Bills and resolutions that may be of interest to the VIMS community.
The 2025 General Assembly session convened on January 8, 2025. Natural resources related bills and resolutions that may be of interest to VIMS are listed and summarized below. Full bill summaries and bill text are available in the Legislative Information System (LIS), which includes a searchable database. If there are other pertinent bills of interest we may have missed, let us know and we'll add them to the list.
Note: To view the bill/resolution summary, click the triangle to the left of the bill/resolution title. To view the full text of the bill/resolution in the Legislative Information System (LIS), click on bill/resolution title.
House Bills (HB)
Table contains a list of bills currently in the House of Delegates.
Companion bill SB XX (format: No extra space between the in lines, text in italics). Note: only add this line if there is a companion bill.
Bold summary text goes here. Copy and paste from LIS (format: regular text, bold). Introduced by: Delegate/Representative's full name (Party indicator - Position abbreviation, District #) (format: see example from the bill HB 23 shown below). Bill details go here. Copy and paste the text from LIS (format: Regular, non-bold).
MM/DD/YY House: Committee action text goes here. After each entry, hold down the shift + alt buttons and press enter to move to the next line without additional space in between lines. MM/DD/YY House: Committee action text goes here. MM/DD/YY House: Committee action text goes here.
Fossil fuel projects moratorium; transitioning energy workers; environmental justice protections. Introduced by: Michael J. Jones (D - HD 77). Establishes a moratorium, effective January 1, 2025, on any approval by any state agency or political subdivision required for (i) electric generating facilities that generate fossil fuel energy through the combustion or use of a fossil fuel resource, (ii) import or export terminals for fossil fuel resources, (iii) modification of an import or export terminal for a fossil fuel resource, (iv) gathering lines or pipelines for the transport of any fossil fuel resource that requires the use of public land or eminent domain on private property, (v) modification of such gathering lines or pipelines, (vi) refineries of a fossil fuel resource, (vii) facilities that change the physical state of fossil fuels for the purposes of transporting such fuels, and (viii) exploration for any type of fossil fuel, unless preempted by applicable federal law. The measure requires the establishment of job training programs and energy worker protections, transitional assistance for workers in the fossil fuel industry and affected communities, and environmental justice protections.
12/18/23 House: Committee Referral Pending 12/18/23 House: Referred to Committee on Rules 01/25/24 House: Assigned Rules sub: Studies Subcommittee 01/29/24 House: Subcommittee recommends laying on the table (6-Y 0-N)
Companion resolution SB XX (format: No extra space between the in lines, text in italics). Note: only add this line if there is a companion resolution.
Bold summary text goes here. Copy and paste from LIS (format: regular text, bold). Introduced by: Delegate/Representative's full name (Party indicator - Position abbreviation, District #) (format: see example from the bill HJ XX shown below). Bill details go here. Copy and paste the text from LIS (format: Regular, non-bold).
MM/DD/YY House: Committee action text goes here. After each entry, hold down the shift + alt buttons and press enter to move to the next line without additional space in between lines. MM/DD/YY House: Committee action text goes here. MM/DD/YY House: Committee action text goes here.
Fossil fuel projects moratorium; transitioning energy workers; environmental justice protections. Introduced by: Michael J. Jones (D - HD 77). Establishes a moratorium, effective January 1, 2025, on any approval by any state agency or political subdivision required for (i) electric generating facilities that generate fossil fuel energy through the combustion or use of a fossil fuel resource, (ii) import or export terminals for fossil fuel resources, (iii) modification of an import or export terminal for a fossil fuel resource, (iv) gathering lines or pipelines for the transport of any fossil fuel resource that requires the use of public land or eminent domain on private property, (v) modification of such gathering lines or pipelines, (vi) refineries of a fossil fuel resource, (vii) facilities that change the physical state of fossil fuels for the purposes of transporting such fuels, and (viii) exploration for any type of fossil fuel, unless preempted by applicable federal law. The measure requires the establishment of job training programs and energy worker protections, transitional assistance for workers in the fossil fuel industry and affected communities, and environmental justice protections.
12/18/23 House: Committee Referral Pending 12/18/23 House: Referred to Committee on Rules 01/25/24 House: Assigned Rules sub: Studies Subcommittee 01/29/24 House: Subcommittee recommends laying on the table (6-Y 0-N)
Bold summary text goes here. Copy and paste from LIS (format: regular text, bold). Introduced by: Delegate/Representative's full name (Party indicator - Position abbreviation, District #) (format: see example from the bill SB 243 shown below). Bill details go here. Copy and paste the text from LIS (format: Regular text, non-bold).
MM/DD/YY Senate: Committee action text goes here. After each entry, hold down the shift + alt buttons and press enter to move to the next line without additional space in between lines. MM/DD/YY Senate: Committee action text goes here. MM/DD/YY Senate: Committee action text goes here.
Department of Environmental Quality; PFAS; identification; monitoring; PFAS Advisory Committee established; report. Introduced by: Jeremy S. McPike (D - SD 29). Requires the owner or operator of a publicly owned treatment works to monitor PFAS levels, as defined in the bill, in effluent, influent, and biosolids at least quarterly and report all such monitoring data on an applicable discharge monitoring report required by federal regulations. The bill requires the Department of Environmental Quality (the Department), in certain circumstances, to develop a PFAS action plan to identify and address sources of certain PFAS detected in a public water system's raw water source, perform outreach efforts regarding PFAS contamination, report annually on its activities, and work with certain entities in developing its PFAS action plans. The bill requires certain facilities that manufacture or use PFAS to report the use of such chemicals to the Department and to monitor such PFAS at least quarterly unless at another frequency at the direction of the Director of the Department. The bill also directs the Department and the Virginia Department of Health to jointly establish a PFAS Advisory Committee to assist with PFAS-related activities and appoint such committee's members to include legislative members and a wide range of nonlegislative citizen members and to report annually to the Governor and the General Assembly on the Committee's activities and recommendations.
01/09/24 Senate: Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources
Study; Department of Environmental Quality; groundwater supply in the Commonwealth; report. Introduced by Richard H. Stuart (R - SD 35). Requests that the Department of Environmental Quality complete a one-year study of the groundwater supply in the Commonwealth with technical assistance provided by the State Water Control Board. The Department shall complete its meetings by November 30, 2024, and submit to the Governor and the General Assembly an executive summary and a report of its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
Table contains links to House and Senate district maps.
Bills introduced into the House delegates or Senate require a primary sponsor. Often, individual legislators support similar pieces of legislation based on constituent interests in their respective districts. Therefore, knowing what district each bill sponsor represents can help with understanding public interest across Virginia.
View Virginia's current House of Delegates interactive district map.
