Civil Subcommittee

Monday, February 2, 2026·2h 8m·▶ Watch / Listen

The Civil Subcommittee advanced eight bills and killed one, with the most contested outcomes being the 4-4 failure of a prosecutorial misconduct civil-recovery bill (HB981) and a 7-1 referral of a sweeping foster care overhaul (HB775) to House Appropriations over objections that key stakeholders were excluded from drafting and that the bill risks loss of federal Title IV-E funding.

Key Actions

·HB981 – Civil Recovery for Prosecutorial MisconductFailed

+ 9 more actions

Controversies

HB775 – Risk of Title IV-E federal funding loss

Beth Coyne (Supreme Court of Virginia, OES) testified that the bill's deviations from federal child welfare law 'can cause confusion, incorrect orders and loss of funding for the maintenance of children in foster care, otherwise colloquially known as Title IV E funding.' An unnamed advocate responded that 'concerns about possible loss of Title IV E funding are not supported by evidence' and that many states already define reasonable efforts.

+ 4 more controversies

Notable Quotes

“Under current law, when a lien is issued by a treasurer, there is absolutely no cap on the amount of someone's paycheck that can be subject to the lien. Plain English. That means that 100% of someone's paycheck can be taken.”
Delegate Hernandez (patron, HB1100) — Explaining the consumer protection gap HB1100 addresses by capping treasurer's liens at 25% of disposable earnings in a single pay period.

+ 4 more quotes

Votes

Report HB775 with substitute and refer to House Appropriations CommitteePassed

No (1)Delegate Ballard

Report HB981 and refer to appropriationsFailed

Report HB1100 as amendedPassed

Report Digital Replica bill substitute as amendedPassed

Report HB872 with substitutePassed

Report HB342Passed

Report HB556 with substitutePassed

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TranscriptPreview

Good afternoon. I'm calling this meeting of the civil. What is it? Civil self course of Justice Committee meeting to order. Members will cast their. Indicate their presence on the electronic voting board. That's what we'll do. I'm pressing yes. All right, try again. Clock in. There we go. All right, the clerk will close. The roll quorum is present so we can go ahead and start. Delegate Simons, you ready to get going? All right, and then, Solomon simons, you have hb593. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Hand out. Mr. Chair, I brought this bill because my local, United Way had an eviction prevention program and wanted to attach some basic information about available legal resources to tenants and landlords about what to expect in court. They had a little trouble getting permission to do this. So the bill simply clarifies that impartial information may be attached to the unlawful detainer summons and included by the court so that individuals involved better understand the process and available resources. So you have an example. And the United Way actually worked with some local judges to make sure it was impartial. So it has the eviction prevention on one side and the…

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