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Committee receives subcommittee reports and advances multiple local governance bills

House Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns · January 31, 2026

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Summary

The House Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns received subcommittee recommendations on a slate of bills — covering wireless siting, tourism districts, Herndon charter updates, composting requirements, zoning for housing, parking near transit and manufactured‑home placement — and reported many out of committee with recorded or voice votes.

The committee heard an extended set of subcommittee reports covering a broad range of local governance and zoning bills; many measures were reported out with voice or roll votes as subcommittees recommended.

Subcommittee 2 reported a substitute for House Bill 2 77 that would limit locality disapproval of new wireless support structures under specified conditions and increase certain height thresholds; the subcommittee recommended reporting with substitute and the clerk recorded the committee vote as 19–1 with one abstention in the subcommittee summary. House Bill 5 24, allowing Arlington County to form a tourism improvement district and a transient‑occupancy tax up to 1 percent, reported out on a recorded vote (reported 18–3). HB 887 (Herndon charter update) reported unanimously (21–0).

Other bills reported with amendments or substitutes included HB 10 11 (composting requirements for large organic waste generators; subcommittee recommended reporting with amendments, clerk reported 18–3), HB 11 30 (leasing surplus property for local governing bodies or school boards; reported 17–3), HB 12 79 (administrative approval of housing development on property owned by certain tax‑exempt organizations; reported 13–8), HB 13 95 (limits on age restrictions for trick‑or‑treating relative to curfew laws; reported 17–4), HB 7 11 (solar special‑exception decision records to the SCC and a five‑year searchable database; reported 15–5 with substitute), HB 8 02 (vacant building registry; reported 19–2), HB 8 06 (powers to promote safe and affordable housing; reported 19–2), and several others that the subcommittees moved by voice vote or were carried over.

A few items were carried over to the 2027 session by motion early in the meeting. The chair noted early floor action today and said any bills not finished would return at the final pre‑crossover meeting next week.

The committee rose after completing the reports; many bills will next appear on the House calendar or await final committee action.