# Virginia SB648: Counties, cities, & towns; members of governing body, continuing personal interest in transactions. Virginia SB648, Counties, cities, & towns; members of governing body, continuing personal interest in transactions., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Russet Perry (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-22 (House concurred in Governor's recommendation (66-Y 32-N 0-A)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB648-2026 - As of: 2026-10-12 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Virginia SB648 - State: Virginia - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: Counties, cities, & towns; members of governing body, continuing personal interest in transactions. - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2026-01-14 - Last action: 2026-04-22, House concurred in Governor's recommendation (66-Y 32-N 0-A) - Sponsor: Russet Perry (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 0 - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 13 (388 yes, 167 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 6 ## Summary Local government; certain towns; suspension of officers, study, remedial plan, and meeting requirements. Provides that any member of a governing body in any locality, who has been employed by any governmental agency that is a component part of and that is subject to the ultimate control of the governing body of which he is a member, is deemed to have continuing personal interest in that agency for a period of two years following the termination of such employment. The bill also requires the court, in a criminal proceeding against an officer of any town in Planning District 8 with a population between 8,000 and 10,000 alleging the commission of a felony offense, to enter an order suspending the officer pending the resolution of such proceeding and any related proceeding for the officer's removal. The bill requires any such town to also procure a study by a public institution of higher education to evaluate the condition and status of the town's debt, infrastructure, utilities, and other significant liability risks. Such town is required to adopt a plan consistent with the study to address such town's needs, as identified in the study, in a fiscally appropriate manner that does not jeopardize the town's bond rating. The bill also prohibits the town council of any such town from voting on matters that have not been properly published at least three days prior to the vote as part of a town council agenda or otherwise approved as additional agenda items or as amendments to existing agenda items by a three-fourths vote of all the members of the council at the start of the meeting. The bill requires that any full-time town manager of such town must be a resident of the Commonwealth unless the town council has waived such requirement by a majority vote. This bill is identical to HB 505. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Open meeting rules and resident challenges: benefit, low. In Planning District 8 towns with 8,000–10,000 people, councils can only vote on items published at least three days before the meeting. They can add items at the start only with a three‑fourths vote of all members. Any resident can challenge an improper vote in the county’s general district court.… - Felony-charged town officers suspended: cost, low. In Planning District 8 towns with 8,000–10,000 people, courts must suspend a town officer who is charged with a felony. The district court may suspend if the case starts there; the circuit court must suspend if it starts or moves there. The court can end the suspension after an acquittal or dismiss… - Two-year conflict rule for officials: cost, low. Local governing-body members are treated as having a personal interest in any agency they used to work for. This applies when that agency is under the governing body’s control. The rule lasts for two years after the job ends. The law uses the state code definition of “personal interest.” - Planning District 8 towns: finance study and plan: mixed, low. Towns in Planning District 8 with 8,000–10,000 people must hire a public university (15,000+ students) to study debt, infrastructure, utilities, and major liability risks. The study must consult a chief administrative officer from a PD8 locality with at least 500,000 people and finish by July 1, 20… - Some provisions end July 1, 2028: mixed, low. The law sets an end date for its second enactment. Those provisions expire on July 1, 2028. - Town managers must live in Virginia: mixed, low. In Planning District 8 towns with 8,000–10,000 people, a full-time town manager must be a Virginia resident. The town council can waive this rule by a simple majority vote. ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Russet Perry (Democratic), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-04-22 | House | House concurred in Governor's recommendation | pass | 66 | 32 | | | 2026-04-22 | Senate | Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation | pass | 21 | 18 | | | 2026-03-13 | House | Conference report agreed to by House | pass | 66 | 28 | | | 2026-03-13 | Senate | Conference report agreed to by Senate | pass | 31 | 6 | | | 2026-03-04 | Senate | Senate acceded to request Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 | | | 2026-02-27 | Senate | House substitute rejected by Senate | fail | 0 | 38 | | | 2026-02-25 | House | Passed House with substitute | pass | 70 | 26 | | | 2026-02-20 | House | Reported from Counties, Cities and Towns with substitute | pass | 16 | 5 | | | 2026-01-29 | Senate | Read third time and passed Senate | pass | 30 | 9 | 1 | | 2026-01-28 | Senate | Engrossed by Senate (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-01-27 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-01-27 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) | pass | 39 | 0 | | | 2026-01-26 | Senate | Reported from Local Government | pass | 9 | 5 | | ## Actions (51) - 2026-04-22: House concurred in Governor's recommendation (66-Y 32-N 0-A) (House) - 2026-04-22: Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (21-Y 18-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-04-22: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP1022) (Governor) - 2026-04-22: Reenrolled bill text (SB648ER2) (Senate) - 2026-04-22: Reenrolled (Senate) - 2026-04-22: Approved by Governor-Chapter1022 (Effective 4/22/2026) (Governor) - 2026-04-22: Signed by President (Senate) - 2026-04-22: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2026-04-22: Governor's recommendation adopted (Governor) - 2026-04-13: Governor's recommendation received by Senate (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 (SB648ER) (Senate) - 2026-03-30: Enrolled (Senate) - 2026-03-30: Signed by President (Senate) - 2026-03-13: Conference report agreed to by House (66-Y 28-N 0-A) (House) - 2026-03-13: Conference report agreed to by Senate (31-Y 6-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-03-12: Passed by for the day (House) - 2026-03-12: Conference Report released - 2026-03-12: Conference Report released - 2026-03-11: Conference Report released - 2026-03-06: House Conferees: McAuliff, Reid, Cherry (House) - 2026-03-06: 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: Perry, Srinivasan, Diggs (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Conferees appointed by Senate (Senate) - 2026-03-02: House requested conference committee (House) - 2026-03-02: House insisted on substitute (House) - 2026-02-27: House substitute rejected by Senate (Senate) - 2026-02-25: Passed House with substitute (70-Y 26-N 0-A) (House) - 2026-02-25: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House) - 2026-02-25: committee substitute agreed to (House) - 2026-02-25: Read third time (House) - 2026-02-24: Read second time (House) - 2026-02-20: Committee substitute printed 26108337D-H1 (House) - 2026-02-20: Reported from Counties, Cities and Towns with substitute (16-Y 5-N) (House) - 2026-02-04: Referred to Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns (House) - 2026-02-04: Read first time (House) - 2026-02-04: Placed on Calendar (House) - 2026-01-29: Read third time and passed Senate (30-Y 9-N 1-A) (Senate) - 2026-01-28: Engrossed by Senate (Voice Vote) (Senate) - 2026-01-28: Read second time (Senate) - 2026-01-27: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate) - 2026-01-27: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-01-27: Read first time (Senate) - 2026-01-27: Passed by for the day (Senate) - 2026-01-27: Rules suspended (Senate) - 2026-01-26: Reported from Local Government (9-Y 5-N) (Senate) - 2026-01-14: Referred to Committee on Local Government (Senate) - 2026-01-14: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26105059D (Senate) ## Bill text - Chaptered, 2026-04-22: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1224999.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1224998.PDF) - Reenrolled, 2026-04-22: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220906.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220905.PDF) - Gov Recommendation, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1219671.HTML) - Enrolled, 2026-03-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1213837.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1213836.PDF) - Conference Report, 2026-03-12: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1206682.HTML) - Substitute, 2026-03-12: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1206679.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1206678.PDF) - Substitute, 2026-02-20: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1171411.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1171410.PDF) - Introduced, 2026-01-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1091626.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1091625.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/1224999.HTML) - [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1224998.PDF) - [Reenrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220906.HTML) - [Reenrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220905.PDF) - [Gov Recommendation (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1219671.HTML) - [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1213837.HTML) - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1213836.PDF) - [Conference Report (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1206682.HTML) - [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1206679.HTML) - [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1206678.PDF) - [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1171411.HTML) - [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1171410.PDF) - [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1091626.HTML) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1091625.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-SB648-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).