# Virginia HB223: Public defender; local funding for positions.

Virginia HB223, Public defender; local funding for positions., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Patrick A. Hope (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-06 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0092)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB223-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB223
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Public defender; local funding for positions.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-08
- Last action: 2026-04-06, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0092)
- Sponsor: Patrick A. Hope (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 8 (235 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

Public defender; local funding for positions. Allows the governing body of any county or city to fund positions in the office of the public defender.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Local pay boosts for public defenders: benefit, medium. If you work in a Virginia public defender office, your county or city can add pay on top of your state-set salary or fund more positions. The extra money must come from local funds. Localities cannot add any conditions or requirements to get this extra pay or funding. The money can go to the Indige…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

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

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-04 | Senate | Passed Senate | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-03 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-03 | Senate | Reported from Finance and Appropriations | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-03 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-23 | Senate | Reported from Courts of Justice and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations | pass | 14 | 0 | 1 |
| 2026-02-03 | House | Read third time and passed House Block Vote | pass | 98 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-28 | House | Reported from Courts of Justice | pass | 18 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-23 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 10 | 0 |   |

## Actions (27)

- 2026-04-06: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0092) (Governor)
- 2026-04-06: Approved by Governor-Chapter 92 (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)
- 2026-03-12: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-11: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB223) (House)
- 2026-03-11: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB223ER) (House)
- 2026-03-11: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-11: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (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 (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-23: Reported from Courts of Justice and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N 1-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-04: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (Senate)
- 2026-02-04: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-03: Read third time and passed House Block Vote (98-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-02: Read second time and engrossed (House)
- 2026-01-30: Read first time (House)
- 2026-01-28: Reported from Courts of Justice (18-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-23: Subcommittee recommends reporting (10-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-22: Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal (House)
- 2026-01-21: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB223) (House)
- 2026-01-08: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (House)
- 2026-01-08: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102399D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216392.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216391.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-11: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1199865.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1199864.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-08: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083143.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083142.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/1216392.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216391.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1199865.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1199864.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083143.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083142.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-HB223-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).