HB 148 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Children; seizure, etc., of property used in connection with exploitation and solicitation.

Summary
Seizure, forfeiture, and destruction of property used in connection with the exploitation and solicitation of children. Requires the court, if the forfeiture is established to order the destruction of all audio and visual equipment, electronic equipment, devices, and other personal property used in connection with the possession, production, distribution, publication, sale, possession with intent to distribute, or making of child pornography, or in connection with the solicitation of a person less than 18 years of age, in violation of current law. The bill also (i) requires certain information to be provided by the law-enforcement agency responsible for the destruction, (ii) prohibits destruction of such items to be used in a criminal prosecution until all rights of appeal have been exhausted, and (iii) requires the law-enforcement agency to provide notice, by first-class mail, to the accused or other interested party, if known, and his attorney at least seven days prior to the destruction of the time and place the destruction will occur. This bill incorporates HB 274 and HB 688.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Jan 5, 2026 Last action Mar 9, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Criminal Subcommittee Substitute Courts of Justice Substitute · 3 edits
MINOR
This document appears to be a formatting correction rather than a substantive policy change. The original version was a standard legislative bill format, while the new version includes excessive whitespace and formatting artifacts that do not alter the actual legal content of the bill. The substantive provisions regarding seizure, forfeiture, and destruction of property related to child exploitation remain unchanged.
TECHNICAL

Added excessive whitespace and formatting artifacts throughout the document that do not affect the legal substance of the bill

Changed the amendment date from blank to January 28, 2026 in the header section

Added a timestamp '1/29/26 10:35' and document identifier 'HB148H1' that are administrative additions rather than substantive changes

Floor votes · House of Delegates Feb 4, 2026

How they voted

860
Passed · 2 other
Total votes 88
Feb 4, 2026
D Democratic53
52 Yea 1
98% Yea
R Republican35
34 Yea 1
97% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
22
Key actions
5
Committee
5
Mar 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate committee offered
upper
Feb 5, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
upper
Feb 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed House (98-Y 0-N 0-A)
lower
Feb 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (97-Y 1-N 0-A)
lower
Feb 3, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed by for the day
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (18-Y 0-N)
lower
Jan 23, 2026
Committee
Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal
lower
Jan 5, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
lower
1 primary · 3 co-sponsors

Sponsors