & Transparency): The Governor, within 48 hours of ordering the deployment of the Virginia National Guard, shall inform, in writing, the General Assembly of such deployment. The Governor shall summon the General Assembly if they wish for such a deployment to continue for longer than two weeks, and the General Assembly may pass a joint resolution by simple majority authorizing the continuation of such deployment. The bill requires the Adjutant General to submit an annual report to the General Assembly detailing federal and state deployments of the Virginia National Guard and other matters relating to retention, readiness, funding, and resources. The bill clarifies that the Virginia National Guard's role in counter-drug operations is limited to that of support, as opposed to direct law enforcement and prohibits the Governor from calling forth the Virginia National Guard for the purpose of intimidating, threatening, or coercing, or attempting to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, a person in giving his vote or ballot or to deter or prevent such person from voting. Status: Not yet assigned to a committee
- SB __ (Recreational Facilities Grant Authority): This bill will allow public recreation facilities to both accept and make grants to enhance efforts to promote sports tourism activities in the Commonwealth. Status: Not yet assigned to a committee
Legislative Helpful Tips & Tricks
Whether it is your first General Assembly session or your ninth, like it is mine, deciphering the language we use to discuss legislation around Capitol Square can be tricky. To visit the main General Assembly site pertaining to legislative meetings and legislation, go here [[link removed]] . Otherwise, below is a helpful graphic showing how to read a bill along with a glossary of some common terms and motions.
How to read a bill:
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* The regular font shows you what the Code of Virginia already says.
* Italicized font means that language is being added to the Code of Virginia.
* Strike-through means that language will be removed from the Code of Virginia.
* Bold font indicates a title or headers.
Definitions of Common Motions/Phrases Heard in Committee:
* Patron : The Delegate or Senator who introduced a bill.
* Co-Patron : A Delegate or Senator who signed on in support of a bill.
* First Reading : The bill is placed on the House or Senate floor calendar.
* Second Reading : The bill is open for discussion on the House or Senate floor.
* Third Reading: The bill is voted on on the House or Senate floor.
* Crossover: When all the bills that passed one chamber (House or Senate) “cross over” to the other chamber.
* Sine Die: The House and Senate have completed their work, and the General Assembly session adjourns.
* Committee motions: * Report: This motion is made to vote on the advancement of a bill out of sub-committee or committee.
* Refer: This motion is made when a bill is being reported and referred to another committee for review and consideration.
* Pass by for the Day : When a bill is still up for consideration, but the committee or the patron needs more time to work on the bill. It is considered again during the next committee meeting. This motion can also be made on the chamber floor.
* Lay on the table: This means the bill fails to pass.
* Pass by Indefinitely: This means the bill fails to pass.
* Continued: The bill fails to pass but will be considered next year after more research/discussion, often accompanied by a work group that convenes between sessions.


If you would like to discuss any of my legislative priorities, share an opinion, request a meeting, or if you’d like for me to come and share a legislative update at an event, please do not hesitate to contact my office at: [email protected] [[email protected]] .
Yours in service,
Schyuler VanValkenburg
Senator, 16th District
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VanValkenburg for Virginia
PO Box 28782
Richmond, VA 23228
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