# Virginia HB544: School Construction and Modernization, Commission on; revisions, elimination of sunset.

Virginia HB544, School Construction and Modernization, Commission on; revisions, elimination of sunset., 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 (CHAP0165)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB544-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB544
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: School Construction and Modernization, Commission on; revisions, elimination of sunset.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-04-06, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0165)
- Sponsor: Alex Q. Askew (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 7 (214 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 3

## Summary

Commission on School Construction and Modernization; revisions; elimination of sunset. Eliminates the expiration date of the Commission on School Construction and Modernization, which, pursuant to current law, is set to expire on July 1, 2026. The bill also directs the Commission to (i) meet at least four times each year and post notice of the date, time, and location of each meeting on the central, publicly available electronic calendar maintained by the Commonwealth in accordance with applicable law; (ii) update annually the statewide needs estimate for construction and modernization of school facilities; (iii) develop and deliver by November 1, 2026, a 10-year capital roadmap; and (iv) collaborate with early childhood care and education Ready Regions and comprehensive community colleges in the Commonwealth to collect and evaluate data relating to Ready Region and comprehensive community college facility usage, availability, and needs. Finally, the bill directs the Department of Education, in order to assist the Commission with its work, to update and make available to the Commission an inventory of all public school facilities in the Commonwealth by September 1, 2026. This bill is identical to SB 498.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Deadlines for school facility data and plan: benefit, low. The Department of Education must update and share an inventory of all public school facilities by September 1, 2026. The Commission must deliver its 10-year capital roadmap to the General Assembly by November 1, 2026. These deadlines give state leaders current data and a dated plan for school const…
- State plan to modernize school buildings: benefit, low. The Commission assesses all public school buildings and estimates funding needs for construction and upgrades. It reviews ways to pay for these projects and sends options to the Governor and General Assembly. It sets best practices, standard designs, and buying methods that local divisions can use.…
- New rules for school construction commission: mixed, low. The Commission must meet at least four times each year. A majority of members is a quorum, and meetings can be called by the chair or by a member majority. It must post each meeting’s date, time, and place on the Commonwealth’s public calendar. A recommendation fails if most Senate appointees or mo…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

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

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-03 | Senate | Passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-02 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-02 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-27 | Senate | Reported from Rules | pass | 14 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-03 | House | Read third time and passed House Block Vote | pass | 98 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-27 | House | Reported from Rules | pass | 18 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-23 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 5 | 0 |   |

## Actions (27)

- 2026-04-06: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0165) (Governor)
- 2026-04-06: Approved by Governor-Chapter 165 (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 (HB544) (House)
- 2026-03-10: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB544ER) (House)
- 2026-03-10: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-10: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-03: Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Reported from Rules (14-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-04: Referred to Committee on Rules (Senate)
- 2026-02-04: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-03: Read third time and passed House Block Vote (98-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-02: Read second time and engrossed (House)
- 2026-01-30: Passed by for the day (House)
- 2026-01-29: Read first time (House)
- 2026-01-27: Reported from Rules (18-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-26: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB544) (House)
- 2026-01-23: Subcommittee recommends reporting (5-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-22: Assigned HRUL sub: Studies Subcommittee (House)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee on Rules (House)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103231D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216966.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216965.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-10: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1197785.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1197784.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084897.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084896.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/1216966.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216965.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1197785.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1197784.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084897.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084896.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-HB544-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).