HB 2003, sponsored by Delegate Laufer, was reported by the subcommittee on a 5–4 vote after roughly an hour of testimony and questioning.

The bill requires utilities to produce an annual report listing recorded votes cast by the utility and by affiliates in PJM member committees, including a brief explanation of how each vote is in the public interest. Testimony described PJM as a regional transmission organization that manages grid reliability for roughly 65 million people and noted that many lower‑level PJM committee votes are not published or recorded for the public. Delegate Laufer and supporting witnesses argued greater transparency is needed after substantial rate increases and a FERC civil penalty tied to a New Jersey utility matter were cited as examples of governance concerns.

Supporters from the Virginia Poverty Law Center, Clean Virginia, Sierra Club and other advocacy groups said transparency would help regulators, stakeholders and the public assess whether ratepayer dollars are being spent appropriately. Witnesses urged that access to voting records could aid state regulators and provide accountability on decisions that affect transmission and costs.

Opponents — including witnesses representing Dominion Energy, electric cooperatives and Appalachian Power — warned that forcing disclosure of internal committee votes could chill candid technical discussion among experts, hamper the stakeholder process and put Virginia utilities at a competitive disadvantage because PJM has more than 500 voting participants and the bill would directly affect a small subset of those members. Dominion suggested that any change should apply uniformly to all PJM participants and flagged potential unintended consequences.

The bill’s text, as described in testimony, requires the report to include all recorded votes cast by the utility during the immediately preceding calendar year, votes cast by affiliates if the utility did not vote, and a brief description explaining how each vote is in the public interest. The committee did not identify a funding source for any reporting cost. The committee report will advance the bill to the next stage; further amendments or clarifications could follow.