# Virginia HB602: Motion picture theaters; definitions, establishes requirements for open captioning.

Virginia HB602, Motion picture theaters; definitions, establishes requirements for open captioning., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Phil M. Hernandez (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-06 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0184)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB602-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB602
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Motion picture theaters; definitions, establishes requirements for open captioning.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-04-06, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0184)
- Sponsor: Phil M. Hernandez (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 8 (180 yes, 39 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 3

## Summary

Open captioning at motion picture theaters. Establishes requirements for open captioning for motion picture theaters. The bill requires all motion picture theater companies, excluding outdoor theaters such as drive-in theaters, that own, operate, control, or lease five or more locations in the Commonwealth and are open to the general public to provide open captioning on any film that has at least seven showings per operating week for a period greater than one operating week, provided that open captioning is available to the theater for such film as part of the digital cinema package. The bill specifies that (i) within the first two operating weeks following a film's release, a theater shall provide at least four open captioning viewings; (ii) at least one of such open captioning viewings shall start between (a) 5:59 p.m. and 11:01 p.m. on a Friday, (b) 10:59 a.m. and 11:01 p.m. on a Saturday or Sunday, or (c) 5:59 p.m. and 10:01 p.m. on a Monday through Thursday; and (iii) beginning in the third operating week following a film's release, a theater shall provide at least one open captioning viewing within 72 hours after receiving a request for such a viewing provided that no theater shall be obligated to provide open captioning viewing for any particular screening for which advance tickets have been sold prior to its receipt of such request. Under the bill, motion picture theater companies are required to provide contact information on their websites for receiving and fulfilling requests for open captioning screenings and advertise the date and time of open captioning screenings in the same manner used to advertise all other motion picture screenings and indicate which screenings shall include open captioning by utilizing the character symbol "OC" or such other language or symbols as may reasonably identify which screenings will include open captioning. The bill directs the Office of Civil Rights of the Attorney General of Virginia to establish a process for receiving consumer reports of suspected violations of the bill. As introduced, the bill was a recommendation of the Disability Commission. This bill is identical to SB 722.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Open-caption showings required at theaters: benefit, medium. Most indoor theaters must offer open‑caption (on‑screen) showings when a film has captions in its digital package and runs at least seven times a week for more than one week. Large chains (five or more locations) must give at least four open‑captioned showings in the first two operating weeks. At l…
- Closed-caption devices at every screening: benefit, low. The law requires theaters to provide working closed‑caption devices for every showing when a movie has closed captions available. You can use a caption device to read dialogue and sounds. The theater must keep this equipment in good condition.
- How to find and request open captions: benefit, low. Theaters must post contact information on their websites to take open‑caption requests. They must list open‑caption showtimes like other showings and label them with “OC” or another clear mark. The Office of Civil Rights takes reports of violations and can ask theaters for showtime details. If the…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Phil M. Hernandez (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-02 | Senate | Passed Senate | pass | 23 | 17 |   |
| 2026-02-26 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-26 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-25 | Senate | Reported from Finance and Appropriations | pass | 9 | 4 |   |
| 2026-02-17 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 79 | 17 |   |
| 2026-02-12 | House | Reported from Health and Human Services with substitute | pass | 19 | 1 | 1 |
| 2026-02-10 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | 10 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-29 | House | Referred from General Laws and referred to Health and Human Services (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |

## Actions (33)

- 2026-04-06: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0184) (Governor)
- 2026-04-06: Approved by Governor-Chapter 184 (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)
- 2026-03-06: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB602) (House)
- 2026-03-06: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB602ER) (House)
- 2026-03-06: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-06: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-02: Passed Senate (23-Y 17-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Passed by for the day (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB602) (House)
- 2026-02-26: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Reported from Finance and Appropriations (9-Y 4-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Referred to Committee on Finance and Appropriations (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-17: Read third time and passed House (79-Y 17-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)
- 2026-02-12: Committee substitute printed 26106291D-H1 (House)
- 2026-02-12: Reported from Health and Human Services with substitute (19-Y 1-N 1-A) (House)
- 2026-02-10: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-02-10: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (10-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-06: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB602) (House)
- 2026-01-30: Assigned sub: Health (House)
- 2026-01-29: Referred from General Laws and referred to Health and Human Services (Voice Vote) (House)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee on General Laws (House)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104564D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216750.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216749.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1194085.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1194084.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-12: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1143339.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1143338.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-10: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1136116.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1136580.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1136115.PDF), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1136579.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1085137.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1085136.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/1216750.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216749.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1194085.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1194084.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1143339.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1143338.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1136116.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1136580.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1136115.PDF)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1136579.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1085137.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1085136.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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB602-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).