2022 VA General Assembly

Start date of Special Session has been changed to Mon, April 4.
[Originally scheduled for April 27, 2022. See GA calendar]

Status of 2022 Priority Legislation

of the Virginia Grassroots Coalition

Enrolled = Bill has passed both houses, sent to the Governor, but not yet signed.
Conf. Comm. = Bill passed each house in different forms, will be resolved in Special Session.

■ = Bill is dead or 'continued.'

Cat	Number	Title	Patron	House	Senate	Governor	updated
2022 Priority Bills Justice Reform
justice	HB 612 Support	Possession of controlled substances; penalties. more... Reduces the penalty for possession of a Schedule I or II controlled substance from a Class 5 felony to a Class 1 misdemeanor and the penalty for possession of a Schedule IV or V controlled substance from a Class 2 misdemeanor and a Class 3 misdemeanor, respectively, to a Class 4 misdemeanor. ...	Sally Hudson (D-HD57)	Tabled			1/24/22
justice	HB 862 Support	Supplementing compensation of public defender. more... Requires the governing body of any county or city that elects to supplement the compensation of the attorney for the Commonwealth, or any of his deputies or employees, above the salary of any such attorney for the Commonwealth, deputy, or employee, to proportionally ...	Lopez �(D)	Tabled			3/11/24
justice	HB 906 Support	Petition for modification of sentence; eligibility, procedures. more... Provides a petition process for a person serving a sentence for any conviction or a combination of any convictions who remains incarcerated in a state or local correctional facility and meets certain criteria to petition the circuit court that entered the original judgment or order to (i) suspend the unserved portion of such sentence ...	Carrie Coyner (R-HD62)	Left			2/15/22
justice	HB 1053 Support	Local correctional facilities; fees. more... Eliminates certain fees charged to inmates within a local correctional facility, including a fee to defray the costs associated with an inmate's keep, travel and other expenses associated with an inmate's work release employment or participation in an educational or rehabilitative program, and telephone systems. ...	Irene Shin (D-HD86)	Passed	Passed	Signed 08/04/22 Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0013)	1/6/23
justice	HB 1197 Support	Secretariat agency responsibilities; Department of Juvenile Justice. more... Directs the Office of the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security and the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to convene a stakeholder work group to determine the feasibility and benefits of transferring responsibility for the Department of Juvenile Justice from the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to the Secretary of Health and Human Resources. ...	Patrick A. Hope (D-HD47)	Passed	Passed	Vetoed 04/11/22 Governor: Vetoed by Governor	4/28/22
justice	SB 282 Support	Supplementing compensation of public defender. more... Requires the governing body of any county or city that elects to supplement the compensation of the attorney for the Commonwealth, or any of his deputies or his employees, above the salary of any such officer, deputy, or employee to supplement the compensation of the public defender ...	Ebbin (D)		Incorp		3/11/24
justice	SB 378 Support	Petition for modification of sentence; eligibility, procedures. more... Provides a petition process for a person serving a sentence for any conviction or a combination of any convictions who remains incarcerated in a state or local correctional facility and meets certain criteria to petition the circuit court that entered the original judgment or order to (i) suspend the unserved portion...	Chap Petersen (D-SD34)	Left	Passed		3/15/22
justice	SB 411 Support	Possession of controlled substances; penalties. more... Reduces the penalty for possession of a Schedule I or II controlled substance from a Class 5 felony to a Class 1 misdemeanor and the penalty for possession of a Schedule IV or V controlled substance from a Class 2 misdemeanor and a Class 3 misdemeanor, respectively, to a Class 4 misdemeanor. ...	Joseph Morrissey (D-HD16)		Defeated		2/10/22
justice	HB 79 Oppose	Marijuana and certain traffic offenses; issuing citations. more... ...The bill also repeals the provision that provides that no law-enforcement officer may lawfully stop, search, or seize any person, place, or thing solely on the basis of the odor of marijuana and that no evidence discovered or obtained as a result of such unlawful search or seizure shall be admissible ...	Ronnie Campbell (R-HD24)	Passed	PBI		2/28/22

No. of bills: 9

Glossary

Dillon Rule. Restricts local government authority to enact ordinances.

Conference Committee. A temporary committee w. members from both the House and Senate, tasked with reconciling differences in legislation that passed both chambers.

Continued/Carried over. Action taken in an even-numbered year to postpone the consideration of a measure until the next regular session of the General Assembly.

Crossover. The last day for a bill to pass out of the chamber in which it was introduced and move forward for consideration in the opposite chamber. If a bill does not move forward, it is "Left" (dead).

Engrossed. A legislative stage when a bill passes the second reading in the House of origin. Every bill has to be "read" on the floor three times before voting on it. The action or any debate or discussion usually comes on the day of the second reading or the third reading.

Enrolled. Legislation which has passed both the House of Delegates and the Senate, signed by the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate, sent to the Governor, but not yet signed.

Failed to report. Defeated. The rejection of a motion to 'report' a bill to the full chamber.

Incorporated. Rolled into someone another bill. Either because they're identical, or they have incorporated *some* of the language in, and the patron agreed to have her name on the other bill.

Patron. Bill sponsor. There can be many patrons.

PBI. Passed by Indefinitely. Action to allow a committee to reconsider legislation at a later meeting. If the committee takes no further action, the bill is dead. [Usually the bill is dead.]

Referred. The assignment of legislation to another standing committee with no stance on the policy of the measure (neither endorses nor rejects the legislation).

Reported. The approval of a measure by the majority of the committee. The legislation may be reported by the committee with or without amendments. A bill may also be reported and referred to another committee.

Stricken. Legislation removed from a committee's docket, frequently at the request of the patron.

More definitions from League of Women Voters Virginia
More definitions from University of Virginia