# Virginia HB390: Habitat Policy Oversight Committee; established, membership, powers and duties, report.

Virginia HB390, Habitat Policy Oversight Committee; established, membership, powers and duties, report., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Alex Q. Askew (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-06 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0131)) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB390-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB390
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Habitat Policy Oversight Committee; established, membership, powers and duties, report.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-12
- Last action: 2026-04-06, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0131)
- Sponsor: Alex Q. Askew (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 9 (319 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 3

## Summary

Marine Resources Commission; Habitat Policy Oversight Committee established; powers and duties. Establishes the Habitat Policy Oversight Committee within the Marine Resources Commission to advise the Commission and the Habitat Management Division of the Commission on policies within their jurisdiction and to support the Commission's coastal resilience efforts. The bill establishes the powers and duties of the Committee, establishes how the members of the Committee are appointed, and provides that the Committee shall have 11 voting members and two ex-officio members. This bill incorporates HB 619.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Committee advises on habitat permits: benefit, low. The committee reviews Habitat Management Division policies and priorities and gives advice. It recommends mitigation strategies and alternatives when mitigation banking is not feasible, considering flood prevention, resilience, and habitat gains. It reviews major habitat rulemaking before the Commi…
- New coastal habitat advisory committee: benefit, low. The law creates the Habitat Policy Oversight Committee inside the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. The Commission keeps final authority but must consider and give due weight to the committee’s advice. The Habitat Management Division must report to the Commission on the committee’s work and how…
- Habitat committee seats, terms, and pay: mixed, low. The Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources appoints 11 voting members, with the chair being an Associate Commissioner. Seats include experts and stakeholders from VIMS, Old Dominion’s coastal institute, a local wetlands board, private marine construction or consulting, conservation nonprofits,…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Alex Q. Askew (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-03 | House | Senate substitute agreed to by House | pass | 98 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-27 | Senate | Committee substitute agreed to (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-27 | Senate | Passed Senate with substitute Block Vote | pass | 37 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-26 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-26 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-24 | Senate | Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources with substitute | pass | 14 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-10 | House | Read third time and passed House Block Vote | pass | 98 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-04 | House | Reported from Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources with substitute | pass | 22 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-02 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | 10 | 0 |   |

## Actions (37)

- 2026-04-06: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0131) (Governor)
- 2026-04-06: Approved by Governor-Chapter 131 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-03-14: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-14: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 14, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-10: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB390) (House)
- 2026-03-10: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB390ER) (House)
- 2026-03-10: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-10: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-03: Senate substitute agreed to by House (98-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-03-02: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB390) (House)
- 2026-02-27: Passed Senate with substitute Block Vote (37-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Committee substitute agreed to (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Committee substitute printed 26108483D-S1 (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: Senate committee offered (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources with substitute (14-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB390) (House)
- 2026-02-11: Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources (Senate)
- 2026-02-11: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-10: Read third time and passed House Block Vote (98-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-09: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House)
- 2026-02-09: committee substitute agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-09: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-06: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-04: Committee substitute printed 26106934D-H1 (House)
- 2026-02-04: Reported from Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources with substitute (22-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-02: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-02-02: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (10-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-26: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB390) (House)
- 2026-01-19: Assigned HACNR sub: Chesapeake (House)
- 2026-01-12: Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources (House)
- 2026-01-12: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26105033D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216464.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216463.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-10: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1197903.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1197902.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-27: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1185582.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1185581.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-24: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1178721.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1178720.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-04: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1119374.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1119373.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-02: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1107860.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1108231.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1107859.PDF), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1108230.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-12: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084252.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084251.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/1216464.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216463.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1197903.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1197902.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1185582.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1185581.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1178721.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1178720.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1119374.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1119373.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1107860.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1108231.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1107859.PDF)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1108230.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084252.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084251.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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB390-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).