# Virginia HB1298: Human trafficking; issuance of vacatur for victims, definitions.

Virginia HB1298, Human trafficking; issuance of vacatur for victims, definitions., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Karrie K. Delaney (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-13 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0770)) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1298-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB1298
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Human trafficking; issuance of vacatur for victims, definitions.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-15
- Last action: 2026-04-13, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0770)
- Sponsor: Karrie K. Delaney (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 14 (386 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 3

## Summary

Issuance of vacatur for victims of human trafficking. Expands the current process for the issuance of writs of vacatur for victims of human trafficking to include ancillary matters, defined in the bill, and any charge or arrest related to a qualifying offense as defined in current law. The bill also expands the list of qualifying offenses eligible for such writ. This bill is identical to SB 748.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Trafficking victims can clear qualifying criminal records: benefit, high. Virginia law lets labor- or sex-trafficking victims ask a circuit court to set aside qualifying criminal matters caused by trafficking. This covers arrests, charges, convictions, juvenile findings, and related matters such as probation violations or failure to appear. Eligible offenses include atte…
- Trafficking victims gain relief from restitution debts: benefit, high. Before granting relief, the court must check whether restitution remains unpaid. When the court sets aside a qualifying offense, the trafficking victim no longer owes restitution under that offense's sentencing order. The victim of that offense can seek awards through Virginia's crime-victim compen…
- Trafficking victims get refunds and fee relief: benefit, low. If the court finds you unable to pay, you do not owe filing fees or costs for your petition. When the court grants relief, clerks must refund applicable petition fees and costs you already paid. You also get back all fines and penalties paid for the qualifying offense and related matters. If the cl…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Karrie K. Delaney (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-06 | House | Senate substitute agreed to by House | pass | 97 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-04 | Senate | Passed Senate with substitute Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-04 | Senate | Courts of Justice Substitute agreed to | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-03 | Senate | Reported from Finance and Appropriations | pass | 14 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-03 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-03 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-25 | Senate | Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-17 | House | Read third time and passed House Block Vote | pass | 97 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-13 | House | Reported from Appropriations | pass | 22 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-13 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 7 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-11 | House | Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute and referred to Appropriations | pass | 22 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-11 | House | Reconsidered by Courts of Justice (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-04 | House | Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute | pass | 22 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-30 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | 10 | 0 |   |

## Actions (39)

- 2026-04-13: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0770) (Governor)
- 2026-04-13: Approved by Governor-Chapter 770 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-03-14: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-14: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 14, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-13: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1298ER) (House)
- 2026-03-13: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-13: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-13: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-06: Senate substitute agreed to by House (97-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-03-04: Passed Senate with substitute Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Courts of Justice Substitute agreed to (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Reported from Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Committee substitute printed 26108569D-S1 (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Senate committee offered (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute 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: Read third time and passed House Block Vote (97-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-16: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House)
- 2026-02-16: committee substitute agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-16: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-15: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-13: Subcommittee recommends reporting (7-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-13: Reported from Appropriations (22-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-12: Assigned HAPP sub: General Government and Capital Outlay (House)
- 2026-02-11: Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute and referred to Appropriations (22-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-11: Reconsidered by Courts of Justice (Voice Vote) (House)
- 2026-02-04: Committee substitute printed 26106686D-H1 (House)
- 2026-02-04: Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (22-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-30: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-01-30: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (10-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-29: Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal (House)
- 2026-01-15: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (House)
- 2026-01-15: Presented and ordered printed 26104783D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222615.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222614.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1203653.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1203652.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-27: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1186500.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1186499.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-25: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1181448.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1181447.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-04: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1127370.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1127369.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-01-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1104884.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1105165.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1104883.PDF), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1105164.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-15: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1089273.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1089272.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/1222615.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222614.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1203653.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1203652.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1186500.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1186499.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1181448.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1181447.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1127370.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1127369.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1104884.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1105165.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1104883.PDF)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1105164.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1089273.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1089272.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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1298-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).