Senate subcommittee reports 56 bills, refers key energy and health measures to finance
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Summary
A Senate of Virginia subcommittee met in Richmond and reported or referred 56 bills, sending several energy, health-insurance and workforce measures to Finance while placing four bills "by for the day." The committee approved numerous conforming actions and adopted several substitutes and line amendments.
The Senate of Virginia convened a subcommittee in Committee Room A 305 in Richmond to consider about 60 bills, reporting or referring 56 measures and setting four aside for further review. The committee advanced bills on energy policy, insurance and workplace protections and adopted a string of conforming motions to align House and Senate language.
Most votes were procedural: the panel moved House Bill 1262 to the courts committee (roll call "ayes 12, no 0") and cleared Senate Bill 60 — a PrEP nondiscrimination provision — by voice vote after noting it had passed the House 89–8. Several energy-related measures were referred to Finance, including a petition directive for demand-flexibility programs that instructs Appalachian Power Company and Dominion Energy to file with the State Corporation Commission by Jan. 15, 2027, with a final SCC order expected by Nov. 30, 2027.
The subcommittee adopted multiple substitutes and technical fixes to align bills across chambers, including items on shared solar, interconnection grants, and reporting requirements for entities with regional transmission authority contracts. Where sponsors asked for more time, the panel sometimes declined and instead reported the bills to Finance for fiscal review.
Members also pressed administration officials for fiscal clarifications. Ashley Irvin of the Virginia Employment Commission confirmed the unemployment trust fund solvency rate is 53% and provided the fund balance; staff said they could not yet quantify how combined benefit-extension proposals would affect that metric.
The committee adopted a number of consumer-protection and insurance-related amendments, including one requested by the Attorney General removing an AG-specific 30-day cure period from a kiosk/bitcoin consumer-protection bill. A majority of measures advanced unanimously or by large margins in committee.
The panel concluded after disposing of the bulk of the docket; the chair said tougher bills remain for future meetings and the subcommittee adjourned.