SB 541 Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Time zone; permanent Eastern Standard Time in the Commonwealth.

Summary

Time zone; permanent Eastern Standard Time in the Commonwealth. Provides that the Commonwealth shall observe Eastern Standard Time year-round upon the District of Columbia and the State of Maryland enacting legislation providing that United States Eastern Standard Time shall be observed in all parts of the respective district or state year-round.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Mar 6, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Engrossed · 2 edits · Feb 17, 2026

MINOR

The bill was amended during the legislative process to add specific language about the District of Columbia and Maryland enacting similar legislation for year-round Eastern Standard Time. This change clarifies the conditions under which the bill's provisions become effective, ensuring alignment with neighboring jurisdictions' actions.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on establishing permanent Eastern Standard Time in Virginia, but the effective date conditions were modified to explicitly reference legislative actions by DC and Maryland.

TIMELINE

Added language specifying that the bill becomes effective when DC and Maryland also enact legislation for year-round Eastern Standard Time, making the implementation contingent on neighboring jurisdictions taking similar action.

TECHNICAL

The document was converted from an introduced version to an engrossed version with updated formatting, including line numbers and amendment tracking information.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 13, 2026

How they voted

35–0

Passed · 4 other

Total votes 39

Feb 13, 2026

D Democratic20

19 Yea 1

95% Yea

R Republican19

16 Yea 3

84% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Mar 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

Subcommittee recommends continuing to (Voice Vote)

lower

Mar 1, 2026

Committee

Assigned HRUL sub: Studies Subcommittee

lower

Feb 24, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Rules

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read third time and passed Senate (24-Y 16-N 0-A)

upper

Feb 16, 2026

Introduced

Engrossed by Senate as amended (Voice Vote)

upper

Feb 16, 2026

Upper · Passed

General Laws and Technology Amendment agreed to

upper

Feb 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

upper

Feb 11, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from General Laws and Technology with amendment (11-Y 4-N)

upper

Feb 11, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate committee offered

upper

Jan 13, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology

upper

1 primary · 2 co-sponsors