HB 1935, sponsored by Delegate Lavere Bowling, was reported out of the Labor and Commerce Subcommittee 3 on a vote of 8 to 2 after members approved a line amendment that added two industry representatives to the proposed task force.

The bill directs the Department of Housing and Community Development, in collaboration with the Department of Energy and the Department of Social Services, to establish an income‑qualified energy efficiency and weatherization task force to evaluate ways to coordinate government and utility services and resources to deliver weatherization and energy efficiency upgrades for low‑income individuals and households across the Commonwealth. The bill requires the task force to develop a comprehensive plan for the state to provide weatherization and upgrades by February (year not specified in testimony).

A clerk described the adopted amendment as adding a representative of the residential construction industry and a representative from a Commonwealth‑based firm specializing in building energy performance or energy code compliance, and adjusting the stated membership count to 12. Delegate Bowling and Delegate Herring offered the amendment and motion to report with amendment; the motion carried 8–2.

Speakers from environmental and consumer advocacy organizations urged support during public comment. Ben Hoyne of the Climate Equity Working Group told the committee the panel should “bring all the stakeholders together” and examine bottlenecks, workforce capacity and federal funding opportunities. Witnesses who testified in support included representatives of Dominion Energy, Progress Virginia, the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, Chesapeake Climate Action Network Action Fund, the Southern Environmental Law Center, New Virginia Majority, Appalachian Voices, the Virginia Poverty Law Center and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

No witnesses testified in opposition. The subcommittee’s report sends the bill to the next stage with the approved amendment; the committee record does not list a statutory effective date or funding source in testimony.