SB 475 Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Court Date Reminder Program; established.

Summary
Court Date Reminder Program established. Establishes a Court Date Reminder Program, to be developed or procured by the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia, for the purpose of reminding criminal defendants to appear at each of their scheduled court appearances and to provide any related information. The bill directs the Program to send a text message notification to any defendant with a criminal case or traffic infraction in general district court or circuit court, allows a defendant to opt out of participating in the Program, and allows the Program administrator or his designee to use other communication methods to contact a defendant when such defendant is unable to receive text messages, including telephone, email, or other internet-based technology.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Feb 11, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Courts of Justice Substitute · 5 edits
MODERATE
The bill was amended from its original introduction to a substitute version, significantly narrowing its scope and simplifying the Court Date Reminder Program. The substitute removes provisions related to juvenile defendants, traffic infractions, and data reporting requirements, focusing instead on criminal defendants in general district and circuit courts. It also adds stronger privacy protections for collected phone numbers and clarifies that program notifications do not replace legal obligations to appear in court.
Scope change
The bill's scope was narrowed from covering criminal defendants, juvenile defendants, and traffic infractions to only criminal defendants in general district and circuit courts. The substitute also removes the requirement to report data to the General Assembly.
SCOPE

Removed provisions related to juvenile defendants and traffic infractions, limiting the program to criminal defendants only.

REQUIREMENT

Simplified reminder requirements from two notifications (one week and one day prior) to a single notification with opt-out functionality.

Removed the annual data collection and reporting requirement to the General Assembly.

ENFORCEMENT

Added explicit language stating that failure to receive program notifications does not excuse legal obligations to appear in court or serve as a defense in prosecution.

DEFINITION

Added stronger privacy protections requiring phone numbers to be redacted from public court records and prohibiting use for investigative or intelligence purposes.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
8
Key actions
2
Committee
3
Feb 4, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N)
upper
Feb 4, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate committee offered
upper
Jan 13, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
upper
1 primary · 2 co-sponsors

Sponsors