# Virginia SB191: Railroad safety; minimum train crew used in movement of freight.

Virginia SB191, Railroad safety; minimum train crew used in movement of freight., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Angelia Williams Graves (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-13 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0549)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB191-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia SB191
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Railroad safety; minimum train crew used in movement of freight.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-09
- Last action: 2026-04-13, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0549)
- Sponsor: Angelia Williams Graves (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 7 (156 yes, 67 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

Railroad safety; minimum train crew; movement of freight. Requires a crew of at least two qualified individuals on all trains, locomotives, or light engines used in connection with moving freight except in use for hostler or utility service. The bill requires the State Corporation Commission to include in an existing report the number of probable violations of federal regulations related to railroad safety investigated by the Commission's Division of Utility and Railroad Safety and reported to the Federal Railroad Administration for enforcement. This bill is identical to HB 25.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Railroads must use two-person crews: benefit, low. The law requires freight trains, locomotives, and light engines to have at least two qualified crew members. This does not apply to hostler or utility service. The state also reports the number of suspected rail safety violations it investigated to the federal rail agency each year.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Angelia Williams Graves (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-03 | House | Passed House | pass | 64 | 34 |   |
| 2026-02-26 | House | Reported from Labor and Commerce | pass | 15 | 6 |   |
| 2026-02-17 | Senate | Read third time and passed Senate | pass | 20 | 20 |   |
| 2026-02-16 | Senate | Commerce and Labor Substitute agreed to | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-13 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) | pass | 35 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-12 | Senate | Reported from Commerce and Labor with substitute | pass | 8 | 7 |   |
| 2026-01-15 | Senate | Rereferred from Transportation to Commerce and Labor | pass | 14 | 0 |   |

## Actions (31)

- 2026-04-13: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0549) (Governor)
- 2026-04-13: Approved by Governor-Chapter 549 (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)
- 2026-03-09: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB191) (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB191ER) (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Enrolled (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-03: Passed House (64-Y 34-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-03-03: Read third time (House)
- 2026-03-02: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-26: Reported from Labor and Commerce (15-Y 6-N) (House)
- 2026-02-24: Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce (House)
- 2026-02-24: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-24: Placed on Calendar (House)
- 2026-02-17: Read third time and passed Senate (20-Y 20-N 0-A, Chair: Yea) (Senate)
- 2026-02-17: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB191) (Senate)
- 2026-02-16: Commerce and Labor Substitute agreed to (Senate)
- 2026-02-16: Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-16: Read second time (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (35-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Committee substitute printed 26107794D-S1 (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Passed by for the day (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: Senate committee offered (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: Reported from Commerce and Labor with substitute (8-Y 7-N) (Senate)
- 2026-01-29: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB191) (Senate)
- 2026-01-15: Rereferred from Transportation to Commerce and Labor (14-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-01-09: Referred to Committee on Transportation (Senate)
- 2026-01-09: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101782D (Senate)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218696.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218695.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-09: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1194890.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1194889.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1147090.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1147089.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-12: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1144839.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1144838.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-09: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083541.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083540.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/1218696.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218695.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1194890.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1194889.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1147090.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1147089.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1144839.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1144838.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083541.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083540.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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB191-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).