SB 276: State correctional facilities; visitation policies, annual report. - Virginia

Rules Substitute → Chaptered · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill converts a House substitute draft into a finalized chaptered act, officially enacting changes to Virginia's visitation laws. The substantive policy changes include extending minimum visit times to two hours, allowing hand-holding during visits, and restricting suspension of visitation privileges to only those cases involving direct threats to safety. The bill also mandates a specific work group to study and recommend ways to restore visitation levels to 2019 standards by October 2026.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on state correctional facilities, but the applicability of new visitation rules is delayed until July 1, 2027, while a study group is formed to evaluate implementation.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the minimum duration of in-person visits from an unspecified time to a mandatory minimum of two hours.

Expanded permitted physical contact during visits to explicitly include hand-holding for the duration of the visit.

Created a mandatory work group of stakeholders to develop a plan for returning in-person visitation to 2019 levels by October 1, 2026.

ENFORCEMENT

Restricted the ability to suspend visitation privileges, allowing it only when conduct poses a direct and substantial threat to physical safety or facility security.

TIMELINE

Set the effective date for the new visitation provisions to July 1, 2027, rather than immediate implementation.

Studies Subcommittee Subcommittee Substitute → Rules Substitute · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill text was reformatted from a standard legislative layout to a version with excessive whitespace and embedded timestamps, likely due to a document processing error. No substantive policy changes, such as new rules, dates, or definitions, were introduced.

TECHNICAL

The document structure was altered to include large blocks of empty lines and a timestamp (3/6/26 08:30) within the text, while the actual legislative content remains identical to the previous version.

Finance and Appropriations Substitute → Studies Subcommittee Subcommittee Substitute · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was converted from a Senate Finance substitute into a House Rules substitute, shifting the focus from a temporary work group to permanent statutory law. The new version mandates specific visitation rights, including a minimum two-hour visit duration, hand-holding, and protections against suspending privileges for minor infractions or administrative reasons.

Scope change

The scope expanded from a directive to form a study group with a November 2026 deadline to an immediate, permanent amendment of the Code of Virginia establishing ongoing visitation policies.

TIMELINE

The requirement to submit a report by November 1, 2026, was removed and replaced with a mandate for the Department to immediately implement and annually publish data.

REQUIREMENT

New requirements mandate a minimum two-hour visit duration, allow visitors to hold hands, and require facilities to maintain seating at maximum safe capacity.

DEFINITION

New definitions were added for 'long-distance visitor' (residing 150+ miles away) and 'revocation' (permanent loss of privileges after multiple verified violations).

ENFORCEMENT

Strict limits were added on suspensions (max 60 days for first violation, 120 for repeat), requiring written documentation and an appeal process reviewed by an uninvolved official.

ELIGIBILITY

Visitation privileges can no longer be revoked or suspended based solely on disciplinary reasons, administrative issues, or confinement status unless a direct security threat exists.

Enrolled → Finance and Appropriations Substitute · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was significantly shortened and simplified by the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee. The original version included detailed rules on visitation duration, specific definitions for long-distance visitors, strict limits on suspending visitation, and a list of specific advocacy groups required on a work group. The substitute version removes all these specific operational details and instead directs the Department of Corrections to form a broad work group to study visitation policies and report findings by November 1, 2026.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed from establishing immediate, specific visitation rights and procedures to creating a study group that will develop recommendations for future legislation.

REQUIREMENT

All specific visitation rules were removed, including the 2-hour minimum visit length, permission for hand-holding, and the 60-day maximum suspension period.

Detailed security procedures regarding contraband searches, strip searches, and the handling of items brought by visitors were entirely removed.

The mandate to restore in-person visitation to 2019 levels and the plan for extended holiday meals were removed.

DEFINITION

Specific definitions for 'long-distance visitor' and 'revocation' were deleted.

ELIGIBILITY

The requirement to include specific advocacy organizations (e.g., Sistas in Prison Reform, ACLU) on the work group was removed and replaced with a general category of 'criminal justice reform organizations'.

TIMELINE

The deadline for the work group to report its findings was changed from October 1, 2026, to November 1, 2026.

Introduced → Enrolled · 5 edits · Apr 13, 2026

MODERATE

The bill evolved from a broad proposal to restore pre-pandemic visitation levels and expand access for specific groups (long-distance, minor, and infrequent visitors) into a more targeted law focused primarily on long-distance visitors. The final version removed requirements for extended visits for minors and infrequent visitors, replaced the goal of restoring 2019 visitation levels with a mandate to maintain 'maximum safe seating capacity,' and added a new provision allowing hand-holding during visits.

Scope change

The scope narrowed from covering all visitor types (long-distance, minor, and infrequent) to focusing mainly on long-distance visitors, while adding a specific physical contact provision for all visitors.

ELIGIBILITY

The requirement to provide extended or additional visitation access for 'minor visitors' and 'infrequent visitors' was removed from the final text.

REQUIREMENT

The mandate to restore visitation to 2019 levels was changed to a requirement to maintain visitation capacity at the 'maximum safe seating capacity' of each facility.

A new provision was added allowing hand-holding between visitors and incarcerated individuals for the duration of the visit.

DEFINITION

The specific definitions for 'infrequent visitor' and 'minor visitor' were removed from the final enrolled text.

TIMELINE

The phased implementation plan with a specific target date of January 1, 2028, to restore pre-2019 visitation levels was removed.

State correctional facilities; visitation policies, annual report.

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