HB 1421 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Local and Regional Jails, State Board of; transferring administrative and supervisory authority.

Summary

State Board of Local and Regional Jails; administrative and supervisory authority. Directs the Office of the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to convene a work group to evaluate the feasibility of transferring the administrative and supervisory authority of the State Board of Local and Regional Jails (the State Board) from the Department of Corrections to another state agency or an independent oversight body. The bill requires the work group to submit its plan, recommended timeline, and any legislative proposals to the General Assembly by November 1, 2026.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Apr 2026

Introduced Jan 22, 2026 Signed Apr 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Subcommittee #2 Subcommittee Substitute → Enrolled · 4 edits · Mar 10, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was finalized into an enrolled act, changing its status from a proposed substitute to official law. The core policy requirements remain largely the same, establishing a work group to study transferring jail oversight authority, but the final text clarifies the specific oversight models to be evaluated and sets a firm deadline of November 1, 2026, for submitting recommendations to legislative committee chairs.

Scope change

The scope of the bill's applicability is unchanged; it still directs the Secretary of Public Safety to form a specific work group to evaluate transferring the State Board of Local and Regional Jails from the Department of Corrections.

REQUIREMENT

The final text explicitly lists two specific oversight models for evaluation: a fully autonomous ombudsman's office or integrating the board into the existing Department of Corrections Ombudsman within the State Inspector General's office.

TIMELINE

A specific deadline was added requiring the work group to submit its plan, timeline, and legislative proposals by November 1, 2026.

ENFORCEMENT

The recipients of the final report were clarified to include the Chairs of four specific legislative committees: House Committee for Courts of Justice, House Committee on Public Safety, Senate Committee for Courts of Justice, and Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services.

TECHNICAL

Removed procedural headers, bill numbers, amendment dates, and sponsor names associated with the draft substitute version.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 2, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 17, 2026

How they voted

38–0

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 39

Mar 2, 2026

D Democratic20

19 Yea 1

95% 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 13, 2026

Signed into law

Approved by Governor-Chapter 847 (effective 7/1/2026)

executive

Mar 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by President

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Signed by Speaker

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1421ER)

lower

Mar 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed Senate (21-Y 19-N 0-A)

upper

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day (Voice Vote)

upper

Feb 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Rules (11-Y 4-N)

upper

Feb 18, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Rules

upper

Feb 17, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time and passed House (65-Y 31-N 0-A)

lower

Feb 13, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Public Safety with substitute (15-Y 5-N)

lower

Feb 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

House subcommittee offered

lower

Feb 10, 2026

Committee

Assigned HMPPS sub: Subcommittee #2

lower

Jan 22, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Public Safety

lower

Jan 22, 2026

Introduced

Presented and ordered printed 26106026D

lower

1 primary · 3 co-sponsors