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HB953 • 2026

Future of redevelopment and housing authorities; DHCD, et al., to examine, report.

<p class=ldtitle>A BILL to direct the Department of Housing and Community Development to establish a work group to examine the future of redevelopment and housing authorities in the Commonwealth; report.</p>

Housing
Enacted

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

Sponsor
Guzman
Last action
2026-02-18
Official status
Failed
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not specify the exact amount of funding available for the work group.

Creating a Work Group for Housing Authorities

This bill directs Virginia's Department of Housing and Community Development to establish a work group that will examine the future role of redevelopment and housing authorities in the state, focusing on funding and mission adaptation.

What This Bill Does

  • Establishes a work group including representatives from various parts of Virginia’s government and community to study how redevelopment and housing authorities should adapt their missions and find new sources of funding.
  • Requires this work group to meet at least six times between July 1, 2026, and September 30, 2027.
  • Asks the work group to submit a report by September 30, 2027, detailing findings on current funding sources for housing authorities and recommending policy changes.

Who It Names or Affects

  • The Department of Housing and Community Development
  • Virginia Housing Development Authority
  • Representatives from the Virginia Municipal League and the Virginia Association of Counties
  • Nonlegislative citizen members including representatives from redevelopment and housing authorities, residential construction industry, and affordable housing advocacy organizations

Terms To Know

Redevelopment authority
An organization that helps change old or unused areas into new, useful places.
Housing authority
A group that provides affordable housing for people who need it.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify the exact amount of funding available to the work group.
  • It is unclear what specific changes will be recommended by the report's findings and recommendations.
  • The bill sets up a process but does not make any immediate changes to housing or redevelopment policies.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-18 House

    Left in Committee Rules

  2. 2026-01-26 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB953)

  3. 2026-01-23 Studies Subcommittee

    Subcommittee recommends laying on the table (5-Y 0-N)

  4. 2026-01-22 Studies Subcommittee

    Assigned HRUL sub: Studies Subcommittee

  5. 2026-01-13 House

    Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103476D

  6. 2026-01-13 Rules

    Referred to Committee on Rules

Official Summary Text

Department of Housing and Community Development; work group to examine the future of redevelopment and housing authorities in the Commonwealth established; report.
Directs the Department of Housing and Community Development to establish in collaboration with the Virginia Housing Development Authority a work group to examine the future of redevelopment and housing authorities in the Commonwealth for the purpose of examining the need to repurpose and find a new mission for redevelopment and housing authorities that serve the goals of promoting housing affordability, effectuating redevelopment, and conserving land where deemed appropriate, and to develop a plan to address the diminishing role of the federal government in supporting housing authorities. The bill requires the work group to meet at least six times between July 1, 2026, and September 30, 2027, and to submit a report of its findings and recommendations no later than September 30, 2027.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
A BILL to direct the Department of Housing and Community Development to establish a work group to examine the future of redevelopment and housing authorities in the Commonwealth; report.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.
§ 1.
That the Department of Housing and Community Development (the Department) shall establish, in collaboration with
the
Virginia Housing
Development Authority
, and with assistance from other state agencies upon request, a
w
ork
g
roup to
e
xamine the
f
uture of
r
edevelopment and
h
ousing
a
uthorities in
the Commonwealth
. The purpose of the
w
ork
g
roup shall be to examine the need to repurpose and find a new mission for
r
edevelopment and
h
ousing
a
uthorities that serve the goals of promoting housing affordability, effectuating redevelopment, and conserving land where deemed appropriate, and to develop a plan to address the diminishing role of the federal government in supporting housing authorities.

§
2.
The
w
ork
g
roup shall consist of one representative each from the Department,
the
Virginia Housing
Development Authority
, the Virginia Municipal League, and the Virginia
A
ssociation of Counties, and no fewer than five nonlegislative citizen members of the Commonwealth to be appointed by the Director of the Department. Such nonlegislative citizen members shall include at least one representative of
a
r
edevelopment and
h
ousing
a
uthority,
one
representative of
the residential construction industry
,
and one representative
of
an organization that provides affordable housing advocacy.

A majority of the members of the
w
ork
g
roup shall constitute a quorum. The
w
ork
g
roup shall, by majority vote, elect from its membership a chair and may select other officers or establish subcommittees as the members deem necessary. The
w
ork
g
roup shall meet at least six times before September 30, 2027. The meetings of the
w
ork
g
roup shall be open to the public. A majority vote of the members shall be required to approve the report required pursuant to this act or any supplements or revisions to such report.

§ 3.
On or before September 30, 2027, the
w
ork
g
roup shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Chairs of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on General Laws
and Technology
. The report shall

at

a minimum
(i) describe the federal, state, and local funding resources available to support
r
edevelopment and
h
ousing
a
uthorities and determine whether those funding sources are sufficient to meet the needs of residents of the Commonwealth; (ii) describe the barriers that should be addressed and the additional resources needed in order to meet such needs; (iii) provide specific policy recommendations to coordinate federal, state, and local resources and to implement changes to the enabling legislation for
r
edevelopment and
h
ousing
a
uthorities that address the current changing landscape; and (iv) include a plan, with an estimated budget, prospective timeline, and potential funding sources, to ensure that the Commonwealth can meet the future funding needs of
r
edevelopment and
h
ousing
a
uthorities.