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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 Va. Freedom of Information Act; meetings conducted through electronic meetings, states of emergency. Virginia Freedom of Information Act; meetings conducted through electronic communication means. Amends existing provisions concerning electronic meetings by keeping the provisions for electronic meetings held in response to declared states of emergency, repealing the provisions that are specific to regional and state public bodies, and allowing certain public bodies to conduct all-virtual public meetings where all of the members who participate do so remotely and that the public may access through electronic communications means. The bill excepts local governing bodies, local school boards, planning commissions, architectural review boards, zoning appeals boards, and any board with the authority to deny, revoke, or suspend a professional or occupational license from the provisions that allow public bodies to conduct all-virtual public meetings. Definitions, procedural requirements, and limitations for all-virtual public meetings are set forth in the bill, along with technical amendments. The bill has a delayed effective date of September 1, 2022. us/states/va Virginia General Assembly 2022 HB 444 Virginia HB 444 (2022)
bill
enacted
Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker
4 42 7 2022-01-11 2022-04-11 openstates ocd-bill/1fd51b4f-c640-4fd1-b130-f1360e535abe https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+sum+HB444 893a38729cdf3df1a49e173f512be361a99e9570082175016b923051a11352b2 2026-07-01 https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump 2026-07-06 reported
legislation
bill
us-va

Virginia HB 444 (2022) — Va. Freedom of Information Act; meetings conducted through electronic meetings, states of emergency.

Virginia Freedom of Information Act; meetings conducted through electronic communication means. Amends existing provisions concerning electronic meetings by keeping the provisions for electronic meetings held in response to declared states of emergency, repealing the provisions that are specific to regional and state public bodies, and allowing certain public bodies to conduct all-virtual public meetings where all of the members who participate do so remotely and that the public may access through electronic communications means. The bill excepts local governing bodies, local school boards, planning commissions, architectural review boards, zoning appeals boards, and any board with the authority to deny, revoke, or suspend a professional or occupational license from the provisions that allow public bodies to conduct all-virtual public meetings. Definitions, procedural requirements, and limitations for all-virtual public meetings are set forth in the bill, along with technical amendments. The bill has a delayed effective date of September 1, 2022.

Version chain

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

  1. CHAP0597 (committee substitute) — source
  2. Committee substitute printed 22107153D-S1 (committee substitute) — source
  3. HB444ER (committee substitute) — source
  4. Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/12/22 22104056D (committee substitute) — source

Votes

  • Passed Senate with substitute with amendments (25-Y 15-N) — 2515 (pass) · upper
  • Constitutional reading dispensed (38-Y 0-N) — 380 (pass) · upper
  • VOTE: Block Vote Passage (98-Y 0-N) — 970 (pass) · lower
  • Subcommittee recommends reporting (8-Y 0-N) — 80 (pass) · lower
  • Reported from General Laws and Technology with substitute (12-Y 3-N) — 123 (pass) · upper
  • Reported from General Laws (22-Y 0-N) — 220 (pass) · lower
  • VOTE: Adoption (97-Y 0-N) — 960 (pass) · lower

Sponsors

  • Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker — primary (person)
  • William C. Wampler III — cosponsor (person)

Timeline

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

  • 2022-01-11 Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/12/22 22104056D introduction
  • 2022-01-11 Referred to Committee on General Laws referral-committee
  • 2022-01-19 Impact statement from DPB (HB444)
  • 2022-01-21 Assigned GL sub: Subcommittee #4 referral-committee
  • 2022-01-25 Subcommittee recommends reporting (8-Y 0-N)
  • 2022-01-27 Reported from General Laws (22-Y 0-N) committee-passage
  • 2022-01-31 Read first time reading-1
  • 2022-02-01 Read second time and engrossed reading-2
  • 2022-02-02 Read third time and passed House BLOCK VOTE (98-Y 0-N) passage, reading-3
  • 2022-02-02 VOTE: Block Vote Passage (98-Y 0-N)
  • 2022-02-03 Constitutional reading dispensed
  • 2022-02-03 Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology referral-committee
  • 2022-03-02 Senate committee, floor amendments and substitutes offered
  • 2022-03-02 Reported from General Laws and Technology with substitute (12-Y 3-N) committee-passage
  • 2022-03-02 Committee substitute printed 22107153D-S1 substitution
  • 2022-03-04 Passed by for the day
  • 2022-03-04 Impact statement from DPB (HB444S1)
  • 2022-03-07 Constitutional reading dispensed (38-Y 0-N)
  • 2022-03-08 Read third time reading-3
  • 2022-03-08 Reading of substitute waived
  • 2022-03-08 Committee substitute agreed to 22107153D-S1
  • 2022-03-08 Passed by for the day
  • 2022-03-09 Read third time reading-3
  • 2022-03-09 Passed by temporarily
  • 2022-03-09 Passed by for the day
  • 2022-03-10 Read third time reading-3
  • 2022-03-10 Passed by temporarily
  • 2022-03-10 Reading of amendments #1, #2 waived
  • 2022-03-10 Amendments #1, #2 by Senator Petersen agreed to amendment-passage
  • 2022-03-10 Reading of amendment #3 waived
  • 2022-03-10 Amendment #3 by Senator Petersen agreed to amendment-passage
  • 2022-03-10 Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute with amendments HB444S1
  • 2022-03-10 Passed Senate with substitute with amendments (25-Y 15-N) passage
  • 2022-03-10 Senate substitute with amendments agreed to by House 22107153D-S1 (97-Y 0-N)
  • 2022-03-10 VOTE: Adoption (97-Y 0-N)
  • 2022-03-21 Enrolled
  • 2022-03-21 Impact statement from DPB (HB444ER)
  • 2022-03-21 Signed by President
  • 2022-03-22 Signed by Speaker
  • 2022-03-22 Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 22, 2022
  • 2022-03-22 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 11, 2022
  • 2022-04-11 Approved by Governor-Chapter 597 (effective 9/1/22) executive-signature

Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot 2026-07-01; origin ocd-bill/1fd51b4f-c640-4fd1-b130-f1360e535abe. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).