A look at legislation pending in the Virginia General Assembly

Much of what goes out through the Charlottesville Community Engagement newsletter is the result of research into what’s happening at various levels of government. With the General Assembly a week away, I wanted to take a look and familiarize myself with some of the pending legislation. My hope is that at least some readers will develop the habit of paying attention.

One of the most anticipated pieces of legislation is a bill to allow all localities to hold a referendum on a sales tax increase with proceeds going to construction of school projects. Bills to allow this failed to make it out of the General Assembly in the first two years of the Youngkin administration, and Youngkin vetoed such legislation after Democrats assumed control of both chambers.

“Under current law, only Charlotte, Gloucester, Halifax, Henry, Mecklenburg, Northampton, Patrick, and Pittsylvania Counties and the City of Danville are authorized to impose such a tax,” reads the summary of SB66 from Senator Jeremy McPike (D-29).

A local priority in Albemarle County is to allow expanded use of cameras that catch vehicles speeding in school zones and work zones.

SB84 from Senator Angelia Williams Graves (D-21) would make some changes to the framework for surveillance cameras used to obtain evidence against speeding vehicles. The bill would rename “photo speed monitoring device” to “speed safety camera” and would also add a framework for installation of “pedestrian crossing violation monitoring systems” and “stop sign violation monitoring systems.”

SB59 from Senator Danny Diggs (R-24) would require any violations using such devices to be certified by either retired sworn law-enforcement officers or registered special conservators of the peace. The Department of Criminal Justice Services would need to develop a certification course.

Here’s a first look at bills filed in the Senate. All links go to the Legislative Information System where you can learn more about each and track progress.

• SB4 would eliminate the one percent sales tax imposed on food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products that goes to localities.
• SB68 from Senator Danny Diggs (R-24) would remove the requirement that the Department of Historic Resources has to notify abutting landowners when a property becomes a candidate for listing on the Virginia Landmark Register or the National Register of Historic Places.
• SB74 from Senator Jeremy McPike (D-29) would allow all localities to create an affordable housing dwelling unit program. Currently this is just limited to those with either the “urban county executive” form of government or the “county manager” form.
• SB48 from Senator Aaron Rouse (D-22) would amend the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act to increase the mandatory waiting period for a landlord to terminate a lease for non-payment from five days to 14 days.
• SB76 from Senator Schuyler T. VanValkenburg (D-16) would require primaries for all offices to be held at the same time as the presidential primary which is usually held in the spring as opposed to the summer.
• SB56 from Senator Danica Roem (D-30) would limit the fees localities and other government agencies can charge to fulfill a request made under the Freedom of Information Act. The summary states that this would limit “the fees charged for producing public records to the median hourly rate of pay of employees of the public body or the actual hourly rate of pay of the person performing the work, whichever is less, and provides that a public body may petition a court for relief from this fee limit if there is no one who can process the request at the median hourly rate of pay or less.”
• SB50 from Senator Aaron Rouse (D-22) would expand the definition of “lobbying” to extend to those who seek to influence local government.
• SB46 from Senator Christie New Craig (R-19) would reduce the period for absentee voting from 45 days to 15 days.
• SB45 from Senator Christie New Craig (R-19) would remove the requirement that license plates be displayed on both the front and back of a vehicle, except for tractor trailers. Senator Bill DeSteph (R-20) has a similar bill in SB13.
• SB11 from Senator Bill DeSteph (R-20) would repeal the ban on polystyrene food service containers.
• SB31 from Senator Jennifer Carroll Foy (D-33) would require a minimum crew of two for all trains, locomotives, and light engines that are moving freight.
• SB26 from Senator Jennifer Carroll Foy (D-33) would allow localities to require installation of a solar canopy above designated surface parking areas with over 100 spaces. Under the term of the bill, the solar canopy could be required to cover half of the surface.
• SB85 from Senator Schuyler T. VanValkenburg (D-16) would amend the Consumer Data Protection Act to add definitions for “artificial intelligence” and other related terms in a bid to give people the ability to delete “social graph data processed by a social media platform and contextual data processed by a model operator.
• SB87 from Senator Bill Stanley (R-7) would require localities to install automated external defibrillators at local government sporting events.

Before you go: Paid subscribers cover the cost of conducting research for this article which was originally published in the January 7, 2026 of Charlottesville Community Engagement.  You can pay for a subscription through Substack, make a monthly contribution through Patreon, or consider becoming a sponsor. That last one is still in the works do drop me a line!

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