# Virginia HB411: Commissioner of Highways; certain agreements with U.S. Department of Transportation.

Virginia HB411, Commissioner of Highways; certain agreements with U.S. Department of Transportation., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by David A. Reid (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-06 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0133)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB411-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB411
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Commissioner of Highways; certain agreements with U.S. Department of Transportation.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-12
- Last action: 2026-04-06, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0133)
- Sponsor: David A. Reid (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 9 (247 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 4

## Summary

Commissioner of Highways; certain agreements with the U.S. Department of Transportation; National Environmental Policy Act. Authorizes the Commissioner of Highways to enter into agreements for a term of five years with the U.S. Department of Transportation, as provided for in federal law, regarding state assumption of responsibility for categorical exclusions and the Surface Transportation Project Delivery Program. The bill authorizes the Department of Transportation to assume certain responsibilities of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation pursuant to such agreement. Under the bill, the Commonwealth waives its immunity from civil suit in a federal court under certain circumstances. The bill contains an expiration date of five years after the date on which the first agreement is entered into. This bill is identical to SB 716.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Public comment on review manual changes: benefit, low. The Virginia Department of Transportation must post proposed substantive changes to its environmental review manual online for 30 days of public comment. Posting must start at least 45 days before the planned effective date. Purely administrative edits do not need posting.
- Virginia can take over federal environmental reviews: benefit, low. Virginia’s Commissioner of Highways can sign five-year agreements with the U.S. Department of Transportation. Under these deals, Virginia handles some federal environmental reviews for transportation projects. The Department may take on duties normally done by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation.…
- Federal court suits allowed on state reviews: mixed, low. People harmed by actions taken under these agreements can sue Virginia only in federal court. The Commonwealth waives its Eleventh Amendment immunity and consents to be sued for this narrow purpose. This applies only when a valid agreement is in place and the claim arises from those assumed duties,…
- Law sunsets five years after first deal: mixed, low. This law expires five years after the date the first agreement under it is signed, unless the General Assembly renews it. When an agreement is signed, the Commissioner of Highways must tell the chair of the Virginia Code Commission in writing and include the date.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: David A. Reid (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-02-24 | Senate | Passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-23 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-23 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 37 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-19 | Senate | Reported from Transportation | pass | 13 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-12 | House | Read third time and passed House Block Vote | pass | 98 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-06 | House | Reported from Appropriations | pass | 22 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-04 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 7 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-29 | House | Reported from Transportation and referred to Appropriations | pass | 21 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-27 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting and referring to Appropriations | pass | 10 | 0 |   |

## Actions (30)

- 2026-04-06: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0133) (Governor)
- 2026-04-06: Approved by Governor-Chapter 133 (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)
- 2026-02-27: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB411) (House)
- 2026-02-26: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB411ER) (House)
- 2026-02-26: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-02-26: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-02-24: Passed Senate Block Vote (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-02-23: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-23: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (37-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-23: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-19: Reported from Transportation (13-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Referred to Committee on Transportation (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: Read third time and passed House Block Vote (98-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-11: Read second time and engrossed (House)
- 2026-02-10: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-09: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB411) (House)
- 2026-02-09: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB411) (House)
- 2026-02-06: Reported from Appropriations (22-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-04: Subcommittee recommends reporting (7-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-29: Reported from Transportation and referred to Appropriations (21-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-29: Assigned HAPP sub: Transportation & Public Safety (House)
- 2026-01-27: Subcommittee recommends reporting and referring to Appropriations (10-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-19: Assigned HTRAN sub: Transportation Infrastructure and Funding (House)
- 2026-01-12: Referred to Committee on Transportation (House)
- 2026-01-12: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104701D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216488.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216487.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-02-26: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1179658.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1179657.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-12: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084335.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084334.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/1216488.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216487.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1179658.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1179657.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084335.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084334.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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB411-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).