2026 SESSION

INTRODUCED

26103054D

HOUSE BILL NO. 70

Offered January 14, 2026

Prefiled December 31, 2025

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 2.2-220.5 and 10.1-603.29 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Resilient Virginia Revolving Fund; projects; low-income geographic areas and nature-based solutions; Interagency Resilience Management Team powers and duties.

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Patron—Feggans

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Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources

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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 2.2-220.5 and 10.1-603.29 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 2.2-220.5. Chief Resilience Officer of the Commonwealth; Interagency Resilience Management Team.

A. The Governor shall designate a Chief Resilience Officer. The Chief Resilience Officer shall serve as the primary coordinator of resilience and adaptation initiatives in Virginia and as the primary point of contact regarding issues related to resilience, as that term is defined in § 10.1-603.28. The Chief Resilience Officer shall be equally responsible for all urban, suburban, and rural areas of the Commonwealth. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall assist the Chief Resilience Officer in the discharge of his duties upon request.

B. The Chief Resilience Officer shall (i) promote communication, coordination, and cooperation between state agencies, the federal government, local governments, other political subdivisions of the Commonwealth, and other interested parties regarding resilience; (ii) lead in developing and in providing direction and ensuring accountability for a statewide resilience and adaptation strategy; (iii) seek to ensure that resilience and adaptation strategies prioritize the protection of Virginia's natural resources and maximize the implementation of nature-based design while supporting Virginia's statutory obligations to clean water; and (iv) initiate and assist with economic development opportunities associated with adaptation. The Chief Resilience Officer, in his role, shall also:

1. Identify and monitor those areas of the Commonwealth that are at greatest risk from significant multi-hazard threats and recommend actions that both the private and public sectors should consider in order to increase the resilience of such areas;

2. Provide support to local governments, as that term is defined in § 10.1-603.28, that are seeking to promote resilience within their communities by providing technical assistance and capacity building support regarding best practices for resilience planning, data collection, and project design and implementation;

3. Coordinate with the Department of Emergency Management on all issues related to pre-disaster hazard mitigation and post-disaster recovery;

4. Assist the Department of Conservation and Recreation with the development and implementation of a Virginia Flood Protection Master Plan and a Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan in accordance with § 10.1-602;

5. Seek to maximize the coordination, availability, and use of federal, state, and private funding to address resilience challenges, including initiating and assisting with the pursuit of funding opportunities at both the state and local levels. In order to maximize federal funding, the Chief Resilience Officer is authorized to:

a. Serve as a non-federal sponsor, as that term is described in 33 C.F.R. § 203.15, and enter into a legal agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the purpose of mitigating flooding and integrating resilience, at the request of and in coordination with an eligible funding recipient;

b. Enter into and execute agreements with the federal government, including the U.S. Department of Defense, for support for flood control initiatives to increase resilience related to U.S. Department of Defense installations; and

c. Make applications on behalf of the Commonwealth for other federal funding as directed by the Governor;

6. Coordinate the collection and dissemination of the best available resilience science, legal guidance, planning strategies, best practices, and needs assessments to the public. Such needs assessments shall include any local government needs assessments that have been submitted to the Chief Resilience Officer. Such information shall be made available on a publicly accessible website; and

7. Beginning July 1, 2025, and every two years thereafter, report to the Governor and the General Assembly on the status of resilience in the Commonwealth. Such report shall include the status of actions undertaken by the Chief Resilience Officer and state agencies regarding resilience coordination and planning and all resilience funding received and distributed by the Commonwealth during the prior two years. In preparing the report, the Chief Resilience Officer shall also coordinate with the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and shall be assisted by all relevant Secretariats and agencies.

C. The Chief Resilience Officer shall convene an Interagency Resilience Management Team (the Team) to support the coordination of planning and implementation of resilience efforts, and he shall serve as chairman of the Team. The Team shall meet on the call of the chairman but not less than once every three months. Membership of the Team shall include representatives from the Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Conservation and Recreation, Emergency Management, Energy, Environmental Quality, Forestry, General Services, Health, Historic Resources, Housing and Community Development, Transportation, and Wildlife Resources; the Marine Resources Commission; the Virginia Resources Authority; the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; and others as appointed by the Governor. Each agency participating in the Team shall designate a resilience coordinator to represent such agency in the Team. The responsibilities of the Team shall include:

1. Exchanging information and best practices related to resilience, including means of integrating common language and practices for resilience work across agencies;

2. Advising the Chief Resilience Officer on strategies for enhancing resilience planning and funding coordination across agencies under a unified statewide approach to resilience; and

3. Recommending metrics for measuring the progress of resilience efforts in the Commonwealth; and

4. Reviewing and making recommendations on each new application for grants or loans from the Resilient Virginia Revolving Fund pursuant to § 10.1-603.29.

§ 10.1-603.29. Resilient Virginia Revolving Fund.

A. The Resilient Virginia Revolving Fund is established as a permanent and perpetual fund. All sums appropriated to the Fund by the General Assembly, all sums allocated to the Commonwealth for resilience purposes through the federal government, all receipts by the Fund from loans made by it to local governments, all income from the investment of moneys held in the Fund, and any other sums designated for deposit to the Fund from any source public or private shall be designated for deposit to the Fund. The Fund shall be administered and managed by the Authority as prescribed in this article, subject to the right of the Department, following consultation with the Authority, the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources, and the Chief Resilience Officer of the Commonwealth, to direct the distribution of loans or grants from the Fund to particular local governments and to establish the interest rates and repayment terms of such loans as provided in this article. No less than 25 percent of the moneys disbursed from the Fund each year shall be used for projects in low-income geographic areas, as that term is defined in § 10.1-603.24. Priority shall be given to projects in low-income geographic areas and to projects that incorporate nature-based solutions. Additional weight shall be given to those projects that are located in a locality designated as having a very low community resilience rating under a standard adopted by the Department. A portion of the Fund shall be reserved to hold money that is allocated only for the hazard mitigation of buildings and that shall not be available for other uses. In order to carry out the administration and management of the Fund, the Authority is granted the power to (i) employ officers, employees, agents, advisers, and consultants, including, without limitation, attorneys, financial advisers, engineers, and other technical advisers and public accountants, and, the provisions of any other law to the contrary notwithstanding, to determine their duties and compensation without the approval of any other agency or instrumentality and (ii) contract with any person to serve as a program administrator to be approved by the Department to assist in the distribution of loans and grants to local governments. The Authority may disburse from the Fund its reasonable costs and expenses incurred in the administration and management of the Fund and a reasonable fee to be approved by the Department for its management services. The Authority may provide a portion of that fee to the Department to cover the Department's costs and expenses in administering the Fund. The Authority may disburse from the Fund an administrative fee not to exceed five percent of the total amount in the Fund to provide to the program administrator to cover such program administrator's costs and expenses in administering the Fund on behalf of the Authority.

B. 1. The Department shall develop and provide an opportunity for a 30-day public comment period prior to each new loan or grant offering to solicit feedback on proposed revisions to the Resilient Virginia Revolving Fund Manual. A record of each application for a grant or loan from the Fund and the action taken thereon shall be available for public inspection at the office of the Department and on a publicly accessible website.

2. The Director shall convene an Advisory Review Committee (the Committee) to assist in the distribution of loans and grants from the Fund. The Committee shall review applications to the Fund and make recommendations on the disbursement of moneys from the Fund and any other appropriate issues to the Department, the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources, and the Chief Resilience Officer of the Commonwealth. The Committee shall include representatives from the Department of Emergency Management, the Department of Environmental Quality, the Department of Housing and Community Development, a nonprofit group engaged in resilience efforts, the agriculture industry, the manufacturing industry, and the business community, the Virginia Director of the Chesapeake Bay Commission, and others as the Director deems appropriate. Appointed members of the Committee shall serve without compensation.

3. Prior to each new loan or grant offering, the Department shall require that the Interagency Resilience Management Team, established pursuant to § 2.2-220.5, review applications to the Fund and make recommendations on the disbursements of moneys from the Fund to the Department.