# Virginia SB299: New College Institute; reconstitution of Institute as West Piedmont Higher Education Center, etc.

Virginia SB299, New College Institute; reconstitution of Institute as West Piedmont Higher Education Center, etc., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Kannan Srinivasan (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-13 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0610)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB299-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia SB299
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: New College Institute; reconstitution of Institute as West Piedmont Higher Education Center, etc.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-04-13, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0610)
- Sponsor: Kannan Srinivasan (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 10 (287 yes, 10 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

New College Institute; name; membership and composition of board of directors. Renames New College Institute as the West Piedmont Higher Education Center (the Center) and makes several revisions to the membership requirements for the board of directors of the Center, including (i) increasing from 15 to 20 members the total membership of the board of directors; (ii) modifying the composition of the board of directors by adding as required members the Executive Director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia or his designee, the Chancellor of the Virginia Community College System or his designee, and the presidents of George Mason University, Longwood University, Radford University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and Virginia State University or their designees; (iii) reducing from 10 to seven the total number of nonlegislative citizen members to be appointed by the Governor and requiring five of such nonlegislative citizen members to be representatives of West Piedmont public education and area business and industry, including one division superintendent, one public school teacher, and three business and industry leaders; and (iv) adding the president of Patrick & Henry Community College or his designee to serve as an ex officio nonvoting member. The bill also requires the board of directors of the Center, in collaboration with representatives of GO Virginia Region 3, the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, Patrick & Henry Community College, local school boards, and major regional employers, to develop a sustainability plan, including a comprehensive strategic plan and customer recruitment and expansion strategy, to provide higher education degree and certification programs in accordance with its mission, to review options to achieve the goals stated in such plan, and to report on such options to the Governor, the Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations, and the Chair of the House Committee on Appropriations no later than August 1, 2027. This bill is identical to HB 430.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- West Piedmont center supports students and workers: benefit, low. The law reconstitutes New College Institute as the West Piedmont Higher Education Center, serving Henry County and Martinsville. The Center supports economic diversification, workforce training, degree and other education programs, and information and referrals. After reconstitution is complete, it…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Kannan Srinivasan (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | House substitute agreed to by Senate | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-09 | House | Passed House with substitute | pass | 92 | 5 |   |
| 2026-03-04 | House | Reported from Education with substitute | pass | 18 | 3 |   |
| 2026-03-02 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | 8 | 2 |   |
| 2026-02-16 | Senate | Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-16 | Senate | Engrossed by Senate Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-16 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 3rd reading) | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-13 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-13 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) | pass | 36 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-12 | Senate | Reported from Education and Health | pass | 15 | 0 |   |

## Actions (38)

- 2026-04-13: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0610) (Governor)
- 2026-04-13: Approved by Governor-Chapter 610 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-03-31: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB299) (Senate)
- 2026-03-31: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-31: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026 (Senate)
- 2026-03-31: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-30: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB299ER) (Senate)
- 2026-03-30: Enrolled (Senate)
- 2026-03-30: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: House substitute agreed to by Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Passed House with substitute (92-Y 5-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-03-09: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House)
- 2026-03-09: committee substitute agreed to (House)
- 2026-03-09: Read third time (House)
- 2026-03-06: Read second time (House)
- 2026-03-05: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB299) (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Committee substitute printed 26108795D-H1 (House)
- 2026-03-04: House committee offered (House)
- 2026-03-04: Reported from Education with substitute (18-Y 3-N) (House)
- 2026-03-02: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-03-02: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (8-Y 2-N) (House)
- 2026-02-26: Assigned HED sub: Higher Education (House)
- 2026-02-19: Referred to Committee on Education (House)
- 2026-02-19: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-19: Placed on Calendar (House)
- 2026-02-16: Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-16: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 3rd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-16: Engrossed by Senate Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-16: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-16: Read second time (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (36-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: Reported from Education and Health (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-09: Assigned Education sub: Higher Education (Senate)
- 2026-01-20: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB299) (Senate)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee on Education and Health (Senate)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103457D (Senate)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218866.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218865.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209876.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209875.PDF)
- Amendment, 2026-03-04: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1191996.HTML)
- Substitute, 2026-03-04: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1192094.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1192093.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-03-02: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187531.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187566.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187530.PDF), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187565.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088830.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088829.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/1218866.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218865.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209876.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209875.PDF)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1191996.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1192094.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1192093.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187531.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187566.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187530.PDF)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187565.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088830.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088829.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-SB299-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).