# Virginia HB543: Forest Sustainability Fund; Office of Working Lands Preservation to manage.

Virginia HB543, Forest Sustainability Fund; Office of Working Lands Preservation to manage., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Karen R. "Kacey" Carnegie (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-13 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0801)) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB543-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB543
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Forest Sustainability Fund; Office of Working Lands Preservation to manage.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-04-13, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0801)
- Sponsor: Karen R. "Kacey" Carnegie (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 7 (221 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

Office of Working Lands Preservation; powers and duties; Forest Sustainability Fund. Adds management of the Forest Sustainability Fund to the powers and duties of the Office of Working Lands Preservation within the Department of Forestry. This bill is identical to SB 522.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- New forest grants for Virginia communities: benefit, low. The law creates the Forest Sustainability Fund; unused money and interest stay in the fund. The Office of Working Lands Preservation manages it under the State Forester. Virginia localities qualify by adopting a tax ordinance that values forest land based on its forest use. Annual applications are…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Karen R. "Kacey" Carnegie (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-02-27 | Senate | Passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 37 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-26 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-26 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-24 | Senate | Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources | 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 | pass | 22 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-28 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 10 | 0 |   |

## Actions (26)

- 2026-04-13: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0801) (Governor)
- 2026-04-13: Approved by Governor-Chapter 801 (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)
- 2026-03-05: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB543) (House)
- 2026-03-04: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB543ER) (House)
- 2026-03-04: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-04: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-02-27: Passed Senate Block Vote (37-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Read third time (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: Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources (14-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 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: Read second time and engrossed (House)
- 2026-02-06: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-04: Reported from Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources (22-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-28: Subcommittee recommends reporting (10-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-27: Assigned HACNR sub: Agriculture (House)
- 2026-01-23: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB543) (House)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources (House)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103270D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222707.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222706.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-04: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1191233.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1191232.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084885.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084884.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/1222707.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222706.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1191233.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1191232.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084885.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084884.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-HB543-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).