SB 296 Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

County manager plan of government; affordable dwelling unit ordinance.

Summary

County manager plan of government; affordable dwelling unit ordinance. Increases local authority over affordable housing for counties that have adopted the county manager plan of government (Arlington County) by (i) potentially increasing the cash contribution to the county's affordable housing fund by developers in lieu of providing affordable dwelling units and (ii) providing that applications for a special exception approval for a change of use of an existing building from commercial to residential may be subject to an affordable housing requirement. The bill directs the governing body of such counties to appoint an advisory board to advise the governing body regarding the appropriate provisions of an ordinance to amend the cash contribution amounts to such county's affordable housing fund. Certain provisions of the bill do not become effective unless reenacted by the 2027 Session of the General Assembly.

Issues: ✓ Housing

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Feb 20, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Local Government Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended from its original introduced version to a Senate Substitute version, primarily changing formatting and adding specific dollar amount thresholds for cash contributions. The substantive policy content regarding affordable housing requirements, density tiers, and application procedures remains largely unchanged, though the substitute version includes more specific minimum and maximum dollar amounts for cash contributions per square foot.

Scope change

No substantive change to the bill's scope or applicability; the amendment is primarily a substitute version with formatting adjustments and more specific financial thresholds.

FISCAL

Cash contribution amounts for affordable housing were updated with specific dollar ranges (minimum $2.44 and maximum $4.88 per square foot for the first tier) instead of the original general minimum amounts.

TECHNICAL

The document was reclassified from 'Introduced' to 'Senate Substitute' and includes additional metadata about the Senate Committee on Local Government proposing the amendment on February 9, 2026.

Added page numbers and formatting elements typical of legislative substitute documents, including bill tracking numbers and committee information.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 10, 2026

How they voted

39–0

Passed

Total votes 39

Feb 10, 2026

D Democratic20

20 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican19

19 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 20, 2026

Lower · Passed

Subcommittee recommends continuing to (Voice Vote)

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Committee

Assigned HCCT sub: Subcommittee #3

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns

lower

Feb 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read third time and passed Senate (22-Y 18-N 0-A)

upper

Feb 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

upper

Feb 9, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Local Government with substitute (10-Y 4-N 1-A)

upper

Feb 9, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate committee offered

upper

Jan 13, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Local Government

upper

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor