SB 616 Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Emergency protective orders; extends duration.

Summary

Emergency protective orders; duration. Extends the duration of an emergency protective order from a maximum of three days to a maximum of two weeks. The bill permits a petitioner, prior to the expiration of an emergency protective order, to file a written motion requesting to extend such order and authorizes a court, upon good cause shown, to extend the emergency protective order for an additional period of time not to exceed two weeks after expiration of the original order. Finally, the bill permits a court to continue an emergency protective order to the first hearing date of any related criminal offense. The bill contains technical amendments.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 14, 2026 Last action Jan 26, 2026

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What changed between versions

Introduced → Courts of Justice Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill text was amended from its original 'Introduced' version to a 'Courts of Justice Substitute' version, primarily reflecting procedural changes in the legislative process rather than substantive policy modifications. The core provisions regarding emergency protective orders, their duration, and enforcement mechanisms remain substantially the same, though some formatting and line numbering were updated to reflect the substitute bill format.

TECHNICAL

Header information was changed from 'Introduced' to 'OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION' with a date of 1/26/2026, and the bill was reclassified as an 'Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute' proposed by the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice.

Line numbering and formatting were updated throughout the document to reflect the substitute bill markup format, including changes from hyphenated lines to numbered line references.

Some minor wording adjustments were made in the body text, such as changing 'allegedly abused person' to 'alleged victim' in certain sections, and adjusting the expiration language from 'third last day' to 'third day following issuance' in the substitute version.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Jan 26, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate committee offered

upper

Jan 14, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors