republic-os/legislation/us/states/va/2020/hb-1623.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Open-space preservation; increases fee for every writing document and instrument admitted to record."
description: "Fee for open-space preservation. Increases from $1 to $3 the fee for open-space preservation charged for every deed, deed of trust, contract, or other instrument admitted to record in those jurisdictions in which open-space easements are held by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation. The bill also clarifies that the fee applies to any \"deed, deed of trust, contract, or other instrument\" admitted to record, replacing the term \"deed.\""
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2020"
identifier: "HB 1623"
citation: "Virginia HB 1623 (2020)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Kenneth R. Plum"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 33
vote_count: 8
first_action: "2020-01-16"
last_action: "2020-04-02"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/94962b52-2e3c-4f52-ab9e-7577a1d4a181"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+HB1623"
source_hash: "fed49ab1df1357113ac25ee5b1c6d2f4b4f1a08e5405ef58ffa8e5593bfdfc21"
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 1623 (2020) — Open-space preservation; increases fee for every writing document and instrument admitted to record.

Fee for open-space preservation. Increases from $1 to $3 the fee for open-space preservation charged for every deed, deed of trust, contract, or other instrument admitted to record in those jurisdictions in which open-space easements are held by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation. The bill also clarifies that the fee applies to any "deed, deed of trust, contract, or other instrument" admitted to record, replacing the term "deed."

## Version chain

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

1. **Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0623)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+CHAP0623)
2. **Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1623ER)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB1623ER)
3. **Engrossed by House - committee substitute HB1623H1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB1623)
4. **Engrossed by House - committee substitute HB1623H1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB1623H1)

## Votes

- Passed Senate (22-Y 17-N) — **22–17** (pass) · upper
- Passed Senate (22-Y 17-N) — **22–17** (pass) · upper
- Reconsideration of Senate passage agreed to by Senate (40-Y 0-N) — **40–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported from Finance and Appropriations (11-Y 4-N) — **11–4** (pass) · upper
- VOTE: Passage (58-Y 40-N) — **57–40** (pass) · lower
- Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (6-Y 4-N) — **6–4** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Finance with substitute (14-Y 7-N) — **14–7** (pass) · lower
- Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N) — **39–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Kenneth R. Plum — primary (person)
- Alfonso H. Lopez — cosponsor (person)
- Martha M. Mugler — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2020-01-16** Presented and ordered printed 20104611D `introduction`
- **2020-01-16** Referred to Committee on Finance `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-23** Assigned Finance sub: Subcommittee #2 `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-27** House subcommittee amendments and substitutes offered
- **2020-01-27** Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (6-Y 4-N)
- **2020-01-29** Reported from Finance with substitute (14-Y 7-N) `committee-passage`
- **2020-01-29** Committee substitute printed 20106023D-H1 `substitution`
- **2020-01-31** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2020-02-03** House subcommittee amendments and substitutes offered
- **2020-02-03** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2020-02-03** Committee substitute agreed to 20106023D-H1
- **2020-02-03** Engrossed by House - committee substitute HB1623H1
- **2020-02-04** Read third time and passed House (58-Y 40-N) `passage, reading-3`
- **2020-02-04** VOTE: Passage (58-Y 40-N)
- **2020-02-05** Impact statement from DPB (HB1623H1)
- **2020-02-05** Constitutional reading dispensed
- **2020-02-05** Referred to Committee on Finance and Appropriations `referral-committee`
- **2020-02-18** Reported from Finance and Appropriations (11-Y 4-N) `committee-passage`
- **2020-02-19** Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N)
- **2020-02-20** Passed by for the day
- **2020-02-21** Passed by for the day
- **2020-02-24** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2020-02-24** Amendments by Senator Norment withdrawn `amendment-withdrawal`
- **2020-02-24** Passed Senate (22-Y 17-N) `passage`
- **2020-02-24** Reconsideration of Senate passage agreed to by Senate (40-Y 0-N)
- **2020-02-24** Passed Senate (22-Y 17-N) `passage`
- **2020-02-28** Enrolled
- **2020-02-28** Impact statement from DPB (HB1623ER)
- **2020-02-28** Signed by Speaker
- **2020-03-02** Signed by President
- **2020-03-11** Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 11, 2020
- **2020-03-11** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 11, 2020
- **2020-04-02** Approved by Governor-Chapter 623 (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/94962b52-2e3c-4f52-ab9e-7577a1d4a181`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).