HB 273 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Law-enforcement officers; duty to render aid upon danger to life or limb, civil immunity.

Summary
Law-enforcement officers; duty to render aid upon danger to life or limb; civil immunity. Provides that a law-enforcement officer, while engaged in the performance of his duties, has a duty to render aid to any person that he observes suffering from a serious bodily injury or life-threatening condition, as circumstances objectively permit and provided that such aid may be rendered without endangering the law-enforcement officer, the person, or others. The bill also immunizes a law-enforcement officer from civil liability for any personal injury or wrongful death resulting from such rendering or withholding of such aid absent gross negligence or willful misconduct. The bill directs the Department of Criminal Justice Services to adopt regulations to provide law-enforcement officers with basic medical training, including emergency first aid training.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Jan 9, 2026 Signed Apr 13, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Enrolled Chaptered · 2 edits
MINOR
This bill finalizes the enactment of HB 273, which establishes a legal duty for law enforcement officers to provide aid to individuals suffering serious injuries or life-threatening conditions. It also grants these officers civil immunity from lawsuits if they perform this duty without gross negligence or willful misconduct. Additionally, the bill mandates that the Department of Criminal Justice Services create regulations requiring basic medical and first aid training for all law enforcement officers.
Scope change
The bill's scope remains focused on law enforcement officers and their duty to render aid, with no change in applicability.
TECHNICAL

The legislative status was updated from 'Enrolled' to 'Chaptered' with the specific chapter number (583) and the approval date (April 13, 2026) added.

A minor formatting adjustment was made to the section title, adding a non-breaking space between the section number and the title text.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 10, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 3, 2026

How they voted

390
Passed
Total votes 39
Mar 10, 2026
D Democratic20
20 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican19
19 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
32
Key actions
11
Committee
7
Apr 13, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 583 (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 (HB273ER)
lower
Mar 11, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate with substitute (21-Y 19-N 0-A)
upper
Mar 10, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
upper
Mar 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (9-Y 4-N)
upper
Mar 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate committee offered
upper
Feb 4, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
upper
Feb 3, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (64-Y 34-N 0-A)
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice (14-Y 6-N)
lower
Jan 26, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting (7-Y 3-N)
lower
Jan 22, 2026
Committee
Assigned HCJ sub: Civil
lower
Jan 9, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
lower
1 primary · 3 co-sponsors

Sponsors