HB 544 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

School Construction and Modernization, Commission on; revisions, elimination of sunset.

Summary
Commission on School Construction and Modernization; revisions; elimination of sunset. Eliminates the expiration date of the Commission on School Construction and Modernization, which, pursuant to current law, is set to expire on July 1, 2026. The bill also directs the Commission to (i) meet at least four times each year and post notice of the date, time, and location of each meeting on the central, publicly available electronic calendar maintained by the Commonwealth in accordance with applicable law; (ii) update annually the statewide needs estimate for construction and modernization of school facilities; (iii) develop and deliver by November 1, 2026, a 10-year capital roadmap; and (iv) collaborate with early childhood care and education Ready Regions and comprehensive community colleges in the Commonwealth to collect and evaluate data relating to Ready Region and comprehensive community college facility usage, availability, and needs. Finally, the bill directs the Department of Education, in order to assist the Commission with its work, to update and make available to the Commission an inventory of all public school facilities in the Commonwealth by September 1, 2026. This bill is identical to SB 498.
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 13, 2026 Signed Apr 6, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Enrolled Chaptered · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill was formally enacted into law as Chapter 165, removing the 'Enrolled' status and adding the official approval date. The substantive policy content regarding the Commission on School Construction and Modernization, including its powers, duties, and sunset provisions, remains unchanged.
Scope change
None; the bill's scope and applicability are identical to the enrolled version.
TECHNICAL

The document header was updated from 'Enrolled' to 'Chapter 165' with an approval date of April 6, 2026, indicating the bill has officially become law.

The 'Enrolled' session header and the specific legislative approval line were removed as they are no longer applicable once the bill is chaptered.

Multiple blank lines and spacing adjustments were added to the text to conform to the standard formatting of the Virginia Acts of Assembly.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 3, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 3, 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
11
Committee
6
Apr 6, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 165 (effective 7/1/2026)
executive
Mar 10, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Mar 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB544ER)
lower
Mar 3, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
upper
Mar 2, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day (Voice Vote)
upper
Feb 27, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Rules (14-Y 0-N)
upper
Feb 4, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Rules
upper
Feb 3, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (98-Y 0-N 0-A)
lower
Jan 30, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed by for the day
lower
Jan 27, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Rules (18-Y 0-N)
lower
Jan 23, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting (5-Y 0-N)
lower
Jan 22, 2026
Committee
Assigned HRUL sub: Studies Subcommittee
lower
Jan 13, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Rules
lower
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor

Sponsors