2026 Virginia Legislative Session

Updated on April 27, 2026

Virginia stands at a defining moment for clean water and Bay restoration. A new gubernatorial administration, newly elected legislators, and an updated Chesapeake Bay Agreement bring both opportunities and challenges for the years ahead. Meanwhile, changes at the federal level are impacting environmental regulations and investments—making strong leadership in Virginia more important than ever.

Throughout the 2026 General Assembly session, CBF called upon Virginia’s leaders to take bold, bipartisan action to reduce pollution to our local waterways, improve management of our fisheries, make our communities safer and more resilient in the face of climate impacts, and reaffirm the Commonwealth’s commitment to restoring the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams. These actions are critical to ensuring healthy communities, bountiful lands and waterways, and a strong economy that enhances the quality of life of all Virginians.

With the legislative session’s work complete except for the budget, we reflect on the bills that successfully passed, as well as proposed legislation that faced challenges and did not move forward, leaving important opportunities for future action.

Fully Funding Programs to Achieve Clean Water

While the General Assembly has wrapped up its regular session, work on the state budget isn’t finished. Legislators began a special session on April 23 and will continue work to finalize the budget before the end of the current fiscal year on June 30. Amid one of the most challenging budget cycles in recent years, we encouraged legislators to include clean water investments. Below is an update on where each stands.

• $100 million to provide climate resilience funding. Flooding threatens homes, businesses, transportation corridors, and public safety across the Commonwealth. To proactively combat costly disasters, legislators must maintain reliable investments in the Community Flood Preparedness Fund (CFPF), which provides essential grants to communities to ensure they can design plans and install infrastructure that help them prepare, adapt, and stay safe as flood risk grows for us all. Unfortunately, this funding was not included in the house or senate’s proposed budgets.
• Maintaining full funding for the Virginia Agricultural Cost-Share program. Farmers are indispensable partners in meeting Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay cleanup goals. Strong, consistent funding ensures access to technical support and cost-effective conservation practices like stream fencing and buffers, nutrient management, and cover crops that keep soil and nutrients on farms and out of our waterways. We urged legislators to keep this program fully funded; however, the house’s proposed budget fell $44 million short of the needs assessment, and the senate’s proposal was short by approximately $8.5 million. We now await the final outcome of budget negotiations.
• Increased investment in the Virginia Conservation Assistance Program (VCAP), which provides cost-share funding and technical support for private property owners, schools, and community organizations to install practical, nature-based stormwater management practices like conservation landscaping, rain gardens, pavement removal, and living shorelines. Demand now exceeds available funding; increasing the state’s investment to $8 million will ensure more communities can implement effective, on-the-ground solutions that reduce runoff and improve local water quality. We encouraged legislators to increase VCAP funding; however, the house’s proposed budget included just $2 million while the senate’s proposal included $8 million. We are hopeful that the senate’s proposal will prevail in budget negotiations.
• Codify and fund Virginia’s Pay for Outcomes program. This innovative approach supports performance-based, cost-effective water quality solutions by tying state investment to measurable environmental results. Making the program permanent and providing adequate funding will provide long-term certainty, encourage private-sector innovation, and accelerate deployment of projects that reduce pollution most efficiently. We urged legislators to support funding for this innovative program and are disappointed that it was not included in the house or senate’s proposed budgets.
• $50 million for the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund (SLAF), a proven, cost-effective program that helps communities reduce polluted runoff—one of the fastest-growing sources of water pollution—from hard surfaces on urban and suburban lands. By providing matching grants to localities for projects such as wetland construction, living shoreline installation, and green infrastructure projects like rain gardens and permeable pavement, SLAF delivers measurable water quality improvements while helping communities manage increasing rainfall and flooding. Both the house and senate provided $43.5 million in funding for SLAF in their proposed budgets.

Advancing Resilience Across the Commonwealth

We urged Governor Spanberger and Virginia lawmakers to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a multi-state program that reduces carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. RGGI not only helps combat climate change, but also generates funding for clean energy, energy efficiency, and projects that reduce coastal flooding to protect communities, the economy, and the environment. Virginia withdrew from RGGI in 2023, ending these benefits and slowing progress toward the state’s climate and clean water goals. Rejoining RGGI is a critical step to reducing emissions, supporting renewable energy, and protecting Virginia’s waterways and residents. We are pleased that Virginia has now re-entered RGGI and that legislators and the governor approved HB397 (Herring) and SB802 (Locke), which clarify that Virginia law requires participation in RGGI.

The Virginia Clean Water Revolving Loan Fund (VCWRLF) is a key tool for funding water infrastructure, but it does not currently prioritize natural resources or green infrastructure projects. Incorporating explicit language to support green infrastructure—like trees, rain gardens, and wetlands that reduce pollution and flooding, nurture wildlife, and protect vital infrastructure—would ensure that state investments are used cost-effectively. While no changes were made during this year’s session, legislators should consider updating the VCWRLF to prioritize green infrastructure that maximizes environmental and economic benefits.

We also urged legislators support HB52, introduced by Delegate Bloxom, to improve the management of dredged material in cases where it can be a valuable resource, and we are pleased that the governor signed this measure into law. Beneficial reuse (using dredged material for habitat restoration and shoreline stabilization) can preserve island habitat, reduce erosion, enhance wetlands for fish and birds, sustain reliable shipping channels, and protect recreation areas. Virginia currently lacks clear policies to prioritize smart reuse of this material so too much of it currently goes to waste. By defining “beneficial use of dredged material” and codifying a preference for its use to enhance ecosystems and communities in state code, Virginia can join other states like Maryland in making best use of this valuable resource.

Expanding Clean Energy Options for Localities

In 2020, the Virginia General Assembly passed the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) to set the Commonwealth on a path to zero carbon emissions by 2050. But in the six years since, projected electricity demand has surged—and is expected to more than double over the next 15 years—driven largely by the rapid expansion of data centers across the state.

We encouraged legislators to support SB26 (Carroll Foy) and HB1234 (Sewell) to offer a practical, commonsense way to expand clean energy without sacrificing more of Virginia’s landscapes. These bills allow localities to adopt ordinances that encourage solar canopies over large, nonresidential parking lots with 100+ spaces and allow flexibility when strict application would hinder development. We are pleased that both of these bills have been approved by the General Assembly and Governor Spanberger.

Investing in Students’ Environmental Literacy

Virginia’s future depends on a generation of students who understand how environmental challenges—like sea level rise, flooding, and water quality degradation—affect their communities and livelihoods. Environmental literacy equips students with critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration skills need to address these complex, real-world issues while preparing them for success in a rapidly changing economy.

Through Meaningful Watershed Education Experiences (MWEEs), students gain hands-on, inquiry-based learning that connects classroom lessons to the environment around them. These experiences strengthen academic performance and build skills valued in every sector–from renewable energy and natural resource management to construction, healthcare, and technology. Yet access to high-quality environmental education remains uneven across Virginia, and recent cuts to federal funding have deepened the gap.

We urged legislators to allocate $1.5 million annually for the Virginia Watershed Education Program Fund and are disappointed that funding has remained level at $250,000 per year. Virginia’s current investment of just 30¢ per student in environmental education lags significantly behind neighboring states, falling 89 percent below Maryland ($2.78 per student) and 48 percent less than Pennsylvania (58¢ per student). Without increased investment, Virginia’s students are at risk of being left behind.

We also encouraged legislators to establish the Virginia Student Environmental Grand Fund to help school districts develop and implement strong environmental literacy programs tailored to local needs and resources. Unfortunately, HB1038, championed by Delegate Carr, failed to advance from committee. We will continue working with legislators in future sessions to advance this important effort.

Implementing an Oyster Stock Assessment

Oysters are not only a cultural and economic cornerstone of the Chesapeake Bay region but are also critical to water quality and shoreline resilience. These natural filters help remove sediments and excess nutrients from the Bay, and their reefs create essential habitats for a variety of marine species.

CBF urged legislators to support HB599 (Simonds) to direct the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in partnership with the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to conduct a long-overdue comprehensive oyster stock assessment, which is crucial for the recovery of Virginia’s oyster population and the growth of this vital industry. We are disappointed that this bill failed to advance from committee due to concerns about its recurring budget impacts.

We will continue to advocate for the funding and completion of an oyster stock assessment, which would allow Virginia to gather data to optimize restoration and conservation efforts and support smart harvests for local watermen who rely on healthy oyster stocks. Legislators have the opportunity to strengthen water quality, marine biodiversity, local livelihoods, and Virginia’s economy by supporting this essential initiative in future sessions.

Ensuring Sustainable Menhaden Management in Virginia

Atlantic menhaden, a critical forage fish found in the Chesapeake Bay, play an important role in sustaining both the ecosystem and the economy. By eating microscopic plankton through filter feeding, menhaden improve water quality and transfer nutrients up the food web, serving as a critical food source for striped bass, redfish, humpback whales, and birds like osprey and bald eagles. Their abundance directly affects commercial and recreational fisheries, tourism, and coastal communities.

However, menhaden face mounting pressures from concentrated industrial fishing, poor water quality, and a warming climate. New coastwide science points to a nearly 40 percent smaller menhaden population compared to 2022 stock assessments. These trends threaten ecological balance and all the industries that depend on a healthy Bay. The warning signs are mounting as osprey chicks are starving, jeopardizing the long-term health of this iconic bird.

During this year’s legislative session, we urged legislators to support several menhaden reform measures that unfortunately failed to advance.

• HB1048 (Carr), a bill that would have paused industrial menhaden reduction fishing in the Chesapeake Bay while research is conducted, was tabled in subcommittee, removing it from consideration this session.
• HB 1049 (Carr) would require fisheries observers and set different menhaden harvest levels at different points of the year to better protect menhaden and the species that depend on them for food. Unfortunately, the bill failed to advance from the house.
• SB474 (Marsden), a bill to establish a dedicated menhaden science fund, failed to advance from the Senate Finance Committee.

A budget amendment introduced by Delegate Carr (Item 145 #2h) is still under consideration and would invest state funding in Chesapeake Bay-specific menhaden research, helping fill critical data gaps while the timeline for federally supported research through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration remains uncertain.

Preserving and Expanding Virginia’s Tree Canopy

Virginia continues to lose tree canopy and with it, the natural benefits that improve water quality, reduce flooding, cool neighborhoods, and protect public health. To reverse these losses, we encouraged legislators to allocate $4 million through Budget Items 362 #18h (Krizek) and 362 #15s (Surovell) to the Department of Forestry’s (DOF) Trees for Clean Water grant program, which supports community-based tree planting and restoration projects. This funding is still under consideration.

Sustaining this work also requires staff capacity at the state level. Federal funding cuts have threatened Virginia’s Urban and Community Forestry program, which administers grants, provides technical expertise, and supports local community efforts to plant and protect trees. Legislators are considering funding that would support the Urban and Community Forestry Program Manager and the Urban Community Forestry Partnership Coordinator positions at DOF through Item 96 #3h (Dougherty) to ensure local communities get the support they need.

We also advocated for legislators to support HB549 (Hope) to give localities the flexibility they need to establish stronger tree canopy replacement requirements, ensuring that when trees are removed during development, they are replaced in a way that protects residents, waterways, and communities. The bill also provides incentives for developers to preserve healthy, mature trees. We are pleased that the General Assembly and the governor have approved this bill.

Be an Advocate for Clean Water Policies

Now more than ever, we need advocates like you to help advance policies that protect clean water and restore the Chesapeake Bay. Sign up for our Action Network (if you haven’t already!) to be the first to hear about key legislation and simple ways you can take action and make a difference all year long.

You can also participate in an upcoming Volunteers as Chesapeake Stewards (VoiCeS) class to gain a deeper understanding of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the challenges facing it, and how to engage your community and elected officials.