republic-os/legislation/us/states/va/2024/hb-1125.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Virginia Business Ready Expedited Permitting Program; created."
description: "Virginia Business Ready Expedited Permitting Program established; report. Establishes the Virginia Business Ready Expedited Permitting Program and directs the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority to designate up to two sites and four projects for participation in the Program. Sites and projects eligible for the Program shall include only (i) sites eligible for a site development grant under the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program or (ii) projects with significant local, regional, or statewide economic impact that the governing body of the locality in which the project is located has either (a) approved following a public meeting or hearing or (b) submitted, by resolution, for consideration to be included in the Program. No more than two eligible sites or projects shall be designated as part of the Program within any locality annually. The Authority shall complete a review process within 45 days of designating a site to reduce permitting conflicts and provide relevant guidance to applicants. The bill also provides that no project shall be considered eligible to enter the Program after December 31, 2027, and requires annual reporting from the Authority. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025, and expires on June 30, 2028. This bill is identical to SB 217."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2024"
identifier: "HB 1125"
citation: "Virginia HB 1125 (2024)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Betsy B. Carr"]
version_count: 5
action_count: 55
vote_count: 13
first_action: "2024-01-10"
last_action: "2024-04-04"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/fb205c48-27e3-4760-b34b-20f5f9aa9712"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+sum+HB1125"
source_hash: "4f6b37547097e2f3c54a01d27721fc97ed485027970964f83bbe31b16976482d"
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 1125 (2024) — Virginia Business Ready Expedited Permitting Program; created.

Virginia Business Ready Expedited Permitting Program established; report. Establishes the Virginia Business Ready Expedited Permitting Program and directs the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority to designate up to two sites and four projects for participation in the Program. Sites and projects eligible for the Program shall include only (i) sites eligible for a site development grant under the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program or (ii) projects with significant local, regional, or statewide economic impact that the governing body of the locality in which the project is located has either (a) approved following a public meeting or hearing or (b) submitted, by resolution, for consideration to be included in the Program. No more than two eligible sites or projects shall be designated as part of the Program within any locality annually. The Authority shall complete a review process within 45 days of designating a site to reduce permitting conflicts and provide relevant guidance to applicants. The bill also provides that no project shall be considered eligible to enter the Program after December 31, 2027, and requires annual reporting from the Authority. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025, and expires on June 30, 2028. This bill is identical to SB 217.

## Version chain

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

1. **CHAP0471** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+ful+CHAP0471)
2. **Committee substitute printed 24105609D-H1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+ful+HB1125H1)
3. **Committee substitute printed 24108463D-S1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+ful+HB1125S1)
4. **HB1125ER** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+ful+HB1125ER)
5. **Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/10/24 24101938D** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+ful+HB1125)

## Votes

- VOTE: Adoption (94-Y 5-N) — **93–5** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (14-Y 0-N) — **14–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported from Appropriations (20-Y 0-N) — **20–0** (pass) · lower
- Senate insisted on substitute (40-Y 0-N) — **40–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported from General Laws and Technology (12-Y 0-N) — **12–0** (pass) · upper
- Conference report agreed to by Senate (40-Y 0-N) — **40–0** (pass) · upper
- Passed Senate with substitute (40-Y 0-N) — **40–0** (pass) · upper
- VOTE: REJECTED (1-Y 97-N) — **1–96** (fail) · lower
- Subcommittee recommends reporting (8-Y 0-N) — **8–0** (pass) · lower
- Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N) — **39–0** (pass) · upper
- Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (5-Y 0-N) — **5–0** (pass) · lower
- VOTE: Passage (94-Y 5-N) — **93–5** (pass) · lower
- Reported from General Laws with substitute (20-Y 0-N) — **20–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Betsy B. Carr — primary (person)
- Hyland F. "Buddy" Fowler, Jr. — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2024-01-10** Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/10/24 24101938D `filing, introduction`
- **2024-01-10** Referred to Committee on General Laws `referral-committee`
- **2024-01-26** Assigned GL sub: Professions/Occupations and Administrative Process `referral-committee`
- **2024-02-01** House subcommittee amendments and substitutes offered
- **2024-02-01** House subcommittee amendments and substitutes offered
- **2024-02-01** Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (5-Y 0-N) `substitution`
- **2024-02-01** Subcommittee recommends referring to Committee on Appropriations `referral-committee`
- **2024-02-06** Reported from General Laws with substitute (20-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2024-02-06** Committee substitute printed 24105609D-H1 `substitution`
- **2024-02-06** Referred to Committee on Appropriations `referral-committee`
- **2024-02-07** Assigned App. sub: Commerce Agriculture & Natural Resources `referral-committee`
- **2024-02-07** Impact statement from DPB (HB1125H1)
- **2024-02-09** Subcommittee recommends reporting (8-Y 0-N)
- **2024-02-09** Reported from Appropriations (20-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2024-02-11** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2024-02-12** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2024-02-12** Committee substitute agreed to 24105609D-H1 `substitution`
- **2024-02-12** Engrossed by House - committee substitute HB1125H1 `substitution`
- **2024-02-13** Read third time and passed House (94-Y 5-N) `passage, reading-3`
- **2024-02-13** VOTE: Passage (94-Y 5-N) `passage`
- **2024-02-14** Constitutional reading dispensed
- **2024-02-14** Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology `referral-committee`
- **2024-02-21** Reported from General Laws and Technology (12-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2024-02-21** Rereferred to Finance and Appropriations `referral-committee`
- **2024-02-28** Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (14-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2024-02-28** Committee substitute printed 24108463D-S1 `substitution`
- **2024-02-29** Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N)
- **2024-03-01** Impact statement from DPB (HB1125S1)
- **2024-03-01** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2024-03-01** Reading of substitute waived
- **2024-03-01** Committee substitute agreed to 24108463D-S1 `substitution`
- **2024-03-01** Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute HB1125S1 `substitution`
- **2024-03-01** Passed Senate with substitute (40-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2024-03-04** Senate substitute rejected by House 24108463D-S1 (1-Y 97-N)
- **2024-03-04** VOTE: REJECTED (1-Y 97-N)
- **2024-03-05** Senate insisted on substitute (40-Y 0-N) `substitution`
- **2024-03-05** Senate requested conference committee `referral-committee`
- **2024-03-06** House acceded to request
- **2024-03-06** Conferees appointed by House
- **2024-03-06** Delegates: Carr, Thomas, Phillips
- **2024-03-07** Conferees appointed by Senate
- **2024-03-07** Senators: Locke, Aird, Pillion
- **2024-03-08** Amended by conference committee
- **2024-03-08** Conference report agreed to by House (94-Y 5-N) `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2024-03-08** VOTE: Adoption (94-Y 5-N)
- **2024-03-08** Conference report agreed to by Senate (40-Y 0-N) `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2024-03-25** Enrolled `enrolled`
- **2024-03-25** Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1125ER) `passage`
- **2024-03-25** Signed by President `passage`
- **2024-03-26** Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2024-03-27** Impact statement from DPB (HB1125ER)
- **2024-03-27** Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 27, 2024 `enrolled, executive-receipt`
- **2024-03-27** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 8, 2024 `executive-receipt`
- **2024-04-04** Approved by Governor-Chapter 471 (effective 1/1/25) `executive-signature`
- **2024-04-04** Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0471)

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/fb205c48-27e3-4760-b34b-20f5f9aa9712`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).