# Virginia HB1189: State of preparedness; feasibility & impact of program to prioritize prevention/mitigation, etc.

Virginia HB1189, State of preparedness; feasibility & impact of program to prioritize prevention/mitigation, etc., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Israel D. O'Quinn (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-04-08 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0455)) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1189-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB1189
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: State of preparedness; feasibility & impact of program to prioritize prevention/mitigation, etc.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-14
- Last action: 2026-04-08, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0455)
- Sponsor: Israel D. O'Quinn (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 10 (331 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

Department of Emergency Management; state of preparedness; report. Directs the Department of Emergency Management to assess the feasibility and impact of developing a program to prioritize the prevention and mitigation of damage, loss, hardship, or suffering due to the anticipated impacts of an imminent emergency necessitating a gubernatorial declaration of a state of preparedness or an emergency that does not warrant a gubernatorial declaration of a state of emergency. The Department of Emergency Management shall submit a report on its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Chairs of the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriations and General Laws and Technology and the House Committee on Appropriations by November 1, 2026.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- State study on emergency readiness program: benefit, low. The law directs Virginia’s emergency management department to study a new program to prevent and lessen harm from imminent emergencies. It defines a “state of preparedness” as a Governor’s declaration to ready help before a disaster. The study sets clear criteria for when the state acts without a f…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Israel D. O'Quinn (Republican), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-11 | House | Senate substitute agreed to by House | pass | 98 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | General Laws and Technology Substitute agreed to | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | Passed Senate with substitute Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-09 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-09 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-06 | Senate | Reported from Finance and Appropriations | pass | 14 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-25 | Senate | Reported from General Laws and Technology with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-17 | House | Read third time and passed House Block Vote | pass | 97 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-13 | House | Reported from Public Safety with substitute | pass | 20 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-12 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | 7 | 0 |   |

## Actions (37)

- 2026-04-08: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0455) (Governor)
- 2026-04-08: Approved by Governor-Chapter 455 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-04-01: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1189) (House)
- 2026-03-31: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-31: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-31: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-30: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1189ER) (House)
- 2026-03-30: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-30: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Senate substitute agreed to by House (98-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-03-10: Passed Senate with substitute Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: General Laws and Technology Substitute agreed to (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Reported from Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1189) (House)
- 2026-02-26: Committee substitute printed 26108558D-S1 (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Reported from General Laws and Technology with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: Senate committee offered (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-17: Read third time and passed House Block Vote (97-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-16: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House)
- 2026-02-16: committee substitute agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-16: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-15: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-13: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1189) (House)
- 2026-02-13: Committee substitute printed 26107910D-H1 (House)
- 2026-02-13: Reported from Public Safety with substitute (20-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-12: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (7-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-10: Assigned HMPPS sub: Subcommittee #2 (House)
- 2026-01-19: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1189) (House)
- 2026-01-14: Referred to Committee on Public Safety (House)
- 2026-01-14: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104964D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-08: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217890.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217889.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1212393.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1212392.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-26: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1182031.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1182030.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-24: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1178820.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1178819.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145943.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145942.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-12: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1144861.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1144860.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1087686.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1087685.PDF)

## Related bills

- HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with rental agreement. (signed)
- HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed)
- HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, termination by landlord. (signed)
- HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil penalty. (signed)

## Sources
- [Chaptered (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217890.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217889.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1212393.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1212392.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1182031.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1182030.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1178820.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1178819.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145943.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145942.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1144861.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1144860.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1087686.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1087685.PDF)

## Related
- [HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB5-2026)
- [SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB199-2026)
- [HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB95-2026)
- [HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1393-2026)
- [HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, terminat…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB834-2026)
- [HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB675-2026)
- [Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia/bills)
- [Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1189-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).