Of the 182 bills that Virginia Conservation Network took a position on this session, 20 bills addressed the fundamental policies governing our decision makers and environmental policy for the Commonwealth. Our Partners advocated for policies that 

• Protect ratepayers from rising energy costs
• Ensure meaningful regulatory standards and opportunities for civic engagement
• Improve oversight of utility monopolies
• Enhance environmental education for Virginia’s students and educators

See the wins and missed opportunities for equitable and inclusive governing policy below. You can see the outcomes of all of VCN’s policy positions on our Bill Tracker.

3-year-old, Jehan Bhedwar, holds energy-efficient light bulb. Photo by Cyrus Bhedwar.

Virginia’s largest investor-owned utility (IOU) monopolies are currently incentivized to prioritize high-cost projects to earn a return on investments. Their profit motives are directly at odds with providing affordable energy to ratepayers and building affordable clean energy projects. This session, a series of bills passed that better align utilities’ profit incentives with affordable clean energy goals by:

• Protecting utility customers from losing essential water and power services due to nonpayments during extreme weather events, during public health emergencies, and on or before non-business days while improving efforts of notifying customers of pending shutoffs, providing bilingual notices, and informing customers about payment assistance programs [HB906/SB480]
• Authorizing a study of performance-based regulatory tools to incentivize public utility monopolies to maximize energy efficiency and reduce customer cost [SJ47]

These new bills are a huge win for ratepayers as more clean, reliable energy is built to protect both the environment and their wallets.

The health of our communities, our kids, and our environment relies upon not only laws but also appropriate regulations and permits to ensure safety, health, consumer, and natural resource protections. The General Assembly took steps this session to expand opportunities for affected communities to meaningfully engage in regulatory processes that affect their health and safety by:

• Expanding virtual participation opportunities in non-elected advisory board meetings [HB894]
• Directing state agencies to establish policies and procedures in consultation with Federally Recognized Tribal Nations [HB1157]
• Fills vacancies in the membership of the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice [HB333]

Virginia’s public school districts and educators need support in reaching their environmental literacy goals to prepare students to understand the major environmental challenges and solutions our state and country face. 

This session, a new bill will make environmental literacy and climate change materials from the Virginia Board of Education available to local school boards [HB1088]. Granting access to educational materials will provide more meaningful environmental education for Virginia’s future!

The bill to establish the Virginia Environmental Literacy Grant Plan and Fund [HB538] was defeated in House Appropriations but will be pursued in future sessions to support teacher professional development opportunities and student environmental education programs.

Sandia Nat Lab power grid

Virginia’s electric utilities have an undeniable influence in shaping energy policy through their monopoly status and unrestricted financial contributions to lawmakers. While our efforts to curb utilities’ political influence have gained more support after years of effort, our supported bills were ultimately defeated. Our Partners will continue to work with legislators on policies considered this session that would:

• Prohibit public utility monopolies in Virginia from contributing to the political campaigns and committees of the government officials who are tasked with regulating them. [HB190/SB326]
• Prohibit public utility monopolies from recovering costs from ratepayers for lobbying, political donations, and advertisement expenses [HB792]
• Require electric utilities to share their recorded votes at PJM interconnection meetings for greater transparency for ratepayers [HB109]

• Require the SCC to calculate the federal funding available for energy infrastructure [HB809]

Passed policy now heads to the Governor’s desk for him to sign, amend, or veto bills by April 8th. Legislators will make a final vote on amended bills during Veto Session on April 17th to determine which bills will officially become law starting on July 1st, 2024. 

Be the first to know about new environmental legislation: register for our virtual General Assembly Recap on Tuesday, April 23rd, from 12-1:30 PM. You’ll hear the inside scoop from environmental policy experts about the conservation community’s biggest victories, the missed opportunities, and any surprise outcomes from the 2024 General Assembly session.

See the outcomes of other environmental policies from the 2024 General Assembly session below: