An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 15.2-2223.6, relating to comprehensive plan; environmental justice strategy.
HB256 adds a new section to Virginia’s local planning law requiring certain larger localities to consider adopting an environmental justice strategy when they next review and update their comprehensive plans. Beginning July 1, 2026, cities with more than 20,000 residents and counties with more than 100,000 residents must, during the next scheduled and all later comprehensive plan reviews, consider whether to adopt a strategy that addresses environmental justice and fenceline communities.
The required strategy is detailed and must identify environmental justice and fenceline communities, locate major pollution sources and hazardous waste sites, and set objectives and policies to reduce health risks and environmental burdens. It also directs localities to consider measures related to air and water quality, flooding, extreme heat, climate resilience, public facilities, food access, safe housing, physical activity, civic engagement, broadband access, job training, transit, parks, tree canopy, electric vehicle charging, and other clean transportation options. The strategy must also establish baseline environmental and health conditions using existing data or additional information as needed.
The bill amends the Code of Virginia by adding § 15.2-2223.6, expanding the subjects local governments must consider in comprehensive plan reviews. It does not mandate immediate adoption of a specific environmental justice plan, but it creates a statutory planning requirement for qualifying cities and counties to evaluate and potentially incorporate environmental justice strategies into land-use and policy planning. The measure affects local planning commissions, comprehensive plan processes under § 15.2-2230, and the use of public health and environmental data in local planning decisions.
The available record shows no committee transcript or recorded vote data, so there is no direct evidence of debate, support, or opposition in the provided materials. Based on the enacted text, the bill appears to reflect a policy emphasis on environmental justice, public health, and equitable access to services in local planning. Because the bill was enacted as Chapter 581, the overall legislative outcome was favorable.
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided committee or vote history. Potential areas of disagreement, based on the bill’s requirements, could include the scope of local planning obligations, the cost and administrative burden of data collection and strategy development, and the breadth of issues included in the environmental justice strategy, such as broadband, transit, housing, climate resilience, and health-service siting. However, these concerns are not attributed to any particular legislator or stakeholder in the supplied record.