HB 16 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Community service work in lieu of payment of fines and costs; work performed while incarcerated.

Summary
Community service work in lieu of payment of fines and costs; work performed while incarcerated. Requires a court to establish a program and allow any person upon whom a fine and costs have been imposed to discharge all or part of the fine or costs by earning credits for the performance of (i) community service work performed before or after imprisonment or (ii) work performed while incarcerated, defined in the bill as any work done on or after July 1, 2023, by a person confined in any local, regional, or state correctional facility who is paid a wage that is less than the Virginia minimum wage.The bill requires such program to be available during such person's imprisonment in a local, regional, or state correctional facility. The bill provides that a person who is performing work while incarcerated shall be credited at the same rate as the community service work rate less any wages received. Under current law, a court is required to establish a program for providing an option for community service work in lieu of payment of fines and costs but offering such option is not mandatory. The bill also requires the local, regional, or state correctional facility to provide confirmation of the hours worked and the credits earned for such work upon request of any person who has performed work while incarcerated or his representative.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Dec 2025
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Dec 22, 2025 Signed Apr 13, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Enrolled Chaptered · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill was formally enacted into law (Chapter 544) for the 2026 session. The substantive text of the law regarding community service and inmate work credits remains unchanged, though the formatting was updated to align with the official legislative style guide.
Scope change
The scope of the law itself did not change; it was simply finalized and published as an official act.
TECHNICAL

The header information was updated to reflect the official 'Enrolled' status and Chapter number (544) for the 2026 session.

The text was reformatted to remove bracketed bill numbers and add the official approval date (April 13, 2026).

Minor spacing and line-break adjustments were made throughout the text to comply with standard publication formatting.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 5, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 6, 2026

How they voted

380
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 39
Mar 5, 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
37
Key actions
17
Committee
10
Amendments
5
Apr 13, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 544 (effective 7/1/2026)
executive
Mar 31, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 30, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Mar 30, 2026
Lower · Passed
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB16ER)
lower
Mar 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Senate amendments agreed to by House (79-Y 20-N 0-A)
lower
Mar 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate with amendments (21-Y 19-N 0-A)
upper
Mar 9, 2026
Introduced
Engrossed by Senate as amended
upper
Mar 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
Courts of Justice Amendments agreed to
upper
Mar 6, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
upper
Mar 5, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
upper
Mar 4, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Finance and Appropriations (10-Y 5-N)
upper
Feb 25, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice with amendments and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (9-Y 6-N)
upper
Feb 9, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
upper
Feb 6, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (72-Y 25-N 0-A)
lower
Feb 5, 2026
Introduced
Engrossed by House as amended
lower
Feb 5, 2026
Lower · Passed
committee amendment agreed to
lower
Feb 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Appropriations (22-Y 0-N)
lower
Jan 30, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting (6-Y 0-N)
lower
Jan 29, 2026
Committee
Assigned HAPP sub: General Government and Capital Outlay
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment(s) and referred to Appropriations (19-Y 1-N)
lower
Jan 23, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) and referring to Appropriations (10-Y 0-N)
lower
Jan 20, 2026
Committee
Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal
lower
Dec 22, 2025
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
lower
1 primary · 18 co-sponsors

Sponsors