Local government; review of decision by board of zoning appeals, procedures for filing petition.
Summary
Local governing body; review of decision by board of zoning appeals; procedures for filing petition. Makes various changes and clarifications to the procedures following the filing of a petition in a circuit court by a party aggrieved by a decision of the board of zoning appeals. Current law provides that a circuit court, upon presentation of the petition, shall allow a writ of certiorari to review such decision and includes certain timing requirements for service upon and response by the board of zoning appeals. The bill clarifies that the petition shall be served upon the secretary or chair of the board of zoning appeals within 30 days after the petition is filed with the clerk of the circuit court and that, within 21 days of being served with the petition, the secretary of the board of zoning appeals shall file the record of the proceedings at issue in the petition. The bill also updates other procedures, such as the time requirements for the filing of responsive pleadings, to be consistent with the various changes and clarifications throughout the bill. This bill is a recommendation of the Boyd-Graves Conference.
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 7, 2026
Signed Apr 8, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons
What changed between versions
Enrolled
→
Chaptered
·
2 edits
MINOR
This bill formally enacts the text of HB 198 into law, changing the document status from a proposed 'Enrolled' bill to a 'Chaptered' act. The substantive policy content regarding zoning ordinances and appeals remains identical, but the formatting has been standardized to include the official Chapter number (368) and the specific approval date (April 8, 2026).
Scope change
The scope of applicability has not changed; the bill now applies as an official statute of Virginia effective from its approval date.
TECHNICAL
The document header was updated to reflect the official Chapter number (368) and the specific approval date (April 8, 2026), converting the text from a draft bill to a final law.
Minor formatting adjustments were made to the text layout, such as removing bracketed bill numbers and adjusting line breaks, while preserving all original legal language and requirements.
Floor votes · Senate Mar 9, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 3, 2026
How they voted
39–0
Passed
Total votes 39
Mar 9, 2026
D
Democratic20
100% Yea
R
Republican19
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
24
Key actions
10
Committee
6
Apr 8, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 368 (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 (HB198ER)
lower
Mar 10, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
upper
Mar 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
upper
Mar 5, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice (11-Y 0-N 3-A)
upper
Feb 4, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
upper
Feb 3, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (98-Y 0-N 0-A)
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice (19-Y 0-N)
lower
Jan 21, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting (9-Y 1-N)
lower
Jan 19, 2026
Committee
Assigned HCJ sub: Civil
lower
Jan 7, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Josh Thomas
DDemocratic
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