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HB169 • 2026

Emergency management; work group to evaluate existing needs in the Commonwealth, report.

An Act to direct the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to convene a work group to evaluate existing emergency management needs in the Commonwealth; report.

Budget Technology
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Askew
Last action
2026-04-13
Official status
Acts of Assembly Chapter
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Emergency management; work group to evaluate existing needs in the Commonwealth, report.

Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security; evaluation of emergency management needs in the Commonwealth; report.

What This Bill Does

  • Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security; evaluation of emergency management needs in the Commonwealth; report.
  • Directs the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to establish a work group to evaluate existing emergency management needs, analyze sustainability of current funding of such needs, and review alternative funding models for such needs in other states, and to report the work group's findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the House Committees on Appropriations and General Laws and the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriations and General Laws and Technology on or before October 1, 2026.
  • This bill is identical to SB 98.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-13 Governor

    Approved by Governor-Chapter 569 (effective 7/1/2026)

  2. 2026-04-13 Governor

    Approved by Governor-Chapter 569 (effective 7/1/2026)

  3. 2026-04-13 Governor

    Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0569)

  4. 2026-03-14 House

    Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 14, 2026

  5. 2026-03-14 Governor

    Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026

  6. 2026-03-12 House

    Signed by Speaker

  7. 2026-03-11 Senate

    Signed by President

  8. 2026-03-11 House

    Enrolled

  9. 2026-03-11 House

    Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB169ER)

  10. 2026-03-11 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB169)

  11. 2026-03-04 Senate

    Read third time

  12. 2026-03-04 Senate

    Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A)

  13. 2026-03-03 Finance and Appropriations

    Reported from Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N)

  14. 2026-03-03 Senate

    Rules suspended

  15. 2026-03-03 Senate

    Passed by for the day

  16. 2026-03-03 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A)

  17. 2026-03-03 Senate

    Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

  18. 2026-02-18 General Laws and Technology

    Reported from General Laws and Technology and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N)

  19. 2026-02-13 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)

  20. 2026-02-13 General Laws and Technology

    Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology

  21. 2026-02-12 House

    Read third time and passed House Block Vote (98-Y 0-N 0-A)

  22. 2026-02-11 House

    Read second time

  23. 2026-02-11 House

    committee substitute agreed to

  24. 2026-02-11 House

    Engrossed by House - committee substitute

  25. 2026-02-10 House

    Read first time

  26. 2026-02-09 Appropriations

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB169)

  27. 2026-02-06 Appropriations

    Reported from Appropriations with substitute (22-Y 0-N)

  28. 2026-02-06 Appropriations

    Committee substitute printed 26106419D-H1

  29. 2026-02-04 Transportation & Public Safety

    Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (7-Y 0-N)

  30. 2026-02-04 Transportation & Public Safety

    House subcommittee offered

  31. 2026-02-04 Transportation & Public Safety

    House subcommittee offered

  32. 2026-01-22 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB169)

  33. 2026-01-15 Transportation & Public Safety

    Assigned HAPP sub: Transportation & Public Safety

  34. 2026-01-08 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB169)

  35. 2026-01-06 House

    Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102940D

  36. 2026-01-06 Appropriations

    Referred to Committee on Appropriations

Official Summary Text

Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security; evaluation of emergency management needs in the Commonwealth; report.
Directs the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to establish a work group to evaluate existing emergency management needs, analyze sustainability of current funding of such needs, and review alternative funding models for such needs in other states, and to report the work group's findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the House Committees on Appropriations and General Laws and the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriations and General Laws and Technology on or before October 1, 2026. This bill is identical to SB 98.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
An Act to direct the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to convene a work group to evaluate existing emergency management needs in the Commonwealth; report.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1.
§ 1. That the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security (the Secretary) shall establish a work group composed of representatives from the Department of Emergency Management, the Department of Planning and Budget, the Virginia Emergency Management Association, the Virginia Association of Counties, the Virginia Municipal League, and such other stakeholders as the Secretary deems appropriate to evaluate existing emergency management needs, analyze sustainability of current funding for such needs, and review alternative funding models for such needs in other states. In conducting its evaluation, the work group may hire an outside consultant and shall analyze local capability assessment for readiness reports, recent after-action reports from declared emergency events, historical trends of federal homeland security and emergency management funding, any anticipated or announced changes to federal homeland security and emergency management funding, any gaps in current funding, how other states fund emergency management services, and best practices from other states. The Secretary shall report the work group's findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on General Laws, the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations, and the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology on or before October 1, 2026.