Proposed Virginia Firearm Legislation HB891
Legislation Overview
Title: Siting of battery energy storage projects; commercial solar photovoltaic generation facilities, etc.
Description: Siting of battery energy storage projects; commercial solar photovoltaic generation facilities; permitted accessory use. Deems battery energy storage projects as a permitted accessory use in all zoning districts on any parcel of land that is subject to an approved special exception, as defined in the bill, for a commercial solar photovoltaic generation facility, if such battery energy storage project is located within the boundaries of the parcel covered by the existing special exception and complies with any applicable federal, state, and local safety or fire codes and environmental regulations. The bill prohibits a host locality from requiring a special exception or any other local land use approval on such battery energy storage project. The bill clarifies that nothing in the provisions of the bill shall be construed to (i) limit the authority of a host locality to enforce compliance with applicable codes or ensure the safe operation of the battery energy storage project or (ii) preclude the developer of a battery energy storage project from negotiating a siting agreement with the host locality. The bill also clarifies that any battery energy storage project for which an initial interconnection request has been filed with an electric utility or a regional transmission organization prior to July 1, 2030, and is constructed in accordance with the provisions of the bill shall be subject to the applicable local ordinance and regulation in effect on July 1, 2026. This bill is identical to SB 443.
Session: 2026 Regular Regular Session
Last Action: Governor's recommendation received by House
Last Action Date: April 12, 2026
Sponsors
Note: the first sponsor listed is normally the primary sponsor. If a sponsor's name is a hyperlink you can click on it to 'follow the money'.
4 sponsors: Irene Shin (D); Terry Kilgore (R); Michelle Maldonado (D); Shelly Simonds (D);
Percentage of House of Delegates sponsoring bill: 4% (4 of 100)
History
| Chamber | Date | Action |
| Apr 12, 2026 | Governor's recommendation received by House | |
| Apr 12, 2026 | Governor's recommendation received by House | |
| House | Mar 14, 2026 | Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 14, 2026 |
| Mar 14, 2026 | Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 | |
| House | Mar 12, 2026 | Signed by Speaker |
| Senate | Mar 11, 2026 | Signed by President |
| House | Mar 11, 2026 | Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB891ER) |
| House | Mar 11, 2026 | Enrolled |
| Senate | Mar 4, 2026 | Read third time |
| Senate | Mar 4, 2026 | Passed Senate (27-Y 11-N 1-A) |
| Senate | Mar 3, 2026 | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) |
| Senate | Mar 3, 2026 | Rules suspended |
| Senate | Mar 3, 2026 | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) |
| Senate | Mar 2, 2026 | Reported from Local Government (11-Y 4-N) |
| Senate | Feb 6, 2026 | Referred to Committee on Local Government |
| Senate | Feb 6, 2026 | Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) |
| House | Feb 5, 2026 | Read third time and passed House (70-Y 28-N 0-A) |
| House | Feb 4, 2026 | Read second time and engrossed |
| House | Feb 3, 2026 | Read first time |
| House | Jan 30, 2026 | Reported from Counties, Cities and Towns (17-Y 4-N) |
| House | Jan 28, 2026 | Assigned HCCT sub: Subcommittee #1 |
| House | Jan 13, 2026 | Referred to Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns |
| House | Jan 13, 2026 | Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103655D |
Texts
| Type | Date | State Link | Text |
| Comm Sub | Apr 14, 2026 | state link | bill text |
| Enrolled | Mar 11, 2026 | state link | bill text |
| Introduced | Jan 13, 2026 | state link | bill text |
Amendments
| Title | Description | Date | State Link | Text | Adopted |
| There are no amendments to this bill at this time | |||||
Votes - Click on description to view vote roll call
| Description | Vote Date | Yea Votes | Nay Votes | No Votes | Absent | Passed |
| Reported from Counties, Cities and Towns (17-Y 4-N) | 01/30/2026 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 1 | Yes |
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| resort votes by: party yeas nays name | ||||||
| Read third time and passed House (70-Y 28-N 0-A) | 02/5/2026 | 70 | 28 | 0 | 2 | Yes |
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| resort votes by: party yeas nays name | ||||||
| Reported from Local Government (11-Y 4-N) | 03/2/2026 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | Yes |
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| resort votes by: party yeas nays name | ||||||
| Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) | 03/3/2026 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Yes |
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| resort votes by: party yeas nays name | ||||||
| Passed Senate (27-Y 11-N 1-A) | 03/4/2026 | 27 | 11 | 1 | 1 | Yes |
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| resort votes by: party yeas nays name | ||||||
Link: link to state bill page
