SB 228 Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Localities; liability insurance, certain waiver of sovereign immunity.

Summary
Localities; liability insurance; certain waiver of sovereign immunity. Provides that a locality or political subdivision may provide liability insurance, including self-insurance, to cover damages or other expenses in certain civil actions arising out of an act or omission of certain officers, employees, board or commission members, or volunteers while such person is acting within the scope of his official duties. The bill provides that the provision of such liability insurance or self-insurance shall constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity in an amount not to exceed the combined total of any self-insurance coverage, insurance coverage under a group self-insurance pool, or any coverage pursuant to a policy purchased from an insurance company, including any excess or reserve coverage. The bill also provides that the insurer or self-insured shall not have a duty to defend or indemnify any covered person in cases where the act or omission took place outside the scope of such covered person's employment or official duties, where such act or omission was done maliciously or occurred as a result of gross negligence or willful misconduct, or is otherwise excluded by the terms of the policy.
Bill status died 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 10, 2026 Last action Feb 12, 2026
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What changed between versions

Introduced Courts of Justice Substitute · 5 edits
MODERATE
This bill was amended from its original introduction to a substitute version proposed by the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice. The changes significantly expand the scope of covered entities and modify the liability protections for local government officials and volunteers. These amendments affect how much protection local governments have when providing liability insurance for their employees and volunteers.
Scope change
The bill now covers a broader range of entities including the locality itself, agents, and additional categories of employees and volunteers that were not explicitly included in the original version.
SCOPE

Expanded the list of covered entities in subsection A to include the locality itself, agents, and additional categories of employees and volunteers, making the insurance coverage more comprehensive.

ELIGIBILITY

Modified subsection C to remove 'gross negligence' from the list of excluded acts, meaning localities may now have a duty to defend or indemnify acts done with gross negligence under certain circumstances.

REQUIREMENT

Added new language in subsection D requiring that judgments based on gross negligence or willful/wanton misconduct may exceed the combined total coverage limit, creating an exception to the liability cap.

Expanded subsection D to explicitly mention 'governmental immunity and derivative sovereign immunity' in addition to 'sovereign immunity,' clarifying the scope of the waiver.

TECHNICAL

Changed the date from January 2026 to February 4, 2026, and updated the bill status from 'Introduced' to 'Offered for Consideration' with committee substitution.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
10
Key actions
2
Committee
6
Feb 12, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Finance and Appropriations
upper
Feb 4, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (6-Y 5-N 3-A)
upper
Feb 4, 2026
Committee
Failed to report from Courts of Justice with substitute
upper
Feb 4, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate committee offered
upper
Jan 19, 2026
Committee
Rereferred from Local Government to Courts of Justice (14-Y 0-N)
upper
Jan 10, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Local Government
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Scott Surovell
Scott Surovell
DDemocratic
VA
34