# Virginia HB1485: Court of Appeals of Virginia; maximum number of judges, summary disposition of certain civil cases.

Virginia HB1485, Court of Appeals of Virginia; maximum number of judges, summary disposition of certain civil cases., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Patrick A. Hope (Democratic); status passed house, last action 2026-03-09 (Continued to 2027 in Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N)) (as of 2026-11-06).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1485-2026
- As of: 2026-11-06
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB1485
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Court of Appeals of Virginia; maximum number of judges, summary disposition of certain civil cases.
- Status: passed house
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-23
- Last action: 2026-03-09, Continued to 2027 in Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N)
- Sponsor: Patrick A. Hope (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Finance and Appropriations
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 5 (139 yes, 19 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Maximum number of judges on the Court of Appeals of Virginia; hearings en banc; summary disposition of certain civil cases. Increases from 17 to 21 the maximum number of authorized judges on the Court of Appeals of Virginia. The bill provides that the Supreme Court of Virginia shall prescribe by rule the number of judges needed for the Court of Appeals to sit en banc, and that such number shall not be fewer than 13 judges. Additionally, the bill permits the Court of Appeals to summarily affirm the decision below in certain civil cases.

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Patrick A. Hope (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-09 | Senate | Continued to 2027 in Finance and Appropriations | pass | 14 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-23 | Senate | Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations | pass | 9 | 5 |   |
| 2026-02-10 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 84 | 14 |   |
| 2026-02-04 | House | Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment(s) | pass | 22 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-02 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) and referring to Appropriations | pass | 10 | 0 |   |

## Actions (18)

- 2026-03-09: Continued to 2027 in Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1485) (House)
- 2026-02-23: Committee substitute printed 26108371D-S1 (Senate)
- 2026-02-23: Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (9-Y 5-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-11: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (Senate)
- 2026-02-11: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-10: Read third time and passed House (84-Y 14-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-09: Engrossed by House as amended (House)
- 2026-02-09: committee amendment agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-09: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-09: Moved from Uncontested Calendar to Regular Calendar (House)
- 2026-02-06: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-04: Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment(s) (22-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-03: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1485) (House)
- 2026-02-02: Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) and referring to Appropriations (10-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-30: Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal (House)
- 2026-01-23: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (House)
- 2026-01-23: Presented and ordered printed 26105533D (House)

## Bill text

- Substitute, 2026-02-23: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177608.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177607.PDF)
- Engrossed, 2026-02-09: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1132534.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1132533.PDF)
- Amendment, 2026-02-04: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1127378.HTML)
- Amendment, 2026-02-03: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1108255.HTML)
- Introduced, 2026-01-23: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1095462.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1095461.PDF)

## Related bills

- HB20: Minimum wage; farm laborers or farm employees, temporary foreign workers. (signed)
- HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- HB1444: Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank; created, report, membership. (signed)
- HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed)
- HB1011: Compost and other products containing organic soil amendments; waste disposal infrastructure, etc. (signed)

## Sources
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177608.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177607.PDF)
- [Engrossed (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1132534.HTML)
- [Engrossed (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1132533.PDF)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1127378.HTML)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1108255.HTML)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1095462.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1095461.PDF)

## Related
- [HB20: Minimum wage; farm laborers or farm employees, temporary foreign workers.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB20-2026)
- [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)
- [HB1444: Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank; created, report, membership.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1444-2026)
- [HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1393-2026)
- [HB1011: Compost and other products containing organic soil amendments; waste disposal i…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1011-2026)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1485-2026 (as of 2026-11-06).