# Virginia HB889: Transmission lines, certain; Department of Transportation to identify opportunities for siting.

Virginia HB889, Transmission lines, certain; Department of Transportation to identify opportunities for siting., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Irene Shin (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-03-31 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0028)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB889-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB889
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Transmission lines, certain; Department of Transportation to identify opportunities for siting.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-03-31, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0028)
- Sponsor: Irene Shin (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 7 (223 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

Policy of the Commonwealth; siting of certain new electric transmission facilities; Department of Transportation work group; report. Provides that in the siting of new electric transmission facilities, it is the policy of the Commonwealth that existing linear infrastructure corridors shall be prioritized over new corridors. The bill directs the Department of Transportation to convene a work group to identify opportunities and develop recommendations to amend regulations and permitting processes to facilitate the expedient and efficient siting of new electrical transmission infrastructure in existing state highway rights-of-way. This bill is identical to SB 497.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- State favors highways for power lines: benefit, low. The law tells state agencies to place new electric transmission lines in existing utility and highway corridors when it is feasible. They must consider costs and engineering, keep the grid reliable, and protect cultural, historical, and environmental resources. The Department of Transportation conv…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Irene Shin (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-02-26 | Senate | Passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-25 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-25 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-23 | Senate | Reported from Commerce and Labor | pass | 14 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-09 | House | Read third time and passed House Block Vote | pass | 98 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-03 | House | Reported from Labor and Commerce with substitute | pass | 22 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-29 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | 9 | 0 |   |

## Actions (31)

- 2026-03-31: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0028) (Governor)
- 2026-03-31: Approved by Governor-Chapter 28 (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 State Corporation Commission (HB889) (House)
- 2026-03-03: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB889ER) (House)
- 2026-03-03: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-03: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-02-26: Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-23: Reported from Commerce and Labor (14-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-10: Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor (Senate)
- 2026-02-10: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-09: Read third time and passed House Block Vote (98-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-06: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House)
- 2026-02-06: committee substitute agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-06: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-05: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-04: Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (HB889) (House)
- 2026-02-03: Committee substitute printed 26106397D-H1 (House)
- 2026-02-03: Reported from Labor and Commerce with substitute (22-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-29: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-01-29: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (9-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-29: Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (HB889) (House)
- 2026-01-22: Assigned HCL sub: Subcommittee #3 (House)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce (House)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26105354D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-03-31: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214854.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214853.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-03: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187088.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187087.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-03: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1115340.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1115339.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-01-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1103849.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1103848.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-01-29: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1103308.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1103307.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086329.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086328.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/1214854.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214853.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187088.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187087.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1115340.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1115339.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1103849.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1103848.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1103308.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1103307.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086329.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086328.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-HB889-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).