KLS Keeping Law Simple Legislation in plain English

Straight-ahead summaries built from the official bill text. We keep the source links front and center and leave the decision up to you.

Back to Virginia

HB706 • 2026

Gunston Hall; meetings of the Board of Regents.

An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 3 of Chapter 32 of Title 23.1 a section numbered 23.1-3205.1, relating to museums and other cultural institutions; Gunston Hall; meetings of the Board of Regents.

Enacted

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

Sponsor
Henson
Last action
2026-04-06
Official status
Acts of Assembly Chapter
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and digest do not provide specific details on consequences for non-compliance with meeting requirements.

Gunston Hall; Annual In-Person Meeting Requirement for Board of Regents

This act requires the Gunston Hall Board of Regents to hold at least one in-person meeting each year and allows additional meetings to be held virtually, as long as they follow Virginia's Freedom of Information Act.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires the Gunston Hall Board of Regents to meet in person at least once annually.
  • Allows any additional meetings within the same calendar year to be either in-person or virtual public meetings, provided they comply with FOIA.

Who It Names or Affects

  • The Gunston Hall Board of Regents

Terms To Know

Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
A law that makes sure government meetings and records are open to the public.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if a meeting is not held in person as required.
  • It only applies to Gunston Hall's Board of Regents, not other boards or institutions.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HB706AHC1

2026-02-02

Education Amendment

Plain English: The amendment changes a section of HB706 to add an exception and remove part of the text related to meetings of the Board of Regents.

  • Adds an exception after 'meeting' in the bill, stating that certain provisions do not apply.
  • Removes all of line 19 from the original bill.
  • The amendment text does not specify which specific provisions are being excepted or what content is removed from line 19, making it hard to understand the full impact without additional context.
HB706AH1

2026-02-02 • Committee

Higher Education Subcommittee Amendment

Plain English: The amendment modifies a section related to meetings of the Board of Regents for Gunston Hall by adding an exception and removing part of an existing requirement.

  • Adds an exception after 'meeting' in the text, allowing something not covered under §2.2-3708.3.
  • Removes all of line 19 from the original bill.
  • The exact content removed by striking line 19 is unclear without seeing the full context of that line.
  • The specific nature and implications of the exception added are not fully explained in the amendment text.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-06 Governor

    Approved by Governor-Chapter 206 (effective 7/1/2026)

  2. 2026-04-06 Governor

    Approved by Governor-Chapter 206 (effective 7/1/2026)

  3. 2026-04-06 Governor

    Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0206)

  4. 2026-03-10 House

    Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026

  5. 2026-03-10 Governor

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

  6. 2026-03-09 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB706)

  7. 2026-03-06 House

    Signed by Speaker

  8. 2026-03-06 Senate

    Signed by President

  9. 2026-03-06 House

    Enrolled

  10. 2026-03-06 House

    Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB706ER)

  11. 2026-03-02 Senate

    Read third time

  12. 2026-03-02 Senate

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

  13. 2026-02-27 Senate

    Rules suspended

  14. 2026-02-27 Senate

    Passed by for the day

  15. 2026-02-27 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (37-Y 0-N 0-A)

  16. 2026-02-27 Senate

    Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

  17. 2026-02-26 Education and Health

    Reported from Education and Health (15-Y 0-N)

  18. 2026-02-23 Higher Education

    Assigned Education sub: Higher Education

  19. 2026-02-11 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)

  20. 2026-02-11 Education and Health

    Referred to Committee on Education and Health

  21. 2026-02-11 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB706)

  22. 2026-02-10 House

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

  23. 2026-02-09 House

    Read second time

  24. 2026-02-09 House

    committee amendments agreed to

  25. 2026-02-09 House

    Engrossed by House as amended

  26. 2026-02-06 House

    Read first time

  27. 2026-02-04 Education

    Reported from Education with amendment(s) (21-Y 0-N)

  28. 2026-02-02 Higher Education

    Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (9-Y 0-N)

  29. 2026-02-02 Higher Education

    House subcommittee offered

  30. 2026-02-02 Higher Education

    House subcommittee offered

  31. 2026-01-30 Higher Education

    Assigned HED sub: Higher Education

  32. 2026-01-19 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB706)

  33. 2026-01-13 House

    Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102893D

  34. 2026-01-13 Education

    Referred to Committee on Education

Official Summary Text

Museums and other cultural institutions; Gunston Hall; meetings of the Board of Regents.
Requires the Gunston Hall Board of Regents to meet in person at least once annually. The bill clarifies that any additional meeting of the Board held within the same calendar year may be in person or held as an all-virtual public meeting, notwithstanding a certain provision of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to the contrary. The bill requires all such meetings to otherwise comply with FOIA.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 3 of Chapter 32 of Title 23.1 a section numbered
23.1-3205.1
, relating to museums and other cultural institutions; Gunston Hall; meetings of the Board of Regents.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Article 3 of Chapter 32 of Title 23.1 a section numbered
23.1-3205.1
as follows:
§
23.1-3205.1
. Meetings of the Board of Regents.
The Board of Regents shall meet in person at least once annually. Any additional meeting of the Board of Regents held within the same calendar year may be in person or held as an all-virtual public meeting, notwithstanding the provisions of §
2.2-3708.3
. Meetings of the Board of Regents shall be held in compliance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§
2.2-3700
et seq.).