VirginiaMotion picture theaters; definitions, establishes requirements for open captioning.
What it does
Open captioning at motion picture theaters. Establishes requirements for open captioning for motion picture theaters. The bill requires all motion picture theater companies, excluding outdoor theaters such as drive-in theaters, that own, operate, control, or lease five or more locations in the Commonwealth and are open to the general public to provide open captioning on any film that has at least seven showings per operating week for a period greater than one operating week, provided that open captioning is available to the theater for such film as part of the digital cinema package.
More detail
The bill specifies that (i) within the first two operating weeks following a film's release, a theater shall provide at least four open captioning viewings; (ii) at least one of such open captioning viewings shall start between (a) 5:59 p.m. and 11:01 p.m. on a Friday, (b) 10:59 a.m. and 11:01 p.m. on a Saturday or Sunday, or (c) 5:59 p.m. and 10:01 p.m. on a Monday through Thursday; and (iii) beginning in the third operating week following a film's release, a theater shall provide at least one open captioning viewing within 72 hours after receiving a request for such a viewing provided that no theater shall be obligated to provide open captioning viewing for any particular screening for which advance tickets have been sold prior to its receipt of such request. Under the bill, motion picture theater companies are required to provide contact information on their websites for receiving and fulfilling requests for open captioning screenings and advertise the date and time of open captioning screenings in the same manner used to advertise all other motion picture screenings and indicate which screenings shall include open captioning by utilizing the character symbol "OC" or such other language or symbols as may reasonably identify which screenings will include open captioning. The bill directs the Office of Civil Rights of the Attorney General of Virginia to establish a process for receiving consumer reports of suspected violations of the bill. As introduced, the bill was a recommendation of the Disability Commission. This bill is identical to SB 722.
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Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Apr 6Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0184)Latest
- Apr 6Approved by Governor Abigail Spanberger-Chapter 184 (effective 7/1/2026)Became Law
- Mar 10Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026To Governor
- Mar 10Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026Minor
- Mar 6Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB602)
- Mar 6Signed by PresidentMajor
- Mar 6Signed by SpeakerMajor
- Mar 6Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB602ER)Major
- Mar 6EnrolledMinor
- Mar 2Passed Senate (23-Y 17-N 0-A)Passed Senate
- Vote recorded Passage R. Result: pass.Upper
- Feb 27Passed by for the day
- Feb 27Read third timeMinor
- Feb 26Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB602)
- Vote recorded Constitutional reading dispensed (on 2nd reading). Result: pass.Upper
- Feb 26Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
- Feb 26Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
- Feb 26Rules suspended
- Feb 25Reported from Finance and Appropriations (9-Y 4-N)Minor
- Vote recorded Reported from Finance and Appropriations. Result: pass.Upper
- Feb 18Referred to Committee on Finance and AppropriationsMinor
- Feb 18Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)
- Feb 17Read third time and passed House (79-Y 17-N 0-A)Passed House
- Vote recorded H VOTE:. Result: pass.Lower
- Feb 16Engrossed by House - committee substituteMajor
- Feb 16committee substitute agreed toMajor
- Feb 16Read second timeMinor
- Feb 15Read first timeMinor
- Feb 12Committee substitute printed 26106291D-H1Major
- Vote recorded Reported from Health and Human Services with substitute. Result: pass.Lower
- Feb 12Reported from Health and Human Services with substitute (19-Y 1-N 1-A)Minor
- Feb 10Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (10-Y 0-N)Major
- Vote recorded Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute. Result: pass.Lower
- Feb 10House subcommittee offered
- Feb 6Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB602)
- Jan 30Assigned sub: HealthMinor
- Jan 29Referred from General Laws and referred to Health and Human Services (Voice Vote)Minor
- Jan 13Referred to Committee on General LawsMinor
- Jan 13Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104564DIntroduced