# 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 2027 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Patrick A. Hope (Democratic); status passed house, last action 2026-07-21 (Continued from last session) (as of 2026-10-13).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1485-2027
- As of: 2026-10-13
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB1485
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2027 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: 2026-07-21, Continued from last session
- Sponsor: Patrick A. Hope (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Finance and Appropriations
- Touches household money: no
- 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

## Actions (19)

- 2026-07-21: Continued from last session (Senate)
- 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/1228549.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1228548.PDF)
- Engrossed, 2026-02-09: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1230290.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1230289.PDF)
- Amendment, 2026-02-04: [HTML](https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20271/HB1485)
- Introduced, 2026-01-23: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1231091.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1231090.PDF)

## Related bills

- SB844: Licensed clinical psychologists; prescriptive authority, report. (in committee)
- HB1535: Individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities; admissibility of statements. (introduced)
- HB1534: School service providers; deletion of student and family personal information. (introduced)
- SB843: Data centers; state permitting, local approval, moratorium, sunset. (in committee)
- SB842: High school student athletes; eligibility, enrollment. (in committee)
- SB840: Corrections, Director of the Department of; placement of inmates, Red Onion State Prison. (in committee)

## Sources
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1228549.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1228548.PDF)
- [Engrossed (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1230290.HTML)
- [Engrossed (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1230289.PDF)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20271/HB1485)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1231091.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1231090.PDF)

## Related
- [SB844: Licensed clinical psychologists; prescriptive authority, report.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB844-2027)
- [HB1535: Individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities; admissibility of s…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1535-2027)
- [HB1534: School service providers; deletion of student and family personal information.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1534-2027)
- [SB843: Data centers; state permitting, local approval, moratorium, sunset.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB843-2027)
- [SB842: High school student athletes; eligibility, enrollment.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB842-2027)
- [SB840: Corrections, Director of the Department of; placement of inmates, Red Onion Sta…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB840-2027)
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- [Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1485-2027 (as of 2026-10-13).