Legislation that would expand the number of judges in the Virginia court system passed the House of Delegates Thursday, but will need to be reconsidered by the Senate with amendments.

Senate Bill 1261, as amended, would expand the court of appeals from 11 to 15. The language in the original Senate version, sponsored by Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, would have expanded that number to 17. The amended version would go into effect in January 2022, which is different from the original version, which would go into effect in October 2021.