Admission of evidence; evidentiary hearing, excluded persons.
Summary
Admission of evidence; evidentiary hearing; excluded persons. Exempts no more than two persons whose presence, in the judgment of the court, would be supportive of the complaining witness and would not impair the conduct of a fair hearing or pose a substantial risk of influencing or affecting the content of the testimony from being excluded from evidentiary hearings for certain prosecutions. The bill provides that if such support persons are exempted, the judge shall admonish such support persons to not prompt, communicate with, or influence the complaining witness in any way. Lastly, the bill provides that a court may exercise its discretion to remove a support person from the courtroom if it believes such support person is prompting, communicating with, or influencing the complaining witness.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 14, 2026
Last action Feb 18, 2026
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
7
Key actions
3
Committee
5
Feb 18, 2026
Lower · Passed
Left in Committee Courts of Justice
lower
Feb 6, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends striking from the docket (10-Y 0-N)
lower
Feb 6, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends laying on the table (10-Y 0-N)
lower
Feb 5, 2026
Committee
Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal
lower
Jan 14, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Delores Oates
RRepublican
Ask Maddy
·
AI policy assistant
Ask Maddy about HB 1215
Scope: VA
Hi! I can help you understand HB 1215. What would you like to know?
Try one of these
i
Maddy answers using official bill text and legislative records. Always verify before sharing.
Sources cited inline