Electric utilities; construction of new overhead transmission lines, siting requirements.
Summary
Electric utilities; construction of certain electrical transmission lines; siting requirements. Requires the State Corporation Commission, in order to approve the construction of an electrical transmission line of 138 kilovolts or more, to determine that the corridor or route chosen for the line will avoid or reasonably minimize adverse impact to the greatest extent reasonably practicable on dwelling houses. For overhead transmission lines of 500 kilovolts or more constructed by Dominion Energy Virginia, the bill directs the Commission to prioritize approving corridors or routes for construction for which the center is located farther than 150 feet from any dwelling house, public or private school building, day care, or place of worship unless no other practicable alternative exists.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Jan 23, 2026
Signed Apr 13, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons
What changed between versions
Subcommittee #3 Subcommittee Substitute
→
Enrolled
·
3 edits
·
Apr 13, 2026
MINOR
The bill was finalized into an enrolled act, changing the header from a substitute version to the official enacted law. The substantive text of the bill remains largely the same, with only minor formatting updates to section references (adding spaces before numbers) and the removal of a definition for 'Public utility' that was present in the draft but not needed in the final version.
Scope change
The scope of the bill's applicability remains unchanged; it continues to regulate the construction of electrical transmission lines in Virginia.
TECHNICAL
Section references within the text were updated to include a space before the number (e.g., changing '§ 56-46.1' to '§ 56-46.1'), which is a standard formatting correction for the final enrolled version.
The document header was updated to reflect the bill's status as 'ENROLLED' and 'Approved,' indicating it has passed all legislative stages and is now law.
DEFINITION
The specific definition for 'Public utility' was removed from the list of defined terms, likely because it is already defined elsewhere in the Code of Virginia and is not required in this specific section.
Floor votes · Senate Mar 10, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 16, 2026
How they voted
36–0
Passed · 3 other
Total votes 39
Mar 10, 2026
D
Democratic20
95% Yea
R
Republican19
89% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
32
Key actions
11
Committee
6
Apr 13, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 866 (effective 7/1/2026)
executive
Mar 31, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 30, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Mar 30, 2026
Lower · Passed
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1491ER)
lower
Mar 12, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (39-Y 1-N 0-A)
upper
Mar 11, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day
upper
Mar 10, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day (Voice Vote)
upper
Mar 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Commerce and Labor (15-Y 0-N)
upper
Feb 17, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor
upper
Feb 16, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (62-Y 35-N 0-A)
lower
Feb 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Labor and Commerce with substitute (17-Y 5-N)
lower
Feb 5, 2026
Lower · Passed
House subcommittee offered
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Committee
Assigned HCL sub: Subcommittee #3
lower
Jan 23, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce
lower
Jan 23, 2026
Introduced
Presented and ordered printed 26104454D
lower
1 primary · 6 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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