A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 23.1-210.1, relating to Virginia Private College Preservation and Maintenance Fund and Program established.
HB522 creates the Virginia Private College Preservation and Maintenance Fund and a companion grant program to help eligible private colleges in Virginia pay for renovation, restoration, repair, preservation, and deferred maintenance projects. The bill is aimed at facilities needs such as roofs, building envelopes, mechanical systems, life-safety systems, structural repairs, accessibility improvements, and preservation work, including work on historic structures.
The program would be administered by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, which would act as the grant maker and fiscal agent. Grants would be awarded competitively as matching grants, meaning applicants must show dollar-for-dollar matching funds. The Council would work with the Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia and the Department of Historic Resources, use an online grants system, set application and ranking criteria, and establish technical review and monitoring procedures for projects involving historic or potentially historic buildings. The bill also allows up to 5 percent of the fund to be used for administration and requires annual reporting to the General Assembly.
The bill would add a new section to the Code of Virginia, § 23.1-210.1, creating a special nonreverting state treasury fund and authorizing state-administered matching grants for private higher education institutions that qualify as eligible institutions under existing law. It would not directly change tuition, regulation, or accreditation rules, but it would create a new state funding mechanism and administrative framework for capital preservation and deferred maintenance at private colleges. The effective date is January 1, 2027, so the program would begin in the next budget cycle if funded and implemented.
The bill appears to have been framed positively as a preservation and higher-education support measure, with the stated goal of protecting the value and diversity of Virginia’s private colleges and addressing long-standing deferred maintenance needs. The patron list includes members from different political perspectives, suggesting some bipartisan interest in the concept. However, the bill was left in the House Appropriations Committee, indicating that it did not advance and may not have secured sufficient support for funding or prioritization.
The main points of likely contention are fiscal and policy-related: whether the Commonwealth should create a new dedicated fund for private colleges, whether state dollars should support private institutions at all, and whether the program’s matching-grant structure and administrative requirements are the best use of limited appropriations. The bill also imposes coordination and review roles on CICV and DHR, which may raise questions about administrative complexity, oversight, and how competitive awards would be allocated among institutions. Because there were no recorded votes or committee transcripts, the specific objections are not documented in the available materials.