# Virginia SB611: Economic development incentives; wage requirements.

Virginia SB611, Economic development incentives; wage requirements., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by R. Creigh Deeds (Democratic); status in committee, last action 2026-02-03 (Continued to 2027 in Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N)) (as of 2026-10-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB611-2026
- As of: 2026-10-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia SB611
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Economic development incentives; wage requirements.
- Status: in committee
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-14
- Last action: 2026-02-03, Continued to 2027 in Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N)
- Sponsor: R. Creigh Deeds (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Finance and Appropriations
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 1 (15 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Economic development incentives; wage requirements. Requires companies to pay an average wage for the jobs eligible for assistance under the component programs of the Virginia Jobs Investment Program that is no less than the prevailing average wage, defined in the bill, or, in the case of an economically distressed locality, defined in the bill, no less than 85 percent of the prevailing average wage. Under current law, to be eligible for the component programs, companies must pay a minimum entry-level wage rate per hour of at least 1.2 times the federal minimum wage or the Virginia minimum wage, whichever is higher, and in areas that have an unemployment rate of 1.5 times the statewide average unemployment rate, the wage rate minimum may be waived.The bill also authorizes the payment of Virginia Investment Performance Grants if the average wage paid by the eligible manufacturer or research and development service, excluding fringe benefits, is no less than 85 percent of the prevailing average wage in localities with either (i) an annual unemployment rate for the most recent calendar year for which such data is available that is greater than the final statewide average unemployment rate for that calendar year or (ii) a poverty rate for the most recent calendar year for which such data is available that exceeds the statewide average poverty rate for that year. Under current law, such authorization is limited to those localities meeting both the unemployment rate and poverty rate thresholds.

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-02-03 | Senate | Continued to 2027 in Finance and Appropriations | pass | 15 | 0 |   |

## Actions (6)

- 2026-02-03: Continued to 2027 in Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-01-21: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB611) (Senate)
- 2026-01-21: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB611) (Senate)
- 2026-01-21: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB611) (Senate)
- 2026-01-14: Referred to Committee on Finance and Appropriations (Senate)
- 2026-01-14: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102880D (Senate)

## Bill text

- Introduced, 2026-01-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1091487.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1091486.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
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1091487.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1091486.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-SB611-2026 (as of 2026-10-11).