republic-os/legislation/us/states/va/2026/hb-597.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Wildlife Corridor Grant Fund; created, voluntary contributions, report."
description: "Wildlife Corridor Grant Fund established; voluntary contributions; report. Establishes the Wildlife Corridor Grant Fund to provide grants for projects that conserve or enhance wildlife corridors prioritized by the Wildlife Corridor Action Plan and associated wildlife crossing infrastructure projects. The Director of the Department of Wildlife Resources shall administer the Fund in collaboration with the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Department of Forestry, and the Department of Transportation. The Director of the Department of Wildlife Resources shall submit a report to the General Assembly by November 1 of each odd-numbered year concerning the amount of public and private funding received by the Fund, the awarding of grants from the Fund, and the progress of funded projects, including data on the use of project infrastructure by wildlife. The bill also provides mechanisms for individuals to make voluntary contributions to the Fund through a Department of Motor Vehicles electronic transaction and an individual income tax return."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2026"
identifier: "HB 597"
citation: "Virginia HB 597 (2026)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Shelly A. Simonds"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 26
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2026-01-13"
last_action: "2026-04-13"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/3a1febbe-e780-4f1e-bd3b-263a6b9a8e20"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB597"
source_hash: "a717c078cb8aaa1ad6d43d2edd5dea1f32eb19f35bb5b9796c7a3ba30615ab38"
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 597 (2026) — Wildlife Corridor Grant Fund; created, voluntary contributions, report.

Wildlife Corridor Grant Fund established; voluntary contributions; report. Establishes the Wildlife Corridor Grant Fund to provide grants for projects that conserve or enhance wildlife corridors prioritized by the Wildlife Corridor Action Plan and associated wildlife crossing infrastructure projects. The Director of the Department of Wildlife Resources shall administer the Fund in collaboration with the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Department of Forestry, and the Department of Transportation. The Director of the Department of Wildlife Resources shall submit a report to the General Assembly by November 1 of each odd-numbered year concerning the amount of public and private funding received by the Fund, the awarding of grants from the Fund, and the progress of funded projects, including data on the use of project infrastructure by wildlife. The bill also provides mechanisms for individuals to make voluntary contributions to the Fund through a Department of Motor Vehicles electronic transaction and an individual income tax return.

## 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/1085122.PDF)
2. **Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1221667.PDF)
3. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210777.PDF)

## Votes

- Passage R — **25–15** (pass) · upper
- Constitutional reading dispensed (on 2nd reading) — **40–0** (pass) · upper
- Subcommittee recommends reporting — **5–2** (pass) · lower
- H VOTE: — **64–32** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Finance and Appropriations — **10–5** (pass) · upper
- Reported from Appropriations — **15–7** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Shelly A. Simonds — primary (person)
- Amy J. Laufer — cosponsor (person)
- Betsy B. Carr — cosponsor (person)
- Debra D. Gardner — cosponsor (person)
- Hyland F. "Buddy" Fowler, Jr. — cosponsor (person)
- Jessica L. Anderson — cosponsor (person)
- Kathy K.L. Tran — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2026-01-13** Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26105131D `filing, introduction`
- **2026-01-13** Referred to Committee on Appropriations `referral-committee`
- **2026-01-20** Assigned HAPP sub: Commerce Agriculture & Natural Resources `referral-committee`
- **2026-02-11** Subcommittee recommends reporting (5-Y 2-N)
- **2026-02-11** Reported from Appropriations (15-Y 7-N) `committee-passage`
- **2026-02-12** Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB597)
- **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 (65-Y 32-N 0-A) `passage, reading-3`
- **2026-02-18** Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)
- **2026-02-18** Referred to Committee on Finance and Appropriations `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-06** Reported from Finance and Appropriations (10-Y 5-N) `committee-passage`
- **2026-03-09** Rules suspended
- **2026-03-09** Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
- **2026-03-09** Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
- **2026-03-10** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2026-03-10** Passed Senate (25-Y 15-N 0-A) `passage`
- **2026-03-30** Enrolled `enrolled`
- **2026-03-30** Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB597ER) `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 (HB597)
- **2026-04-13** Approved by Governor-Chapter 636 (effective 7/1/2026) `executive-signature`
- **2026-04-13** Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0636)

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/3a1febbe-e780-4f1e-bd3b-263a6b9a8e20`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).