HB 1621 Virginia House of Delegates · 2025 Regular Session

Public institutions of higher education; governing boards; nonvoting, advisory representatives.

Summary
Public institutions of higher education; governing boards; nonvoting, advisory representatives. Requires the State Board for Community Colleges, the board of visitors of each baccalaureate public institution of higher education, and each local community college board to appoint a nonvoting, advisory faculty representative to its respective board. Under current law, such an appointment is permissive. The bill also requires the board of visitors of each baccalaureate public institution of higher education and each local community college board to appoint a nonvoting, advisory staff representative to its respective board. The bill requires such advisory faculty and staff representatives to be elected by the faculty and staff of the institution, respectively, in the manner that such faculty and staff members deem appropriate. Current law requires the advisory faculty representative to be chosen from individuals elected by the faculty or the institution's faculty senate or its equivalent. The bill also clarifies that any vacancy of such an advisory representative shall be filled in the same manner as the original selection, whether the vacancy occurs by expiration of a term or otherwise.
Bill status vetoed 4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Feb 2025
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2025
Senate Passage
Mar 2025
Vetoed
Mar 2025
Introduced Jan 3, 2025 Vetoed Mar 24, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Education Substitute Enrolled · 4 edits · Mar 10, 2025
MODERATE
The bill was finalized as an Enrolled Act, changing its status from a House Substitute to law. The most significant substantive change involves the appointment of nonvoting advisory representatives to governing boards. The requirement for the State Board was clarified to require exactly two representatives (one faculty, one staff) rather than 'one or more', while the requirements for baccalaureate institutions and local community college boards were streamlined to require exactly two representatives (one faculty, one staff) instead of the previous 'at least two' with specific composition rules. The text also includes minor grammatical corrections and clarifications regarding the election process for these representatives.
Scope change
The scope of the bill remains focused on public institutions of higher education and local community college boards in Virginia, with no change in the entities to which it applies.
REQUIREMENT

Changed the appointment requirement for the State Board from 'one or more' faculty representatives to exactly two nonvoting advisory representatives (one faculty and one staff).

Simplified the appointment requirement for baccalaureate institutions and local community college boards from 'at least two' representatives to exactly two (one faculty and one staff), removing previous ambiguity about composition.

Corrected grammatical errors and clarified the election process for selecting faculty and staff representatives to ensure they are chosen by their respective groups in a manner those groups deem appropriate.

TECHNICAL

Updated the document header to reflect that the bill is now 'Enrolled' and approved, indicating it has passed both legislative chambers and is ready for the Governor's signature.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 17, 2025 · House of Delegates Jan 30, 2025

How they voted

390
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 40
Feb 17, 2025
D Democratic21
21 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican19
18 Yea 1
94% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
34
Key actions
10
Committee
6
Amendments
1
Apr 2, 2025
Vetoed
House sustained Governor's veto
lower
Mar 24, 2025
Vetoed
Vetoed by Governor
executive
Mar 10, 2025
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Mar 7, 2025
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 7, 2025
Lower · Passed
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1621ER)
lower
Feb 18, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (21-Y 19-N)
upper
Feb 17, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day
upper
Feb 13, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported from Education and Health (9-Y 6-N)
upper
Feb 10, 2025
Committee
Assigned Education sub: Higher Education
upper
Jan 31, 2025
Committee
Referred to Committee on Education and Health
upper
Jan 30, 2025
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (51-Y 45-N)
lower
Jan 29, 2025
Introduced
No action taken on Delegate Laufer Amendment
lower
Jan 28, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed by for the day
lower
Jan 27, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed by for the day
lower
Jan 22, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported from Education with substitute (12-Y 10-N)
lower
Jan 16, 2025
Committee
Assigned Educ sub: Higher Education
lower
Jan 3, 2025
Committee
Referred to Committee on Education
lower
1 primary · 8 co-sponsors

Sponsors