Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official page posted by the Virginia General Assembly, fetched 2026-08-29. Where this bill amends existing law, language marked for deletion in the official page appears here in brackets. This is the reenrolled version. The official bill page.
2026 SESSION REENROLLED VIRGINIA ACTS OF ASSEMBLY -- CHAPTER An Act to amend and reenact § 3.01, as amended, § 3.01:1, and §§ 3.02:1 and 3.02:2, as amended, of Chapter 147 of the Acts of Assembly of 1962, which provided a charter for the City of Virginia Beach, and to repeal § 3.02:3 of Chapters 127 and 762 of the Acts of Assembly of 2020, relating to city council; voting districts; emergency. [S 681] Approved Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia: 1. That § 3.01, as amended, § 3.01:1, and §§ 3.02:1 and 3.02:2, as amended, of Chapter 147 of the Acts of Assembly of 1962 are amended and reenacted as follows: § 3.01. Division of city into districts. A. The city shall be divided into [seven] [residence] ten single-member election districts of approximately equal population [which] that shall be numbered one through [seven] ten. The council shall consist of eleven members, [including] the mayor[,] elected at large and one member to be elected by [the] [city] [at] [large] [from] [the] [residents] [of] [each] [of] [the] [seven] [districts] [and] [three] [members] [and] [the] [mayor] [to] [be] [elected] [by] [and] [from] [the] [city] [at] [large] and from each of the ten single-member election districts. B. The boundaries [and] [names] of such districts shall be established by ordinance [on] [or] [before] [March] [1,] [1996], and [thereafter] the boundaries shall be adjusted periodically as may be necessary to ensure that the populations of the districts remain approximately equal. [C.] [The] [city] [council] [shall,] [no] [later] [than] [January] [1,] [1996,] [petition] [the] [circuit] [court] [to] [order] [an] [advisory] [referendum] [to] [be] [held] [on] [the] [question] [of] [whether] [the] [council] [member] [elected] [from] [each] [district] [shall] [be] [elected] [by] [the] [qualified] [voters] [of] [that] [district] [rather] [than] [at] [large.] [The] [wording] [of] [the] [question] [shall] [be] [determined] [by] [majority] [vote] [of] [the] [city] [council] [and] [shall] [be] [included] [in] [the] [petition.] [Upon] [the] [filing] [of] [the] [petition,] [the] [circuit] [court] [shall] [order] [that] [an] [advisory] [referendum] [be] [held] [on] [the] [question] [in] [the] [city] [at] [the] [municipal] [elections] [to] [be] [held] [in] [May] [1996.] § 3.01:1. Implementation of districts. A. At the [May] [1996] November 2024 general election, [three] the members representing district 1, district 3, district 5, district 7 and the mayor shall be elected [by] [the] [city] [at] [large] [from] [the] [residents] [of] [the] [Blackwater,] [Princess] [Anne,] [and] [Virginia] [Beach] [boroughs] [as] [such] [boroughs] [existed] [on] [January] [1,] [1995]. The terms of the members so elected shall commence January 1, 2025, and expire on [July] [1,] [1998] December 31, 2028. [The] [terms] [of] [the] [mayor] [and] [council] [member] [elected] [by] [and] [from] [the] [city] [at] [large] [in] [May] [of] [1996] [shall] [expire] [on] [July] [1,] [2000.] B. At the November 2026 general election [in] [May] [of] [1998], the members representing district 2, district 4, district 6, district 8, district 9 and district 10 shall be elected [at] [large] [from] [districts] [numbered] [one] [through] [three] [shall] [be] [elected] [for] [terms] [of] [two] [years] [and] [the] [members] [elected] [at] [large] [from] [districts] [numbered] [four] [through] [seven] [shall] [be] [elected] [for] [terms] [of] [four] [years]. The terms of the [two] [council] [members] [elected] [by] [and] [from] [the] [city] [at] [large] [in] [May] [of] [1998] [shall] [expire] [on] [July] [1,] [2002] members so elected shall commence January 1, 2027, and expire on December 31, 2030. [Thereafter,] [all] C. All members shall be elected for terms of four years. § 3.02:1. Election of council members. [Pursuant] [to] [an] [ordinance] [adopted] [by] [city] [council] [on] [June] [27,] [2006,] [city] City council regular elections shall take place [during] [the] [general] [election] [in] [November] [2008,] [and] [during] [the] [November] [general] [election] [in] [even] [years] [thereafter,] [for] [council] [members] [whose] [terms] [expire] [at] [the] [end] [of] [December] [of] [that] [year.] [Council] [members,] [including] [the] [mayor,] [whose] [terms] [expire] [as] [of] [June] [30,] [2008,] [or] [June] [30,] [2010,] [shall] [continue] [in] [office] [until] [their] [successors] [have] [been] [elected] [at] [the] [November] [election] [and] [take] [office] [on] [January] [1.] [The] [term] [of] [office] [for] [each] [council] [member] [shall] [commence] [on] [January] [1] [next] [following] [the] [date] [of] [election] [and] [shall] [continue] [until] [his] [successor] [has] [been] [duly] [elected] [and] [qualified] at the November general elections. Each candidate shall state, at the time of filing, whether he is running [at-large,] from the district of his residence or for mayor. Candidates for council shall be nominated only by petition in the manner prescribed by general law. § 3.02:2. Election of mayor. The mayor shall be elected at the general election in November 2008, and each fourth year thereafter, to serve for a term of four years. Candidates for mayor shall run [for] [one] [of] [the] [at-large] [seats] at large. A candidate running for mayor shall not run for any other seat. In the event any [councilman] council member, including the mayor, shall decide during his term of office to be a candidate for mayor, he shall tender his resignation as a [councilman] council member not less than ten days prior to the date for the filing of petitions as required by general law. Such resignation shall be effective on December 31, shall constitute the [councilman's] council member's intention to run for mayor, shall require no formal acceptance by the remaining [councilmen] council members and shall be final and irrevocable when tendered. In the event the mayor shall decide during his term of office to be a candidate for one of the single-member election districts, he shall tender his resignation as mayor not less than ten days prior to the date for the filing of petitions as required by general law. Such resignation shall be effective on December 31, shall constitute the mayor's intention to run for one of the single-member election districts, shall require no formal acceptance by the remaining council members and shall be final and irrevocable when tendered. The unexpired portion of the term of any council member who has resigned to run for mayor or mayor who has resigned to run for one of the single-member election districts shall be filled at the same general election. 2. That § 3.02:3 of Chapters 127 and 762 of the Acts of Assembly of 2020 is repealed. 3. That the boundaries of the 10 single-member election districts as they exist on the effective date of this act shall remain unchanged until the redistricting following the 2030 United States decennial census. 4. That an emergency exists and this act is in force from its passage.
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