2026 Virginia General Assembly Session Review

2026 Virginia General Assembly Session Review
A Legislative and Operational Briefing for Police Chiefs and Campus Law Enforcement Administrators

Webinar presented by VACP and VACLEA

Date: Wednesday, June 3, 2026
Time: 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. ET

Format: One-hour webinar. 45 minutes of briefing, 15 minutes of live Q&A.
Presenter: Dale G. Mullen, Esq., MBA, Whiteford, counsel to VACP and VACLEA

This webinar is FREE for VACP and VACLEA members. There is a $20 registration fee for non-members.

The 2026 session produced one of the most consequential legislative records for Virginia law enforcement in recent memory. More than 2,300 bills were introduced and over 1,150 reached the Governor's desk. With the Governor's final action deadline now passed, this briefing reduces that volume to what matters: the enacted changes that require chiefs and campus administrators to revise policy, training, documentation, and budgets before they take effect on July 1.

Scheduled deliberately after the Governor's deadline, the session briefs enacted law, not pending bills. Coverage includes:

• Law enforcement technology. Artificial intelligence, unmanned aircraft systems, and surveillance, including new DCJS model-policy and disclosure mandates.
• Federal, state, and local immigration enforcement. Protected-area restrictions, limits on cooperation agreements, and data-sharing constraints, including provisions specific to public institutions of higher education.
• Civil liability and officer protections. Facial-covering and identification requirements, sovereign immunity, and expanded causes of action.
• Operational mandates and the 2027 outlook. Emergency custody and detention, firearms enforcement, and the bills continued to next session, including the Police Chief Bill of Rights.

Every registrant will receive a written legislative advisory summarizing the enacted measures and recommended next steps. The session will be recorded and made available to registered members who cannot attend live.

Questions: Stephanie Diaz, stephanie@vacheifs.org