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SB 519 VA
Passed One Chamber

Land and urban areas; DCR shall assess how best to achieve permanent conservation by 2036, report.

VA · session 2027 · Senate · bill

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Introduced Jan 13, 2026

Latest action (Jul 21, 2026) Continued from last session

Summary

This bill would direct the Department of Conservation and Recreation to assess the feasibility of achieving permanent conservation of 20 percent of Virginia's land area and 10 percent of urban areas by 2036. Permanent conservation refers to protecting land from development through mechanisms such as conservation easements, public land acquisition, or other protective designations. The department would evaluate how to achieve these specific conservation targets and report on the feasibility, costs, and strategies needed. The assessment would help Virginia determine whether these conservation goals are achievable and what policies or programs are necessary.

AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill (from the OpenStates abstract — no full text available yet) — neutral, and may be imperfect.

Official abstract

A BILL to direct the Department of Conservation and Recreation to assess the feasibility of achieving permanent conservation of 20 percent of the land area and 10 percent of the urban areas of the Commonwealth by 2036.

Sponsor (1)

Action history (22)
  1. Jan 13, 2026 Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102627D · upper
  2. Jan 13, 2026 Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources · upper
  3. Jan 27, 2026 Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (9-Y 5-N) · upper
  4. Jan 30, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB519) · upper
  5. Feb 5, 2026 Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (15-Y 0-N) · upper
  6. Feb 9, 2026 Committee substitute printed 26107330D-S1 · upper
  7. Feb 9, 2026 Rules suspended · upper
  8. Feb 9, 2026 Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) · upper
  9. Feb 9, 2026 Passed by for the day (Voice Vote) · upper
  10. Feb 9, 2026 Passed by for the day · upper
  11. Feb 10, 2026 Read second time · upper
  12. Feb 10, 2026 Finance and Appropriations Substitute agreed to · upper
  13. Feb 10, 2026 Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (Voice Vote) · upper
  14. Feb 11, 2026 Read third time and passed Senate (39-Y 1-N 0-A) · upper
  15. Feb 12, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB519) · upper
  16. Feb 17, 2026 Placed on Calendar · lower
  17. Feb 17, 2026 Read first time · lower
  18. Feb 17, 2026 Referred to Committee on Rules · lower
  19. Mar 1, 2026 Assigned HRUL sub: Studies Subcommittee · lower
  20. Mar 2, 2026 Subcommittee recommends continuing to (Voice Vote) · lower
  21. Mar 6, 2026 Continued to next session in Rules (Voice Vote) · lower
  22. Jul 21, 2026 Continued from last session · lower

Full text

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