SB 1194 Virginia Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Law-enforcement agencies and officers; establishing training curriculum on certain arrests.

Summary

Department of Criminal Justice Services; training curriculum on certain arrests. Requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to establish a training curriculum for law-enforcement agencies, law-enforcement officers, and special conservators of the peace on the discretion such officers can exercise regarding certain arrests. The bill requires that such training curriculum be created by July 1, 2027, and include (i) instruction on the scope and nature of law-enforcement officer discretion in arrest decisions, with particular emphasis on encounters with individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, including individuals currently subject to an emergency custody order, a temporary detention order, or an involuntary admission order, and (ii) instruction on the immediate and long-term effects of arrests on individuals in need of mental health services due to a mental health crisis, including impacts on treatment outcomes as identified in substantially accepted peer-reviewed research literature. The bill requires any person employed as a law-enforcement officer prior to July 1, 2027, to review any course material or course criteria related to such curriculum by January 1, 2028, and any person employed as a law-enforcement officer on or after July 1, 2027, to review any course material or course criteria related to such curriculum within one year of his date of hire. Lastly, the bill directs the Criminal Justice Services Board to promulgate regulations pursuant to relevant law requiring special conservators of the peace to review any course material or course criteria related to such curriculum established by the bill by July 1, 2027. The bill requires any person applying for an initial or renewal registration as a special conservator of the peace on or after July 1, 2027 to review any course material or course criteria related to such curriculum as part of his compulsory training standards.As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Behavioral Health Commission. This bill is identical to HB 1712.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Feb 2025

Senate Passage

Apr 2025

House of Delegates Passage

Apr 2025

Signed into Law

Apr 2025

Introduced Jan 8, 2025 Signed Apr 2, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 6 comparisons

What changed between versions

Governor Substitute → Chaptered · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill converts a Senate substitute version of SB 1194 into a formally enacted chapter of Virginia law. The substantive policy content remains largely unchanged, with the primary difference being the formal adoption of the bill as law (Chapter 619) rather than a governor's substitute proposal. The bill establishes new training curriculum requirements for law enforcement officers regarding arrests for family abuse, stalking, and protective order violations, with implementation deadlines set for 2027-2028.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on Department of Criminal Justice Services training curriculum requirements for law enforcement officers. No changes to applicability, funding amounts, eligibility criteria, or enforcement mechanisms were made during the conversion from substitute to chaptered version.

TECHNICAL

The bill format changed from a 'Governor Substitute' proposal to an officially 'Chaptered' law (Chapter 619), indicating it has been enacted into Virginia law.

Minor formatting changes including removal of Senate-specific headers and addition of official chapter designation and approval date (April 2, 2025).

REQUIREMENT

The enacted version includes specific implementation deadlines: curriculum creation by July 1, 2027, and training review requirements for officers hired before and after that date.

Special conservators of the peace are now required to review the new curriculum as part of their compulsory training standards.

Introduced → Enrolled · 6 edits · Apr 2, 2025

MODERATE

This bill evolved from a simple addition of a new section about arrest procedures for individuals under mental health orders into a comprehensive amendment of existing training requirements for law enforcement. The original version focused solely on clarifying when officers don't have to arrest people subject to mental health orders, while the enrolled version significantly expanded training mandates across multiple law enforcement roles and added specific Alzheimer's training requirements.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from a narrow focus on arrest procedures for mentally ill individuals to a broad mandate covering training requirements for all law enforcement officers, dispatchers, auxiliary police, courthouse security personnel, and deputy sheriffs serving process.

REQUIREMENT

Added mandatory in-person training requirements for all law enforcement officers regarding arrest procedures for persons with mental or behavioral health disorders by July 1, 2026 for existing officers and within one year for new hires.

Added specific training requirements for dispatchers on identifying and safely returning individuals with Alzheimer's disease and dementia, including communication techniques and abuse reporting protocols.

Modified § 9.1-102 to include new training standards for auxiliary police officers, courthouse security personnel, and deputy sheriffs serving process, establishing compulsory minimum training standards for these previously unaddressed roles.

Added training requirements for correctional officers on the care of pregnant inmates, including impacts of restraints, restrictive housing, and body cavity searches on pregnant women and fetuses.

Removed the standalone new section 19.2-81.7 that would have explicitly stated when arrest is not required for individuals under mental health orders, as this was incorporated into broader training requirements instead.

TIMELINE

Established specific deadlines for training completion: July 1, 2026 for existing officers and biennially thereafter, with new hires required to complete training within one year of hire.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 4, 2025 · House of Delegates Feb 13, 2025

How they voted

40–0

Passed

Total votes 40

Feb 4, 2025

D Democratic21

21 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 2, 2025

Signed into law

Governor's recommendation adopted

executive

Apr 2, 2025

Lower · Passed

House concurred in Governor's recommendation (89-Y 7-N)

lower

Apr 2, 2025

Upper · Passed

Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (40-Y 0-N)

upper

Mar 24, 2025

Vetoed

Governor's recommendation received by Senate

executive

Mar 10, 2025

Upper · Passed

Signed by President

upper

Mar 7, 2025

Lower · Passed

Signed by Speaker

lower

Mar 7, 2025

Upper · Passed

Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB1194ER)

upper

Feb 22, 2025

Upper · Passed

Conference report agreed to by Senate (39-Y 0-N)

upper

Feb 22, 2025

Lower · Passed

Conference report agreed to by House (58-Y 39-N)

lower

Feb 22, 2025

Legislature · Passed

Amended by conference committee

legislature

Feb 18, 2025

Committee

House requested conference committee

lower

Feb 13, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed House with substitute (59-Y 37-N)

lower

Feb 10, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (17-Y 5-N)

lower

Feb 7, 2025

Committee

Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice

lower

Feb 4, 2025

Upper · Passed

Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N)

upper

Feb 3, 2025

Upper · Passed

Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (15-Y 0-N)

upper

Jan 8, 2025

Committee

Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors