ACTIONS & EVENTS LEGISLATION IMMIGRATION NOMINEES

2025 Priority VA Legislation

of the Virginia Grassroots Coalition

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2025 Priority Bills

Justice Reform

Cat Number Title Patron House Senate updated
justice HB 1713 Support Jurisdiction of district courts in felony cases; specialty dockets; Behavioral Health Docket Act. more...
Authorizes a general district court and a juvenile and domestic relations district court to retain jurisdiction over a felony offense for the purpose of allowing the accused to complete a specialty docket or behavioral health docket established pursuant to relevant law....
Watts(D) Reported
Courts of Justice (16-Y 6-N)
1/30/25
justice HB 2217 Support Court appearance of a person not free on bail. more...
Makes various changes to provisions regarding bail hearings, including (i) the appointment of counsel for the accused, (ii) the information provided to counsel for the accused, ....
Callsen(D) Passed
(51-44)
1/30/25
justice HB 2222 Support Use of restraints on juveniles in court prohibited; exceptions. more...
Prohibits the use of instruments of restraint, as defined in the bill, on a juvenile appearing before the juvenile and domestic relations district court unless the court makes a finding that (i) the use of such restraints is necessary (a) to prevent physical harm to such juvenile or another person, ...
Cousins(D) Passed
(96-0)
1/30/25
voting, justice HJ 2 Support Constitutional amendment; qualifications of voters, right to vote, persons not entitled to vote. more...
Provides that every person who meets the qualifications of voters set forth in the Constitution of Virginia shall have the fundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth and that such right shall not be abridged by law, except for persons who have been convicted of a felony and persons who have been adjudicated to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting....
Bennett-Parker(D) Passed
(55-Y 44-N)1/14/2025
Passed
Agreed to by Senate (21-Y 18-N)
2/1/25
justice SB 1013 Support Affirmative defense or reduced penalty for a neurocognitive disorder or intellectual or developmental disability. more...
Provides an affirmative defense to prosecution of an individual for assault or assault and battery ... if such individual proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, that at the time of the assault or assault and battery (i) the individual's behaviors were a result of (a) mental illness or....
Boysko(D)
Reported
Courts of Justice (10-Y 5-N)
1/30/25
justice SB 1227 Support Court appearance of a person not free on bail. more...
Makes various changes to provisions regarding bail hearings, including (i) the appointment of counsel for the accused, ...
Aird(D)
Reported
Courts of Justice (9-Y 2-N 3-A)
1/30/25
justice SB 1255 Support Use of restraints on juveniles in court prohibited; exceptions. more...
Prohibits the use of instruments of restraint, as defined in the bill, on a juvenile appearing before the juvenile and domestic relations district court unless the court makes a finding that (i) the use of such restraints is necessary ....
Bagby(D)
Passed
(39-0)
1/23/25
justice HB 2724 Oppose Automatic license plate recognition systems; use, reports, penalty. more...
Requires the Division of Purchases and Supply of the Department of General Services (the Division) to determine and approve the automatic license plate recognition systems, defined in the bill, for use in the Commonwealth and provides requirements for use of such systems by law-enforcement agencies....
Herring(D) Passed
(59-Y 39-N)
Committee
Courts of Justice
2/7/25
No. of bills: 8

General info

2025 Session Dates

Jan 8: Session begins
Feb 4: Crossover*
Feb 22: Session adjourns

House Testimony Find a committee/meeting

Senate Testimony Sign up 30 min before.

Constitutional Amendments

Amendments to the Virginia Constitution require that a resolution be passed by:

1. A majority of both houses during a session
2. Held over to be passed again by the next elected legislature, with an election intervening between the two approvals.
3. If it succeeds the second time, voters must approve the change in a referendum before it can take effect.


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

Other Legislation

2024 Virginia Legislation
2023 Virginia Legislation
2022 Virginia Legislation
2021 Virginia Legislation
2020 Virginia Legislation
2021 US Legislation

Close votes on bills

VPAP list