---
type: "Bill"
title: "Home/electronic incarceration program; payment to defray costs."
description: "Home/electronic incarceration program; paymentto defray costs. Changes from mandatory to optional the currentrequirement that the director or administrator of a home/electronicincarceration program charge an offender or accused a fee for participatingin the program in order to pay for the cost of home/electronic incarcerationequipment."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2020"
identifier: "HB 278"
citation: "Virginia HB 278 (2020)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Patrick A. Hope"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 29
vote_count: 8
first_action: "2019-12-30"
last_action: "2020-02-24"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/1ec65e25-b81c-453c-907a-5f1fc0fb1f22"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+HB278"
source_hash: "7572a08d92df36c13a00dfe31d73065116c24367b8435c872928992177167418"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-va"]
---

# Virginia HB 278 (2020) — Home/electronic incarceration program; payment to defray costs.

Home/electronic incarceration program; paymentto defray costs. Changes from mandatory to optional the currentrequirement that the director or administrator of a home/electronicincarceration program charge an offender or accused a fee for participatingin the program in order to pay for the cost of home/electronic incarcerationequipment.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0010)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+CHAP0010)
2. **Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB278ER)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB278ER)
3. **Engrossed by House as amended HB278E** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB278E)
4. **Impact statement from DPB (HB278)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB278)

## Votes

- Reported from Rehabilitation and Social Services (15-Y 0-N) — **15–0** (pass) · upper
- Constitutional reading dispensed (36-Y 0-N) — **36–0** (pass) · upper
- Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N) — **40–0** (pass) · upper
- Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N) — **40–0** (pass) · upper
- Reconsideration of Senate passage agreed to by Senate (33-Y 6-N) — **33–6** (pass) · upper
- VOTE: (97-Y 0-N) — **96–0** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment (22-Y 0-N) — **22–0** (pass) · lower
- Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment (7-Y 0-N) — **7–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Patrick A. Hope — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2019-12-30** Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/20 20100666D `introduction`
- **2019-12-30** Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-14** Assigned Courts sub: Criminal `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-15** Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment (7-Y 0-N)
- **2020-01-21** Impact statement from DPB (HB278)
- **2020-01-22** Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment (22-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2020-01-24** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2020-01-27** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2020-01-27** Committee amendment agreed to
- **2020-01-27** Engrossed by House as amended HB278E
- **2020-01-27** Printed as engrossed 20100666D-E
- **2020-01-28** Read third time and passed House BLOCK VOTE (97-Y 0-N) `passage, reading-3`
- **2020-01-28** VOTE: (97-Y 0-N)
- **2020-01-29** Constitutional reading dispensed
- **2020-01-29** Referred to Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services `referral-committee`
- **2020-02-03** Impact statement from DPB (HB278E)
- **2020-02-07** Reported from Rehabilitation and Social Services (15-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2020-02-10** Constitutional reading dispensed (36-Y 0-N)
- **2020-02-11** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2020-02-11** Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2020-02-11** Reconsideration of Senate passage agreed to by Senate (33-Y 6-N)
- **2020-02-11** Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2020-02-13** Enrolled
- **2020-02-13** Impact statement from DPB (HB278ER)
- **2020-02-13** Signed by Speaker
- **2020-02-13** Signed by President
- **2020-02-17** Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on February 17, 2020
- **2020-02-17** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., February 24, 2020
- **2020-02-24** Approved by Governor-Chapter 10 (effective 7/1/20) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/1ec65e25-b81c-453c-907a-5f1fc0fb1f22`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).