Virginia bill ties jail reporting to state payments

(The Center Square) – When a person dies inside a Virginia jail, state law requires officials to report it.

Lawmakers are advancing a bill that would allow the governor to halt state payments to facilities that miss those deadlines.

House Bill 80 focuses on reporting compliance rather than redefining custody standards. Virginia law already requires correctional facilities and law enforcement agencies to submit reports when a civilian dies while detained, under arrest, being transported, incarcerated, or otherwise in custody.

Under the bill, if a local or regional adult correctional facility fails to send a required report within 10 days, the State Board of Local and Regional Jails would notify the governor. The governor may then direct the state comptroller to withhold further payments until the facility satisfies the reporting requirement.

The proposal builds on a reporting framework created through House Bill 611, approved ...