HB 1246 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

State correctional facilities; visitation privileges, Visitation Enhancement Program established.

Summary
State correctional facilities; visitation privileges; Visitation Enhancement Program established. Establishes the Visitation Enhancement Program (the Program) and requires all state correctional facilities to participate in the Program and provide visitation privileges to inmates in accordance with the standards specified in the bill. The bill provides that all inmates in state correctional facilities shall be classified within one of three phases of the Program, which shall be based on the class level at which the inmate earns good time such as good conduct time, good conduct allowances, or earned sentence credits. The bill specifies certain enhanced visitation privileges permitted for each of the three phases of the Program. The bill also requires visitors be permitted to visit an inmate for at least two hours prior to a visit being terminated due to capacity issues and provides that if the visitation area is at maximum capacity, state correctional facility staff shall ask visitors, on a voluntary basis, to end their visit. The bill states that if a sufficient number of visitors fail to volunteer, staff shall terminate visits, beginning with the first visitors processed, until the required seating or space is available for incoming visitors.
Bill status in committee 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Jan 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Jan 14, 2026 Last action Feb 6, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Public Safety Substitute Subcommittee #2 Subcommittee Substitute · 4 edits
MODERATE
The bill underwent significant formatting and layout changes while maintaining the same substantive policy content. The document was reorganized from a standard House Bill format to a House Substitute format, with extensive whitespace adjustments and line renumbering. No actual policy changes were made to the legislation itself.
TECHNICAL

Document formatting changed from standard House Bill layout to House Substitute layout with extensive whitespace adjustments and line renumbering

Removed date stamp 'OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION 1/29/2026' from the header section

Added 'HOUSE SUBSTITUTE' designation and bill number '26106166D' to identify this as a substitute amendment

Line numbering changed from single column to two-column format with different numbering sequences

Floor votes · House of Delegates Feb 6, 2026

How they voted

200
Passed
Total votes 20
Feb 6, 2026
D Democratic13
13 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican7
7 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
7
Key actions
2
Committee
3
Feb 6, 2026
House Of Delegates · Passed
House of Delegates Vote: pass (20-0)
house of delegates
Jan 29, 2026
Lower · Passed
House subcommittee offered
lower
Jan 23, 2026
Committee
Assigned HMPPS sub: Subcommittee #2
lower
Jan 14, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Public Safety
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Jackie Glass
Jackie Glass
DDemocratic
VA
93