(The Center Square) – Lawmakers advanced a rewritten Virginia Military Institute governance bill after a committee in the House of Representatives adopted a substitute removing earlier provisions that would have altered the school’s oversight structure.
The revised bill retains VMI’s Board of Visitors while modifying membership rules and appointment qualifications.
Earlier versions of the legislation proposed dissolving VMI’s existing Board of Visitors and transferring governance authority. That language was eliminated under the substitute adopted by lawmakers.
House Bill 1374, sponsored by Del. Michael Feggans, D-Virginia Beach, was considered by the House Education Committee, where members first voted to adopt a substitute before reporting the measure.
“The substitute removes mentions of Virginia State University and focuses on the Board of Visitors and governance,” Feggans told the committee.
“This bill has always been about governance,” Feggans said. “The total number of board members does not change, only the maximum number of alumni on the board.”
Under the substitute, VMI’s Board of Visitors remains at 17 members, but the maximum number of alumni seats is reduced from 12 to eight. The measure also establishes new experience requirements for board membership.
The substitute requires that at least six members have senior military service experience, defined as enlisted personnel in grades E-7 or above or commissioned officers at O-5 or above.
VMI Superintendent Lt. Gen. Dave Furness spoke in support of the substitute during the hearing.
“We’ve made significant adjustments to it in this amendment phase, and I look forward to working with the new board structure as we move ahead,” Furness said.
Following discussion, the committee reported the bill with a substitute on a 14-7 vote.
House Bill 1374 now proceeds in the legislative process under the amended language.
