# Virginia SB44: Cemeteries on private property; registration by localities. Virginia SB44, Cemeteries on private property; registration by localities., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Danica A. Roem (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-08 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0479)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB44-2026 - As of: 2026-10-12 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Virginia SB44 - State: Virginia - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: Cemeteries on private property; registration by localities. - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2025-11-22 - Last action: 2026-04-08, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0479) - Sponsor: Danica A. Roem (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 0 - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 12 (331 yes, 104 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 2 ## Summary Registration by localities of cemeteries on private property. Clarifies that the requirement for the governing body of a locality to publish on its website notice of the public sale of any publicly owned property that contains a known cemetery, graveyard, or other place of burial does not meet the requirement in current law for a newspaper publication of such notice. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Public land sales must note cemeteries: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2027, a locality must publish a newspaper notice at least two weeks before selling public land that has a known cemetery. The notice must state that a cemetery is on the property. The locality must also post the notice on its website, but the website post does not replace the news… - Local registry of private cemeteries with privacy: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2027, your city or county can create an official list of cemeteries on private land. It only covers sites not owned by a memorial or monumental association. The register can include a map and be posted online, and the website can list a phone and email to report sites. But locatio… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Danica A. Roem (Democratic), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-14 | Senate | Conference report agreed to by Senate | pass | 29 | 10 | | | 2026-03-14 | House | Conference report agreed to by House | pass | 73 | 23 | | | 2026-03-04 | Senate | Senate acceded to request Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 | | | 2026-02-27 | Senate | Counties, Cities and Towns Amendment rejected by Senate | fail | 0 | 39 | | | 2026-02-25 | House | Passed House with amendment | pass | 78 | 20 | | | 2026-02-20 | House | Reported from Counties, Cities and Towns with amendment(s) | pass | 19 | 2 | | | 2026-02-19 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) | pass | 8 | 0 | | | 2026-01-22 | Senate | Read third time and passed Senate | pass | 31 | 9 | | | 2026-01-21 | Senate | Engrossed by Senate (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-01-20 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) | pass | 40 | 0 | | | 2026-01-20 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-01-19 | Senate | Reported from Local Government | pass | 13 | 1 | | ## Actions (41) - 2026-04-08: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0479) (Governor) - 2026-04-08: Approved by Governor-Chapter479 (Effective 7/1/2027) (Governor) - 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 (SB44ER) (Senate) - 2026-03-30: Enrolled (Senate) - 2026-03-30: Signed by President (Senate) - 2026-03-14: Conference report agreed to by Senate (29-Y 10-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-03-14: Conference report agreed to by House (73-Y 23-N 0-A) (House) - 2026-03-14: Conference Report released - 2026-03-10: House Conferees: Sewell, McGuire, Ware (House) - 2026-03-10: Conferees appointed by House (House) - 2026-03-04: Senate acceded to request Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Senate Conferees: Roem, Aird, Hackworth (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Conferees appointed by Senate (Senate) - 2026-03-02: House requested conference committee (House) - 2026-03-02: House insisted on amendments (House) - 2026-02-27: Counties, Cities and Towns Amendment rejected by Senate (Senate) - 2026-02-25: Passed House with amendment (78-Y 20-N 0-A) (House) - 2026-02-25: Engrossed by House as amended (House) - 2026-02-25: committee amendment agreed to (House) - 2026-02-25: Read third time (House) - 2026-02-24: Read second time (House) - 2026-02-20: Reported from Counties, Cities and Towns with amendment(s) (19-Y 2-N) (House) - 2026-02-19: House subcommittee offered (House) - 2026-02-19: Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (8-Y 0-N) (House) - 2026-02-17: Assigned HCCT sub: Subcommittee #2 (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 (31-Y 9-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-01-21: Engrossed by Senate (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: Rules suspended (Senate) - 2026-01-19: Reported from Local Government (13-Y 1-N) (Senate) - 2026-01-15: Fiscal Impact statement From CLG (1/15/2026 3:16 pm) (Senate) - 2025-11-22: Referred to Committee on Local Government (Senate) - 2025-11-22: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26100758D (Senate) ## Bill text - Chaptered, 2026-04-08: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218167.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218166.PDF) - Enrolled, 2026-03-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214202.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214201.PDF) - Conference Report, 2026-03-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211747.HTML) - Amendment, 2026-02-25: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1181361.HTML) - Amendment, 2026-02-20: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1171459.HTML) - Amendment, 2026-02-19: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1169833.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1169836.HTML) - Introduced, 2025-11-22: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1081654.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1081653.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/1218167.HTML) - [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218166.PDF) - [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214202.HTML) - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214201.PDF) - [Conference Report (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211747.HTML) - [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1181361.HTML) - [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1171459.HTML) - [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1169833.HTML) - [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1169836.HTML) - [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1081654.HTML) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1081653.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-SB44-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).