SB 303 Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Suffolk, City of; amending charter, clarifying membership of city council.

Summary
Charter; City of Suffolk. Corrects an error in the existing charter of the City of Suffolk to clarify that the city council shall consist of eight members to reflect the addition of the directly elected mayor to the city council. The bill also removes obsolete language to clarify the appointment process and responsibilities of the city clerk. Finally, the bill updates language to reflect the city manager's direct responsibility for the department directors, consistent with the City of Suffolk's established management and reporting structure. This bill is identical to HB 940.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Signed Apr 6, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Enrolled Chaptered · 2 edits
MINOR
The bill was formally enacted into law as Chapter 244 of the 2026 Virginia Acts of Assembly. The substantive text of the city charter amendments regarding council composition, the city clerk, and department oversight remains unchanged from the previous version, indicating no new policy requirements or modifications were adopted in this step.
TECHNICAL

Added official chapter number (Chapter 244), specific approval date (April 6, 2026), and formal session headers to convert the draft bill into an enacted law.

Removed draft session headers and status indicators (e.g., 'ENROLLED') that were present in the pre-enactment version.

Floor votes · Senate Jan 20, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 26, 2026

How they voted

390
Passed
Total votes 39
Jan 20, 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
27
Key actions
11
Committee
4
Apr 6, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 244 (effective 7/1/2026)
executive
Mar 2, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Mar 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 2, 2026
Upper · Passed
Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB303ER)
upper
Feb 26, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed House (96-Y 1-N 0-A)
lower
Feb 25, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed by for the day
lower
Feb 20, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Counties, Cities and Towns (21-Y 0-N)
lower
Feb 3, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns
lower
Jan 22, 2026
Upper · Passed
Read third time and passed Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
upper
Jan 20, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day
upper
Jan 20, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day (Voice Vote)
upper
Jan 19, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Local Government (15-Y 0-N)
upper
Jan 13, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Local Government
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Emily Jordan
Emily Jordan
RRepublican
VA
17