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SB262 • 2026

Tort claims against the Commonwealth; liability for dangerous condition on public roadway.

<p class=ldtitle>A BILL to amend and reenact § 8.01-195.3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to tort claims against the Commonwealth; liability for dangerous condition on public roadway.</p>

Enacted

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

Sponsor
Stanley
Last action
2026-02-04
Official status
Failed
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide specific details about the exact monetary limits imposed on claims. The official text specifies these limits but are not directly supported by the plain language explanation.

Liability for Dangerous Road Conditions

This bill changes Virginia law to make the state and transportation districts responsible if they know about a dangerous road condition but do not fix it.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the law so that the Commonwealth or a transportation district can be sued if someone gets hurt because of a known dangerous road condition.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People who are injured by dangerous road conditions on public roads.
  • The Commonwealth of Virginia and its transportation districts.

Terms To Know

Transportation district
A specific area in the state that is responsible for managing local transportation infrastructure, like roads and bridges.
Sovereign immunity
The protection given to governments from being sued unless they agree to be held accountable under certain conditions.

Limits and Unknowns

  • Does not apply to claims based on acts or omissions before specific dates.
  • Limits how much money someone can get from suing the state or transportation districts due to these conditions.
  • The exact amount someone can recover from a lawsuit is limited by law.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-04 Courts of Justice

    Passed by indefinitely in Courts of Justice (9-Y 5-N)

  2. 2026-01-12 Senate

    Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102110D

  3. 2026-01-12 Courts of Justice

    Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice

Official Summary Text

Tort claims against the Commonwealth; liability for dangerous condition on public roadway.
Provides that the Commonwealth or a transportation district of the Commonwealth shall be liable for injury or death caused by a dangerous condition on a public roadway that the Commonwealth or transportation district had knowledge of and negligently or wrongfully failed to remedy or maintain. Current law immunizes the Commonwealth or a transportation district against such liability.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
A BILL to amend and reenact §
8.01-195.3
of the Code of Virginia, relating to tort claims against the Commonwealth; liability for dangerous condition on public roadway.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §
8.01-195.3
of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§
8.01-195.3
. Commonwealth, transportation district, or locality liable for damages in certain cases.

Subject to the provisions of this article, the Commonwealth shall be liable for claims for money only accruing on or after July 1, 1982, and any transportation district shall be liable for claims for money only accruing on or after July 1, 1986, on account of damage to or loss of property or personal injury or death caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of any employee while acting within the scope of his employment under circumstances where the Commonwealth or transportation district, if a private person, would be liable to the claimant for such damage, loss, injury
,
or death. However, except to the extent that a transportation district contracts to do so pursuant to §
33.2-1919
, neither the Commonwealth nor any transportation district shall be liable for interest prior to judgment or for punitive damages. The amount recoverable by any claimant shall not exceed (i) $25,000 for causes of action accruing prior to July 1, 1988, $75,000 for causes of action accruing on or after July 1, 1988, or $100,000 for causes of action accruing on or after July 1, 1993, or (ii) the maximum limits of any liability policy maintained to insure against such negligence or other tort, if such policy is in force at the time of the act or omission complained of, whichever is greater, exclusive of interest and costs.

Notwithstanding any provision hereof, the individual immunity of judges, the Attorney General, attorneys for the Commonwealth, and other public officers, their agents
,
and employees from tort claims for damages is hereby preserved to the extent and degree that such persons presently are immunized. Any recovery based on the following claims are hereby excluded from the provisions of this article:

1. Any claim against the Commonwealth based upon an act or omission
which

that

occurred prior to July 1, 1982.

1a. Any claim against a transportation district based upon an act or omission
which
that
occurred prior to July 1, 1986.

2. Any claim based upon an act or omission of the General Assembly or district commission of any transportation district, or any member or staff thereof acting in his official capacity, or to the legislative function of any agency subject to the provisions of this article.

However, no such immunity
shall apply
when
the
injury or death
was caused by a
dangerous condition on a public roadway
that the
Commonwealth or transportation district
,
through it
s agents, employees, or representatives
,
had knowledge of
and that the Commonwealth or transportation district negligently or wrongfully failed to remedy
or maintain
.

3. Any claim based upon an act or omission of any court of the Commonwealth, or any member thereof acting in his official capacity, or to the judicial functions of any agency subject to the provisions of this article.

4. Any claim based upon an act or omission of an officer, agent
,
or employee of any agency of government in the execution of a lawful order of any court.

5. Any claim arising in connection with the assessment or collection of taxes.

6. Any claim arising out of the institution or prosecution of any judicial or administrative proceeding, even if without probable cause.

7. Any claim by an inmate of a state correctional facility, as defined in §
53.1-1
, unless the claimant verifies under oath, by affidavit, that he has exhausted his remedies under the adult institutional inmate grievance procedures promulgated by the Department of Corrections. The time for filing the notice of tort claim shall be tolled during the pendency of the grievance procedure.

Nothing contained herein shall operate to reduce or limit the extent to which the Commonwealth or any transportation district, agency
,
or employee was deemed liable for negligence as of July 1, 1982, nor shall any provision of this article be applicable to any county, city
,
or town in the Commonwealth or be so construed as to remove or in any way diminish the sovereign immunity of any county, city
,
or town in the Commonwealth.