# Virginia HB226: County manager plan of government; independent policing auditor.

Virginia HB226, County manager plan of government; independent policing auditor., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Patrick A. Hope (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-08 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0372)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB226-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB226
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: County manager plan of government; independent policing auditor.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-08
- Last action: 2026-04-08, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0372)
- Sponsor: Patrick A. Hope (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 7 (157 yes, 61 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 2

## Summary

County manager plan of government; independent policing auditor. Allows the governing body of any county with the county manager plan of government (Arlington County) to appoint an independent policing auditor. The independent policing auditor shall support any law-enforcement civilian oversight body created by the governing body and shall have all the powers of the law-enforcement civilian oversight body, to the extent such powers are delegated to the independent policing auditor by the oversight body. The independent policing auditor shall serve at the pleasure of the governing body.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Counties can add independent policing auditor: benefit, low. The county board can appoint an independent policing auditor to support a civilian oversight board it has created. This applies only where the county has set up that oversight board. The auditor uses only the powers the oversight board delegates. The board may also give the auditor dedicated staff,…
- Hiring and job rules for policing auditor: mixed, low. The auditor and any staff are hired based on merit. They are paid under the county’s existing pay scales. The auditor serves at the pleasure of the county board and can be removed at any time. These rules promote fair hiring but reduce job security for that office.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Patrick A. Hope (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-02-25 | Senate | Passed Senate | pass | 21 | 19 |   |
| 2026-02-24 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-24 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-23 | Senate | Reported from Local Government | pass | 8 | 7 |   |
| 2026-02-05 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 63 | 34 |   |
| 2026-01-30 | House | Reported from Counties, Cities and Towns | pass | 20 | 1 |   |
| 2026-01-29 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 6 | 0 | 1 |

## Actions (24)

- 2026-04-08: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0372) (Governor)
- 2026-04-08: Approved by Governor-Chapter 372 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-03-10: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-10: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-02: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB226ER) (House)
- 2026-03-02: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-02: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-02-25: Passed Senate (21-Y 19-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-23: Reported from Local Government (8-Y 7-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-06: Referred to Committee on Local Government (Senate)
- 2026-02-06: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-05: Read third time and passed House (63-Y 34-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-04: Read second time and engrossed (House)
- 2026-02-03: Read first time (House)
- 2026-01-30: Reported from Counties, Cities and Towns (20-Y 1-N) (House)
- 2026-01-29: Subcommittee recommends reporting (6-Y 0-N 1-A) (House)
- 2026-01-28: Assigned HCCT sub: Subcommittee #3 (House)
- 2026-01-08: Referred to Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns (House)
- 2026-01-08: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101277D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-08: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217754.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217753.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-02: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1182474.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1182473.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-08: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083164.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083163.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/1217754.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217753.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1182474.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1182473.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083164.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083163.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-HB226-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).