# Virginia SB197: Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund; loan and grant program, deferment of interest accrual. Virginia SB197, Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund; loan and grant program, deferment of interest accrual., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Angelia Williams Graves (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-22 (House concurred in Governor's recommendation (94-Y 1-N 0-A)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB197-2026 - As of: 2026-10-12 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Virginia SB197 - State: Virginia - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund; loan and grant program, deferment of interest accrual. - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2026-01-09 - Last action: 2026-04-22, House concurred in Governor's recommendation (94-Y 1-N 0-A) - Sponsor: Angelia Williams Graves (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 0 - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 11 (460 yes, 1 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 5 ## Summary Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund; loan and grant program; deferment of interest accrual and repayment obligations. Provides that for funds disbursed to localities, federally recognized tribes, and Virginia recognized tribes primarily for the purpose of implementing flood prevention and protection projects and studies in areas that are subject to recurrent flooding, interest on loans shall not accrue and repayment obligations shall not come into effect for loans or grants until completion of the project or study for which such funds are disbursed. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee on Recurrent Flooding. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Funds focus on repeat-flood and nature projects: benefit, medium. Fund money mainly supports projects and studies in areas with repeated flooding, certified by a local floodplain manager. Both inland and coastal communities with recurrent flooding can get help. Projects that use nature-based solutions, like wetlands or living shorelines, get priority. - Public input and oversight for flood funds: benefit, low. The Authority sets loan interest rates and repayment terms under an agreement with the Department. The Department runs the fund and writes rules for how awards are prioritized. Before each new round, the public gets 30 days to comment on proposed manual changes. Records of every application and dec… - More help for low-income flood areas: mixed, medium. At least 25% of money given out each year must fund projects in low-income areas. Localities and tribes may forgive loan principal for projects in low-income areas. All forgiven principal statewide is capped at 30% of that year’s fund appropriation. Local forgiveness does not cancel what the locali… - Permanent state fund for flood projects: mixed, medium. The law creates a permanent Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund. It gets money from emissions allowance sales, state appropriations, loan repayments, investment income, federal funds, and other sources. Interest stays in the fund and the money does not revert each year. Money only pays for f… - Property liens and delayed loan interest: mixed, low. A locality or tribe can place a lien, up to the loan amount, on property that benefits from a fund loan. The lien is behind earlier liens unless prior lenders sign a recorded subordination agreement. For certain project or study loans, interest and payments do not start until the work is finished o… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Angelia Williams Graves (Democratic), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-04-22 | Senate | Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation | pass | 39 | 0 | | | 2026-04-22 | House | House concurred in Governor's recommendation | pass | 94 | 1 | | | 2026-03-02 | House | Passed House Block Vote | pass | 98 | 0 | | | 2026-03-02 | House | Passed House Block Vote | pass | 99 | 0 | | | 2026-02-25 | House | Reported from Appropriations | pass | 22 | 0 | | | 2026-02-13 | Senate | Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 39 | 0 | | | 2026-02-12 | Senate | Engrossed by Senate Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-11 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-11 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) | pass | 40 | 0 | | | 2026-02-10 | Senate | Reported from Finance and Appropriations | pass | 15 | 0 | | | 2026-02-03 | Senate | Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations | pass | 14 | 0 | | ## Actions (39) - 2026-04-22: House concurred in Governor's recommendation (94-Y 1-N 0-A) (House) - 2026-04-22: Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-04-22: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0995) (Governor) - 2026-04-22: Reenrolled bill text (SB197ER2) (Senate) - 2026-04-22: Reenrolled (Senate) - 2026-04-22: Approved by Governor-Chapter 995 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor) - 2026-04-22: Signed by President (Senate) - 2026-04-22: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2026-04-22: Governor's recommendation adopted (Governor) - 2026-04-12: Governor's recommendation received by Senate (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) - 2026-03-05: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB197) (Senate) - 2026-03-05: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB197ER) (Senate) - 2026-03-05: Enrolled (Senate) - 2026-03-05: Signed by President (Senate) - 2026-03-05: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2026-03-02: Passed House Block Vote (99-Y 0-N 0-A) (House) - 2026-03-02: Reconsideration of passage agreed to by House (House) - 2026-03-02: Passed House Block Vote (98-Y 0-N 0-A) (House) - 2026-03-02: Read third time (House) - 2026-02-27: Read second time (House) - 2026-02-25: Reported from Appropriations (22-Y 0-N) (House) - 2026-02-18: Assigned HAPP sub: Commerce Agriculture & Natural Resources (House) - 2026-02-18: Referred to Committee on Appropriations (House) - 2026-02-18: Read first time (House) - 2026-02-18: Placed on Calendar (House) - 2026-02-13: Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-02-12: Engrossed by Senate Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate) - 2026-02-12: Read second time (Senate) - 2026-02-11: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate) - 2026-02-11: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-02-11: Rules suspended (Senate) - 2026-02-10: Reported from Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) (Senate) - 2026-02-03: Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N) (Senate) - 2026-01-27: Assigned HACNR sub: Water Usage (Senate) - 2026-01-26: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB197) (Senate) - 2026-01-09: Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources (Senate) - 2026-01-09: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102394D (Senate) ## Bill text - Chaptered, 2026-04-22: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1225011.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1225010.PDF) - Reenrolled, 2026-04-22: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220874.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220873.PDF) - Gov Recommendation, 2026-04-12: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1219603.HTML) - Enrolled, 2026-03-05: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1191288.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1191287.PDF) - Introduced, 2026-01-09: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083566.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083565.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/1225011.HTML) - [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1225010.PDF) - [Reenrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220874.HTML) - [Reenrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220873.PDF) - [Gov Recommendation (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1219603.HTML) - [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1191288.HTML) - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1191287.PDF) - [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083566.HTML) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083565.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-SB197-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).