A BILL to amend and reenact § 10.1-107 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Title 10.1 a chapter numbered 10.4, consisting of sections numbered 10.1-1028 through 10.1-1034, relating to Extreme Weather Taxpayer Protection Act established.
HB847 establishes the “Extreme Weather Taxpayer Protection Act” in Title 10.1 of the Code of Virginia and directs the Board of Conservation and Recreation to adopt regulations to implement it. The bill creates a new state program, administered by the Department in consultation with environmental, energy, and emergency management agencies, to identify certain fossil fuel companies as “responsible parties,” calculate their share of greenhouse gas emissions from 1995 through 2025, and issue cost recovery demands to fund extreme weather relief projects in Virginia.
The bill also creates a nonreverting Extreme Weather Relief Fund in the state treasury. Money in the fund would come from payments made by responsible parties, appropriations, gifts, and other receipts, and would be used only for program administration and extreme weather relief projects such as disaster-damaged infrastructure repair, stormwater upgrades, direct aid to residents and businesses, local recovery assistance, grid resilience, medical care related to extreme weather, and restoration of natural resources. At least 50 percent of the fund must be directed to projects in environmental justice communities.
HB847 would add a new chapter to Title 10.1 and expand the Board of Conservation and Recreation’s regulatory duties to include implementing the new program. It would impose strict liability on certain fossil fuel extractors and refiners, authorize the Department to assess and collect cost recovery demands, require a State Treasurer report estimating the Commonwealth’s costs from covered greenhouse gas emissions, and establish a dedicated fund for climate- and disaster-related relief projects. The bill would also create administrative review and circuit court appeal procedures for assessed parties, and require annual audits of the fund.
There is no recorded committee transcript or vote history in the provided materials, and the bill was left in the Labor and Commerce committee. Based on the bill text, the measure appears strongly supportive of climate accountability and disaster recovery funding, with a clear policy preference for shifting costs to fossil fuel companies rather than the general taxpayer. The absence of recorded debate makes it difficult to identify broader legislative sentiment beyond the bill’s sponsor list and its referral status.
The central points of contention are likely to be the bill’s strict-liability approach, its retroactive-looking covered period beginning in 1995, and the method for assigning financial responsibility to fossil fuel businesses based on estimated greenhouse gas emissions. Potential opponents may object to the breadth of entities covered, the size and uncertainty of the cost recovery demands, and the possibility of legal challenges over nexus, due process, and federal preemption. Supporters are likely to emphasize that the bill targets major fossil fuel emitters, funds disaster response and resilience, and dedicates a substantial share of resources to environmental justice communities.