HB 1081 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Working Lands Preservation, Office of; powers and duties, small renewable energy projects fees.

Summary

Office of Working Lands Preservation; powers and duties; small renewable energy projects fees. Requires the Office of Working Lands Preservation to serve as a trustee to administer the in-lieu fees in trust for small renewable energy projects. The bill requires such fees to be used to acquire conservation easements and cover any expenses associated with acquiring such easements.

Issues: ✓ Energy ✓ Environment

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Apr 2026

Introduced Jan 14, 2026 Signed Apr 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Enrolled · 3 edits · Mar 4, 2026

MINOR

The primary change is a shift in document status from 'Introduced' to 'Enrolled', indicating the bill has been fully approved by the General Assembly and is now official law. The substantive policy text regarding the Office of Working Lands Preservation, grant matching requirements, and the creation of the Virginia Farmland and Forestland Preservation Fund remains identical to the original version.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability have not changed; it remains focused on farmland and forestland preservation in Virginia.

TIMELINE

Removed metadata indicating the bill was introduced and referred to committee on January 14, 2026, as these procedural steps are now complete.

Added official enrolled headers, page numbering, and approval stamps to signify the bill has become law.

TECHNICAL

Reformatted the text to include line numbers and official legislative formatting consistent with enrolled acts.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 26, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 10, 2026

How they voted

39–0

Passed

Total votes 39

Feb 26, 2026

D Democratic20

20 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican19

19 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 13, 2026

Signed into law

Approved by Governor-Chapter 810 (effective 7/1/2026)

executive

Mar 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by President

upper

Mar 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Signed by Speaker

lower

Mar 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1081ER)

lower

Feb 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed Senate (37-Y 0-N 0-A)

upper

Feb 26, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

upper

Feb 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources (14-Y 0-N)

upper

Feb 11, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources

upper

Feb 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time and passed House (98-Y 0-N 0-A)

lower

Feb 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources (22-Y 0-N)

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Lower · Passed

Subcommittee recommends reporting (10-Y 0-N)

lower

Jan 27, 2026

Committee

Assigned HACNR sub: Agriculture

lower

Jan 14, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors