HB 342 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission; magistrates, availability of complaint forms in courthouses.

Summary
Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission; magistrates; availability of complaint forms in courthouses. Requires that paper copies of any standardized form developed and utilized by the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission and any standardized form developed and utilized by the Department of Magistrate Services in the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia for the filing of a complaint be made available to the public in the clerk's office in all state courts of the Commonwealth. The bill also requires that a sign be posted in all such courts, in a location accessible to the public, that notes the availability and location of such forms.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Feb 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Jan 12, 2026 Signed Apr 6, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Enrolled Chaptered · 2 edits
MINOR
This bill formally enacts HB 342 into the Virginia Code by adding a new section (19.2-43.1) that requires state court clerk's offices to provide paper complaint forms for magistrates. It also updates the existing law to clarify that electronic complaint forms for the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission must be downloadable from the official judicial website.
Scope change
The bill's scope expanded to include a specific requirement for paper forms for magistrate complaints in addition to the existing requirement for JIR Commission forms.
REQUIREMENT

Added a new statutory section (19.2-43.1) mandating that paper complaint forms for magistrates be available in every state court clerk's office.

Updated the existing section on complaint forms to explicitly require that electronic forms for the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission be available as downloadable files on the official judicial website.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 20, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 10, 2026

How they voted

390
Passed
Total votes 39
Feb 20, 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
26
Key actions
10
Committee
6
Apr 6, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 113 (effective 7/1/2026)
executive
Feb 25, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Feb 25, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Feb 25, 2026
Lower · Passed
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB342ER)
lower
Feb 23, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (38-Y 0-N 0-A)
upper
Feb 20, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day (Voice Vote)
upper
Feb 18, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice (14-Y 0-N)
upper
Feb 11, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
upper
Feb 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (63-Y 34-N 0-A)
lower
Feb 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice (15-Y 7-N)
lower
Feb 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting (8-Y 2-N)
lower
Jan 29, 2026
Committee
Assigned HCJ sub: Civil
lower
Jan 12, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Marty Martinez
Marty Martinez
DDemocratic
VA
29