# Virginia SB179: Williamsburg, City of; amending charter, change of municipal elections. Virginia SB179, Williamsburg, City of; amending charter, change of municipal elections., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by J.D. "Danny" Diggs (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-04-06 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0170)) (as of 2026-11-06). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB179-2026 - As of: 2026-11-06 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Virginia SB179 - State: Virginia - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: Williamsburg, City of; amending charter, change of municipal elections. - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2026-01-09 - Last action: 2026-04-06, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0170) - Sponsor: J.D. "Danny" Diggs (Republican) - Cosponsors: 0 - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 7 (214 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 2 ## Summary Charter; City of Williamsburg. Amends the charter for the City of Williamsburg to reflect the change of municipal elections from May to November as required by general law. The bill also replaces numerous references to "director of finance" with "chief financial officer" and clarifies language related to the transfer of unencumbered appropriated balances between funds. This bill is identical to HB 552. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Williamsburg sets staggered council election dates: benefit, low. Qualified Williamsburg voters elect two council members beginning in November 2026 and three other members beginning in November 2028. Each group is elected every four years. Elections fall on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Members serve four-year terms starting January 1 aft… - Williamsburg changes money management and oversight: mixed, low. The city manager appoints a chief financial officer whose department handles city tax collections, money received, and payments. The city manager and treasurer can change that arrangement through a signed written memo. The manager can move uncommitted budget money between departments or activities… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: J.D. "Danny" Diggs (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-02-16 | House | Passed House Block Vote | pass | 98 | 0 | | | 2026-02-13 | House | Reported from Counties, Cities and Towns | pass | 21 | 0 | | | 2026-01-22 | Senate | Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 | | | 2026-01-21 | Senate | Engrossed by Senate Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-01-20 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-01-20 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) | pass | 40 | 0 | | | 2026-01-19 | Senate | Reported from Local Government | pass | 15 | 0 | | ## Actions (26) - 2026-04-06: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0170) (Governor) - 2026-04-06: Approved by Governor-Chapter 170 (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 (Senate) - 2026-02-18: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB179ER) (Senate) - 2026-02-18: Enrolled (Senate) - 2026-02-18: Signed by President (Senate) - 2026-02-18: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2026-02-16: Passed House Block Vote (98-Y 0-N 0-A) (House) - 2026-02-16: Read third time (House) - 2026-02-15: Read second time (House) - 2026-02-13: Reported from Counties, Cities and Towns (21-Y 0-N) (House) - 2026-02-03: Referred to Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns (House) - 2026-02-03: Read first time (House) - 2026-02-03: Placed on Calendar (House) - 2026-01-22: Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-01-21: Engrossed by Senate Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate) - 2026-01-21: Read second time (Senate) - 2026-01-20: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate) - 2026-01-20: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-01-20: Passed by for the day (Senate) - 2026-01-20: Rules suspended (Senate) - 2026-01-19: Reported from Local Government (15-Y 0-N) (Senate) - 2026-01-09: Introduced bill reprinted 26102226D (Senate) - 2026-01-09: Referred to Committee on Local Government (Senate) - 2026-01-09: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102226D (Senate) ## Bill text - Chaptered, 2026-04-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217010.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217009.PDF) - Enrolled, 2026-02-18: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1168671.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1168670.PDF) - Introduced, 2026-01-09: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083667.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083666.PDF) ## Related bills - HB20: Minimum wage; farm laborers or farm employees, temporary foreign workers. (signed) - SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed) - HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed) - SB128: Covenants not to compete; includes health care professionals, civil penalty. (signed) - HB1444: Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank; created, report, membership. (signed) - HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed) ## Sources - [Chaptered (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217010.HTML) - [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217009.PDF) - [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1168671.HTML) - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1168670.PDF) - [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083667.HTML) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083666.PDF) ## Related - [HB20: Minimum wage; farm laborers or farm employees, temporary foreign workers.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB20-2026) - [SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB199-2026) - [HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB5-2026) - [SB128: Covenants not to compete; includes health care professionals, civil penalty.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB128-2026) - [HB1444: Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank; created, report, membership.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1444-2026) - [HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1393-2026) - [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-SB179-2026 (as of 2026-11-06).