---
type: "Bill"
title: "Eminent domain; certificate of take, description of property."
description: "Eminent domain; certificate of take; description of property. Clarifies that a certificate of take in any eminent domain matter may include a combination of one or more plats, drawings, or plans to provide the description of the property being taken as required by law."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2026"
identifier: "HB 1401"
citation: "Virginia HB 1401 (2026)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Margaret A. Franklin"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 32
vote_count: 9
first_action: "2026-01-22"
last_action: "2026-04-13"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/502f3a58-5c88-44b3-8c69-5b8f120c702c"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB1401"
source_hash: "fb3cc397fc184b2ff6cf795a9f158a9583c4ae7cef707d2fdc44461d88168776"
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 1401 (2026) — Eminent domain; certificate of take, description of property.

Eminent domain; certificate of take; description of property. Clarifies that a certificate of take in any eminent domain matter may include a combination of one or more plats, drawings, or plans to provide the description of the property being taken as required by law.

## Version chain

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

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1093715.PDF)
2. **Courts of Justice Substitute** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1200550.PDF)
3. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1213544.PDF)

## Votes

- Reconsider R — **40–0** (pass) · upper
- H VOTE: — **92–2** (pass) · lower
- Subcommittee recommends reporting — **9–1** (pass) · lower
- Passage R — **39–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported from Courts of Justice — **21–1** (pass) · lower
- Passage R — **40–0** (pass) · upper
- Constitutional reading dispensed (on 2nd reading) — **40–0** (pass) · upper
- H VOTE: — **92–4** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute — **15–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Margaret A. Franklin — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2026-01-22** Presented and ordered printed 26103990D `introduction`
- **2026-01-22** Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice `referral-committee`
- **2026-02-02** Assigned HCJ sub: Civil `referral-committee`
- **2026-02-04** Subcommittee recommends reporting (9-Y 1-N)
- **2026-02-04** Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1401)
- **2026-02-11** Reported from Courts of Justice (21-Y 1-N) `committee-passage`
- **2026-02-13** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2026-02-16** Read second time and engrossed `reading-2`
- **2026-02-17** Read third time and passed House (93-Y 4-N 0-A) `passage, reading-3`
- **2026-02-18** Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)
- **2026-02-18** Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-09** Senate committee offered
- **2026-03-09** Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (15-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2026-03-09** Committee substitute printed 26108619D-S1 `substitution`
- **2026-03-10** Rules suspended
- **2026-03-10** Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
- **2026-03-10** Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
- **2026-03-11** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2026-03-11** Courts of Justice Substitute agreed to
- **2026-03-11** Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute `substitution`
- **2026-03-11** Passed Senate with substitute Block Vote (39-Y 0-N 0-A) `passage`
- **2026-03-11** Reconsideration of Senate passage agreed to by Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
- **2026-03-11** Passed Senate with substitute Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) `passage`
- **2026-03-12** Senate substitute agreed to by House (92-Y 2-N 0-A) `substitution`
- **2026-03-30** Enrolled `enrolled`
- **2026-03-30** Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1401ER) `passage`
- **2026-03-30** Signed by President `passage`
- **2026-03-31** Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2026-03-31** Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026 `enrolled, executive-receipt`
- **2026-03-31** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 `executive-receipt`
- **2026-04-01** Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1401)
- **2026-04-13** Approved by Governor-Chapter 841 (effective 7/1/2026) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/502f3a58-5c88-44b3-8c69-5b8f120c702c`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).