The Courts of Justice Subcommittee on Criminal Law voted to report HB 1568, a substitute amendment that grants Frederick County law-enforcement officers jurisdiction over offenses committed in buildings owned or occupied by Frederick County located within one mile of the City of Winchester’s limits.

The substitute, offered by the bill’s patron, Delegate Wiley, narrows an earlier draft that would have covered “any crime anywhere” in the city. "This substitute quite simply, grants law enforcement officers of Frederick County jurisdiction over offenses committed in the city of Winchester within 1 mile from the county line," Wiley told the subcommittee. The sponsor said the change responds to a request from the county sheriff to allow enforcement at county-related meetings and at county-owned facilities inside the city.

The chair noted the substitute differed from earlier statutory language, citing older Richmond-area provisions that had been broader. Committee members asked whether the amendment would affect state-owned buildings or judicial facilities; Wiley and counsel stated the substitute applies only to county-owned buildings. After brief questions and no public objection, the subcommittee voted to adopt the substitute and then to report the bill. The clerk recorded the recommendation to report HB 1568 as amended by a unanimous 8–0 vote.

The subcommittee did not take further action on any additional changes to the substitute during the hearing. No public witnesses testified against the substitute; the sponsor provided the rationale that the sheriff asked for the authority to perform law-enforcement duties in county facilities located in the city.

HB 1568 will proceed to the next step in the legislative process with the subcommittee’s recommendation to report the substitute. The committee transcript does not list individual roll-call votes by name, only the final tally.