# Virginia SB494: Higher educational institutions, public; membership of governing boards.

Virginia SB494, Higher educational institutions, public; membership of governing boards., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by R. Creigh Deeds (Democratic); status vetoed, last action 2026-05-19 (Vetoed by Governor) (as of 2026-10-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB494-2026
- As of: 2026-10-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia SB494
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Higher educational institutions, public; membership of governing boards.
- Status: vetoed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-05-19, Vetoed by Governor
- Sponsor: R. Creigh Deeds (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 13 (297 yes, 173 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Public institutions of higher education; governing boards; membership and duties; work groups. Revises the membership and duties of the governing board of each public institution of higher education by, among other things, increasing from four years to six years the terms of each member of the governing board and requiring the governing board of each public institution of higher education to adopt policies defining and implementing shared governance among the components of the institution's organizational structure. The bill also directs the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to convene work groups for the purpose of developing model shared governance policies, in accordance with the provisions of the bill, and for the purpose of studying and making recommendations on (i) institutional structures and processes relating to legal counsel; (ii) the current selection and use of outside legal counsel by public institutions of higher education; (iii) a process by which (a) the governing board of any public institution of higher education, the Governor, or the General Assembly or a committee thereof with relevant oversight responsibility, upon determining that the legal counsel of a public institution of higher education is not acting in the best interests of the institution, including due to a conflict of interest, failure to defend the lawful authority of the public institution of higher education, or failure to comply with state law, may request the Attorney General to review the adequacy of such legal representation and (b) upon a determination by the Attorney General or the General Assembly or a committee thereof with relevant oversight responsibility that such institution is not receiving adequate legal representation, the governing board of any public institution of higher education may request additional representation or approve alternate counsel as necessary to protect the interests of the institution; and (iv) policies for requiring any individual member of a governing board of a public institution of higher education to recuse himself from or not participate in any vote or decision of the governing board on any matter in which he has a personal or pecuniary interest or any partisan or ideological interest that would compromise his ability to vote or act objectively and in accordance with the primary duties set forth in relevant law. This bill incorporates SB 381 and is identical to HB 1385.

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: R. Creigh Deeds (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-22 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote | pass | 21 | 18 |   |
| 2026-03-14 | Senate | Conference report agreed to by Senate | pass | 21 | 18 |   |
| 2026-03-14 | House | Conference report agreed to by House | pass | 62 | 35 |   |
| 2026-03-12 | Senate | Senate acceded to request Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | House substitute rejected by Senate | fail | 0 | 40 |   |
| 2026-03-09 | House | Passed House with substitute | pass | 61 | 35 |   |
| 2026-03-04 | House | Reported from Education with substitute | pass | 15 | 6 |   |
| 2026-03-02 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | 7 | 3 |   |
| 2026-02-17 | Senate | Read third time and passed Senate | pass | 22 | 18 |   |
| 2026-02-16 | Senate | Committee substitute agreed to (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 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 with substitute | pass | 12 | 0 | 3 |

## Actions (58)

- 2026-05-19: Vetoed by Governor (Governor)
- 2026-05-19: Governor's Veto Received by Senate (Senate)
- 2026-04-22: Passed by for the day Block Vote (21-Y 18-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-04-22: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., May 23, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-04-22: Communicated to Governor (Senate)
- 2026-04-13: Governor's recommendation received by Senate (Governor)
- 2026-04-02: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB494) (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 (SB494ER) (Senate)
- 2026-03-30: Enrolled (Senate)
- 2026-03-30: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-14: Conference report agreed to by House (62-Y 35-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-03-14: Conference report agreed to by Senate (21-Y 18-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-14: Passed by temporarily (House)
- 2026-03-14: Conference Report released
- 2026-03-12: House Conferees: Franklin of Montgomery, Carr, Zehr (House)
- 2026-03-12: Conferees appointed by House (House)
- 2026-03-12: Senate acceded to request Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Conferees appointed by Senate (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: House Conferees: Franklin, L.V., Feggans, Austin (House)
- 2026-03-12: Senate Conferees: Deeds, Locke, Surovell, Pillion (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: House requested conference committee (House)
- 2026-03-11: House insisted on substitute (House)
- 2026-03-10: House substitute rejected by Senate (0-Y 40-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Passed House with substitute (61-Y 35-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 (SB494) (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Committee substitute printed 26108796D-H1 (House)
- 2026-03-04: Reported from Education with substitute (15-Y 6-N) (House)
- 2026-03-02: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-03-02: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (7-Y 3-N) (House)
- 2026-02-26: Assigned HED sub: Higher Education (House)
- 2026-02-24: Referred to Committee on Education (House)
- 2026-02-24: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-24: Placed on Calendar (House)
- 2026-02-23: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB494) (Senate)
- 2026-02-17: Read third time and passed Senate (22-Y 18-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-16: Committee substitute agreed to (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-16: Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (Voice Vote) (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: Committee substitute printed 26107584D-S1 (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: Senate committee offered (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: Incorporates SB381 (Surovell) (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: Reported from Education and Health with substitute (12-Y 0-N 3-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-11: Senate subcommittee offered (Senate)
- 2026-02-09: Assigned Education sub: Higher Education (Senate)
- 2026-02-09: Senate subcommittee offered (Senate)
- 2026-02-04: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB494) (Senate)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee on Education and Health (Senate)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104667D (Senate)

## Bill text

- Veto Explanation, 2026-05-19: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1225841.HTML)
- Substitute, 2026-04-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220052.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220051.PDF)
- Gov Recommendation, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220073.HTML)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214422.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214421.PDF)
- Conference Report, 2026-03-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211631.HTML)
- Substitute, 2026-03-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211628.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211627.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-03-04: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1192157.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1192156.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-03-02: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187570.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187545.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187544.PDF), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187569.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-12: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1144975.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1140542.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1140541.PDF), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1144974.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-09: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1134006.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1134005.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1090528.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1090527.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
- [Veto Explanation (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1225841.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220052.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220051.PDF)
- [Gov Recommendation (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220073.HTML)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214422.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214421.PDF)
- [Conference Report (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211631.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211628.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211627.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1192157.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1192156.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187570.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187545.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187544.PDF)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187569.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1144975.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1140542.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1140541.PDF)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1144974.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1134006.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1134005.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1090528.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1090527.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-SB494-2026 (as of 2026-10-11).