---
type: "Bill"
title: "Nonpublic service companies, certain; conveyance of right-of-way usage."
description: "Conveyance of right-of-way usage to certain nonpublic service companies. Allows a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization to obtain a land use permit from the Department of Transportation to use rights-of-way to operate a wholesale open-access fiber network. This bill is identical to SB 792."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2020"
identifier: "HB 1271"
citation: "Virginia HB 1271 (2020)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["M. Keith Hodges"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 27
vote_count: 8
first_action: "2020-01-08"
last_action: "2020-04-10"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/a813819c-fc98-4228-9a50-27f6b8dbfac3"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+HB1271"
source_hash: "b02094740e3c3b2bf1ffeb8abdfab0ec14843ee0c25b6e9c4cc738d697f61c37"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-va"]
---

# Virginia HB 1271 (2020) — Nonpublic service companies, certain; conveyance of right-of-way usage.

Conveyance of right-of-way usage to certain nonpublic service companies. Allows a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization to obtain a land use permit from the Department of Transportation to use rights-of-way to operate a wholesale open-access fiber network. This bill is identical to SB 792.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP1026)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+CHAP1026)
2. **Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1271ER)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB1271ER)
3. **Impact statement from DPB (HB1271)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB1271)

## Votes

- Reported from Judiciary (13-Y 0-N 2-A) — **13–0** (pass) · upper
- Referred from General Laws — **0–0** (fail) · lower
- Reported from Communications, Technology and Innovation (20-Y 0-N) — **20–0** (pass) · lower
- Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N) — **39–0** (pass) · upper
- VOTE: Block Vote Passage (100-Y 0-N) — **99–0** (pass) · lower
- Passed Senate (39-Y 0-N 1-A) — **39–0** (pass) · upper
- Subcommittee recommends reporting (9-Y 0-N) — **9–0** (pass) · lower
- Rereferred from General Laws and Technology (12-Y 0-N) — **12–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- M. Keith Hodges — primary (person)
- Dave A. LaRock — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2020-01-08** Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/20 20103185D `introduction`
- **2020-01-08** Referred to Committee on General Laws `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-16** Referred from General Laws
- **2020-01-16** Referred to Committee on Communications, Technology and Innovation `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-16** Assigned CT & I sub: Communications `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-17** Impact statement from DPB (HB1271)
- **2020-01-27** Subcommittee recommends reporting (9-Y 0-N)
- **2020-02-03** Reported from Communications, Technology and Innovation (20-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2020-02-05** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2020-02-06** Read second time and engrossed `reading-2`
- **2020-02-07** Read third time and passed House BLOCK VOTE (100-Y 0-N) `passage, reading-3`
- **2020-02-07** VOTE: Block Vote Passage (100-Y 0-N)
- **2020-02-10** Constitutional reading dispensed
- **2020-02-10** Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology `referral-committee`
- **2020-02-19** Rereferred from General Laws and Technology (12-Y 0-N)
- **2020-02-19** Rereferred to Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2020-02-24** Reported from Judiciary (13-Y 0-N 2-A) `committee-passage`
- **2020-02-25** Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N)
- **2020-02-26** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2020-02-26** Passed Senate (39-Y 0-N 1-A) `passage`
- **2020-03-03** Enrolled
- **2020-03-03** Impact statement from DPB (HB1271ER)
- **2020-03-03** Signed by Speaker
- **2020-03-04** Signed by President
- **2020-03-12** Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 12, 2020
- **2020-03-12** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 11, 2020
- **2020-04-10** Approved by Governor-Chapter 1026 (effective 7/1/20) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/a813819c-fc98-4228-9a50-27f6b8dbfac3`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).