HB 164 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Housing for local employees; grants for homeownership.

Summary
Housing for local employees; grants for homeownership and workforce housing alternatives. Eliminates the maximum amount a locality may provide (i) to employees of the locality, employees of the school board, and employees of constitutional officers for homeownership grants to purchase primary residences in the locality and (ii) to school division personnel for residential housing assistance grants to provide affordable workforce housing alternatives. The bill also eliminates the requirement that such grants adhere to the Virginia Housing and Development Authority regional sales price and household income limitation guidelines. Current law imposes a maximum grant amount of $25,000 for individual grants per employee, as well as a maximum lifetime cumulative amount of $25,000 per employee. This bill is identical to SB 328.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Jan 6, 2026 Signed Apr 6, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Enrolled Chaptered · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill has been formally enacted into law, changing its status from a proposed draft to an official chapter of the Virginia Acts of Assembly. The substantive policy text regarding homeowner grants for local employees remains identical, with no changes to funding limits, eligibility, or program rules.
Scope change
The bill's scope and applicability have not changed; only its legal status has been updated to reflect official enactment.
TIMELINE

Added the official enactment date of April 6, 2026, and assigned the bill to Chapter 78 of the 2026 session.

TECHNICAL

Removed draft session headers and placeholder formatting lines used during the legislative review process.

Adjusted line breaks and spacing to conform to the standard formatting of enacted Virginia statutes.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 3, 2026 · House of Delegates Jan 29, 2026

How they voted

390
Passed
Total votes 39
Mar 3, 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
27
Key actions
12
Committee
7
Amendments
2
Apr 6, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 78 (effective 7/1/2026)
executive
Mar 12, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 11, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Mar 11, 2026
Lower · Passed
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB164ER)
lower
Mar 4, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (25-Y 15-N 0-A)
upper
Mar 3, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
upper
Mar 2, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Local Government (7-Y 6-N)
upper
Jan 30, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Local Government
upper
Jan 29, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (65-Y 32-N 0-A)
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Introduced
Engrossed by House as amended
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Lower · Passed
committee amendment agreed to
lower
Jan 23, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Counties, Cities and Towns with amendment(s) (16-Y 4-N)
lower
Jan 22, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (8-Y 0-N)
lower
Jan 22, 2026
Lower · Passed
House subcommittee offered
lower
Jan 20, 2026
Committee
Assigned HCCT sub: Subcommittee #2
lower
Jan 6, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns
lower
1 primary · 8 co-sponsors

Sponsors