An Act to amend and reenact § 10.1-658 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan.
HB237 amends Virginia law governing the state’s interest in resilience and flood control by updating § 10.1-658 to more explicitly direct state policy toward coastal and recurrent flood mitigation. The bill reaffirms that storm events, sea level rise, and tidal flooding threaten public safety, property, commerce, and government services, and it states that public spending on flood control and related civil works is a necessary government expense. It also adds policy direction that resilience efforts should prioritize community-scale and regional-scale planning, natural and nature-based solutions, and attention to socioeconomic inequities.
The bill further ties the state’s flood resilience policy to implementation of the Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan and the Virginia Flood Protection Master Plan. It assigns the Department responsibility as the lead administrator for both plans and requires the Coastal Resilience Master Plan to be updated at least every five years. The plan must be place-specific, based on best available science, and include strategies for severe and repetitive flooding, protection of natural infrastructure, marsh migration, and cost-effective adaptation for communities, businesses, and critical infrastructure.
HB237 changes the statutory framework in § 10.1-658 by strengthening and clarifying the Commonwealth’s policy commitments on flood resilience, coastal adaptation, and flood control planning. It does not create a new program so much as it formalizes planning standards and administrative responsibility for the Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan and the Virginia Flood Protection Master Plan, while emphasizing equity, nature-based infrastructure, and regional planning. The bill affects state agencies responsible for resilience planning and may influence local governments, utilities, businesses, and property owners in flood-prone areas through future planning and project prioritization.
The bill appears to have broad bipartisan support and little visible opposition. It advanced through subcommittee, committee, both chambers, and final enactment with unanimous or near-unanimous votes at each stage, including 0 nays in recorded votes. The voting history suggests general agreement on the need to address flooding and coastal resilience in Virginia.
No major contention is evident in the available record. The main policy choices embedded in the bill are the emphasis on nature-based solutions, equity considerations, and regional planning, along with the requirement that decisions be grounded in best available science and fiscal realism. Because the bill passed unanimously, any disagreements were likely resolved in committee or were not significant enough to produce recorded opposition.