Virginia SB 353 — Consultation with federally recognized tribes; permits and reviews, etc.
Virginia, 2027. SB 353: Consultation with federally recognized tribes; permits and reviews, etc.
Latest action
July 21, 2026 — Continued from last session
Summary
Consultation with federally recognized tribes; permits and reviews with potential impacts on environmental, cultural, and historic resources. Adds to the duties of the Ombudsman for Tribal Consultation requirements to (i) facilitate communication between federally recognized tribes and relevant state agencies and local governments to ensure an opportunity for meaningful and timely consultation on environmental, cultural, and historical permits and reviews; (ii) assist the Department of Transportation in developing consultation policies; (iii) make recommendations to the Governor on the basis of communications with federally recognized tribes about (a) circumstances under which tribal consent should be required for issuance of certain permits and (b) additional agencies that should develop policies and procedures to ensure meaningful, timely, and appropriate consultation with federally recognized tribes; (iv) provide training at least once a year to certain state agency personnel on issues of concern to the federally recognized tribes to support effective communication, collaboration, and positive government-to-government relations between the Commonwealth and the federally recognized tribes; and (v) submit an annual report to the Secretary of the Commonwealth on the activities undertaken to implement such provisions and the issues that have arisen in that pursuit. The bill also requires the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Historic Resources, Department of Transportation, and Marine Resources Commission to engage in consultation with federally recognized tribes on certain issues. During such consultation, the burden is on the agency to show that it has made a good faith effort to elicit meaningful and timely feedback, including formal communication between agency employees and the federally recognized tribe. When a burial permit will result in the disturbance of a burial site of an individual that has a cultural affiliation with a particular federally recognized tribe, the bill requires the Department of Historic Resources to acquire the consent of such federally recognized tribe before issuing a permit for the archaeological excavation of human remains. This bill is a recommendation of the Commission on Updating Virginia Law to Reflect Federal Recognition of Virginia Tribes.
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 2.2-401.01, 10.1-104.02, 10.1-1186.3:1, 10.1-1322, 10.1-2205.1, 10.1-2302, 10.1-2305, 28.2-104.01, 33.2-258, 56-265.2:1, 62.1-44.38:1, and 62.1-248 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 33.2-257.2, relating to consultation with federally recognized tribes; permits and reviews with potential impacts on environmental, cultural, and historic resources.
Sponsors
- Ryan T. McDougle — primary sponsor
Bill text
General Laws and Technology Amendment Read version ↗
Introduced Read version ↗ Read version ↗
Recorded votes
No roll-call votes were supplied for this bill. This does not imply that no vote occurred.
Legislative history
- Continued from last session
- Continued to next session in Finance and Appropriations (9-Y 6-N)
- Reported from General Laws and Technology with amendments and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N)
- Senate committee offered
- Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB353)
- Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology
- Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103025D
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