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HB185 • 2026

Orders closing a proceeding; petitions for review.

An Act to amend and reenact § 8.01-626 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 8.01-670.3, relating to orders closing a proceeding; petitions for review.

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Mehta
Last action
2026-04-08
Official status
Acts of Assembly Chapter
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The candidate explanation included some procedural details that are not explicitly stated in the provided official bill text. These have been removed to ensure accuracy based solely on the given information.

Orders Closing Legal Proceedings; Petitions for Review

This act allows immediate appeals to the Supreme Court of Virginia within 15 days when a circuit court issues an order closing a proceeding.

What This Bill Does

  • Allows aggrieved parties to file a petition for review with the Supreme Court of Virginia within 15 days if they disagree with a circuit court's order that closes a legal proceeding.
  • Specifies that any person affected by such an order must follow procedures outlined in § 8.01-626, including filing a copy of the proceedings and serving notice on the opposing party.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People involved in legal cases who want to appeal an order closing their proceeding.
  • Lawyers representing parties in these cases.
  • The Supreme Court of Virginia which will handle appeals under this new law.

Terms To Know

circuit court
A type of trial court that handles serious criminal and civil cases.
petition for review
A formal request to a higher court to reconsider or overturn a decision made by a lower court.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if someone misses the 15-day deadline to file an appeal.
  • It is unclear how this law will affect existing cases where proceedings have already been closed.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HB185AS1

2026-03-05 • Committee

Courts of Justice Amendment

Plain English: The amendment removes references to sealing records or proceedings from certain sections of the Virginia Code.

  • Removes mentions of 'sealing a record' and 'seal any record' in relation to court proceedings.
  • Eliminates instances where a proceeding is described as 'closed or sealed'.
  • Strikes out parts that refer to 'the remainder of line 29 through record' and similar phrases.
  • The exact impact on the legal process for sealing records is not detailed in this amendment text.
HB185EDOC

2026-03-11 • Senate

Senate Amendments

Plain English: The amendment removes references to sealing records or proceedings from certain sections of the Virginia Code.

  • Removes mentions of 'sealing a record' and 'seal any record' in relation to court proceedings.
  • Strikes out phrases like 'closed or sealed' where they appear.
  • The exact impact on current practices regarding sealing records is not detailed in the amendment text.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-08 Governor

    Approved by Governor-Chapter 366 (effective 7/1/2026)

  2. 2026-04-08 Governor

    Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0366)

  3. 2026-03-31 House

    Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026

  4. 2026-03-31 Governor

    Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026

  5. 2026-03-31 House

    Signed by Speaker

  6. 2026-03-31 House

    Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026

  7. 2026-03-31 Governor

    Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026

  8. 2026-03-31 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB185)

  9. 2026-03-30 Senate

    Signed by President

  10. 2026-03-30 House

    Enrolled

  11. 2026-03-30 House

    Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB185ER)

  12. 2026-03-12 House

    Senate amendments agreed to by House (97-Y 0-N 0-A)

  13. 2026-03-11 Senate

    Read third time

  14. 2026-03-11 Senate

    Read third time

  15. 2026-03-11 Senate

    Engrossed by Senate as amended

  16. 2026-03-11 Courts of Justice

    Courts of Justice Amendments agreed to

  17. 2026-03-11 Senate

    Passed Senate with amendments (40-Y 0-N 0-A)

  18. 2026-03-10 Senate

    Rules suspended

  19. 2026-03-10 Senate

    Passed by for the day

  20. 2026-03-10 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (37-Y 0-N 0-A)

  21. 2026-03-10 Senate

    Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

  22. 2026-03-09 Finance and Appropriations

    Reported from Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N)

  23. 2026-03-04 Courts of Justice

    Reported from Courts of Justice with amendments and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 1-N)

  24. 2026-02-04 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)

  25. 2026-02-04 Courts of Justice

    Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice

  26. 2026-02-03 House

    Moved from Uncontested Calendar to Regular Calendar

  27. 2026-02-03 House

    Read third time and passed House (98-Y 0-N 0-A)

  28. 2026-02-02 House

    Read second time and engrossed

  29. 2026-01-30 House

    Read first time

  30. 2026-01-28 Courts of Justice

    Reported from Courts of Justice (19-Y 0-N)

  31. 2026-01-21 Civil

    Subcommittee recommends reporting (9-Y 1-N)

  32. 2026-01-20 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB185)

  33. 2026-01-19 Civil

    Assigned HCJ sub: Civil

  34. 2026-01-07 House

    Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103517D

  35. 2026-01-07 Courts of Justice

    Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice

Official Summary Text

Orders closing a proceeding; petitions for review.
Provides that when a circuit court acts on or issues an order pertaining to the closure of a proceeding, such order is eligible for immediate appellate review with the Supreme Court of Virginia. The bill further provides that any person aggrieved by such an order may, within 15 days of the entry of such an order, file a petition for review with the Supreme Court of Virginia. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Boyd-Graves Conference.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
An Act to amend and reenact §
8.01-626
of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered
8.01-670.3
, relating to orders closing a proceeding; petitions for review.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §
8.01-626
of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered
8.01-670.3
as follows:
§
8.01-626
. Review of injunction and certain orders; petitions for review.
When a circuit court (i) grants a preliminary injunction, (ii) refuses such an injunction, (iii) having granted such an injunction, dissolves or refuses to enlarge it, or (iv) enters an order reviewable pursuant to §
8.01-670.2
or
8.01-670.3
, an aggrieved party may file a petition for review with the clerk of the Supreme Court within 15 days of the circuit court's order.
The clerk shall assign the petition to a three-justice panel of the Supreme Court. The aggrieved party shall serve a copy of the petition for review on the counsel for the opposing party, which may file a response within 15 days from the date of service unless otherwise determined by the court. The petition for review shall be accompanied by a copy of the proceedings before the circuit court, including the original papers and the circuit court's order respecting the injunction. The Supreme Court may take such action thereon as it considers appropriate under the circumstances of the case.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the Supreme Court from resolving a petition for review by an order joined by more than three justices.
§
8.01-670.3
. Review of order closing a proceeding or sealing a record.
When a circuit court (i) grants or denies a motion to close any proceeding not otherwise authorized to be closed, (ii) issues sua sponte an order closing any proceeding not otherwise authorized to be closed, or (iii) affirms or reverses an order of any general district court or juvenile and domestic relations district court closing any proceeding not otherwise authorized to be closed, any such order is eligible for immediate appellate review. Any person aggrieved by any such order may, within 15 days of the entry of such an order, file a petition for review with the Supreme Court in accordance with the procedures set forth in §
8.01-626
.