HB 445 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Debtor's disposable earnings; exemptions form garnishment, exemptions in bankruptcy proceedings.

Summary

Exemptions from garnishment; exemptions in bankruptcy proceedings; disposable earnings. Provides that the exemption provided for a debtor's disposable earnings, defined by current law, that are subject to garnishment also applies to disposable earnings for the purposes of a bankruptcy proceeding.

Issues: ✓ Labor & Employment

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 12, 2026 Signed Apr 6, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Enrolled → Chaptered · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was formally enacted into law as Chapter 143 of the 2026 Virginia Acts of Assembly. The substantive text of the garnishment exemptions remains identical to the enrolled version, with no changes to the percentages, thresholds, or rules regarding disposable earnings.

TECHNICAL

Added official chapter number (Chapter 143) and the specific approval date (April 6, 2026) to the document header.

Removed the session header and approval status indicators that were present in the enrolled draft but are now incorporated into the final chapter text.

Adjusted line breaks and spacing throughout the text to conform to the standard formatting of the Virginia Code.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 27, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 3, 2026

How they voted

36–0

Passed · 3 other

Total votes 39

Feb 27, 2026

D Democratic20

18 Yea 2

90% Yea

R Republican19

18 Yea 1

94% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 6, 2026

Signed into law

Approved by Governor-Chapter 143 (effective 7/1/2026)

executive

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by President

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Signed by Speaker

lower

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB445ER)

lower

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A)

upper

Feb 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

upper

Feb 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Courts of Justice (15-Y 0-N)

upper

Feb 4, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice

upper

Feb 3, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time and passed House (98-Y 0-N 0-A)

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Courts of Justice (19-Y 0-N)

lower

Jan 21, 2026

Lower · Passed

Subcommittee recommends reporting (10-Y 0-N)

lower

Jan 19, 2026

Committee

Assigned HCJ sub: Civil

lower

Jan 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors