Virginia 2027 Regular Session Status: Passed Senate

SB 318 — Virginia Public Procurement Act; preference for local products and firms, by localities.

Last action — Continued from last session

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House of Delegates
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced January 13, 2026. It now moves to the second chamber.

Next likely step: consideration and a floor vote in the House of Delegates.

Odds of enactment

High chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Stalled 28% · moderate confidence

  • Passed Senate

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 2 sponsors

    1 primary, 1 co-sponsors signed on.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

In plain language

The bill allows local governments to prioritize local bids in procurement under certain conditions.

This legislation enables counties, cities, and towns in Virginia to give preference to local products and services in procurement if the bid price is not more than five percent higher than the lowest bid. Local bidders can also match the lowest bid to win the contract.

What this means for you
  • Small Business: Local businesses could benefit from increased opportunities in public contracts due to the preference for local bids.

Summary

Virginia Public Procurement Act; preference for local products and firms; by localities. Allows the governing body of a county, city, or town to give preference to goods, services, and construction produced in such locality or provided by persons, firms, or corporations having principal places of business in the locality if the bid price is not more than five percent greater than the bid price of the lowest responsive and active bidder. In such a circumstance, the bill permits the bidder of goods, services, and construction produced in such locality or provided by persons, firms, or corporations having principal places of business in the locality to match the price of the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. Under current law, such preference may only be given in the case of a tie bid.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

19 added · 32 removed

Plain-language change summary

The bill SB 318 has been amended to clarify how local governments in Virginia can prefer local products and businesses when awarding contracts. The key change involves specifying that local firms must have bids within 10 percent of the lowest bid to have the option to match it, emphasizing "lowest responsive and responsible bidder." This matters because it supports local businesses by giving them a chance to compete, potentially boosting local economies while ensuring transparency in procurement processes.

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+ 2027 SESSION + + + INTRODUCED + + 26101680D I SENATE BILL NO.
OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION 1/21/2026 + + + + + + + + + SENATE BILL NO.
318 Offered January 14, 2026 N A BILL to amend and reenact § 2.2-4328 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Virginia Public Procurement T Act;
318 + + AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE + + + (Proposed by the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology + + on ________________) + + (Patron Prior to Substitute—Senator Ebbin) + A BILL to amend and reenact § 2.2-4328 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Virginia Public Procurement Act;
————— R Patrons—Ebbin and Favola O ————— Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology D ————— U Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
C § 2.2-4328.
§ 2.2-4328.
E A.
A.
The governing body of a county, city, or town may, in the case of a tie bid, give preference to goods, D services, and construction produced in such locality or provided by persons, firms, or corporations having principal places of business in the locality, if such a choice is available;
The governing body of a county, city, or town may, in the case of a tie bid, give preference to goods, services, and construction produced in such locality or provided by persons, firms, or corporations having principal places of business in the locality, if such a choice is available;
The governing body of a county, city, or town may also give preference to such goods, services, and construction if the bid price is not more than 10 percent greater than the bid price of the lowest responsive and active bidder.
The governing body of a county, city, or town may also give preference to such goods, services, and construction if the bid of any person, firm, or corporation having a principal place of business in such locality is within 10 percent of such bid and such person, firm, or corporation is granted the option to match the price of the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, if such a choice is available.
If neither choice is available, § 2.2-4324 applies.
S B 8 :
/ 7
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Action History

  1. Continued from last session

  2. Continued to next session in Counties, Cities and Towns (Voice Vote)

  3. Subcommittee recommends continuing to (Voice Vote)

  4. Assigned HCCT sub: Subcommittee #3

  5. Referred to Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns

  6. Read first time

  7. Placed on Calendar

  8. Read third time and passed Senate (39-Y 0-N 0-A)

  9. Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB318)

  10. Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute

  11. Engrossed by Senate Block Vote (Voice Vote)

  12. General Laws and Technology Substitute agreed to

  13. Read second time

  14. Passed by for the day

  15. Committee substitute printed 26105866D-S1

  16. Passed by for the day (Voice Vote)

  17. Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A)

  18. Rules suspended

  19. Reported from General Laws and Technology with substitute (15-Y 0-N)

  20. General Laws and Technology Substitute

  21. Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology

  22. Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101680D

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 1 co-sponsors · 146 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (1)

Not signed on (146)

146 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 146 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

labor transportation agriculture
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 318 do?
Virginia Public Procurement Act; preference for local products and firms; by localities. Allows the governing body of a county, city, or town to give preference to goods, services, and construction produced in such locality or provided by persons, firms, or corporations having principal places of business in the locality if the bid price is not more than five percent greater than the bid price of the lowest responsive and active bidder. In such a circumstance, the bill permits the bidder of goods, services, and construction produced in such locality or provided by persons, firms, or corporations having principal places of business in the locality to match the price of the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. Under current law, such preference may only be given in the case of a tie bid.
Who sponsors SB 318?
SB 318 is sponsored by Barbara A. Favola and Adam P. Ebbin.
What is the current status of SB 318?
This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced January 13, 2026. It now moves to the second chamber.
Where can I track SB 318?
Track SB 318 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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