# Virginia HB286: Virginia National Guard; orders transmitted to and through Governor, annual reports.

Virginia HB286, Virginia National Guard; orders transmitted to and through Governor, annual reports., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Dan I. Helmer (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-22 (Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (21-Y 18-N 0-A)) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB286-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB286
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Virginia National Guard; orders transmitted to and through Governor, annual reports.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-09
- Last action: 2026-04-22, Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (21-Y 18-N 0-A)
- Sponsor: Dan I. Helmer (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 15 (359 yes, 276 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

Virginia National Guard; reports to the General Assembly; state militias; work group; report. Requires the Adjutant General to submit an annual report to the General Assembly detailing federal and state deployments of the Virginia National Guard and other matters relating to retention, readiness, funding, and resources. The bill prohibits the Governor from calling forth the Virginia National Guard for the purpose of intimidating, threatening, or coercing, or attempting to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, a person in giving his vote or ballot or to deter or prevent such person from voting. The bill additionally prohibits armed militia from another state, territory, or district from entering the Commonwealth for the purpose of active military duty over the objection of the Governor without meeting certain conditions. The bill allows certain members of the General Assembly to request that the Attorney General assess the legality of the deployment of the (i) National Guard of another state within the Commonwealth or (ii) Virginia National Guard. Finally, the bill directs the Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs to convene a work group to assess the most appropriate manner and process by which the Governor and members of the General Assembly should respond to deployments of the Virginia National Guard. This bill is identical to SB 337.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Virginia militia can train for emergency response: benefit, low. The law lets the Governor or a chosen official call up Virginia militia members for training. They must first consult with the Adjutant General. Training must prepare members for invasion, rebellion, blocked law enforcement, disasters, smaller emergencies such as disrupted public services, or drug-…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Dan I. Helmer (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-22 | Senate | Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation | pass | 21 | 18 |   |
| 2026-04-22 | House | House concurred in Governor's recommendation | pass | 64 | 36 |   |
| 2026-03-14 | House | Conference report agreed to by House | pass | 62 | 35 |   |
| 2026-03-14 | Senate | Conference report agreed to by Senate | pass | 21 | 18 |   |
| 2026-03-12 | House | Senate substitute rejected by House | fail | 0 | 98 |   |
| 2026-03-12 | Senate | Senate insisted on substitute Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-11 | Senate | Finance and Appropriations Substitute agreed to | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-11 | Senate | Committee substitute rejected (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-11 | Senate | Passed Senate with substitute | pass | 21 | 19 |   |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 37 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-09 | Senate | Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute | pass | 10 | 4 |   |
| 2026-02-18 | Senate | Reported from General Laws and Technology with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations | pass | 8 | 6 |   |
| 2026-02-05 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 60 | 36 |   |
| 2026-01-30 | House | Reported from Public Safety | pass | 15 | 6 |   |

## Actions (56)

- 2026-04-22: Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (21-Y 18-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-04-22: House concurred in Governor's recommendation (64-Y 36-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-04-22: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP1043) (Governor)
- 2026-04-22: Reenrolled bill text (HB286ER2) (House)
- 2026-04-22: Reenrolled (House)
- 2026-04-22: Approved by Governor-Chapter 1043 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-04-22: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-04-22: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-04-22: Governor's recommendation adopted (Governor)
- 2026-04-13: Governor's recommendation received by House (Governor)
- 2026-03-31: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB286) (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 (HB286ER) (House)
- 2026-03-30: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-30: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-18: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB286) (House)
- 2026-03-14: Conference report agreed to by Senate (21-Y 18-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-14: Conference report agreed to by House (62-Y 35-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-03-14: Conference Report released
- 2026-03-14: Conference Report released
- 2026-03-14: Conference Report released
- 2026-03-12: House Conferees: Helmer, Simon, Ballard (House)
- 2026-03-12: Conferees appointed by House (House)
- 2026-03-12: House acceded to request (House)
- 2026-03-12: Senate insisted on substitute Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Senate substitute rejected by House (0-Y 98-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-03-12: Senate insisted on substitute (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Conferees appointed by Senate (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Senate Conferees: Perry, McPike, Reeves (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Senate requested conference committee (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Passed Senate with substitute (21-Y 19-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB286) (House)
- 2026-03-11: Finance and Appropriations Substitute agreed to (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Committee substitute rejected (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (37-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Committee substitute printed 26109435D-S2 (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (10-Y 4-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-23: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB286) (House)
- 2026-02-19: Committee substitute printed 26108165D-S1 (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Senate committee offered (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Reported from General Laws and Technology with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (8-Y 6-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-06: Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology (Senate)
- 2026-02-06: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-05: Read third time and passed House (60-Y 36-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 Public Safety (15-Y 6-N) (House)
- 2026-01-27: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB286) (House)
- 2026-01-09: Referred to Committee on Public Safety (House)
- 2026-01-09: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104710D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-22: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1225229.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1225228.PDF)
- Reenrolled, 2026-04-22: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220316.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220315.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-04-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1219323.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1219322.PDF)
- Gov Recommendation, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1219126.HTML)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214334.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214333.PDF)
- Conference Report, 2026-03-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211461.HTML)
- Substitute, 2026-03-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211458.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211457.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-03-10: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1203916.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1203915.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-19: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1169761.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1169760.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-18: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1169354.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1169353.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-09: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083423.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083422.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/1225229.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1225228.PDF)
- [Reenrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220316.HTML)
- [Reenrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220315.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1219323.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1219322.PDF)
- [Gov Recommendation (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1219126.HTML)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214334.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214333.PDF)
- [Conference Report (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211461.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211458.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211457.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1203916.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1203915.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1169761.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1169760.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1169354.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1169353.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083423.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083422.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-HB286-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).