---
type: "Bill"
title: "Eminent domain; written offer to purchase property."
description: "Eminent domain; written offer to purchase property. Requires a condemnor's written offer to purchase property prior toinstituting a condemnation proceeding, and its written statementof the amount established as just compensation, to be on such condemnor's letterhead and signed by an authorized employee of such condemnor."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2020"
identifier: "SB 951"
citation: "Virginia SB 951 (2020)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Mark D. Obenshain"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 25
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2020-01-13"
last_action: "2020-04-07"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/db2eea32-6cf3-42cf-8d05-4b6ab8aafc10"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+SB951"
source_hash: "77eba866a0363d24c6ca5c99192a829bc2c13f57a72e7a121cc15d17309e4eaf"
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 SB 951 (2020) — Eminent domain; written offer to purchase property.

Eminent domain; written offer to purchase property. Requires a condemnor's written offer to purchase property prior toinstituting a condemnation proceeding, and its written statementof the amount established as just compensation, to be on such condemnor's letterhead and signed by an authorized employee of such condemnor.

## Version chain

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

1. **Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0793)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+CHAP0793)
2. **Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB951ER)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+SB951ER)
3. **Impact statement from DPB (SB951)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+SB951)

## Votes

- Reported from Courts of Justice (20-Y 0-N) — **20–0** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Judiciary (14-Y 0-N) — **14–0** (pass) · upper
- Subcommittee recommends reporting (7-Y 0-N) — **7–0** (pass) · lower
- Read third time and passed Senate (40-Y 0-N) — **40–0** (pass) · upper
- Constitutional reading dispensed (37-Y 0-N) — **37–0** (pass) · upper
- VOTE: Block Vote Passage (100-Y 0-N) — **99–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Mark D. Obenshain — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2020-01-13** Presented and ordered printed 20104868D `introduction`
- **2020-01-13** Referred to Committee on the Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-16** Assigned Judiciary sub: Civil Law `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-20** Impact statement from DPB (SB951)
- **2020-01-29** Reported from Judiciary (14-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2020-01-31** Constitutional reading dispensed (37-Y 0-N)
- **2020-02-03** Read second time and engrossed `reading-2`
- **2020-02-04** Read third time and passed Senate (40-Y 0-N) `passage, reading-3`
- **2020-02-12** Placed on Calendar
- **2020-02-12** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2020-02-12** Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice `referral-committee`
- **2020-02-14** Assigned Courts sub: Civil `referral-committee`
- **2020-02-17** Subcommittee recommends reporting (7-Y 0-N)
- **2020-02-19** Reported from Courts of Justice (20-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2020-02-21** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2020-02-24** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2020-02-24** Passed House BLOCK VOTE (100-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2020-02-24** VOTE: Block Vote Passage (100-Y 0-N)
- **2020-02-27** Enrolled
- **2020-02-27** Impact statement from DPB (SB951ER)
- **2020-02-27** Signed by President
- **2020-02-27** Signed by Speaker
- **2020-03-10** Enrolled Bill Communicated to Governor on March 10, 2020
- **2020-03-10** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 11, 2020
- **2020-04-07** Approved by Governor-Chapter 793 (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/db2eea32-6cf3-42cf-8d05-4b6ab8aafc10`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).