# Virginia HB852: Indigent defendant; abolition of fees, legal representation, jury trial costs, report.

Virginia HB852, Indigent defendant; abolition of fees, legal representation, jury trial costs, report., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Rae Cousins (Democratic); status passed house, last action 2026-03-03 (Continued to 2027 in Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N)) (as of 2026-10-13).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB852-2026
- As of: 2026-10-13
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB852
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Indigent defendant; abolition of fees, legal representation, jury trial costs, report.
- Status: passed house
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-03-03, Continued to 2027 in Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N)
- Sponsor: Rae Cousins (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Finance and Appropriations
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 7 (126 yes, 58 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Abolition of fees; legal representation of indigent defendant; jury trial costs; report. Eliminates the fees for the cost of court-appointed counsel or public defender representation for persons who are determined to be indigent. The bill also eliminates fees for persons who utilize a jury trial. The bill contains a reenactment clause for such elimination of fees.The bill also directs the Indigent Defense Commission, in consultation with the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court or his designee, to convene a work group with all relevant stakeholders, including the Attorney General or his designee, the Secretary of Health and Human Resources or his designee; representatives from the Compensation Board, the Virginia Crime Commission, the Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, the Virginia Court Clerk's Association, the Virginia Association of Commonwealth's Attorneys, staff from the House Appropriations and the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees, and the Virginia Probation and Parole Association; and a minimum of two criminal justice reform organizations working on fees and other financial assessments imposed in criminal prosecutions in Virginia; on several topics, including current collection practices, use of funds received as a result of such collections, and the burden of a fee assessment on indigent individuals. The bill requires the work group to submit an executive summary and report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly by November 1, 2026, and a final report by November 1, 2027.

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Rae Cousins (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-03 | Senate | Continued to 2027 in Finance and Appropriations | pass | 14 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-23 | Senate | Reported from Courts of Justice and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations | pass | 9 | 5 |   |
| 2026-02-13 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 60 | 35 |   |
| 2026-02-09 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | 6 | 1 |   |
| 2026-02-09 | House | Reported from Appropriations with substitute | pass | 15 | 7 |   |
| 2026-02-04 | House | Reported from Courts of Justice and referred to Appropriations | pass | 15 | 7 |   |
| 2026-01-30 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting and referring to Appropriations | pass | 7 | 3 |   |

## Actions (21)

- 2026-03-03: Continued to 2027 in Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-23: Reported from Courts of Justice and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (9-Y 5-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-20: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB852) (House)
- 2026-02-16: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (Senate)
- 2026-02-16: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Read third time and passed House (60-Y 35-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-12: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House)
- 2026-02-12: committee substitute agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-12: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-11: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-09: Committee substitute printed 26107499D-H1 (House)
- 2026-02-09: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-02-09: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (6-Y 1-N) (House)
- 2026-02-09: Reported from Appropriations with substitute (15-Y 7-N) (House)
- 2026-02-06: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB852) (House)
- 2026-02-05: Assigned HAPP sub: General Government and Capital Outlay (House)
- 2026-02-04: Reported from Courts of Justice and referred to Appropriations (15-Y 7-N) (House)
- 2026-01-30: Subcommittee recommends reporting and referring to Appropriations (7-Y 3-N) (House)
- 2026-01-29: Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal (House)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (House)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104806D (House)

## Bill text

- Substitute, 2026-02-09: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1135897.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1135185.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1135181.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1135896.PDF), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1135180.PDF), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1135184.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086531.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086530.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
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1135897.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1135185.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1135181.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1135896.PDF)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1135180.PDF)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1135184.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086531.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086530.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-HB852-2026 (as of 2026-10-13).