HB 1215 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

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

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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
Photo of Delores Oates
Delores Oates
RRepublican
VA
31