HB 1298 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Human trafficking; issuance of vacatur for victims, definitions.

Summary

Issuance of vacatur for victims of human trafficking. Expands the current process for the issuance of writs of vacatur for victims of human trafficking to include ancillary matters, defined in the bill, and any charge or arrest related to a qualifying offense as defined in current law. The bill also expands the list of qualifying offenses eligible for such writ. This bill is identical to SB 748.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Apr 2026

Introduced Jan 15, 2026 Signed Apr 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Courts of Justice Substitute → Criminal Subcommittee Substitute · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill text was reformatted from a standard legislative layout to a House Substitute version with different page numbering and line breaks. No substantive policy changes, legal definitions, or procedural requirements were altered.

TECHNICAL

The document structure was changed from a standard bill format to a House Substitute format, resulting in new page numbers, line numbers, and altered spacing, but the actual legal text remains identical.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 3, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 17, 2026

How they voted

39–0

Passed

Total votes 39

Mar 3, 2026

D Democratic20

20 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican19

19 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 13, 2026

Signed into law

Approved by Governor-Chapter 770 (effective 7/1/2026)

executive

Mar 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by President

upper

Mar 13, 2026

Lower · Passed

Signed by Speaker

lower

Mar 13, 2026

Lower · Passed

Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1298ER)

lower

Mar 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed Senate with substitute Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A)

upper

Mar 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day (Voice Vote)

upper

Mar 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N)

upper

Feb 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N)

upper

Feb 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate committee offered

upper

Feb 18, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice

upper

Feb 17, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time and passed House (97-Y 0-N 0-A)

lower

Feb 13, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Appropriations (22-Y 0-N)

lower

Feb 13, 2026

Lower · Passed

Subcommittee recommends reporting (7-Y 0-N)

lower

Feb 12, 2026

Committee

Assigned HAPP sub: General Government and Capital Outlay

lower

Feb 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute and referred to Appropriations (22-Y 0-N)

lower

Feb 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (22-Y 0-N)

lower

Jan 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

House subcommittee offered

lower

Jan 29, 2026

Committee

Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal

lower

Jan 15, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice

lower

Jan 15, 2026

Introduced

Presented and ordered printed 26104783D

lower

1 primary · 3 co-sponsors