# Virginia HB342: Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission; magistrates, availability of complaint forms in courthouses.

Virginia HB342, Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission; magistrates, availability of complaint forms in courthouses., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Marty Martinez (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-06 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0113)) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB342-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB342
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission; magistrates, availability of complaint forms in courthouses.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-12
- Last action: 2026-04-06, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0113)
- Sponsor: Marty Martinez (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 7 (178 yes, 43 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 2

## Summary

Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission; magistrates; availability of complaint forms in courthouses. Requires that paper copies of any standardized form developed and utilized by the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission and any standardized form developed and utilized by the Department of Magistrate Services in the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia for the filing of a complaint be made available to the public in the clerk's office in all state courts of the Commonwealth. The bill also requires that a sign be posted in all such courts, in a location accessible to the public, that notes the availability and location of such forms.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Agencies must help judicial oversight investigations: benefit, low. All state and local public bodies, departments, officers, and employees must cooperate with the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission. All court officials and staff must give reasonable help and information when the Commission asks. This duty applies to the Commission’s investigations and proceedi…
- Court users get easier complaint forms: benefit, low. The law makes standardized complaint forms easy to get in every Virginia state court. For complaints about judges, you can download the Commission’s form from the Virginia judicial system’s official website. Each court posts a public sign with download instructions. Paper copies are in every clerk’…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Marty Martinez (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-02-23 | Senate | Passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 38 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-20 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-20 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-18 | Senate | Reported from Courts of Justice | pass | 14 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-10 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 63 | 34 |   |
| 2026-02-04 | House | Reported from Courts of Justice | pass | 15 | 7 |   |
| 2026-02-02 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 8 | 2 |   |

## Actions (26)

- 2026-04-06: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0113) (Governor)
- 2026-04-06: Approved by Governor-Chapter 113 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-03-10: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-10: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026 (House)
- 2026-02-25: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB342) (House)
- 2026-02-25: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB342ER) (House)
- 2026-02-25: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-02-25: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-02-23: Passed Senate Block Vote (38-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-23: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-02-20: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-20: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-20: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Reported from Courts of Justice (14-Y 0-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 (63-Y 34-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-09: Read second time and engrossed (House)
- 2026-02-06: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-04: Reported from Courts of Justice (15-Y 7-N) (House)
- 2026-02-02: Subcommittee recommends reporting (8-Y 2-N) (House)
- 2026-01-29: Assigned HCJ sub: Civil (House)
- 2026-01-19: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB342) (House)
- 2026-01-12: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (House)
- 2026-01-12: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26100400D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216452.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216451.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-02-25: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177839.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177838.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-12: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083926.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083925.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/1216452.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216451.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177839.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177838.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083926.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083925.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-HB342-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).