HB 245 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Jurisdiction of district courts in felony cases; specialty dockets, Behavioral Health Docket Act.

Summary
Jurisdiction of district courts in felony cases; specialty dockets; Behavioral Health Docket Act. 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. Current law only explicitly provides such courts with the ability to certify felony charges to the circuit court or dismiss such charges after a preliminary hearing to determine if probable cause exists for such charges.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Jan 8, 2026 Signed Apr 13, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Enrolled Chaptered · 3 edits
MINOR
This document is a formatting diff showing the transition of a bill from its 'Enrolled' status to its 'Chaptered' status as an official law. The text content of the legislation itself remains identical; the changes are purely cosmetic, involving the addition of chapter numbers, approval dates, and page breaks to finalize the document for publication in the Virginia Acts of Assembly.
TECHNICAL

Added official chapter number (Chapter 580), approval date (April 13, 2026), and page numbering to the document header and footer.

Removed the 'ENROLLED' header and replaced it with the 'VIRGINIA ACTS OF ASSEMBLY' title page layout typical of published laws.

Adjusted spacing and line breaks throughout the text to match the standard layout of enacted statutes.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 25, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 3, 2026

How they voted

390
Passed
Total votes 39
Feb 25, 2026
D Democratic20
20 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican19
19 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
26
Key actions
10
Committee
6
Apr 13, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 580 (effective 7/1/2026)
executive
Mar 2, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Mar 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB245ER)
lower
Feb 25, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
upper
Feb 24, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day (Voice Vote)
upper
Feb 23, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice (14-Y 0-N)
upper
Feb 4, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
upper
Feb 3, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (76-Y 19-N 0-A)
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice (18-Y 1-N)
lower
Jan 21, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting (10-Y 0-N)
lower
Jan 20, 2026
Committee
Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal
lower
Jan 8, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Vivian Watts
Vivian Watts
DDemocratic
VA
14