Experiencing or reporting an overdose or act of sexual violence; arrest and prosecution.
Summary
Arrest and prosecution when experiencing or reporting an overdose or act of sexual violence. Provides that no individual shall be subject to arrest or prosecution for the unlawful purchase, possession, or consumption of alcohol or marijuana, possession of a controlled substance, intoxication in public, or possession of controlled paraphernalia if the individual, in good faith, seeks or obtains assistance for himself or another individual from emergency medical services personnel, a health care provider, or a law-enforcement officer, as those terms are defined in relevant law, and seeks to report an act of sexual violence committed against himself or another individual, so long as (i) such individual identifies himself to the law-enforcement officer who responds to the report of the act of sexual violence and (ii) the evidence for the prosecution of such an offense was obtained as a result of the individual seeking or obtaining medical attention, rendering care or assistance, or reporting to law enforcement. However, such immunity shall not apply to an individual who is alleged to have committed the act of sexual violence or if the emergency medical attention was sought or obtained during the execution of a search warrant or during the conduct of a lawful search or a lawful arrest.The bill also provides that no individual immune to arrest or prosecution when experiencing or reporting an overdose or act of sexual violence shall have his bail, probation, furlough, supervised release, suspended sentence, or parole revoked for the behavior immune from arrest or prosecution under the provisions of applicable law.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Feb 2025
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2025
Senate Passage
Mar 2025
Signed into Law
Mar 2025
Introduced Jan 7, 2025
Signed Mar 24, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons
What changed between versions
Enrolled
→
Chaptered
·
1 edit
MINOR
This bill was formally enacted into law as Chapter 396 of the 2025 Virginia Acts of Assembly. The substantive text of the law remains unchanged from its enrolled version, though the formatting and layout were adjusted during the final chaptering process.
Scope change
No substantive change to the bill's scope or applicability; the law's protections for individuals seeking help during overdoses or sexual violence incidents remain the same.
TECHNICAL
Formatting adjustments were made to align the text with official chaptered law standards, including adding chapter number, approval date, and adjusting line breaks for publication.
Floor votes · Senate Feb 19, 2025 · House of Delegates Jan 30, 2025
How they voted
40–0
Passed
Total votes 40
Feb 19, 2025
D
Democratic21
100% Yea
R
Republican19
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
31
Key actions
13
Committee
6
Amendments
6
Mar 24, 2025
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 396 (Effective 07/01/25)
executive
Mar 10, 2025
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Mar 7, 2025
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 7, 2025
Lower · Passed
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB2117ER)
lower
Feb 20, 2025
Lower · Passed
Senate Amendment agreed to by House (96-Y 0-N)
lower
Feb 19, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate with amendment (40-Y 0-N)
upper
Feb 19, 2025
Introduced
Engrossed by Senate as amended
upper
Feb 19, 2025
Upper · Passed
Courts of Justice Amendment agreed to
upper
Feb 19, 2025
Introduced
Reading of amendment waived
upper
Feb 18, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day
upper
Feb 17, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment (15-Y 0-N)
upper
Jan 31, 2025
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
upper
Jan 30, 2025
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (96-Y 0-N)
lower
Jan 29, 2025
Introduced
Engrossed by House as amended
lower
Jan 29, 2025
Lower · Passed
Courts of Justice Amendments agreed to
lower
Jan 24, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment(s) (22-Y 0-N)
lower
Jan 20, 2025
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (8-Y 0-N)
lower
Jan 18, 2025
Committee
Assigned Courts sub: Criminal
lower
Jan 7, 2025
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Karen Keys-Gamarra
DDemocratic
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