An Act to amend and reenact § 8.01-341 of the Code of Virginia, relating to exemption from jury service; fire marshals.
HB350 amends Virginia’s jury-exemption statute, § 8.01-341, to add fire marshals to the list of people who are exempt from serving on juries in civil and criminal cases. The bill specifically includes the State Fire Marshal and any officer appointed as a fire marshal under the relevant provisions of Title 27.
The measure is a targeted update to an existing exemption list that already covers certain constitutional officers, legislators, judges, law-enforcement personnel, jail officials, and court clerks. It does not change jury selection generally, but it does expand the categories of public safety officials who may decline jury service as a matter of law.
The bill directly amends § 8.01-341 of the Code of Virginia, expanding statutory jury-service exemptions to include the State Fire Marshal and appointed fire marshals. As a result, these officials are no longer eligible to be summoned for jury duty unless the law changes again, and courts and jury administrators must treat them as exempt when compiling jury pools and processing summonses.
No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, but the bill’s enactment as Chapter 117 indicates it moved through the legislative process successfully and was approved. The amendment appears narrow and administrative in nature, suggesting limited controversy and likely general acceptance as a clarification or workload accommodation for fire marshals.
No specific points of contention are documented in the available materials. If any debate occurred, it is not reflected in the provided transcripts or vote history. The only identifiable policy issue is whether fire marshals should be treated like other public safety officials who are categorically exempt from jury service, but the bill text and legislative history supplied here do not show opposition.