February 26, 2026 — Virginia State Senate Bill (SB) 414, calling for the state to “renounce and withdraw” from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Compact, has stalled in the Va. Department of Finance and Appropriations Committee.
The committee voted 15-0 on Feb. 11 to “continue (the bill) to the 2027” legislature. The vote came on the heels of a revealing costly fiscal impact study by the Virginia Department of Planning and Budget.
By leaving ASMFC, the study showed Va. would lose $842,866 in federal grant funds in the FY 2028 budget and that over four years the added cost for the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) would total $1,445,748.