---
type: "Bill"
title: "Real estate tax; exemption for property in redevelopment or conservation areas."
description: "Real estate tax exemption for property in redevelopment or conservation areas or rehabilitation districts. Increases the maximum duration of a local real estate tax exemption for structures in redevelopment or conservation areas or rehabilitation districts from 15 to 30 years. This bill is identical to SB 727."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2020"
identifier: "HB 537"
citation: "Virginia HB 537 (2020)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Betsy B. Carr"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 23
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2020-01-05"
last_action: "2020-03-10"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/5501561a-8375-42c2-a95a-8b981c4e173d"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+HB537"
source_hash: "797d8eca9891bbe8426e1ea6132cb1c82abb205bb4057a9b1cf63082ad84eef2"
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 537 (2020) — Real estate tax; exemption for property in redevelopment or conservation areas.

Real estate tax exemption for property in redevelopment or conservation areas or rehabilitation districts. Increases the maximum duration of a local real estate tax exemption for structures in redevelopment or conservation areas or rehabilitation districts from 15 to 30 years. This bill is identical to SB 727.

## Version chain

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

1. **Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0246)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+CHAP0246)
2. **Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB537ER)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB537ER)
3. **Impact statement from TAX (HB537)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB537)

## Votes

- Subcommittee recommends reporting (5-Y 4-N) — **5–4** (pass) · lower
- Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N) — **39–0** (pass) · upper
- Passed Senate (39-Y 1-N) — **39–1** (pass) · upper
- Reported from Finance (12-Y 9-N) — **12–9** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Finance and Appropriations (11-Y 0-N) — **11–0** (pass) · upper
- VOTE: Passage (55-Y 42-N) — **54–42** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Betsy B. Carr — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2020-01-05** Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/20 20102238D `introduction`
- **2020-01-05** Referred to Committee on Finance `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-15** Impact statement from TAX (HB537)
- **2020-01-16** Assigned Finance sub: Subcommittee #2 `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-20** Subcommittee recommends reporting (5-Y 4-N)
- **2020-01-22** Reported from Finance (12-Y 9-N) `committee-passage`
- **2020-01-24** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2020-01-27** Read second time and engrossed `reading-2`
- **2020-01-28** Read third time and passed House (55-Y 42-N) `passage, reading-3`
- **2020-01-28** VOTE: Passage (55-Y 42-N)
- **2020-01-29** Constitutional reading dispensed
- **2020-01-29** Referred to Committee on Finance and Appropriations `referral-committee`
- **2020-02-18** Reported from Finance and Appropriations (11-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2020-02-19** Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N)
- **2020-02-20** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2020-02-20** Passed Senate (39-Y 1-N) `passage`
- **2020-02-25** Enrolled
- **2020-02-25** Signed by Speaker
- **2020-02-26** Impact statement from TAX (HB537ER)
- **2020-02-26** Signed by President
- **2020-03-03** Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 3, 2020
- **2020-03-03** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., March 10, 2020
- **2020-03-10** Approved by Governor-Chapter 246 (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/5501561a-8375-42c2-a95a-8b981c4e173d`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).