Virginia subcommittee advances a package of bills to limit court debt’s long-term harms
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Summary
The House Courts Subcommittee advanced several measures aimed at reducing the role of court costs and fees in criminal-case outcomes, including limits on holding deferrals to ransom, new judicial discretion to waive fees for indigent defendants, and changes to collections timing and statutes of limitation.
The House Courts Subcommittee on Criminal Law on Thursday advanced a slate of bills intended to reduce the long-term financial burdens that court costs and fees place on people who pass through Virginia’s criminal justice system.
The panel unanimously reported a substitute for House Bill 331, the bill’s patron, Delegate McClure, said, would bar courts from conditioning dismissal in deferred-disposition cases on payment of court costs for deferrals entered on or after July 1, 2026. "When a person has completed all the terms and conditions set by the court, the court cannot enter a conviction simply because a person has not paid all of the court costs," McClure said, explaining the substitute clarifies that collection mechanisms remain available but will not block dismissal.
Why it matters: Advocates and public defenders told the committee some jurisdictions are effectively creating a two-tiered justice system in which people who can pay avoid convictions while people who cannot pay receive convictions despite completing court-ordered terms. Rob Hoglundclass of Justice Forward Virginia said the issue reached the Virginia Supreme Court in a Warren County case and argued the substitute fixes that gap.
Other bills the subcommittee moved forward or referred to appropriations would: give judges clearer statutory authority to waive nonpunitive fees for defendants who are legally indigent (HB 660), align the start of collections with interest accrual and pause collections for incarcerated people (HB 17), and create or clarify credit for community service toward court costs (HB 16). Delegate Maldonado, sponsor of HB 660, said the change "ensures penalties are appropriate, proportionate, realistic, and prevent punishment from extending indefinitely due solely to poverty." Counsel and proponents emphasized restitution and other victim-ordered obligations remain separate and are not relieved by these measures.
Votes at a glance: HB 331 (substitute) reported with substitute unanimously 10–0; HB 660 reported and referred to Appropriations 6–3; HB 17 reported and referred to Appropriations with amendments (9–2–1). Delegate Hernandez’s bill to establish a uniform 10-year statute of limitations on collecting court fines and fees (HB 268) was reported as amended unanimously 8–0.
Next steps: Several of the bills were referred to Appropriations or will be posted with final substitute language; the subcommittee chair asked counsel to post substitutes online so members and stakeholders can review before full committee consideration.
The meeting also featured public testimony from formerly incarcerated people, legal aid attorneys, and advocacy groups who said court debt hinders reentry and stability and urged the panel to reduce administrative barriers to relief. The subcommittee adjourned after taking testimony and advancing measures for further review.
