Commissioner of Highways; agreements with U.S. DOT, NEPA
Summary
Virginia enacted SB716, authorizing the Commissioner of Highways to enter 5-year agreements with USDOT for state assumption of categorical exclusions under NEPA and participation in the Surface Transportation Project Delivery Program. VDOT will assume certain USDOT Secretary responsibilities under these agreements. The Commonwealth waives sovereign immunity from civil suit in federal court under specified circumstances. The law contains a 5-year sunset from the first agreement date.
What changed
Virginia SB716 authorizes the Commissioner of Highways to enter into 5-year agreements with USDOT for state assumption of categorical exclusions under NEPA and the Surface Transportation Project Delivery Program. VDOT gains authority to assume certain responsibilities of the USDOT Secretary under federal law. The Commonwealth waives immunity from civil suit in federal court under specified circumstances.
Transportation agencies in Virginia must prepare for expanded responsibilities in environmental review processes, with associated civil liability exposure. The 5-year agreement term and sunset provision require careful tracking of program expiration dates. All unanimous legislative passage (39-0 Senate, 96-0 House) indicates strong support for this federal-state coordination initiative.
What to do next
- Prepare VDOT procedures for assuming federal categorical exclusion responsibilities
- Update compliance protocols for federal environmental review under NEPA
- Monitor program implementation timeline and civil liability exposure
Archived snapshot
Apr 9, 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 / SB716 Signed by Governor SB716 Senate Bill Signed by Governor 2026-04-06
Commissioner of Highways; certain agreements with U.S. Department of Transportation.
Commissioner of Highways; certain agreements with the U.S. Department of Transportation; National Environmental Policy Act. Authorizes the Commissioner of Highways to enter into agreements for a term of five years with the U.S. Department of Transportation, as provided for in federal law, regarding state assumption of responsibility for categorical exclusions and the Surface Transportation Project Delivery Program. The bill authorizes the Department of Transportation to assume certain responsibilities of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation pursuant to such agreement. Under the bill, the Commonwealth waives its immunity from civil suit in a federal court under certain circumstances. The bill contains an expiration date of five years after the date on which the first agreement is entered into. This bill is identical to HB 411.
Bill Details
State Virginia
Session 2026 Regular Regular Session
Chamber Senate
Official Source lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/SB716
LegiScan View on LegiScan
Sponsors
Danica Roem (Sen - D) Scott Surovell (Sen - D)
Action History
2026-04-06 Approved by Governor-Chapter 134 (effective 7/1/2026) 2026-04-06 Approved by Governor-Chapter 134 (effective 7/1/2026) 2026-03-10 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 2026-03-10 S Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026 2026-03-04 S Signed by President 2026-03-04 H Signed by Speaker 2026-03-04 S Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB716) 2026-03-04 S Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB716ER) 2026-03-04 S Enrolled 2026-02-27 H Passed House (96-Y 0-N 0-A) 2026-02-27 H Read third time 2026-02-26 H Read second time 2026-02-24 H Reported from Transportation (21-Y 0-N) 2026-02-24 H Referred to Committee on Transportation 2026-02-24 H Read first time 2026-02-24 H Placed on Calendar 2026-02-13 S Read third time and passed Senate (39-Y 0-N 0-A) 2026-02-12 S Engrossed by Senate (Voice Vote) 2026-02-12 S Read second time 2026-02-11 S Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) 2026-02-11 S Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) 2026-02-11 S Rules suspended 2026-02-10 S Reported from Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) 2026-02-09 S Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB716) 2026-02-09 S Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB716) 2026-01-29 S Reported from Transportation and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (12-Y 0-N 3-A) 2026-01-14 S Referred to Committee on Transportation 2026-01-14 S Presented and ordered printed 26101552D
Votes
2026-01-29 Reported from Transportation and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (12-Y 0-N 3-A) Yea: 12 Nay: 0 2026-02-10 Reported from Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) Yea: 15 Nay: 0 2026-02-11 Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) Yea: 40 Nay: 0 2026-02-13 Read third time and passed Senate (39-Y 0-N 0-A) Yea: 39 Nay: 0 2026-02-24 Reported from Transportation (21-Y 0-N) Yea: 21 Nay: 0 2026-02-27 Passed House (96-Y 0-N 0-A) Yea: 96 Nay: 0
Committee Referrals
2026-01-14 S Transportation 2026-01-29 S Finance and Appropriations 2026-02-24 H Transportation
Bill Text Versions
2026-01-14 Introduced 2026-03-04 Enrolled Legislative data powered by LegiScan (CC BY 4.0)
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