SB 681 Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Virginia Beach, City of; amending charter, transition to a city council, voting districts.

Summary

An Act to amend and reenact § 3.01, as amended, § 3.01:1, and §§ 3.02:1 and 3.02:2, as amended, of Chapter 147 of the Acts of Assembly of 1962, which provided a charter for the City of Virginia Beach, and to repeal § 3.02:3 of Chapters 127 and 762 of the Acts of Assembly of 2020, relating to city council; voting districts; emergency.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Mar 2026

Introduced Jan 14, 2026 Signed Mar 9, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Reenrolled → Chaptered · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill formally enacts the 2026 legislative changes to the Virginia Beach city charter, converting the draft text into official law. It codifies the new district structure, election schedules, and term lengths that were previously proposed, while also repealing an outdated emergency clause from 2020.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on the governance structure of the City of Virginia Beach, but it transitions from a proposed amendment to an enacted statute with a specific effective date and emergency provision.

TIMELINE

Added the formal approval date (March 9, 2026) and chapter designation (Chapter 9) to establish the bill as official law.

Added a new section declaring an emergency, which allows the new election rules and district boundaries to take effect immediately upon passage rather than waiting for the next regular session.

TECHNICAL

Reformatted the text to align with the official style of the Virginia Acts of Assembly, including proper spacing and line breaks.

Floor votes · Senate Jan 27, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 16, 2026

How they voted

38–0

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 39

Jan 27, 2026

D Democratic20

20 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican19

18 Yea 1

94% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 9, 2026

Signed into law

Approved by Governor-Chapter 9 (Effective 3/9/2026)

executive

Mar 9, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by President

upper

Mar 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Signed by Speaker

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Signed into law

Governor's recommendation adopted

executive

Mar 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

House concurred in Governor's recommendation (67-Y 27-N 1-A)

lower

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (22-Y 17-N 0-A)

upper

Mar 4, 2026

Vetoed

Governor's recommendation received by Senate

executive

Feb 18, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by President

upper

Feb 18, 2026

Lower · Passed

Signed by Speaker

lower

Feb 18, 2026

Upper · Passed

Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB681ER)

upper

Feb 16, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed House (72-Y 25-N 1-A)

lower

Feb 13, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Counties, Cities and Towns (17-Y 4-N)

lower

Feb 4, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns

lower

Jan 29, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read third time and passed Senate (27-Y 13-N 0-A)

upper

Jan 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day

upper

Jan 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

upper

Jan 26, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Local Government (14-Y 0-N)

upper

Jan 14, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Local Government

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors