On March 19, 2026, multiple Senate Standing Committees passed local impact bills that address fire protection and procurement issues faced by cities across the Commonwealth.  

The Senate Committee on Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection heard House Bill 565, sponsored by Representative Myron Dossett (R-Pembroke). This initiative seeks to redefine and clarify the authority of fire protection officials—including fire chiefs, local fire marshals, and local appeals boards, in addition to the state fire marshal—to enforce officials’ final orders, and authorizes fire protection officials to bring action in Circuit Court for enforcement, recovery of administrative fines, and for injunctive and temporary protective orders.  

House Bill 392, sponsored by Representative Michael Meredith (R-Oakland), was passed by the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Tourism, and Labor. This initiative makes amendments to several statutes under the Local Model Procurement Code and other provisions related to local procurement. These amendments include: a small purchase threshold increase from $40,000 to $50,000 with a $10,000 index every 5 years after 2030; cooperative purchasing provisions allowing agreements with established discount, quote, formula, or other pricing method when an agreement has no fixed unit price; independent appraisal option for sale or disposal of personal property with no applicable nationally published valuation standard; and exclusion for law enforcement vehicles from procurement and advertising requirements. 

Both initiatives received unanimous consent votes and have now passed through Senate Committees. These bills are now primed to be heard on the Senate Floor, where they may be expedited on the consent calendar for passage and sent back to the House of Representatives for concurrence.