Virginia legislation · 2026 Regular Session

Virginia SB83: An Act to amend and reenact § 53.1-5 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding sections numbered 16.1-69.35:4, 17.1-128.2, 18.2-469.1, 53.1-120.1, and 53.1-127.2:1, relating to security policies for courthouses and local or regional correctional facilities; penalty.

Status: Vetoed, May 19, 2026

Security policies for courthouses and local or regional correctional facilities; penalty. Adds several provisions relating to courthouse and courtroom security. The bill requires the chief judge of each general district court, juvenile and domestic relations district court, and circuit court to set a policy regarding the use and possession of portable electronic devices by visitors to the court. The bill authorizes such chief judge to condition the use and possession of portable electronic devices upon certain limitations. The bill also provides that if a sheriff allows courthouse employees to bypass any security screening required to enter a courthouse, such sheriff shall also exempt from the security screening any attorney who displays a valid Virginia State Bar-issued bar card and a government-issued identification. The bill creates a Class 1 misdemeanor for any attorney who has had his license to practice law in the Commonwealth suspended or revoked and who displays a Virginia State Bar-issued bar card in an effort to be exempt from the security screening. Finally, the bill requires the State Board of Local and Regional Jails to develop and establish minimum standards to ensure that attorneys have sufficient opportunities to have confidential visits with their clients and requires sheriffs or jail superintendents to provide a telephonic, electronic, or web-based communication method for prisoners in local correctional facilities to communicate with attorneys.