---
type: "Bill"
title: "Custodial interrogation of a child; failure to comply with section, inadmissibility of statement."
description: "Custodial interrogation of a child; failure to comply with section; inadmissibility of statement. Provides that if a law-enforcement officer knowingly fails to comply with existing law regarding parental notification and contact prior to a custodial interrogation of a child, any statements made by such child shall be inadmissible in any delinquency proceeding or criminal proceeding against such child, unless the attorney for the Commonwealth proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the statement was made knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2024"
identifier: "HB 266"
citation: "Virginia HB 266 (2024)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Vivian E. Watts"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 32
vote_count: 7
first_action: "2024-01-05"
last_action: "2024-04-08"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/71243317-01f0-4ab6-869a-68cd9ee54d1f"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+sum+HB266"
source_hash: "5734c5dc3def640fad2a850c7f2619d7d7d225cba18ab56e2a6860fa13707b84"
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 266 (2024) — Custodial interrogation of a child; failure to comply with section, inadmissibility of statement.

Custodial interrogation of a child; failure to comply with section; inadmissibility of statement. Provides that if a law-enforcement officer knowingly fails to comply with existing law regarding parental notification and contact prior to a custodial interrogation of a child, any statements made by such child shall be inadmissible in any delinquency proceeding or criminal proceeding against such child, unless the attorney for the Commonwealth proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the statement was made knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily.

## Version chain

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

1. **CHAP0719** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+ful+CHAP0719)
2. **Committee substitute printed 24106398D-H1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+ful+HB266H1)
3. **HB266ER** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+ful+HB266ER)
4. **Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/10/24 24101819D** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+ful+HB266)

## Votes

- Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (8-Y 0-N) — **8–0** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment (15-Y 0-N) — **15–0** (pass) · upper
- Passed Senate with amendment (39-Y 0-N) — **39–0** (pass) · upper
- Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N) — **40–0** (pass) · upper
- VOTE: Adoption (97-Y 3-N) — **96–3** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (21-Y 0-N) — **21–0** (pass) · lower
- VOTE: Block Vote Passage (98-Y 0-N) — **97–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Vivian E. Watts — primary (person)
- Alfonso H. Lopez — cosponsor (person)
- Jackie H. Glass — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2024-01-05** Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/10/24 24101819D `filing, introduction`
- **2024-01-05** Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice `referral-committee`
- **2024-01-23** Assigned Courts sub: Criminal `referral-committee`
- **2024-01-26** House subcommittee amendments and substitutes offered
- **2024-01-26** Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (8-Y 0-N) `substitution`
- **2024-02-02** Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (21-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2024-02-02** Committee substitute printed 24106398D-H1 `substitution`
- **2024-02-06** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2024-02-07** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2024-02-07** Committee substitute agreed to 24106398D-H1 `substitution`
- **2024-02-07** Engrossed by House - committee substitute HB266H1 `substitution`
- **2024-02-08** Read third time and passed House BLOCK VOTE (98-Y 0-N) `passage, reading-3`
- **2024-02-08** VOTE: Block Vote Passage (98-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2024-02-09** Constitutional reading dispensed
- **2024-02-09** Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice `referral-committee`
- **2024-02-28** Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment (15-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2024-03-01** Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N)
- **2024-03-04** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2024-03-04** Reading of amendment waived
- **2024-03-04** Committee amendment agreed to `amendment-passage`
- **2024-03-04** Engrossed by Senate as amended
- **2024-03-04** Passed Senate with amendment (39-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2024-03-05** Senate amendment agreed to by House (97-Y 3-N) `amendment-passage`
- **2024-03-05** VOTE: Adoption (97-Y 3-N)
- **2024-03-25** Enrolled `enrolled`
- **2024-03-25** Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB266ER) `passage`
- **2024-03-25** Signed by President `passage`
- **2024-03-26** Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2024-03-27** Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 27, 2024 `enrolled, executive-receipt`
- **2024-03-27** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 8, 2024 `executive-receipt`
- **2024-04-08** Approved by Governor-Chapter 719 (effective 7/1/24) `executive-signature`
- **2024-04-08** Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0719)

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/71243317-01f0-4ab6-869a-68cd9ee54d1f`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).