# Virginia HB933: Penalties for failure to appear; definition, contempt.

Virginia HB933, Penalties for failure to appear; definition, contempt., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Marcus B. Simon (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-06 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0241)) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB933-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB933
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Penalties for failure to appear; definition, contempt.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-04-06, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0241)
- Sponsor: Marcus B. Simon (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 9 (217 yes, 99 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 2

## Summary

Penalties for failure to appear; contempt. Provides that a court shall consider certain mitigating factors to determine whether the failure of any person to appear before any court or judicial officer as required was willful. Under current law, no mitigating factors are specified for a court or judicial officer to consider in determining whether a person willfully failed to appear. This bill is identical to SB 283.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Criminal penalties for skipping court: mixed, high. The law makes willfully skipping court a crime. If you are charged with a felony, or convicted and your sentence is suspended, a willful miss is a Class 6 felony. If you are charged with a misdemeanor, or convicted with sentence suspended, a willful miss is a Class 1 misdemeanor. “Willful” means yo…
- Contempt rules for court misbehavior: mixed, medium. The law sets clear, limited grounds for summary contempt. Judges can punish on the spot for disrupting court, violence or threats, insulting a judge about a case, disobeying orders, or willfully missing court after a charge or a summons. The judge must state in writing which ground applies. For mis…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Marcus B. Simon (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-02-25 | House | Senate substitute agreed to by House | pass | 64 | 32 |   |
| 2026-02-23 | Senate | Courts of Justice Substitute agreed to | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-23 | Senate | Passed Senate with substitute | pass | 20 | 18 |   |
| 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 with substitute | pass | 9 | 5 |   |
| 2026-02-10 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 62 | 35 |   |
| 2026-02-04 | House | Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute | pass | 15 | 7 |   |
| 2026-01-28 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | 7 | 2 |   |

## Actions (33)

- 2026-04-06: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0241) (Governor)
- 2026-04-06: Approved by Governor-Chapter 241 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-03-11: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB933) (House)
- 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)
- 2026-03-02: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB933ER) (House)
- 2026-03-02: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-02: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-02-25: Senate substitute agreed to by House (64-Y 32-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-23: Passed Senate with substitute (20-Y 18-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-23: Courts of Justice Substitute agreed to (Senate)
- 2026-02-23: Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (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)
- 2026-02-19: Committee substitute printed 26108204D-S1 (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (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 (62-Y 35-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-09: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House)
- 2026-02-09: committee substitute agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-09: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-06: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-04: Committee substitute printed 26106485D-H1 (House)
- 2026-02-04: Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (15-Y 7-N) (House)
- 2026-01-28: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-01-28: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (7-Y 2-N) (House)
- 2026-01-23: 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 26101390D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216990.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216989.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-02: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1181545.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1181544.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-19: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1171123.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1171122.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-04: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1127457.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1127456.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-01-29: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1101257.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1101256.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-01-28: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1100366.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1100365.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086577.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086576.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/1216990.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216989.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1181545.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1181544.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1171123.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1171122.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1127457.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1127456.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1101257.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1101256.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1100366.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1100365.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086577.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086576.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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB933-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).