Public Safety & Claims subcommittee reports 19 bills to full committee; most reported, one did not report

Katie, reporting for the Public Safety & Claims subcommittee, said the subcommittee heard 19 bills and recommended reporting most to the full committee, often with committee or patron substitutes.

Highlights from the subcommittee report (motions and recorded roll-call tallies are listed below):

- Senate Bill 1409 (Bagby): Prohibits isolated confinement in state correctional facilities (defined as confinement to a cell for more than 17 hours a day) with exceptions; the subcommittee recommended a committee substitute delaying enactment until July 1, 2026, and exempting medical isolation inmates from the one-hour congregate recreation requirement. Reported with substitute (vote: 4 yes, 0 no at subcommittee).

- Senate Bill 1134 (Boisco): Relates to firearm storage in residences where minors or prohibited persons are present. Reported (4–0 in subcommittee).

- Senate Bill 1181 (Deeds): Prohibition on assault firearms and expansion of the definition of assault firearm. Reported (4–0 in subcommittee).

- Senate Bill 1182 (Deeds): Authorizes public institutions of higher education to adopt and enforce policies prohibiting possession/carrying/transportation of firearms on campus with some exceptions; subcommittee adopted a largely technical substitute and reported the bill (recorded as reported with substitute).

- Senate Bill 941 (DeStef): Expands armed-robbery penalties to include air- or gas-operated weapons similar in appearance to firearms. Reported (vote recorded: Ayes 13, No 0, 1 abstention).

- Senate Bill 1220 (Yeastaff): Relates to possession by convicted violent felons; subcommittee adopted a patron substitute narrowing applicability to violent felons and reported with a recorded vote (Ayes 15, No 0 reported later).

- Senate Bill 880 & 881 (Evan): Relate to curing assault firearms in public and to plastic/unserialized firearms; both reported (votes recorded Ayes 10, Noes 5 for each in roll calls shown).

- Senate Bill 747 (Favola): Authorizes courts to direct public agencies to evaluate delinquent juveniles’ service needs using an interdisciplinary approach; substitute agreed to (struck private agencies), reported (vote recorded Ayes 15, No 0 in committee roll call later).

- Senate Bill 1248 (Hackworth): Exempts fire departments, EMS agencies, and localities with fewer than 10,000 residents from fireworks permit fees while maintaining compliance with the state fire-prevention code; patron substitute technical, reported (6–0 at subcommittee; later roll Ayes 15, No 0).

- Senate Bill 757 (Locke): Establishes a new class 4 felony for using drones to attempt to obtain controlled technical information; reported (Ayes 15, No 0 noted).

- Senate Bill 1329 (Marzen): Removes exception for a handgun secured in a personal vehicle from an existing concealed-carry felony, while maintaining an affirmative defense for concealed handgun permit holders; reported (recorded Ayes 10, No 5 in roll call shown).

- Senate Bill 883 (Perry): Expands misdemeanor for possessing a firearm after a misdemeanor assault and battery of a family member to include intimate partners; reported (Ayes 10, No 5 recorded).

- Senate Bill 886 (Perry): Expands definition of a trigger activator to include conversion kits or devices that increase a semi-automatic firearm’s rate of fire; reported (Ayes 10, No 5 recorded).

- Senate Bill 861 (Reeves): Expands the set of officers covered by National Law Enforcement Officer penalties related to escape from custody to include all law enforcement officers (not just police); reported with unanimous subcommittee vote (Ayes 15, No 0 recorded).

- Senate Bill 848 (Saleem): Raises minimum purchase age for assault firearms to 21; reported (Ayes 10, No 5 recorded).

- Senate Bill 891 (Selim): Establishes a five-day waiting period for a firearm purchase; reported (Ayes 10, No 5 recorded).

- Senate Bill 926 (Stewart): Would add Virginia Marine Police Officers to the definition of law-enforcement officers for certain penalties. Senator Stewart and others discussed mandatory minimums; the subcommittee recorded votes that left the measure without a reported recommendation (recorded in the transcript as Ayes 6, Noes 9 — bill did not report).

- Senate Bill 1110 (Williams Graves): Creates a class 1 misdemeanor for knowingly possessing a firearm in a hospital that provides mental-health or developmental services, with exceptions; reported (Ayes 10, No 5 recorded).

The subcommittee’s actions were largely procedural: adopting substitutes (committee or patron) and recommending reporting to the full committee. Several bills included technical substitutes; some were narrowed in scope by patron substitutes. Where roll-call tallies were recorded in the transcript, they are listed above.