SB 422 is sponsored by Richard H. Stuart.

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Virginia 2027 Regular Session Status: In Committee

SB 422 — Virginia Conservation Easement Act; definition of federally recognized tribe.

Last action July 21, 2026 — Continued from last session

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

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced January 13, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low 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 14% · moderate confidence

In Committee

Current position in the legislative process.
1 sponsor

1 primary, 0 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 federally recognized tribes to hold conservation easements without certain restrictions.

This bill amends the Virginia Conservation Easement Act to permit federally recognized tribes to serve as conservation easement holders. Unlike other easement holders, these tribes will not be subject to specific office location and duration restrictions.

Summary

Virginia Conservation Easement Act; definitions; federally recognized tribes. Provides that a federally recognized tribe, as defined in the bill, can be a conservation easement holder and that such a tribe is not bound by the same restrictions on the location of a principal office or the duration of existence that are placed on other types of easement holders. This bill is a recommendation of the Commission on Updating Virginia Law to Reflect Federal Recognition of Virginia Tribes.

Bill Text

Introduced View text Current pdf

How this bill changes current law

36 changes Share ↗

Compared against the Code of Virginia as published AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

This bill amends 2 section(s) of the Code of Virginia: 10.1-1009, 10.1-1010.

10.1-1009

cultural,

Inserts “cultural,”.
10.1-1009

,

Inserts “,”.
10.1-1009

"Federally recognized tribe" means a

Inserts “"Federally recognized tribe" means a”.
10.1-1009

n

Inserts “n”.
10.1-1009

American Indian tribe within the present-day external boundaries of the Commonwealth

Inserts “American Indian tribe within the present-day external boundaries of the Commonwealth”.
10.1-1009

that is formally acknowledged by the Commonwealth to exist as a tribe as reported by the Secretary of the Commonwealth pursuant to § 2.2-401.01

Inserts “that is formally acknowledged by the Commonwealth to exist as a tribe as reported by the Secretary of the Commonwealth pursuant to § 2.2-401.01”.
10.1-1009

and

Inserts “and”.
10.1-1009

that is recognized by the U

Inserts “that is recognized by the U”.
10.1-1009

.

Inserts “.”.
10.1-1009

S

Inserts “S”.
10.1-1009

.

Inserts “.”.
10.1-1009

Secretary of the Interior to exist as a tribe under the federal Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. § 5131).

Inserts “Secretary of the Interior to exist as a tribe under the federal Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. § 5131).”.
10.1-1009

(i)

Inserts “(i)”.
10.1-1009

~~which~~ → that

Replaces “which” with “that”.
10.1-1009

~~(i)~~ → (a)

Replaces “(i)” with “(a)”.
10.1-1009

~~(ii)~~ → (b)

Replaces “(ii)” with “(b)”.
10.1-1009

~~(iii)~~ → (c)

Replaces “(iii)” with “(c)”.
10.1-1009

~~(iv)~~ → (d)

Replaces “(iv)” with “(d)”.
10.1-1009

~~(v)~~ → (e)

Replaces “(v)” with “(e)”.
10.1-1009

,

Inserts “,”.
10.1-1009

or (ii) a federally recognized

Inserts “or (ii) a federally recognized”.
10.1-1009

tribe

Inserts “tribe”.
10.1-1009

federally recognized tribe,

Inserts “federally recognized tribe,”.
10.1-1009

,

Inserts “,”.
10.1-1009

~~which~~ → that

Replaces “which” with “that”.
10.1-1010

~~the~~ → a

Replaces “the” with “a”.
10.1-1010

that is not a federally recognized tribe

Inserts “that is not a federally recognized tribe”.
10.1-1010

~~(i)~~

Strikes “(i)”.
10.1-1010

~~meet the criteria in § 10.1-1009 and~~

Strikes “meet the criteria in § 10.1-1009 and”.
10.1-1010

~~(ii)~~

Strikes “(ii)”.
10.1-1010

(i)

Inserts “(i)”.
10.1-1010

,

Strikes “,”.
10.1-1010

(ii)

Inserts “(ii)”.
10.1-1010

~~which~~ → that

Replaces “which” with “that”.
10.1-1010

that is not a federally recognized tribe

Inserts “that is not a federally recognized tribe”.
10.1-1010

that is a federally recognized tribe or

Inserts “that is a federally recognized tribe or”.

Action History

July 21, 2026
Continued from last session
February 10, 2026
Continued to next session in Finance and Appropriations (10-Y 5-N)
February 03, 2026
Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N)
January 28, 2026
Assigned HACNR sub: Rural Affairs
January 26, 2026
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB422)
January 13, 2026
Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources
January 13, 2026
Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26100475D

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 147 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Richard H. Stuart

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (147)

147 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 147 →

"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

civil-rights environment

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 422 do?: Virginia Conservation Easement Act; definitions; federally recognized tribes. Provides that a federally recognized tribe, as defined in the bill, can be a conservation easement holder and that such a tribe is not bound by the same restrictions on the location of a principal office or the duration of existence that are placed on other types of easement holders. This bill is a recommendation of the Commission on Updating Virginia Law to Reflect Federal Recognition of Virginia Tribes.
Who sponsors SB 422?: SB 422 is sponsored by Richard H. Stuart.
What is the current status of SB 422?: This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced January 13, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track SB 422?: Track SB 422 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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At a glance

Identifier: SB 422
Jurisdiction: Virginia
Session: 2027 Regular Session
Type: Bill
Introduced: January 13, 2026
Status: In Committee
Prime sponsor: Richard H. Stuart

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