# Virginia HB1219: Unmanned aircraft systems; use by law-enforcement officers, search warrants.

Virginia HB1219, Unmanned aircraft systems; use by law-enforcement officers, search warrants., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Briana D. Sewell (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-06 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0270)) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1219-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB1219
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Unmanned aircraft systems; use by law-enforcement officers, search warrants.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-14
- Last action: 2026-04-06, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0270)
- Sponsor: Briana D. Sewell (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 8 (238 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 4

## Summary

Use of unmanned aircraft systems by law-enforcement officers; search warrants; model policy. Expedites the issuance of a search warrant for unmanned aircraft systems by law-enforcement officers upon a finding of reasonable and probable cause by an authorized judicial official, as defined in the bill, and permits the use of unmanned aircraft systems without a search warrant when law enforcement is surveying the scene of a crime or to respond to a public safety call for service when such crime scene or call for service is located on public property, to locate a person when such person has fled the offense location during the initial response to an incident, or to provide real-time aerial observation to increase on-scene safety and security. Such provisions are subject to a reenactment clause. The bill also requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services, in consultation with the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission and the Virginia Association of Commonwealth's Attorneys, to establish a model policy for the use of unmanned aircraft systems by December 1, 2026. This bill is identical to SB 647.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Limits on weaponized government drones: benefit, medium. The weaponized-drone ban takes effect only upon reenactment by the 2027 General Assembly. Covered Virginia government entities cannot deploy weaponized drones in Virginia or help others use them there. The ban excludes operations at the Space Port and Naval/Aegis facilities at Wallops Island. A dro…
- Police drone warrants and evidence limits: benefit, medium. The law sets drone-use limits for covered Virginia state and local enforcement agencies. These limits take effect only upon reenactment by the 2027 General Assembly. Agencies generally need a search, administrative, or inspection warrant. Exceptions cover active Amber, Senior, or Blue Alerts; immed…
- State guidance for police drone use: benefit, low. The Department of Criminal Justice Services must establish and publish a model policy for police and sheriff drone use. The deadline to establish it is December 1, 2026. The policy must address operations under the law's drone-use rules. The department must consult the Virginia Indigent Defense Com…
- Drone exemptions for rescue and research: mixed, low. These exemptions take effect only upon reenactment by the 2027 General Assembly. The warrant requirement excludes non-police drone work supporting Virginia or a locality, removing that warrant safeguard for these uses. Covered work includes damage, traffic, flood-stage, and wildfire checks, plus fi…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Briana D. Sewell (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-09 | Senate | Passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-05 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-05 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-04 | Senate | Reported from Finance and Appropriations | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-25 | Senate | Reported from Courts of Justice and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-17 | House | Read third time and passed House Block Vote | pass | 97 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-11 | House | Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute | pass | 22 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-06 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | 10 | 0 |   |

## Actions (32)

- 2026-04-06: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0270) (Governor)
- 2026-04-06: Approved by Governor-Chapter 270 (Effective - see bill) (Governor)
- 2026-03-25: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-25: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 25, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-18: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1219) (House)
- 2026-03-14: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1219ER) (House)
- 2026-03-14: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-14: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-14: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-09: Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Reported from Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Reported from Courts of Justice and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-17: Fiscal Impact statement From DPB (2/17/2026 3:20 pm) (House)
- 2026-02-17: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House)
- 2026-02-17: Read third time and passed House Block Vote (97-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-16: committee substitute agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-16: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-13: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-11: Committee substitute printed 26106525D-H1 (House)
- 2026-02-11: Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (22-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-06: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-02-06: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (10-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-23: Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal (House)
- 2026-01-14: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (House)
- 2026-01-14: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103614D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217207.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217206.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209021.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209020.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-11: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142314.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142313.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133653.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133822.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133652.PDF), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133821.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088434.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088433.PDF)

## Related bills

- HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with rental agreement. (signed)
- HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed)
- HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, termination by landlord. (signed)
- HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil penalty. (signed)

## Sources
- [Chaptered (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217207.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217206.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209021.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209020.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142314.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142313.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133653.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133822.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133652.PDF)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133821.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088434.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088433.PDF)

## Related
- [HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB5-2026)
- [SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB199-2026)
- [HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB95-2026)
- [HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1393-2026)
- [HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, terminat…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB834-2026)
- [HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB675-2026)
- [Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia/bills)
- [Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1219-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).