# Virginia SB681: Virginia Beach, City of; amending charter, transition to a city council, voting districts. Virginia SB681, Virginia Beach, City of; amending charter, transition to a city council, voting districts., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Aaron R. Rouse (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-03-09 (House concurred in Governor's recommendation (67-Y 27-N 1-A)) (as of 2026-10-12). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB681-2026 - As of: 2026-10-12 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Virginia SB681 - State: Virginia - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: Virginia Beach, City of; amending charter, transition to a city council, voting districts. - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2026-01-14 - Last action: 2026-03-09, House concurred in Governor's recommendation (67-Y 27-N 1-A) - Sponsor: Aaron R. Rouse (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 0 - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 9 (258 yes, 86 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 2 ## Summary Charter; City of Virginia Beach. Amends the charter for the City of Virginia Beach to reflect the City's transition to a city council consisting solely of single-member districts and the mayor. This bill is identical to HB 187 and contains an emergency clause. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Virginia Beach candidates face filing limits: cost, low. Virginia Beach council candidates must file for mayor or for the district where they live, using petition-based nominations. A mayoral candidate cannot run for another seat. A sitting district member seeking mayor, or a sitting mayor seeking a district seat, must submit a resignation during their t… - Virginia Beach sets district council elections: mixed, low. Virginia Beach’s 11-member council includes a mayor elected citywide and one member from each of 10 districts, numbered 1–10. Districts must have roughly equal populations, but March 9, 2026, boundaries stay fixed until redistricting after the 2030 census. The November 2024 election covers the mayo… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Aaron R. Rouse (Democratic), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-09 | House | House concurred in Governor's recommendation | pass | 67 | 27 | 1 | | 2026-03-05 | Senate | Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation | pass | 22 | 17 | | | 2026-02-16 | House | Passed House | pass | 72 | 25 | 1 | | 2026-02-13 | House | Reported from Counties, Cities and Towns | pass | 17 | 4 | | | 2026-01-29 | Senate | Read third time and passed Senate | pass | 27 | 13 | | | 2026-01-28 | Senate | Engrossed by Senate Block Vote (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 | 14 | 0 | | ## Actions (34) - 2026-03-09: House concurred in Governor's recommendation (67-Y 27-N 1-A) (House) - 2026-03-09: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0009) (Governor) - 2026-03-09: Reenrolled bill text (SB681ER2) (Senate) - 2026-03-09: Reenrolled (Senate) - 2026-03-09: Governor's recommendation adopted (Governor) - 2026-03-09: Approved by Governor-Chapter 9 (Effective 3/9/2026) (Governor) - 2026-03-09: Signed by President (Senate) - 2026-03-09: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2026-03-05: Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (22-Y 17-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Governor's recommendation received by Senate (Governor) - 2026-02-26: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., March 05, 2026 (Governor) - 2026-02-26: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on February 26, 2026 (Senate) - 2026-02-18: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB681ER) (Senate) - 2026-02-18: Enrolled (Senate) - 2026-02-18: Signed by President (Senate) - 2026-02-18: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2026-02-16: Passed House (72-Y 25-N 1-A) (House) - 2026-02-16: Read third time (House) - 2026-02-15: Read second time (House) - 2026-02-13: Reported from Counties, Cities and Towns (17-Y 4-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 (27-Y 13-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-01-28: Engrossed by Senate Block Vote (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 (14-Y 0-N) (Senate) - 2026-01-14: Referred to Committee on Local Government (Senate) - 2026-01-14: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26100882D (Senate) ## Bill text - Chaptered, 2026-03-09: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214808.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214807.PDF) - Reenrolled, 2026-03-09: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1195188.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1195187.PDF) - Gov Recommendation, 2026-03-04: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1194947.HTML) - Enrolled, 2026-02-18: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1168722.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1168721.PDF) - Introduced, 2026-01-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1091940.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1091939.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/1214808.HTML) - [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214807.PDF) - [Reenrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1195188.HTML) - [Reenrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1195187.PDF) - [Gov Recommendation (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1194947.HTML) - [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1168722.HTML) - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1168721.PDF) - [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1091940.HTML) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1091939.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-SB681-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).