Criminal Justice

Voter registration; restoration of political rights upon release from incarceration; certain adjudications. Provides that any person who loses his political rights as a result of a felony conviction shall be invested with those rights upon his release from incarceration and shall be entitled to register to vote. The bill directs the Department of Corrections and the State Board of Local and Regional Jails to transmit to the Department of Elections certain information for incarcerated persons with a pending date of release and requires the Department of Elections to process the information and make the necessary changes to the voter registration system to permit such persons to register to vote by the date of the person's scheduled date of release. On the date of an incarcerated person's release, the appropriate authority is required by the bill to provide a voter registration application, information on returning the form by mail or completing it by electronic means, and an official release document to serve as a safety net for voter registration. The bill also amends the language regarding adjudications of mental incompetency for purposes of being qualified to vote; a person adjudicated to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting shall not be entitled to vote until that capacity has been reestablished. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027, contingent upon the approval of the constitutional amendments at the November 3, 2026, general election. This bill is identical to HB 964.

Study; Virginia State Crime Commission; model policy framework; justice-involved veterans; report. Directs the Virginia State Crime Commission to study and propose recommendations for a model policy framework for the treatment and sentencing of veterans in the criminal justice system.

Carrying assault firearms in public areas prohibited; penalty. Prohibits the carrying of certain semi-automatic center-fire rifles, pistols, and shotguns or any firearm modified to be operable as an assault firearm on any public street, road, alley, sidewalk, or public right-of-way or in any public park or any other place of whatever nature that is open to the public, with certain exceptions. Under current law, the prohibition on carrying certain shotguns and semi-automatic center-fire rifles and pistols applies to a narrower range of firearms, only in certain localities, and only when such firearms are loaded. A violation of this prohibition is a Class 1 misdemeanor. This bill was incorporated into SB 727.

Penalties for failure to appear; contempt. Provides that a court shall consider certain mitigating factors to determine whether the failure of any person to appear before any court or judicial officer as required was willful. Under current law, no mitigating factors are specified for a court or judicial officer to consider in determining whether a person willfully failed to appear. This bill is identical to HB 933.

State correctional facilities; visitation policies; work group. Sets additional visitation standards for visitors to state correctional facilities. The bill requires the Department of Corrections (the Department) to provide extended or additional visitation access for long-distance visitors. The bill provides that each in-person visit shall last a minimum of two hours unless shortened at the request of either the visitor or the incarcerated individual, or in response to an active security event. The bill also provides that visitation privileges may be suspended only for conduct occurring during visitation that presents a direct and substantial threat to the physical safety of participants or the security of the correctional facility. The bill provides a timeline and process for appealing any suspension of visitation rights. Finally, the bill directs the Department to convene a work group to consider and develop practical policy and legislative recommendations regarding visitation. The work group is required to report its findings and specific legislative and policy recommendations to the General Assembly by October 1, 2026.  This bill is identical to SB 276.

Virginia Youth Empowerment and Mentoring Grant Fund and Program; established. Establishes the Virginia Youth Empowerment and Mentoring Grant Fund and Program, to be administered by the Department of Criminal Justice Services, for the purpose of awarding grants to community-based organizations for the purpose of placing mentors with high-risk youth in an effort to transition such youth into careers in certified high-wage trades.

Victims of crime; reimbursement for expenses; work group. Provides that all medical fees expended in the gathering of evidence through anonymous trace evidence collection kit examinations conducted on victims complaining of strangulation pursuant to relevant law shall be paid by the Commonwealth through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund (also known as the Virginia Victims Fund) administered by the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission. The bill states that such victims shall not be required to participate in the criminal justice system or cooperate with law-enforcement authorities in order to be provided with such medical exams. Under current law, all medical fees expended in the gathering of evidence through physical evidence recovery kit examinations conducted on victims complaining of sexual assault are paid by the Commonwealth via the Fund, and victims complaining of sexual assault are not required to participate in the criminal justice system or cooperate with law-enforcement authorities in order to be provided with such forensic medical exams. The bill expands the powers and duties of the Commission to adopt, promulgate, amend, and rescind suitable rules and regulations to include a distinct policy for the payment of anonymous trace evidence collection kit examinations. Lastly, the bill directs the Director of the Department of Criminal Justice Services to convene a work group of relevant stakeholders to discuss and submit recommendations for certain matters related to the reimbursement process for forensic medical examinations, enumerated in the bill. The bill directs the work group to submit a report with recommendations to the Chairs of the House Committee on Health and Human Services, the House Committee on Appropriations, the Senate Committee on Education and Health, and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations by November 1, 2026. This bill is identical to HB 1464.

Study; JLARC; expansion of discretionary parole eligibility; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to consult with all relevant stakeholders to study the potential impacts of expanded discretionary parole eligibility. The resolution directs JLARC to complete its first year of meetings by September 1, 2026, and to submit an interim report by March 1, 2027. Additionally, JLARC is directed to complete its second year of meetings and submit its findings and recommendations no later than December 1, 2027.

Limitation on sentence upon revocation of suspension of sentence; technical violations. Provides that the court shall consider all technical violations that are alleged to have occurred after a prior sentencing or revocation hearing as single technical violation and adjudicate the case as such, with punishment imposed pursuant to relevant law. The bill also prohibits the court from treating multiple technical violations during a single probationary period between such prior sentencing or revocation hearing as separate cases or adjudicate such violations at separate hearings. The bill requires that when a defendant has been taken into custody for an alleged violation for which the court may impose not more than 14 days of active incarceration, the court shall docket such case as soon as practicable, and any such case shall be given precedence on the docket. The bill states that if such violation is not adjudicated within 14 days of the defendant being taken into custody, the defendant shall be admitted to bail, unless (i) such defendant consents to being further detained while awaiting adjudication or sentencing or (ii) the Commonwealth has established, by clear and convincing evidence, that the defendant presents a significant risk of harm to himself or the community based on substance use disorder or serious mental illness and has been referred for residential treatment. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the bill provides that no such defendant shall be held in custody awaiting adjudication of or sentencing on such alleged technical violation for longer than 30 days. The bill also expands the list of technical violations and provides that it shall be a defense to an alleged violation if the defendant can show that he has substantially complied with his probation obligations.

Boyd-Graves Conference and Virginia Criminal Justice Conference; work group to address legal deserts within the Commonwealth; report. Directs the Boyd-Graves Conference, in conjunction with the Virginia Criminal Justice Conference, to convene a work group of relevant stakeholders to make recommendations for legislative solutions to address the disparities in the geographical distribution of available legal services within the Commonwealth. The bill directs the work group to report its findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice by November 1, 2026.