republic-os/legislation/us/states/va/2020/hb-831.md

type, title, description, jurisdiction, legislature, session, identifier, citation, classification, subjects, status, primary_sponsors, version_count, action_count, vote_count, first_action, last_action, source, source_identifier, source_url, source_hash, vintage, source_snapshot, retrieved_at, confidence, tags

type	title	description	jurisdiction	legislature	session	identifier	citation	classification	subjects	status	primary_sponsors	version_count	action_count	vote_count	first_action	last_action	source	source_identifier	source_url	source_hash	vintage	source_snapshot	retrieved_at	confidence	tags
Bill	Utility easements; location of broadband and other communications facilities.	Utility easements; location of broadband and other communications facilities. Declares that it is the policy of the Commonwealth that (i) easements for the location and use of electric and communications facilities may be used to provide or expand broadband or other communications services; (ii) the use of easements to provide or expand broadband or other communications services is in the public interest; (iii) the installation, replacement, or use of public utility conduit, including the costs of installation, replacement, or use of conduit of a sufficient size to accommodate the installation of infrastructure to provide or expand broadband or other communications services, is in the public interest; (iv) the use of easements to provide or expand broadband or other communications services (a) does not constitute a change in the physical use of the easement, (b) does not interfere with, impair, or take any vested or other rights of the owner or occupant of the servient estate, (c) does not place any additional burden on the servient estate other than a de minimis burden, if any; (iv) has value to the owner or occupant of the servient estate greater than any de minimis impact; and (v) the installation and operation of broadband or other communications services within easements, appurtenant or gross, are merely changes in the manner, purpose, or degree of the granted use as appropriate to accommodate a new technology. The measure further provides that (1) absent any express prohibition on the installation and operation of broadband or other communications services in an easement that is contained in a deed or other instrument by which the easement was granted, the installation and operation of broadband or other communications services within any easement shall be deemed, as a matter of law, to be a permitted use within the scope of every easement for the location and use of electric and communications facilities and (2) subject to compliance with any express prohibitions in a written easement, any incumbent utility or communications provider may use an easement to install, construct, provide, maintain, modify, lease, operate, repair, replace, or remove its communications equipment, system, or facilities, and provide communications services through the same, without such incumbent utility or communications provider paying additional compensation to the owner or occupant of the servient estate or to the incumbent utility, provided that no additional utility poles are installed. The measure provides that, in cases of a prescriptive easement, such easement is deemed to exist and that any incumbent utility or communications provider may use a prescriptive easement to install, construct, provide, maintain, modify, lease, operate, repair, replace, or remove its communications equipment, system, or facilities, and provide communications services through the same, without such incumbent utility or communications provider paying additional compensation to the owner or occupant of the servient estate or to the incumbent utility, provided that no additional utility poles are installed.	us/states/va	Virginia General Assembly	2020	HB 831	Virginia HB 831 (2020)	bill		enacted	Jennifer Carroll Foy	6	51	10	2020-01-07	2020-04-10	openstates	ocd-bill/fa5fa703-723c-4125-9d59-d776698b6b02	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+HB831	f20aae518220be49a18001d633a1f950fae7f603a6ea20debffa1e9f7a589193	2026-07-01	https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump	2026-07-06	reported	legislation bill us-va

Virginia HB 831 (2020) — Utility easements; location of broadband and other communications facilities.

Utility easements; location of broadband and other communications facilities. Declares that it is the policy of the Commonwealth that (i) easements for the location and use of electric and communications facilities may be used to provide or expand broadband or other communications services; (ii) the use of easements to provide or expand broadband or other communications services is in the public interest; (iii) the installation, replacement, or use of public utility conduit, including the costs of installation, replacement, or use of conduit of a sufficient size to accommodate the installation of infrastructure to provide or expand broadband or other communications services, is in the public interest; (iv) the use of easements to provide or expand broadband or other communications services (a) does not constitute a change in the physical use of the easement, (b) does not interfere with, impair, or take any vested or other rights of the owner or occupant of the servient estate, (c) does not place any additional burden on the servient estate other than a de minimis burden, if any; (iv) has value to the owner or occupant of the servient estate greater than any de minimis impact; and (v) the installation and operation of broadband or other communications services within easements, appurtenant or gross, are merely changes in the manner, purpose, or degree of the granted use as appropriate to accommodate a new technology. The measure further provides that (1) absent any express prohibition on the installation and operation of broadband or other communications services in an easement that is contained in a deed or other instrument by which the easement was granted, the installation and operation of broadband or other communications services within any easement shall be deemed, as a matter of law, to be a permitted use within the scope of every easement for the location and use of electric and communications facilities and (2) subject to compliance with any express prohibitions in a written easement, any incumbent utility or communications provider may use an easement to install, construct, provide, maintain, modify, lease, operate, repair, replace, or remove its communications equipment, system, or facilities, and provide communications services through the same, without such incumbent utility or communications provider paying additional compensation to the owner or occupant of the servient estate or to the incumbent utility, provided that no additional utility poles are installed. The measure provides that, in cases of a prescriptive easement, such easement is deemed to exist and that any incumbent utility or communications provider may use a prescriptive easement to install, construct, provide, maintain, modify, lease, operate, repair, replace, or remove its communications equipment, system, or facilities, and provide communications services through the same, without such incumbent utility or communications provider paying additional compensation to the owner or occupant of the servient estate or to the incumbent utility, provided that no additional utility poles are installed.

Version chain

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

1. Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP1132) (committee substitute) — source
2. Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB831ER) (committee substitute) — source
3. Engrossed by House - committee substitute HB831H2 (committee substitute) — source
4. Impact statement from SCC (HB831H1) (committee substitute) — source
5. Impact statement from SCC (HB831S1) (committee substitute) — source
6. Impact statement from SCC (HB831S2) (committee substitute) — source

Votes

• Committee substitute agreed to 20108365D-S1 (32-Y 7-N 1-A) — 32–7 (pass) · upper
• Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N) — 39–0 (pass) · upper
• Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (6-Y 1-N) — 6–1 (pass) · lower
• Passed Senate with substitute (37-Y 2-N 1-A) — 37–2 (pass) · upper
• VOTE: Adoption (91-Y 6-N) — 90–6 (pass) · lower
• VOTE: Passage (93-Y 2-N 1-A) — 92–2 (pass) · lower
• Reported from Communications, Technology and Innovation with substitute (18-Y 3-N) — 18–3 (pass) · lower
• Reported from Labor and Commerce with substitute (21-Y 1-N) — 21–1 (pass) · lower
• Reported from Commerce and Labor with substitute (11-Y 2-N 2-A) — 11–2 (pass) · upper
• Committee substitute reconsidered (39-Y 0-N) — 39–0 (pass) · upper

Sponsors

• Jennifer Carroll Foy — primary (person)
• Chris L. Hurst — cosponsor (person)
• Hala S. Ayala — cosponsor (person)
• James E. Edmunds, II — cosponsor (person)
• Kaye Kory — cosponsor (person)

Timeline

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

• 2020-01-07 Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/20 20104845D introduction
• 2020-01-07 Referred to Committee on Communications, Technology and Innovation referral-committee
• 2020-01-16 Assigned CT & I sub: Communications referral-committee
• 2020-01-20 House subcommittee amendments and substitutes offered
• 2020-01-20 Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (6-Y 1-N)
• 2020-01-20 Subcommittee recommends referring to Committee on Labor and Commerce
• 2020-01-27 Committee substitute printed 20106174D-H1 substitution
• 2020-01-27 Reported from Communications, Technology and Innovation with substitute (18-Y 3-N) committee-passage
• 2020-01-27 Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce referral-committee
• 2020-02-04 Impact statement from SCC (HB831H1)
• 2020-02-06 House committee, floor amendments and substitutes offered
• 2020-02-06 Committee substitute printed 20107797D-H2 substitution
• 2020-02-06 Reported from Labor and Commerce with substitute (21-Y 1-N) committee-passage
• 2020-02-09 Read first time reading-1
• 2020-02-10 Read second time reading-2
• 2020-02-10 Committee on Communications, Technology and Innovation substitute rejected 20106174D-H1
• 2020-02-10 Committee Labor and Commerce substitute agreed to 20107797D-H2
• 2020-02-10 Engrossed by House - committee substitute HB831H2
• 2020-02-11 Read third time and passed House (93-Y 2-N 1-A) passage, reading-3
• 2020-02-11 VOTE: Passage (93-Y 2-N 1-A)
• 2020-02-12 Impact statement from SCC (HB831H2)
• 2020-02-12 Constitutional reading dispensed
• 2020-02-12 Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor referral-committee
• 2020-02-17 Reported from Commerce and Labor with substitute (11-Y 2-N 2-A) committee-passage
• 2020-02-17 Committee substitute printed 20108365D-S1 substitution
• 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 Reading of substitute waived
• 2020-02-24 Committee substitute agreed to 20108365D-S1
• 2020-02-24 Passed by for the day
• 2020-02-24 Impact statement from SCC (HB831S1)
• 2020-02-25 Floor substitute printed 20108977D-S2 (Petersen)
• 2020-02-25 Passed by for the day
• 2020-02-26 Read third time reading-3
• 2020-02-26 Committee substitute reconsidered (39-Y 0-N)
• 2020-02-26 Committee substitute agreed to 20108365D-S1 (32-Y 7-N 1-A)
• 2020-02-26 Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute HB831S1
• 2020-02-26 Passed Senate with substitute (37-Y 2-N 1-A) passage
• 2020-02-28 Placed on Calendar
• 2020-02-28 Senate substitute agreed to by House 20108365D-S1 (91-Y 6-N)
• 2020-02-28 VOTE: Adoption (91-Y 6-N)
• 2020-03-02 Impact statement from SCC (HB831S2)
• 2020-03-05 Enrolled
• 2020-03-05 Impact statement from SCC (HB831ER)
• 2020-03-06 Signed by Speaker
• 2020-03-06 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 1132 (effective 7/1/20) executive-signature

Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot 2026-07-01; origin ocd-bill/fa5fa703-723c-4125-9d59-d776698b6b02. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).