STATE BILLVA HB 244ENGROSSED

Robbery; conforms certain provisions of Code to degrees of robbery offenses.

Commonwealth of Virginia

Robbery. Conforms certain provisions of the Code referencing robbery to the degrees of robbery offenses established by Chapter 534 of the Acts of Assembly of 2021, Special Session I. These changes include: (i) limiting to the three higher degrees of robbery certain non-robbery crimes for which committing such crime with the intent to commit a robbery is an element of the offenses, (ii) limiting the types of robbery that are included in the definition of "acts of violence" to the two higher degrees of robbery, (iii) clarifying how robbery offenses will be scored on the sentencing guidelines, (iv) allowing persons convicted of the two lesser degrees of robbery to be eligible for conditional release if they are terminally ill and for enhanced earned sentence credits, (v) allowing persons who are ineligible for parole as a result of being convicted of three of certain enumerated offenses to be eligible for parole if convicted of an offense that would constitute robbery by presenting of firearms, and (vi) limiting the application of the three-strikes law to the two higher degrees of robbery and making persons convicted under the three-strikes law eligible for parole if one of the three convictions resulting in the mandatory life sentence would constitute one of the two lesser degrees of robbery. The bill leaves unchanged the current law making all degrees of robbery predicate criminal acts by adding the two lesser degrees of robbery to the definition of "predicate criminal act" and specifying that the two higher degrees of robbery are included in the definition of "act of violence." The bill requires the changes made to the eligibility for conditional release of terminally ill prisoners and enhanced earned sentence credits to apply retroactively if certain criteria are met.

Status
Engrossed
Passed its first chamber
Status date
Feb 2, 2026
283 days ago
Current chamber
Senate
Session
2027 Regular Session
VA HB 244 · EngrossedFeb 2

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Bill details

Last action
Continued from last session · Jul 21, 2026
Pending committee
Finance and Appropriations

Sponsor

VWVivian WattsRepresentative · Democrat · HD-014Primary sponsor

Bill history

Newest first.

Jul 21, 2026Continued from last sessionSenate
Mar 9, 2026Continued to next session in Finance and Appropriations (10-Y 4-N)Senate
Mar 9, 2026Senate committee offeredSenate
Mar 9, 2026Referred to Committee on Finance and AppropriationsSenate
Mar 5, 2026Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB244)House
Mar 3, 2026Committee substitute printed 26108969D-S1Senate
Mar 2, 2026Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (8-Y 7-N)Senate
Feb 11, 2026Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB244)House
Show 13 earlier actions
Feb 4, 2026Referred to Committee for Courts of JusticeSenate
Feb 4, 2026Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)Senate
Feb 3, 2026Read third time and passed House (64-Y 34-N 0-A)House
Feb 2, 2026Engrossed by House as amendedHouse
Feb 2, 2026committee amendments agreed toHouse
Feb 2, 2026Read second timeHouse
Jan 30, 2026Read first timeHouse
Jan 28, 2026Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment(s) (14-Y 6-N)House
Jan 23, 2026Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (7-Y 3-N)House
Jan 23, 2026House subcommittee offeredHouse
Jan 20, 2026Assigned HCJ sub: CriminalHouse
Jan 8, 2026Referred to Committee for Courts of JusticeHouse
Jan 8, 2026Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102503DHouse

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