Virginia SB650 - Water Utility Discounted Rates for Low-Income Customers
Summary
Virginia Governor signed SB650 into law (Chapter 218), allowing water and sewerage utilities to propose income-based rate discounts for customers with household income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. Utilities may recover discounted service costs through commercial and industrial customer rates, subject to State Corporation Commission approval. The law takes effect July 1, 2026.
What changed
Virginia enacted SB650, permitting public water and sewerage utilities to propose and the State Corporation Commission to approve discounted service rates for residential customers with annual household income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. Utilities may recover the revenue shortfall from discounted rates by adjusting commercial and industrial customer rates upward.
Water utilities operating in Virginia must prepare and submit proposals to the SCC for income-based discount programs. Utilities should analyze the financial impact of cost-shifting to commercial and industrial rate classes and model rate adjustment scenarios. Implementation is required by July 1, 2026.
What to do next
- Water utilities should evaluate and develop discounted rate program proposals for State Corporation Commission approval
- Prepare tariff filings incorporating low-income discount mechanisms and cost recovery provisions
- Notify commercial and industrial customers of potential rate adjustments to subsidize discounted service
Archived snapshot
Apr 8, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
ChangeBridge / Virginia / SB650 Signed by Governor SB650 Senate Bill Signed by Governor 2026-04-06
Public utilities; water and sewerage companies, discounted rates for low-income customers.
Public utilities; water and sewerage companies; discounted rates for low-income customers. Provides that a public utility engaged in the business of furnishing water or sewerage facilities may propose and the State Corporation Commission may approve rates and tariff provisions that provide discounted service to customers with an annual household income equal to or less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level. The bill permits the utility to recover the costs of providing such discounted service through its rates for commercial and industrial customers. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027, and is identical to HB 770.
Bill Details
State Virginia
Session 2026 Regular Regular Session
Chamber Senate
Official Source lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/SB650
LegiScan View on LegiScan
Sponsors
Dave Marsden (Sen - D) Kannan Srinivasan (Sen - D)
Action History
2026-04-06 Approved by Governor-Chapter 218 (effective 7/1/2026) 2026-04-06 Approved by Governor-Chapter 218 (effective 7/1/2026) 2026-04-06 S Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (SB650) 2026-03-31 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 2026-03-31 S Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026 2026-03-31 H Signed by Speaker 2026-03-30 S Signed by President 2026-03-30 S Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB650ER) 2026-03-30 S Enrolled 2026-03-24 S Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (SB650) 2026-03-10 S House substitute agreed to by Senate (23-Y 17-N 0-A) 2026-03-06 H Passed House with substitute (63-Y 34-N 1-A) 2026-03-06 H Engrossed by House - committee substitute 2026-03-06 H committee substitute agreed to 2026-03-06 H Read third time 2026-03-05 H Read second time 2026-03-03 H Committee substitute printed 26109086D-H1 2026-03-03 H Reported from Labor and Commerce with substitute (15-Y 7-N) 2026-02-24 H Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce 2026-02-24 H Read first time 2026-02-24 H Placed on Calendar 2026-02-17 S Read third time and passed Senate (23-Y 17-N 0-A) 2026-02-16 S Engrossed by Senate (Voice Vote) 2026-02-16 S Read second time 2026-02-13 S Passed by for the day 2026-02-13 S Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (35-Y 0-N 0-A) 2026-02-13 S Rules suspended 2026-02-12 S Reported from Commerce and Labor (11-Y 4-N) 2026-02-12 S Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (SB650) 2026-01-14 S Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor 2026-01-14 S Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103786D
Votes
2026-02-12 Reported from Commerce and Labor (11-Y 4-N) Yea: 11 Nay: 4 2026-02-13 Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (35-Y 0-N 0-A) Yea: 35 Nay: 0 2026-02-17 Read third time and passed Senate (23-Y 17-N 0-A) Yea: 23 Nay: 17 2026-03-03 Reported from Labor and Commerce with substitute (15-Y 7-N) Yea: 15 Nay: 7 2026-03-06 Passed House with substitute (63-Y 34-N 1-A) Yea: 63 Nay: 34 2026-03-10 House substitute agreed to by Senate (23-Y 17-N 0-A) Yea: 23 Nay: 17
Committee Referrals
2026-01-14 S Commerce and Labor 2026-02-24 H Labor and Commerce
Bill Text Versions
2026-01-14 Introduced 2026-03-03 Comm Sub 2026-03-30 Enrolled Legislative data powered by LegiScan (CC BY 4.0)
Named provisions
Related changes
Get daily alerts for Virginia Legislative Events
Daily digest delivered to your inbox.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
About this page
Every important government, regulator, and court update from around the world. One place. Real-time. Free. Our mission
Source document text, dates, docket IDs, and authority are extracted directly from VA Legislature.
The plain-English summary, classification, and "what to do next" steps are AI-generated from the original text. Cite the source document, not the AI analysis.
Classification
Who this affects
Taxonomy
Browse Categories
Get alerts for this source
We'll email you when Virginia Legislative Events publishes new changes.